# How long does Nardil take to work?



## Dazzer1 (Jul 21, 2008)

Hey everyone.

I have started Nardil a few days ago and I am concerned about how long I need to wait for it to work. I know it can take a while to start working, but just to relieve some of my agitation, I thought I would ask everyone out there who has taken Nardil, how long it took to "kick in" for them. And also please explain what it felt like when it did and how it feels in general and whether you felt any positive effects before it kicked in. Also what dose were you on when this happened.

Sorry, I know theres a hell of a lot of Nardil questions on this section but I am really curious about this just so I know how long I'm looking at waiting and what to expect.

Thanks.


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## Formerly Artie (Jun 26, 2007)

^^ No, Nardil does not start working immediately. It takes a while for the brain to get acclimated to the phenelzine sulfate, usually anywhere from a couple weeks to a couple months, but depending on the person, it could take longer or shorter. I didn't start to feel anything until about 3+ weeks into it, and you'll know when it does start to kick in because it works amazingly well. 45mg is the usual starting dose, although you could begin at 15mg and then work your way up if you want.

Unfortunately for me, I had to stop taking it due to the continued financial cost and tolerance build-up. Minus those two things, I'd still be on it, and be in a much better state of mind than I am right now. I hope your fare better.


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## Dazzer1 (Jul 21, 2008)

Formerly Artie said:


> ^^ No, Nardil does not start working immediately. It takes a while for the brain to get acclimated to the phenelzine sulfate, usually anywhere from a couple weeks to a couple months, but depending on the person, it could take longer or shorter. I didn't start to feel anything until about 3+ weeks into it, and you'll know when it does start to kick in because it works amazingly well. 45mg is the usual starting dose, although you could begin at 15mg and then work your way up if you want.
> 
> Unfortunately for me, I had to stop taking it due to the continued financial cost and tolerance build-up. Minus those two things, I'd still be on it, and be in a much better state of mind than I am right now. I hope your fare better.


Thanks Artie. What dosage were you on when it kicked in and how long did it take for you? I know that this is probably a hard question to answer but how did it feel when started working, and did it completely diminish your SA symptoms? 
I have only been on it 5-6 days and I already have started to feel lifted in mood, but no change in regards to SA. I know this is not a placebo effect because it feels quite prominent at times, esp. after my first dose in the morning. Did you feel this too at the beginning?


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## Formerly Artie (Jun 26, 2007)

Dazzer1 said:


> Formerly Artie said:
> 
> 
> > ^^ No, Nardil does not start working immediately. It takes a while for the brain to get acclimated to the phenelzine sulfate, usually anywhere from a couple weeks to a couple months, but depending on the person, it could take longer or shorter. I didn't start to feel anything until about 3+ weeks into it, and you'll know when it does start to kick in because it works amazingly well. 45mg is the usual starting dose, although you could begin at 15mg and then work your way up if you want.
> ...


I didn't feel anything at the beginning, but I really wasn't expecting to either. I started on 60mg, and it hit a few weeks later. The feeling was mild at first, but over the coming days and weeks, the increase in mood and decrease in anxiety became more prominent, even though I was taking it for severe SA and not depression. About a month and a half later -- I can't say specifically when beause I'm not someone who keeps journals -- that's when the feeling hit its peak. I was on 75mg at that point. 60 was still working, but I felt it waning, so that's why I decided to bump it up another 15mg.

The best I can describe the feeling as is complete normalcy with little to no worry, anxiety, or depression. Euphoria even kicked in a few times too, which was unexpected but certainly not unwanted. The problem in the end was that this overall feeling didn't last. After being on 90mg for a time, the feeling started waning again, and I decided I just couldn't keep increasing the dosage. With no health coverage or insurance of any kind, just being on 90 was costing me over $5 a day. It was, and still is, extremely defeating for me, since Nardil was my last hope. With Klonopin, which I still take on an as-needed basis, tolerance is expected to occur for some people over the long haul. With Nardil, long-term usage is common, so I wasn't prepared for something like this to happen. Looking back, it was as though it gradually stopped working shortly after it began working, sort of like a 180-degree sine wave. The only reason I'm still alive right now to even post this is because ending my life is physically and emotionally consequential for me and my relatives.

My story is quite long, so I'll just end it by saying that you probably won't need to worry about becoming unresponsive to Nardil after a period of time. At the most, you'll probably just need to adjust the dosage accordingly, like the majority of people currently on it.


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## frillyknickers (Apr 5, 2007)

the common consensus is 4 weeks at 60mg or higher, it seems


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