Posted by bleauberry on July 14, 2008, at 16:03:26
Ok, anyone who knows me knows that most meds will make me more depressed. ECT did not work either. But one med actually did help a little bit, which was a miracle for any med to do with me, but the other effects it has on me are devastating. So I need advice on those.
The med is Milnacipran. Starts to kick in by day 2 or 3, then it kind of backtracks a bit and doesn't do much else that I can feel. But I know it does. Evidence...at the 2 week mark I was actually enjoying playing my guitar for hours. Didn't enjoy anything else. But at least it was a start, yeah? And that was at just 8mg three times a day, when the starting dose is supposed to be 25mg once or twice a day and then quickly go up to a total of 50mg to 100mg a day.
At my small dose, three major problems:
Lack of appetite: I'm already grossly underweight. Very risky business to lose more. I lost 3 pounds in 2 weeks eating as much as I could, but eating was not enjoyable at all. It was actually hard to eat.
Urinary stoppage/hesitancy/urgency: Severe. Pretty sure it is the norepinephrine at the alpah-1 receptors, because it begins within hours of the first dose.
Aggravation of DeGuerveins Tendonitis (the tendon running up the side of the thumb from the wrist). This has been 100% healed since surgery 10 years ago, but comes back within a day or two of starting Milancipran. Again, I suspect it is the norepinephrine that causes constriction of things.
So what do I do? Not currently on it anymore. One week off it was actually pretty smooth. Thought maybe it had reset some stuff. Not. Rapdily spiraling down again. The worst part is that aweful morning bizarre craziness/anxiety stuff that greets me right out of bed. Milnacipran had completely shut that down.
Flomax...the manufacturer suggests it for the urinary side effects. It blocks alpha-1 receptors and it relaxes arteries and veins, (and maybe muscles and tendons?)
Don't know what to do. I suspect if I could get these side effects under control and get to a higher dose I would be on a road to a better place. Nausea. Too much alpha-1 stimulation. Those are tough to figure out. Is there a safe medication to take that stimulates appetite without other side effects, mechanisms, or risks?
Does anyone know if the excess alpha-1 stimulation would subside over time? Something you could wait it out? Or does it just stay that way?
Thanks all!
poster:bleauberry
thread:839705
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20080706/msgs/839705.html