Posted by zeugma on February 9, 2003, at 18:26:03
In reply to Thats fascinating Zeugma... .about the, posted by missinglynxx on February 9, 2003, at 17:43:04
> ability to feel normal emotions on the Nortriptyline. I dont want any numbness, I just want cheerfulness and enthusiasm when its appropriate
>
> Someone said Tricyclics dont change your "core" personality,, (someone on here) so Im hopeful NOrtriptyline is a keeper wish me luck
>
> And great luck to you on whatever it is you have been prescribed...(what exactly is your current situation)?
>Good luck missinglynxx! And thanks for wishing me luck... I am taking 40 mg nortriptyline and 30 mg buspirone per day. That's been my routine for the last 3 weeks when I increased the buspirone to 3x a day (10 mg tabs). I found the nortriptyline by itself to be helpful for depressive and ADD symptoms (unable to sleep or eat properly, couldn't concentrate, was in a fog all the time and had bad SP which made interactions with others stressful and unproductive) but the dosage had to be kept low because of hypotensive s/e. Quite frankly I felt like it was like the melting of a glacier- an almost imperceptible process that would suddenly produce significant improvement in some area of life. Unfortunately though, it's true in life that the more you are able to do, the more is expected of you, and I was also impatient and wanting some improvement in *everything* and *now*. Which wasn't going to happen. My pdoc was convinced the nortrip was helpful so he wasn't really receptive to my belief that I needed something else to make things speed up a little. Finally he let me try to the Buspar at the lowest possible dose to start with. The combo of nortrip and buspirone is definitely the closest I've felt to *normal* probably ever.
About the way TCA's seem to leave core personality unchanged... yes that is my impression too. I think of the SSRI's as being crisis meds- if you are overwhelmed with sadness because something has happened, numbness may be the best condition in those circumstances. I think this may be because the TCA's are a lot less selective; they cause a more subtle, because more dispersed, effect in the nervous system. That is just a speculation.
poster:zeugma
thread:137341
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030208/msgs/140342.html