Posted by tygereyes on March 29, 2006, at 22:15:02
In reply to Re: Who's trying to achieve hypomania? » tygereyes, posted by TylerJ on March 29, 2006, at 21:59:36
> > People REALLY need to stop getting offended when their drugs come "under fire" on this board.
> >
> > SSRIs have also been criticized for altering personality and making one feel "better than well" (please see the book "Listening to Prozac" for a psychiatrist's view of this). It seems to me that the individuals who are most susceptible to this are individuals with a mood disorder and underlying personality disorder - but that's just my experience, from working as a psychiatric researcher and as a residential psychiatric health counselor.
> >
> > Don't get me wrong - I am not anti-psychiatry and I am not anti-MAOIs. In fact, I am quite PRO-MAOIs, being that most physicians are so ignorant about medication and want to try every SSRI (which are perhaps THE most ineffective class of drugs on this planet, if you look at response rates vs. placebo) before even considering alternates. However, I think people need to be honest about what they are looking for in a medication. And it seems to me that many of the individuals on this board have underlying personality disorders & other psychopathology that does not readily respond to medication. Myself included.
> >
> > And for those of you who claim Parnate cannot be abused/is not an abusable substance, please see:
> >
> > << http://bjp.rcpsych.org/cgi/content/abstract/135/3/273 >>
> >
> > << http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=1883016&dopt=Citation >>
> >
> > << http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=1609897&dopt=Citation >>
> >
> > << http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=9930640&dopt=Citation >>
> >
> > << http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=7484306&dopt=Citation >>
> >
> > << http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&list_uids=963135&dopt=Citation >>
> >
> > << http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=2211541&dopt=Citation >>
> >
> > << http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&list_uids=6057356&dopt=citation >>
>
> I'm sure your right. Parnate has an amphetamine like effect on some people, and people abuse amphetamines all the time, so why not Parnate. As I'm sure most people here are aware that many if not most psychiatric drugs can be abused. All of the Benzos, the non benzo hypnotics, barbituates, pschostimulants, cognitive enhancers, and even Antiparkinsonian drugs. Also anti-convulsants...I know 2 people right now who are taking an absurd amount of Topomax to try to lose weight. And of course the Opiates. I'm sure I'm missing A LOT of drugs from this list. My opinion is if you abuse any of these meds they're obviously not going to work long term. But people will be people, and abuse will occur.
>
> TylerAgreed 100%. Many meds carry the danger of abuse. However, Parnate (and perhaps Nardil, to a lesser degree) have been singled out as the only antidepressants (besides amantadine) that can be abused.
In my opinion, this requires some consideration. As I said, I am very pro-MAOIs. However, I am NOT pro-drug abuse (though I've done it myself many, many times). And taking a drug to feel "better than well" - whether it's a benzo, a psychostimulant, or a MAOI - is drug abuse, plain and simple.
For a while, my cocktail consisted of Parnate and Ambien (which I also abused). It made me wonder, in terms of my psychological health, if anything had really changed from the times I snorted cocaine in the mornings and shot heroin at night. Clearly, I am not likening the physical attributes of illegal drugs like coke and smack to Parnate and Ambien - but psychologically? I was still getting high. I was still trying to feel "better than well."
Linkadge has brought up an AMAZINGLY important issue here. A few years ago, I would have been so threatened that someone was questioning my psychiatric drugs that I would have reacted immaturely and immediately denied misuse of psychiatric drugs. However, from years of experience working within the field (not to mention, being medicated myself), I think he has brought up points that we all need to address honestly within ourselves. I have often wondered, while reading this page: Is this why we switch meds so often? Because "normal" just isn't good enough anymore?
poster:tygereyes
thread:625584
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20060329/msgs/626381.html