Posted by vic80 on June 14, 2010, at 17:23:39
okay - the 5th week:
After an almost maddening 3rd week with severe panic and suicidal ideation, I had upped the dosage to 25mg 2x daily from 25mg 1x. It did help bring down the despair and darkness - but in the days to follow I would experience this total drugged feeling - like as though I have eaten a pound of nutmeg - the hot flushes - tingling in the limbs - a sort of weird discomfort in the lower body - muscle weakness - and a general feeling of 'hotness'.... and it'd make me feel zombiefied - unable to react to the pressing issues I am dealing with - sent me to the zero zone - where one feels existing over actually living.
Plus I had to take the horrible propranolol to deal with the tachycardia caused - which further caused me to feel exhausted and tired and dysphoric.The saving grace all along has been my lorazepam 0.5mg which I take a half hour before my Milnacipran.
Since past 2 days I upped the dose back to 50mg in 25mg 2x installments - and the horrible flu like symptoms are back - the burning of the limbs - the giddy dizzy feeling - the feeling cut off from the world - the drugged without the drug-euphoria discomfort feeling - and worse - the horrible flu like symptoms - sneezings and a sore throat - this one particularly irks me the most coz it adds to discomfort.
I think MIL has caused major physical side effects - starting with tachycardia, dyspnea, upper respiratory tract infections, muscle weakness, hot flushes, malaise, headaches and general feeling of being ill and worse of all apathy especially with the morning dose.
I HAVE NO SEX DRIVE, erectile dysfunction, premature ejaculation. I feel as though I am not even interested in looking at women. As though there is some basic chemical dysfunction which completely inhibits any sense of infatuation/attraction or interest - even on non-sexual levels.
Now I am deciding to go back to the 25mg daily once dose. I really wonder how I can start life afresh with something always making me feel so passive and complacent and apathetic....
I have felt that it is also making me feel sleepy - which is not good at all - the lorazepam with the 15mg 2x dose somehow makes me feel drowsy nstead of just providing the calm and clarity it has been giving me all along.
Wonder if the short 8 hour half-life is too difficult to put up with.
When can I expect the drug to have a stable peak plasma concentration and actually start to make me feel motivated and energetic the way it is supposed to act on me.
I can actually feel the mood-brightening effect of this drug a few hours after taking it - which is sort of eerie given it does not cross the blood-brain barrier like the benzos etc. This could perhaps just be my own imagination.
Am i getting more Norepinephrine that I need?
I am particularly uncomfortable with the flu-like symptoms, the maialse, drugginess, and detachment that I get on this med.How would a switch to Tianeptine be?
Milnacipran seems to have done very little for me - perhaps it has stopped me from dwindling down the dark spiral - but I am running out of patience with this drug.
poster:vic80
thread:951052
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20100604/msgs/951052.html