Posted by Sarah T. on May 8, 2005, at 18:40:31
In reply to Re: Parnate, PEA bizarre thoughts » Sarah T., posted by linkadge on May 8, 2005, at 5:11:23
Hi. Yes, I agree that the Parnate-induced psychosis probably has a lot to do with its being so dopaminergic. At the time I took it, I think it was considered to be the most dopaminergic AD. I also thought that the psychosis might have been due to the fact that Parnate supposedly suppressed REM more than any other drug that was available at that time. Some REM suppression is good, but beyond a certain point, perhaps it can induce psychosis (I'm just speculating). When I took Parnate, it was still believed that REM and dreaming were one and the same, so MY explanation for the psychosis was that if my dreaming is suppressed at night, then the dreams have to happen at some point, so I was essentially "dreaming"/psychotic during the day. Now we know that dreaming and REM occur in different parts of the brain, and one can occur without the other.
It's interesting to hear that your Parnate-induced psychosis had a religious aspect to it. Mine did, too. As I mentioned, others have told me they became psychotic on Parnate, but they didn't tell me the content of their thoughts, and I figured I shouldn't ask.
Other than the psychosis, it sounds as if you had some very positive experiences on Parnate. Unfortunately, I did not. At first, I was very glad to be on it because I had spent so much time on the numbing/dumbing/fat-making TCA's. After a while, though, I realized I was probably better off on either the TCA's or nothing at all. On Parnate, I had severe disruption of my circadian rhythms. I already have a nearly life-long delayed sleep phase syndrome, but it was MUCH worse on Parnate. And worst of all, I had tremendous difficulty reading and learning on Parnate. I don't know why. Perhaps that had something to do with the disruption of sleep and circadian rhythms.
By the way, I also felt very strange on Mirapex, but I never took it long enough to find out whether it would have induced psychosis. As you know, it's a dopamine agonist. Actually, I took it for only a few days, but during that time, I felt very detached. I remember speaking with a friend, in person, and I felt so disconnected from her and from the world. I felt none of the warmth and connectedness that I usually feel with my friends. I remember feeling that all I wanted to do was rush home and hide under the covers until the drug washed out.
So, I've concluded that those highly dopaminergic meds are not for me. Oddly enough, Dexedrine was the best, most stabilizing medicine I've ever been on. I was not euphoric on it. Dexedrine just put me on an even keel. When I was on Dexedrine, I felt as if I was closer to my true self than I've ever been. I'm very upset that it pooped out on me. My doctor told me to raise the dose, but I was unable to raise it much without experiencing profound fatigue.
So, you can see why I'm worried about the Selegiline patch. I've never taken Nardil. Parnate was the only MAOI I've taken so far, and I'm worried that Selegiline will cause some of the same problems that Parnate did. I'll probably try the patch when it comes out because there really isn't much left for me to try.
poster:Sarah T.
thread:488304
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/alter/20050414/msgs/495315.html