Posted by jedi on May 10, 2010, at 23:24:54
In reply to Nardil Increase Dose Question, posted by angels78 on May 7, 2010, at 16:31:05
> How long should I wait before I ask my pdoc to increase my dose of Nardil from 60 to 75 mg? I've been at 60 mg for 3 weeks and i'm not seeing that much of a change. Will really raising the dosage by 15mg cause me to see a change?
Hi Angels78,
When I'm not in a really bad depression, I can get results with 60mg of Nardil supplemented with 2mg of clonazepam for my atypical depression and social anxiety. This helps keep the side effects down. When I am really depressed I have to push the Nardil to 90mg.I was off Nardil 5 weeks during my hip replacement surgery, thinking I would do a trial of anafranil before starting on the Nardil again. I had made an appointment with my GP to do this trial. His nurse called me; he was run over by a truck, and was down!!! Saw him at physical therapy a week later; the guy is tough. I'm not making this up. Maybe too much information for an open forum! The depression started to come back hard, so I quickly went up to 60mg of Nardil. I have done this so many times that I can get up to 60mg in a couple of days without major side effects. I would not advise this to someone new to the medication. Go up slow.
When my anxiety is under control I can also reduce the clonazepam to 1mg and even zero sometimes.
When I am really getting hit hard with the depression and have a complete washout of MAO inhibition, I will double my clonazepam for a while just to get over the hump until the Nardil kicks in. I'm doing this right now. 4mg of clonazepam and 60mg of Nardil. I'll have the clonazepam back down to 2mg in a couple of weeks.
Yes, I adjust my own medications. I have for years. I am from a small rural community where the nearest PDOC, other than those for Medicaid, is 150 miles away. I know ten times more than my GP about MAOIs. Basically, I have taught him most of what he knows about them. I know this is not the best situation. I really wish I had access to a knowledgeable psychiatrist. I don't. The best one I ever had, moved 3000 miles away. The next one retired. The one after that would have let me die before prescribing a MAOI. I am not kidding in the least. I wrote my current GP a letter. I used my 60 day stash of Nardil, and was able to get him to prescribe for me, since it was already working. I never go off Nardil without at least a 60 day stash, just in case.
I am the PDOC's nightmare. But I know myself and I know more about MAOIs than 90% of them. I am still alive through 12 years of treatment resistant depression.
By the way. Please don't do what I do! "A patient who treats himself has a fool for a physician!"
Ask your PDOC, listen to him, and follow his advice!
Be Well,
Jedi
Jedi
Treatment resistant, atypical, double depression with social anxiety.
Nardil + clonazepam
poster:jedi
thread:946693
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20100504/msgs/947051.html