# My Parnate journey begins...



## No Limit (Dec 6, 2005)

I finally got my prescription for Parnate after having to wait 4 days for the pharmacy to order it. I was taking Nardil for about a year and tapered off of it a couple of months ago. But then the anxiety crept up again. The Nardil worked great, but didn't like the side-effects of constipation, urinary retention, and the big one, INSOMNIA. Hopefully Parnate will be different.


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## nenad (Jan 3, 2008)

Parnate is said to have a much better side effect profile than Nardil. I've taken it for a few months, and so far,so good. At 30mg it probably has the least side effects (which bother me) of any anti-depressant which actually helps. Unfortunately it's major side effect is Insomnia, especially at the start.


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## arthur56 (Jul 31, 2005)

I hope you both follow the special diet both meds need


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## Caedmon (Dec 14, 2003)

Good luck! 

Parnate's been a GODSEND for me.


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## quat (Sep 27, 2006)

Caedmon said:


> Good luck!
> 
> Parnate's been a GODSEND for me.


Same for me, working too well I think, I've been a bit too overtly oversocial :lol


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## No Limit (Dec 6, 2005)

Can't say that it's making me a social butterfly yet. I do notice that I sometimes act on my urges just to say something at times instead of keeping on my mouth shut. Anyway, I'm on my 10th day on it and increased the dosage from 20mg to 30mg per day now.

BTW, I do know about the dietary restriction as I was on Nardil for awhile. Never had a problem yet with Parnate or Nardil in terms of what to eat.


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## jakejohnson007 (Jul 27, 2006)

i'm on 30 mg a day. I can't tell how much it is doing for me since I've been on it for only 1 month so far and secondly I am weaning off of 3mg/day Klonopin, which is not exactly fun. Quat, what dosage are you on? No Limit, what dosage are you aiming for?

I'm a larger guy, 6'3" 185 lbs. I'm not sure if 30mgs/day is going to cut it for me. I definitely notice something, but my SA is pretty severe... Contemplating asking pdoc for dosage increase. Thoughts?

PS. how do you guys take your Parnate? I've tried 10mg breakfast/lunch/dinner, 30mg all in the morning, and 30mg at night right before bed. Taking 30mg in the morning seems to make me drowsy for awhile before perking me up hours later and giving insomnia. 30mg at night does not produce morning drowsiness but also doesn't seem as effective through the day. these are only initial observations.


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## No Limit (Dec 6, 2005)

My pdoc told me to take 20mg per day for the first 10 days. One during breakfast, one during night. I just started taking 20mg during breakfast and 10mg at night. My pdoc wanted to see me about three weeks after being on this to see my progress. Who knows what he'll do, but I'm guessing he might further raise the dosage.

btw, I notice I am able to fall asleep for a couple of hours and when I get up, it's hard for me to fall back asleep. Don't know if it's the general effect that MAOIs have on me, but for some reason I don't get that tired at work besides tiredness I get from Xanax.


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## jakejohnson007 (Jul 27, 2006)

Parnate seems to cause mild sedation for the first 6 or so hours i take my dose (30 mg all at once), and then causes insomnia. 24 hours after a dose, the insomnia is still there.

I want to be very alert in the mornings. Here is the new trial:
I will take 1 mg Klonopin @ night before bed along with 30 mg Parnate. i will see if I can be alert and ready to do serious work shortly after waking and far into the day.

Here goes.


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## jakejohnson007 (Jul 27, 2006)

nenad said:


> Parnate is said to have a much better side effect profile than Nardil. I've taken it for a few months, and so far,so good. At 30mg it probably has the least side effects (which bother me) of any anti-depressant which actually helps. Unfortunately it's major side effect is Insomnia, especially at the start.


Besides insomnia, no significant side effects to speak of. The insomnia is pretty bad. However, the fact that sexual side effects are barely present, if at all, is very impressive. Paxil has a worse side-effect profile, imho.


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## Caedmon (Dec 14, 2003)

I tried taking Parnate just at nights to see what that did. I felt awesome and then slept like a baby for about 3 hours, then woke up and could't sleep the rest of the night!

Parnate freaks me out. I *can* feel it working, approximately 2 hours after I take it. It's a very distinct, acute, warm-and-fuzzy feeling and I just gotta wonder about the addictive potential of this drug in some individuals. 

Times when I've tried to go without Parnate, I just do not function the same. At all! When I'm on Parnate, I am okay. I do social things, I am not depressed, my anxiety goes down. I guess maybe I should be grateful that there is a little bonus "high" that comes with this drug? I don't know. Follow doc supervision though.


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## Caedmon (Dec 14, 2003)

Also, I no longer carry blood pressure meds with me, and impose no dietary restrictions on myself and feel fine. I have zero side effects except perhaps the good one mentioned above. I have actually steadily lost a little bit of weight on this drug over time - probably not because of the drug but because of a leaner diet - but still. I'm glad it's not making me fat. That wouldn't be much fun if it did.


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## quat (Sep 27, 2006)

I'm currently taking it 50mg when I have to go to work or be in a really social situation. On my days off, I take endep to sedate, gives me a chance to rest. Still I've learned a lot of social lessons on parnate help me not be anxious when I'm off it.


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## jakejohnson007 (Jul 27, 2006)

Caedmon said:


> Also, I no longer carry blood pressure meds with me, and impose no dietary restrictions on myself and feel fine. I have zero side effects except perhaps the good one mentioned above. I have actually steadily lost a little bit of weight on this drug over time - probably not because of the drug but because of a leaner diet - but still. I'm glad it's not making me fat. That wouldn't be much fun if it did.


After taking Parnate for awhile [and Nardil previously], I started to ignore dietary restrictions too because I have not experienced a hypertension episode or even symptoms signifying I was near one. However, after reading the MAOI appendix in the book "Feeling Good", I am seriously concerned about the risk of hypertension due to high-tyramine foods (author calls these the "forbidden foods"). If the author is right, I'm playing Russian Roulette when I drink 5-7 beers in a night.

Due to lifestyle, I will be drinking moderately into the near future. Since Parnate has not proven to me in these 2 months that it can be a single-source treatment for my depression and SA, I am considering switching to another AD that is safer but still activating (at least significantly more activating than Paxil).

Thoughts? Would like some feedback here.

And Caedmon, I know what you mean by that "high" feeling, it's very nice XD, like an unexpected bonus. I can take Parnate at night and still sleep 6 hours by taking a 1mg Klonopin "sleeping bomb" along with it.


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## Broshious (Dec 23, 2006)

I wouldn't call it Russian Roulette exactly. If you've been drinking and experiencing no problems then if there's no change in dosage, and you don't drink any more than you have been you're safe. It won't just one day out of nowhere hit you. On the other hand, when it does happen it is not pleasant and rather scary. I had a splitting headache and my BP was over 200


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## nenad (Jan 3, 2008)

jakejohnson007 said:


> If the author is right, I'm playing Russian Roulette when I drink 5-7 beers in a night.


Tap beers are more likely to have high tyramine levels because of the lines to the tap. Most bottled beer should be ok in moderation. Personally i think drinking alcohol regularly has a bad impact on depression in general and next day anxiety. I try to limit my drinking to social situations.



jakejohnson007 said:


> Since Parnate has not proven to me in these 2 months that it can be a single-source treatment for my depression and SA, I am considering switching to another AD that is safer but still activating (at least significantly more activating than Paxil).


I found Effexor to be activating, but i couldn't tolerate some of it's SSRI like side effects. In my experience most AD's have worked well for depression, general anxiety and panic but not so well for SA. Was there any significant difference between parnate and Nardil?, especially regarding it's effectivness in social situations.


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## jakejohnson007 (Jul 27, 2006)

I was only on Nardil for a short time and had to discontinue because of urinary difficulties. This is a rarer side effect. I have not had this as a significant side effect with Parnate or SSRIs. Therefore, I cannot fairly evaluate Nardil v. Parnate in social situations.


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## jakejohnson007 (Jul 27, 2006)

Broshious said:


> I wouldn't call it Russian Roulette exactly. If you've been drinking and experiencing no problems then if there's no change in dosage, and you don't drink any more than you have been you're safe. It won't just one day out of nowhere hit you. On the other hand, when it does happen it is not pleasant and rather scary. I had a splitting headache and my BP was over 200


You may be right. But the author argues that you are not necessarily safe even if you have been consuming these forbidden foods without experiencing problems. He uses an example that although you may have had cheese pizza 9 times in a row without problems, the 10th time could cause hypertension. The cause is not entirely clear-cut and predictable.


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## Broshious (Dec 23, 2006)

jakejohnson007 said:


> You may be right. But the author argues that you are not necessarily safe even if you have been consuming these forbidden foods without experiencing problems. He uses an example that although you may have had cheese pizza 9 times in a row without problems, the 10th time could cause hypertension. The cause is not entirely clear-cut and predictable.


Does he have any evidence to back up that the exact same circumstances can produce different results?


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## nenad (Jan 3, 2008)

Broshious said:


> jakejohnson007 said:
> 
> 
> > You may be right. But the author argues that you are not necessarily safe even if you have been consuming these forbidden foods without experiencing problems. He uses an example that although you may have had cheese pizza 9 times in a row without problems, the 10th time could cause hypertension. The cause is not entirely clear-cut and predictable.
> ...


I got some good info on MAOI's and diet from the site below.

http://www.psychotropical.com/maois_diet_full.shtml

Basically the tyramine levels of the cheese itself can vary significantly. The same brand and type of cheese you ate many times before, could happen to have a high enough tyramine content to cause a severe reaction. Only the very young cheeses are completly safe.


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## Caedmon (Dec 14, 2003)

jakejohnson007 said:


> If the author is right, I'm playing Russian Roulette when I drink 5-7 beers in a night.


I guess to an extent then, my diet is naturally amenable to MAOI use. I can't envision even trying to drink 5-7 beers in one night! The only thing I ever found myself being picky about was sausage and cheese (I don't eat sauerkraut or banana peels or...) and I've reintroduced that for the most part. Not the clearly aged cheeses, but I also dont like those kind. I also continue to drink as much red wine and eat as much chocolate as I wish. If I had to give up chocolate, I think I'd rather be depressed and anxious! :b


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## Broshious (Dec 23, 2006)

Caedmon said:


> jakejohnson007 said:
> 
> 
> > If the author is right, I'm playing Russian Roulette when I drink 5-7 beers in a night.
> ...


As far as I know the chocolate thing is a bunch of bull. I'm not even sure what it is they're worried about it containing. Chocolate does have EXTREMELY small amounts of Phenethylamine which is metabolized by MAO-B, but the amount of chocolate you'd need to eat to get enough for it to do anything is nuts.


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## Caedmon (Dec 14, 2003)

Broshious said:


> Caedmon said:
> 
> 
> > I guess to an extent then, my diet is naturally amenable to MAOI use. I can't envision even trying to drink 5-7 beers in one night! The only thing I ever found myself being picky about was sausage and cheese (I don't eat sauerkraut or banana peels or...) and I've reintroduced that for the most part. Not the clearly aged cheeses, but I also dont like those kind. I also continue to drink as much red wine and eat as much chocolate as I wish. If I had to give up chocolate, I think I'd rather be depressed and anxious! :b
> ...


It _is_ pretty much bull, yep. If there is any reason for me to give up chocolate, it would be because of acid reflux. Yet here I am, chowing down on a delicious Hershey's bar. (Toblerone for special occasions.)  That's what generic Protonix is for I guess, haha. I'm so bad! Okay so that was somewhat off-topic.


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## quat (Sep 27, 2006)

jakejohnson007 said:


> I was only on Nardil for a short time and had to discontinue because of urinary difficulties. This is a rarer side effect. I have not had this as a significant side effect with Parnate or SSRIs. Therefore, I cannot fairly evaluate Nardil v. Parnate in social situations.


Not to sound like an a-hole, but is urinary retention bad enough to stop taking a med.


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## No Limit (Dec 6, 2005)

Would taking 1mg of Klonopin in the morning together with 20mg of Parnate mitigate any activating effect that comes from Parnate?


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## No Limit (Dec 6, 2005)

Well I guess that last question was a stumper. The only reason why I asked is the tendency for Klonopin to tire me out. Anyway my therapist brought up a good point about this medication "drying you out" (I forgot the exact medical term she used). I was having irregular bowel movements and drinking lots of water everyday helps a lot.


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## jakejohnson007 (Jul 27, 2006)

quat said:


> jakejohnson007 said:
> 
> 
> > I was only on Nardil for a short time and had to discontinue because of urinary difficulties. This is a rarer side effect. I have not had this as a significant side effect with Parnate or SSRIs. Therefore, I cannot fairly evaluate Nardil v. Parnate in social situations.
> ...


Let me be more specific: approximately complete urinary retention. I literally couldn't piss.


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## jakejohnson007 (Jul 27, 2006)

No Limit said:


> Would taking 1mg of Klonopin in the morning together with 20mg of Parnate mitigate any activating effect that comes from Parnate?


This would knock me out. Parnate is interesting here; I don't know if everyone has the same experience, but here's mine. Parnate initially makes me pleasantly fatigued and somewhat buzzed. Maybe 8 hours later it becomes very activating and keeps me awake and mentally focused.

Parnate also increases the side effects of Klonopin. It becomes more sedating to take Klonopin. Also, and this is kind of scary, but Klonopin + Parnate can cause me to have mild blackouts that may only last a second and are similar to what you may experience if you blackout from alcohol. This happened when I first started Parnate (Klonopin already a staple), and it should be noted that I was also sick with a cold at this time. But I remember walking to my bathroom in the middle of the night, then waking up from the floor by my toilet and walking towards my room, then waking up on the floor of my room just inside my door and finally making it to my bed.


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## jakejohnson007 (Jul 27, 2006)

Broshious said:


> jakejohnson007 said:
> 
> 
> > You may be right. But the author argues that you are not necessarily safe even if you have been consuming these forbidden foods without experiencing problems. He uses an example that although you may have had cheese pizza 9 times in a row without problems, the 10th time could cause hypertension. The cause is not entirely clear-cut and predictable.
> ...


Good question, and no he does not. He mentions that there are many variables in play, such as varying levels of tyramine in the cheese as a previous poster mentioned.

Here's an update to this discussion. During most recent pdoc visit I raised this concern about "forbidden foods". He reassured me by showing me a more recent study done by the makers of Emsam. Most cheeses are basically harmless. Bottled/canned beer is fine but tap/keg beer is risky. Red wine would have to be consumed at a very large volume to be dangerous. He also said that approximately 10 mg of tyramine from ingested food was equivalent to 5 mg of straight tyramine.


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## quat (Sep 27, 2006)

> This would knock me out. Parnate is interesting here; I don't know if everyone has the same experience, but here's mine. Parnate initially makes me pleasantly fatigued and somewhat buzzed. Maybe 8 hours later it becomes very activating and keeps me awake and mentally focused.


I do shift work, so for morning shifts I like to take my tabs and then have a nap for a half hour or so. It will amplify your tiredness and I've almost passed out a couple of times when driving before I started doing this. Pretty scary. I had to pull over and have a quick nap for 10mins and then I was right.

My state is usually calm and blissed out for the first couple of hours, then uppity and active for the rest of the day. I agree with the mentally focused part you put with it.

As for your comment of pleasantly buzzed, at 70mg I near have a full body orgasm...this stuff seriously needs to be illegal lol. I'm still playing with my doses, seeing what it does with me. The following days after I have a larger dose, I find I only need to take small upkeep (20mg) dose and it seems to keep me going the same as if I were taking 50mg daily. I was told about the upkeep dose that Nardil has, I never really got it to work like that.



jakejohnson007 said:


> No Limit said:
> 
> 
> > Also, and this is kind of scary, but Klonopin + Parnate can cause me to have mild blackouts that may only last a second and are similar to what you may experience if you blackout from alcohol. This happened when I first started Parnate (Klonopin already a staple), and it should be noted that I was also sick with a cold at this time. But I remember walking to my bathroom in the middle of the night, then waking up from the floor by my toilet and walking towards my room, then waking up on the floor of my room just inside my door and finally making it to my bed.


Hot damn, that sounds exactly like my experience. Got a dizzy spell, blacked out for a sec and whacked my head on the shower screen door.

Another funny experience I had on Parnate, I had a stack of coffees during the day, then a bit bigger dosage of parnate than I usually have later in the day. I get home try to get to bed and was restless as all hell. Decided to take a couple of sleeping tablets that usually drop me to sleep. No luck. Decided to drink myselft to sleep. Apparently no luck, my mum told me I was tossing and turning like a mad man in bed, shouting at the top of my lungs. I also woke up with 2 black eyes, big bruises on my forehead, a busted lip. I vaguely remember trying to punch myself out trying to get to sleep. I can imagine the fight club scene right now opcorn

The thing with drinking and parnate, it definitely makes you a lot more cloudy of what you are doing. There was a time I thought someone had spiked my drink, because I seriously don't remember **** after a number of beers that I could usually happen. I then drank the same amount of beers, just to see if it did get the same reaction out of me and sure enough it did.

A wierd experience I have in my dreams now is I constantly pass out in them. I'd never had this kind of thing before, it would just be a standard dream and I just keep passing out, trying to walk and then passing out. Pretty realistic. I also notice I have a lot of semi state dreams where I'll be answering phones in my sleep and talking.


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## jakejohnson007 (Jul 27, 2006)

quat said:


> As for your comment of pleasantly buzzed, at 70mg I near have a full body orgasm...this stuff seriously needs to be illegal lol. I'm still playing with my doses, seeing what it does with me. The following days after I have a larger dose, I find I only need to take small upkeep (20mg) dose and it seems to keep me going the same as if I were taking 50mg daily. I was told about the upkeep dose that Nardil has, I never really got it to work like that.


Haha. Yeah, taking 30mg in a single dose gives me a hint of this: it's a tingly, all-warm-inside everywhere feeling, from head to toes - i love it.


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## No Limit (Dec 6, 2005)

I've been taking 40mg for awhile and it seems to be finally working. At least I'm able to talk for a bit now around people. Maybe it's just me or the medication or both.


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## jakejohnson007 (Jul 27, 2006)

It's taking awhile for me too, but I think I am beginning to notice some improvement. How long have you been at 40 mg?


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## fraidycat (Oct 29, 2004)

hey just wondering...do you guys use benzos daily to hold you over before the parnate kicks in?

I'm on nardil and i think it was jake that mentioned i had went up to fast, so i reduced it. A part of me is anxious to feel the effects completely..was wondering if anyone uses benzos to hold them over for awhile?


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## Noca (Jun 24, 2005)

Whats a good dose to start on of Parnate for someone who has treatment resistant chronic depression?


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## No Limit (Dec 6, 2005)

The last refill I made was a couple weeks ago. I visited my pdoc and he increased the pill count to 120. That's when I started on 40mg. My pdoc wanted me to justify it and I just told him I wanted the medicine to get in my system faster. Just for kicks, I tried 30mg during the morning today and 20mg when I got home from work at around 6:30pm. I couldn't describe it but that 30mg was something. I felt a sense of calm or something. Couldn't explain it. Keep in mind I take 1mg of Klonopin with this too only during the week. Not on the weekends when I don't have to work.

The only problem I have with this medication is insomnia, but it's nothing that Trazodone can't fix.


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## jakejohnson007 (Jul 27, 2006)

I had weaned my klonopin dose down and was completely off it and on Parnate alone, but it feels like something is missing. However, Parnate + klonopin does create chonic fatigue... I was not enjoying myself today b/c too much effort went in to being uncomfortable and dealing with distress. So, after about a week off klonopin, I had 0.5 mg and a beer... Felt a lot better, was able to hang out with medium-size group of friends and feel moderately relaxed & enjoy myself.

I wonder if I could somehow get on Klonopin + Parnate + Provigil... this might really be an effective combination. Also, insomnia is not a problem for me so far with Parnate 30 mg/day. Noca, 30 mg/day is probably a good starting dose. (but start at 10 mg/day and ramp up)


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## No Limit (Dec 6, 2005)

Hmmm. I might try to taper off the Klonopin myself. I don't take it during the weekends so it shouldn't be too hard.


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## jakejohnson007 (Jul 27, 2006)

After 2 months of it in my system, Parnate is "not enough" in monotherapy (1 week without Klonopin), it seems. I am going to try ~1mg/day Klonopin along with ~200mg/day caffeine and see how I handle that.


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## Caedmon (Dec 14, 2003)

Noca, doses range anywhere from 20mg to well over 100. 30-40 mg seems like a standard starting dose. I've tried doses anywhere from 20 to 60mg/day (and occasionally I've "experimented" with high single doses, too). With higher doses, at some point I just feel like I'm "chasing the dragon" so to speak (haha) so I stick with the lower dose. It's a great feeling to be on a high dose, but I get a little too groovy.

This only necessarily applies to me: It took me a while to taper off of Valium, and even while off of it I had some withdrawal (insomnia, increased arousal levels especially at night!). For a long time I was on micro doses - 1.25 mg/night for a good week or two.

Grad school + pacific northwest = I gulp down caffeine like a thirsty dog. I would anyway.


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## quat (Sep 27, 2006)

Caedmon said:


> With higher doses, at some point I just feel like I'm "chasing the dragon" so to speak (haha) so I stick with the lower dose. It's a great feeling to be on a high dose, but I get a little too groovy.


That's a good way of putting it lol. It's def not to good to do it too often. Fun every once in a while though being off your tits. With a little bit of alcohol on top of it, I start grinding my teeth and my eyes start rolling.

My trend now is not taking it when I'm off work and I'm also trying to cut down to when I feel I need it rather than a daily thing. On this med I can get to the point of deleriously happy or generally feeling not to bad (aka not wanting to jump off a cliff)


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## jakejohnson007 (Jul 27, 2006)

I've been on Parnate since late January now. I've been at 30 mg for over 2 months. I don't feel more talkative, I don't notice significant benefit from this medication. Honestly, I can't say for sure whether it has done much for depression either. I remember Paxil being more effective for depression. What really kills me is lack of motivation to do work. I don't know, I just can't do simple assignments because I have no motivation. I just feel like sitting around doing nothing... in high school when I was unmedicated and suicidal, I was a workaholic. This laziness is not like me.

I also feel drowsy and find it hard to concentrate. I take 0.5 mg klonopin & 30 mg parnate right before bed. I take 1 multivitamin and 100 mg caffeine upon waking. I get 6 hours of sleep a night. Life really seems to be going my way, yet these problems persist. I am still waiting for Parnate to kick in... is it possible that therapeutic effects will occur but just haven't yet? Do I need to stop Klonopin to realize these?

I'm stumped. Maybe I'm taking Buspar mislabeled as Parnate.


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## nenad (Jan 3, 2008)

jakejohnson007 said:


> I've been on Parnate since late January now. I've been at 30 mg for over 2 months. I don't feel more talkative, I don't notice significant benefit from this medication. Honestly, I can't say for sure whether it has done much for depression either. I remember Paxil being more effective for depression. What really kills me is lack of motivation to do work. I don't know, I just can't do simple assignments because I have no motivation. I just feel like sitting around doing nothing... in high school when I was unmedicated and suicidal, I was a workaholic. This laziness is not like me.
> 
> I also feel drowsy and find it hard to concentrate. I take 0.5 mg klonopin & 30 mg parnate right before bed. I take 1 multivitamin and 100 mg caffeine upon waking. I get 6 hours of sleep a night. Life really seems to be going my way, yet these problems persist. I am still waiting for Parnate to kick in... is it possible that therapeutic effects will occur but just haven't yet? Do I need to stop Klonopin to realize these?
> 
> I'm stumped. Maybe I'm taking Buspar mislabeled as Parnate.


Try taking it during the day. Unfortunately theres no perfect time to take it, i usually take 20 mg at 6am and 10 mg around 2 pm. Sometimes i swap the 2 depending on my daily commitments.

I can see why you might want to take it at night, 2 hours after my second dose i usually get this feeling thats not sedation, but more like a pleasant weakness. At this stage i could really go for a nap, but if i do the most i will sleep is about 1 hour and its a extremely light sleep. If your taking your entire dose at night, even with a benzo id be concerned about the quality of the sleep your getting. Also a lot of parnates benefits for SA come from its stimulating amphetamine like effects. Taking it at night might defeat this purpose.


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## jakejohnson007 (Jul 27, 2006)

I'll try that some more. During the day, when I take it, the stimulating (and simultaneously sedating/pleseant) effect seems to last only a short while, perhaps half the duration that Klonopin's most significant impact lasts. Thus, I hoped that Parnate would provide a very significant sustained effect after taking it for a few months and having it build up in my system. Therefore, I took it at night and have been expecting relief to kick in but this system has not produced much relief to speak of.

Is taking parnate during the day cognatively impairing? It seems to be physically impairing to an extent (e.g. I suspect weightlifting an hour after taking a daily dose of Parnate is a bad idea).


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## nenad (Jan 3, 2008)

jakejohnson007 said:


> Is taking parnate during the day cognatively impairing? It seems to be physically impairing to an extent (e.g. I suspect weightlifting an hour after taking a daily dose of Parnate is a bad idea).


To some extent, especially after my second dose. But for me it's not nearly as bad as the fuzzy headed feeling i would often get on SSRI's.
I dont know how physically impairing it is, but i suspect it would only be post dose and not in the evening. Also with the anxiety i have noticed that my best days seem to follow evenings when i done some cardio type exercise. Will try augment parnate with some more regular exercise, and also see how my fitness and strength compares to when i wasn't taking it.


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## Broshious (Dec 23, 2006)

jakejohnson007 said:


> Is taking parnate during the day cognatively impairing? It seems to be physically impairing to an extent (e.g. I suspect weightlifting an hour after taking a daily dose of Parnate is a bad idea).


I find parnate to be the opposite of cognitively impairing. Keep in mind my dose was quite a bit higher than you, but I noticed a sharpening instead of a dulling of my thoughts. For example I play this game called TextTwist where you have to form words from 6 or 7 letters and I would do much better taking parnate. As far as it not lasting all that long I would tend to take multiple doses throughout the day to avoid this problem.


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## quat (Sep 27, 2006)

I've recently got a job at a call centre and the difference between being on and off it is incredible. When I don't take it for a few days, I can get into slumps where I can barely talk and think straight. I was having a day like this, see how long I could go without my meds it was getting impossible to do my job. For me Parnate is very quickly activating, I'd say within 30mins and it's like flipping a switch beingable to think straight and get words out.


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## jakejohnson007 (Jul 27, 2006)

Interesting... and definitely encouraging.

Here's an update. I've been doing more or less very well the past few days. I have been on 30mg Parnate before bed along with about 1mg Klonopin and 300mg caffeine per day. The Klonopin tablet I break into fourths and have 0.25mg with 100mg of caffeine at these times:
- upon waking
- lunch
- dinner
- bedtime (caffeine omitted)


The current crusade is to get Provigil prescribed and drop the caffeine. Doctor is open to the idea. I'd love to take Parnate in monotherapy but so far I am not confident it will be effective enough for me in that capacity. However, Parnate + Klonopin + (stimulant) seems to have a lot of potential for me.


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## jakejohnson007 (Jul 27, 2006)

For those who take Parnate in doses throughout the day, do you think lifting at the gym (e.g. benching) is more dangerous and/or less doable than without taking Parnate beforehand?


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## Broshious (Dec 23, 2006)

Re: Monotherapy, the dose may just not be high enough. 30mg is almost as low as you go. I imagine at a higher dose it may be good by itself. Just a thought.


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## jakejohnson007 (Jul 27, 2006)

Doc is not willing to try that. He'll only go up 10mg at a time, and if I keep asking for increases he's gonna deny me or want me to go off of it.

However, I am curious to try the higher dose. Because of refill cycles, I have a few extra pills on hand. Do you think I could achieve the higher-dosage effects you're describing by taking a 60 mg dose for a single day? (after having been on 30mg for a month)


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## Broshious (Dec 23, 2006)

jakejohnson007 said:


> Doc is not willing to try that. He'll only go up 10mg at a time, and if I keep asking for increases he's gonna deny me or want me to go off of it.
> 
> However, I am curious to try the higher dose. Because of refill cycles, I have a few extra pills on hand. Do you think I could achieve the higher-dosage effects you're describing by taking a 60 mg dose for a single day? (after having been on 30mg for a month)


Having never taken Parnate for a long period of time I cannot say, however on my short trials differences in dosage are rapidly noticeable in a single day. My personal advice is hey, what not try it? It ain't gonna hurt you, and it could help you get better.


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## Audre (Apr 13, 2008)

quat said:


> I've recently got a job at a call centre and the difference between being on and off it is incredible. When I don't take it for a few days, I can get into slumps where I can barely talk and think straight. I was having a day like this, see how long I could go without my meds it was getting impossible to do my job. For me Parnate is very quickly activating, I'd say within 30mins and it's like flipping a switch beingable to think straight and get words out.


I'm new to parnate and my doctor is introducing it to my system 10mgs per day 5 days at a time. In 15 days I'll have 30mgs in my system for 5 days. When you say, "Parnate is very quickly activating", at what dose where you at at the time. I'm being impatient with my initial Parnate experience and am wondering when I might expect to feel "something?"

Thanks for your help,

Audre.


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## jakejohnson007 (Jul 27, 2006)

Audre said:


> quat said:
> 
> 
> > I've recently got a job at a call centre and the difference between being on and off it is incredible. When I don't take it for a few days, I can get into slumps where I can barely talk and think straight. I was having a day like this, see how long I could go without my meds it was getting impossible to do my job. For me Parnate is very quickly activating, I'd say within 30mins and it's like flipping a switch beingable to think straight and get words out.
> ...


Audre, in my experience Parnate is a drug you really have to be patient with. For some people it can kick in more quickly than for others. Once you are fairly adjusted, say at 30 mg/day, if you want to feel more pronounced effects of Parnate you could take 60mg one day. You'd have to be smart about this and perhaps monitor your blood pressure; I am also not advocating doing this necessarily. However, if you are losing faith in Parnate's potential, a single day at an inflated dosage may *possibly* give you a preview of what's to come. Imagine a warm, content feeling through your entire body.


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## Audre (Apr 13, 2008)

jakejohnson007 said:


> Audre said:
> 
> 
> > quat said:
> ...


Ya, your right about the patient thing. I'm alone on a leave of absence until June 1. I see my "med-guy" after being on the 30mg level for two weeks. This will be near the end of the month.
I just feel like sh** right now and am growing more restless at night. My doctor mentioned that he is increasing at 10mgs a day because too much at first my increase my anxiety. So I'm gonna be patient and deal with the restlessness and stick to my doc's plan of 10mg a day until I get to 30mgs for a few weeks. I'm just wondering if the restlessness thing is an adjustment phase of the parnate or just plain old anxiety that the parnate is not addressing yet.

Thanks for your input,

Audre.


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## jakejohnson007 (Jul 27, 2006)

In my experience, the restlessness at night _*is*_ at least partially caused by Parnate. This side effect is a sign that Parnate is in your system and is starting to take effect. *However, I would not consider this an "anxious restlessness"*. Parnate restlessness is much calmer for me than restlessness caused by caffeine, for instance.

As you increase up to 30mg/day, I am sorry to say the restlessness will probably increase. By taking Parnate more in the early morning and taking Xanax more late at night, you can probably reduce this effect. Also, your body may be missing Paxil and its restful effect. The good news is that A) the Parnate restlessness should begin to decrease after you hit a stable dose, and B) Parnate is almost always effective to some significant extent for anxiety and depression.

I believe it is a matter of waiting patiently. If you are able to handle the side effects, it's probably worth sticking with Parnate for awhile. It seems to take much longer to kick in fully than Paxil. To be fair to Parnate, I believe you have to give it months before you call it quits (if the side effects are manageable that is).

*I personally was going to give up on it multiple times but I kept going because I wanted to test it exhaustively and be completely sure when I did quit that it was never going to work for me. Well, I never got to that point because Parnate started giving me visible benefits* at the 4-month mark (3 months on 30mg/day). Hopefully you will notice good benefits well before this point, as most people do.

I'm not sure how far Parnate will go for me, but right now it's benefit is definitely there and it seems to be helping a little more each week.


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## Audre (Apr 13, 2008)

jakejohnson007 said:


> In my experience, the restlessness at night _*is*_ at least partially caused by Parnate. This side effect is a sign that Parnate is in your system and is starting to take effect. *However, I would not consider this an "anxious restlessness"*. Parnate restlessness is much calmer for me than restlessness caused by caffeine, for instance.
> 
> As you increase up to 30mg/day, I am sorry to say the restlessness will probably increase. By taking Parnate more in the early morning and taking Xanax more late at night, you can probably reduce this effect. Also, your body may be missing Paxil and its restful effect. The good news is that A) the Parnate restlessness should begin to decrease after you hit a stable dose, and B) Parnate is almost always effective to some significant extent for anxiety and depression.
> 
> ...


Good stuff. I just pray it kicks in a little faster for me than you. I can't imagine my restlessness increasing more at 30mgs, but I do like the idea that my body will eventually adjust to this. I'm taking Xanax Xr so I take it twice a day to keep a more even stream in my system. I don't need to feel perfect to get back to work, but I do need this NIGHT time restlessness to calm down a bit.

Thanks for the input!
Audre.


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## Audre (Apr 13, 2008)

Did anybody get any weight gain from parnate. Despite my walking and not eating a whole lot I've put on 4 pounds in the last week. @!#$.

Audre.


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## dns (Apr 30, 2008)

Hi Audre. I read somewhere Parnate causes weight loss, this is not the case with me however, I think it just has no influence on my weight (so far)


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## Audre (Apr 13, 2008)

jakejohnson007 said:


> In my experience, the restlessness at night _*is*_ at least partially caused by Parnate. This side effect is a sign that Parnate is in your system and is starting to take effect. *However, I would not consider this an "anxious restlessness"*. Parnate restlessness is much calmer for me than restlessness caused by caffeine, for instance.
> 
> As you increase up to 30mg/day, I am sorry to say the restlessness will probably increase. By taking Parnate more in the early morning and taking Xanax more late at night, you can probably reduce this effect. Also, your body may be missing Paxil and its restful effect. The good news is that A) the Parnate restlessness should begin to decrease after you hit a stable dose, and B) Parnate is almost always effective to some significant extent for anxiety and depression.
> 
> ...


I've just completed 14days at 30mgs of the parnate. What I do notice is that I get palpitations for about an hour or so in the morning. *During the last few mornings I've been experiencing dizziness again.*
_Could this be my body still adjusting to 30mgs?_ My pdoc still isn't ready to raise my dose to 40mg. Is this about being patient for a wk or two to get my body adjusted to 30mgs? I have also been doing a great deal, (for me anyway), of work on the treadmill. I'm giving it a rest a bit to see if the exercise is too much right now.

Thanks,

Audre.


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## jakejohnson007 (Jul 27, 2006)

The dizziness, that could probably still be your body adjusting. The palpitations seem more serious. I would mention these to a doctor, probably, and ask how serious they are.

As for the treadmill, this seems like a good activity to keep up. I would say, how about try this in the morning before you have any dose of Parnate. Then, you could take your first dose after you are done exercising. See if that changes anything.


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## Audre (Apr 13, 2008)

jakejohnson007 said:


> The dizziness, that could probably still be your body adjusting. The palpitations seem more serious. I would mention these to a doctor, probably, and ask how serious they are.
> 
> As for the treadmill, this seems like a good activity to keep up. I would say, how about try this in the morning before you have any dose of Parnate. Then, you could take your first dose after you are done exercising. See if that changes anything.


Ya , the palpitations are like clock work 30mins after I take my 30 mgs in the morning. My BP is usually averaging 134/88. When I'm done with the treadmill he palpitations are less but my BP is 
higher. I seem to be sleeping o.k.. So maybe I'll suggest splitting my dose at 20 mgs in the morning and 10mg in the early afternoon.

I'll gonna try the treadmill in the morning before any meds. Great advice. I'm such a fundamentalist when my doctor stays take at same time every morning....

Thanks again,

Audre


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## jakejohnson007 (Jul 27, 2006)

No problem, and let us know how switching up your morning dose with the treadmill helps out. Definitely keep doing that treadmill routine - I need to get on that more often myself!

Yeah, I think splitting the dose up into 20 mg and then 10 mg is a good idea.

As for myself, I took 40 mg today and I was pretty relaxed and also not very tired - Parnate was definitely helpful today! Some days I don't feel it as much, very little in fact, but today it really was there for me.


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## Audre (Apr 13, 2008)

jakejohnson007 said:


> No problem, and let us know how switching up your morning dose with the treadmill helps out. Definitely keep doing that treadmill routine - I need to get on that more often myself!
> 
> Yeah, I think splitting the dose up into 20 mg and then 10 mg is a good idea.
> 
> As for myself, I took 40 mg today and I was pretty relaxed and also not very tired - Parnate was definitely helpful today! Some days I don't feel it as much, very little in fact, but today it really was there for me.


I possibly learned something today. I woke with slight dizziness and low blood pressure. I ate my oatmeal and headed to the gym for the treadmill. When I got back from the gym I was still feeling a bit dizzy but my BP was a good 123/84. I than took my 30 mgs of parnate and 30 mins later my BP was 136/99. What is true is the palpitations are there but smaller. But as I did my 45 mins on the treadmill I thought to myself that I should look into drug interactions between my parnate and the 50mg to 100mg of Trazodone I've been taking off and on since Feb 15. My Pdoc prescription of was given to me just before I came off of Paxil. I'd used it in the past for help with sleep. Then
I ran across this site: http://www.medicinenet.com/trazodone/article.htm. Not only does it suggest that it may cause high BP if taken with an MAOI but it's listed side effects are dizziness and low blood pressure. Bottom line, Trazodone has to go before I can fairly evaluate the parnate!


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## klopper22 (Apr 1, 2009)

Yep, this is an old post but...Audre did you ever get to evaluate Parnate?


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## eight life (Aug 31, 2013)

quat said:


> Same for me, working too well I think, I've been a bit too overtly oversocial :lol


God I wish I would have this problem..... :|


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