Posted by Bob on August 1, 2008, at 21:24:44
In reply to Re: Experiences with Ixel (milnacipran), posted by bleauberry on August 1, 2008, at 20:46:32
> My opinion is that Milnacipran is an unsung hero. The FDA is so arogant. Ya know, it seems to me, if a med is good enough to be a top performer in Japan (as in HUGE population), doesn't that qualify to work in other parts of the globe too? Are any more clinical trials really needed when it has already proved itself superior in so many?
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> Like everything else, mileage varies, side effects vary, there are failures, and there is a small proportion of folks who deteriorate. That being said, I have seen stories at review/rating sites where people who failed years of meds and ECT responded remarkably to Milnacipran.
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> Me. Very sensitive to meds. Practically all of them make me worse, deteriorate. Well, I could actually handle the starting dose of Milnacipran. That was like, wow. And to feel benefits within a week, instead of worsening, was like wow. One of the common side effects is urinary retention...it was severe with me. Currently trying to figure out how to combat that with another med so I can go back and do Milnacipran again at a therapeutic dose instead of a starter dose.
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> Benefits to me: Socially calm, improved confidence, better thinking and concentration (maybe good for ADD?), crying gone, despair gone, started to get interested in old hobbies, much improved sleep. These benefits showed up within 3 days, with a slightly rough startup.
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> While internet sources say Milnacipran has few or no side effects, that is not true. Start-up anxiety, yeah, some. Start-up tiredness, yeah, maybe some. Start-up worsened sleep, yeah some. Lessened appetite, yeah. Lessened libido, yeah some. Anorgasmia, yeah some. Like I said though, I am sensitive. I know how side effects lessen and even disappear with time, but I wasn't on it long enough for that to happen. I do not believe most people experience all this. The more common reason people stop is due to increased blood pressure above 100mg.
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> At first I started at 25mg. Too much for me, couldn't pee. Then I emptied a capsule out, divided powder into 4 equal piles, loaded them into empty gel caps from healthfood store, and took 3 per day spread apart for 18mg.
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> Like I said, mileage varies. Great for some, lousy for others. You know how that goes. But considering my history, and my positive response to Milnacipran, I think that speaks highly of the med's potential.
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> If I was a pdoc and had a first-time depression patient, well, I would probably go for lexapro or prozac. But for someone who's had several failures, especially with SSRIs or with side effects of others, Milnacipran would have no competition as the next choice.
Hey bleauberry, you make some good points.I too think it's ridiculous that the FDA doesn't give any credit to studies conducted elsewhere in the world. Or with medical devices like VNS for instance, they require the safety to be established all over again despite thousands of people already implanted for epilipsy.
I too am insanely sensitive to medications, chopping up pills into pieces and having new dosages formulated at compounding pharmacies so that I can tritrate the amounts with smaller increments. I become even more sensitive to meds after ECT, to the point where I could hardly take them at all. I sometimes wonder how the drug companies arrive at what dose they are going to make for their pills, or why drugs even come in capsules. Why can't all drugs come in pills so they can be cut and split? I guess people like us are a minority and so are essentially irrelevant to the FDA and the drug industry. No money in making smaller doses.
poster:Bob
thread:843434
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20080727/msgs/843589.html