![[dr. bob]](/dr-bob-sm.gif)
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 25 of 32. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by linkadge on March 28, 2006, at 16:02:01
Aiming for hypomania isn't really a good thing. Oh sure, some of us think we can trick the brain, and tap into some sort of secret happiness resources, its a self serving bias, but the brain is always smarter.
Maybe I will get babble-warned for this statement but oh well.
There just seems to be this hidden conscencious that taking an MAOI will give keep you in some permanant euphoric state, but its not true, and I don't think that promoting it is a safe measure.
Sure they are strong drugs, but I still don't think it is that wise to aim for hypomania. It is not really a normal state and can be very taxing on the brain and body.
I think if you aim to feel normal that you people might have a better chance at achieving long term mental health.
Linkadge
Posted by maxime on March 28, 2006, at 16:56:58
In reply to Aiming for hypomania ?, posted by linkadge on March 28, 2006, at 16:02:01
You're right Link. And for the record, MAOIs are the least likely to promote mania (i.e. people with BP2) than any other class of antidepressant.
I would be happy with happy. :-)
Maxime
> Aiming for hypomania isn't really a good thing. Oh sure, some of us think we can trick the brain, and tap into some sort of secret happiness resources, its a self serving bias, but the brain is always smarter.
>
> Maybe I will get babble-warned for this statement but oh well.
>
> There just seems to be this hidden conscencious that taking an MAOI will give keep you in some permanant euphoric state, but its not true, and I don't think that promoting it is a safe measure.
>
> Sure they are strong drugs, but I still don't think it is that wise to aim for hypomania. It is not really a normal state and can be very taxing on the brain and body.
>
> I think if you aim to feel normal that you people might have a better chance at achieving long term mental health.
>
>
> Linkadge
Posted by JaclinHyde on March 28, 2006, at 17:37:20
In reply to Re: Aiming for hypomania ? » linkadge, posted by maxime on March 28, 2006, at 16:56:58
Speaking for myself on Parnate and as a bipolar 2 I can honestly say that since getting on this drug I have LESS mania than before. I am happy, not euphoric. I think for many people that are depressed and anxious when an MAOI first kicks in, because it is not usually a subtle kind of "hmmm...I wonder if this is working", a state of euphoria is normal. I know for me that when Nardil first kicked in 25 years ago I was absolutely beside myself with joy and amazement. I had been suffering with agoraphobia to the point where I was housebound and just wanted to die. Literally overnight I wanted to leave my house and and live again. Now tell me, would you feel euphoric? ;-)
JH
Posted by scatterbrained on March 28, 2006, at 17:41:24
In reply to Aiming for hypomania ?, posted by linkadge on March 28, 2006, at 16:02:01
i agree with you that it's unhealthy to aim for a euphoric state all the time but i don't see how that is connected to maoi's. people usually use maoi's because nothing else has worked not because they want to get high. just because it's not the right drug for you doesn't mean it doesn't work for other people. i've read more positive posts from maoi users than any other class of medication. what are you on by the way.
Posted by jay on March 28, 2006, at 18:02:38
In reply to Aiming for hypomania ?, posted by linkadge on March 28, 2006, at 16:02:01
Posted by krystee on March 28, 2006, at 18:22:56
In reply to Agree 100percent Link... (nm) » linkadge, posted by jay on March 28, 2006, at 18:02:38
I am not aiming for mania, one of my possible dx is bipolar so I wanted to be sure it wouldn't induce mania. I don't wanna feel euphoric, I just wanna be able to get out of bed and clean my house and enjoy my children like a regular person.
Posted by fires on March 28, 2006, at 19:41:49
In reply to Aiming for hypomania ?, posted by linkadge on March 28, 2006, at 16:02:01
I took Parnate for 14 years straight. Not a hint of hypomania.
When I took Effexor for about 3 months >>> hypomania.
Who knows?
Posted by tygereyes on March 28, 2006, at 20:26:49
In reply to Aiming for hypomania ?, posted by linkadge on March 28, 2006, at 16:02:01
I agree 100%. I don't know if "hypomania" is the word but when I started taking Parnate, I felt *something* that was distinctly euphoric and EXTREMELY similar to the feeling I got when abusing drugs. This is why I began abusing Parnate when it was first Rx'ed to me, because the euphoria began to wear off and I was left with merely ... happiness and stability. A good feeling for someone who wants to alleviate depression, true, but when your initial response is SO euphoric and you just happen to be a drug addict, you will do anything to hold onto that feeling - as I did.
Getting off Parnate now due to acne and severe insomnia ... but somehow I really feel like, if the euphoria had persisted, I would have stayed on this med regardless of bad side effects.
> Aiming for hypomania isn't really a good thing. Oh sure, some of us think we can trick the brain, and tap into some sort of secret happiness resources, its a self serving bias, but the brain is always smarter.
>
> Maybe I will get babble-warned for this statement but oh well.
>
> There just seems to be this hidden conscencious that taking an MAOI will give keep you in some permanant euphoric state, but its not true, and I don't think that promoting it is a safe measure.
>
> Sure they are strong drugs, but I still don't think it is that wise to aim for hypomania. It is not really a normal state and can be very taxing on the brain and body.
>
> I think if you aim to feel normal that you people might have a better chance at achieving long term mental health.
>
>
> Linkadge
Posted by linkadge on March 28, 2006, at 21:23:19
In reply to Re: Aiming for hypomania ?, posted by tygereyes on March 28, 2006, at 20:26:49
I agree that feeling good is very perpetuating (and addictive), I guess I am just saying that when we are confronted with treatment options that it is probably in our best long term interest to be thinking of those medications that will help us feel normal, and not better than normal. I'm really just speaking from some of my own experiences, that if there was a period of feeling better than normal, it was always acompanied by a worse than normal state.
I guess I just get a little concerned when I see the "aim for better than normal" view promoted.
Linkadge
Posted by linkadge on March 28, 2006, at 21:28:43
In reply to Re: Aiming for hypomania ? » linkadge, posted by scatterbrained on March 28, 2006, at 17:41:24
I realize that most people are using MAOI's as a last term treatment option, and all the best to them in their recovery. I don't know, I just sometimes feel that this class of drugs are sometimes promoted as "feel better than normal pills".
Strictly speaking of AD's as a class of medications, the MAOI's actually can (and were discovered) based on their propensity to make well people slightly hypomanic, although I don't think its safe to promote them for this purpose.
Perhaps I am just seeing into things, if so I apologise.
Linkadge
Posted by Phillipa on March 28, 2006, at 22:37:43
In reply to Re: Aiming for hypomania ? » scatterbrained, posted by linkadge on March 28, 2006, at 21:28:43
Link I have to agree with you I think they should be used as a last stage drug. A good example is our friend above. Love Phillipa
Posted by JaclinHyde on March 28, 2006, at 22:43:01
In reply to Re: Aiming for hypomania ? » scatterbrained, posted by linkadge on March 28, 2006, at 21:28:43
> Strictly speaking of AD's as a class of medications, the MAOI's actually can (and were discovered) based on their propensity to make well people slightly hypomanic, although I don't think its safe to promote them for this purpose.
>
> Perhaps I am just seeing into things, if so I apologise.
>
> LinkadgeHate to contradict you but the he MAOI's were developed as a potential cure for TB which at the time was running rampant. They found that these sick depressed patients ended up with a better outlook on life.
And I have 25+ years on this type of drug so I consider myself somewhat of an expert. And finally here is an article from the Harvard University Gazette on the patch.
"Selegiline is a so-called monamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI), a class of drugs considered the most effective for fighting depression. "MAOIs are well-known for the completeness and robustness of their response," Bodkin comments.
Prozac-like drugs can cause headaches, anxiety, apathy, insomnia, nausea, and loss of sexual interest. Selegiline is free of such side effects. Prozac-like drugs relieve distress but usually do not produce a feeling of well-being. Selegiline and other MAOIs often leave patients feeling elated for the first time, a condition sometimes referred to as "remission with delight."
The first of these drugs was discovered accidentally in 1952 by David Bosworth, an orthopedic surgeon in New York City. While trying to find a drug to relieve the bone and joint pain of tuberculosis, he experimented with a new antibiotic known as marsilid. Coincidentally, marsilid is also an MAOI.
Along with relief from tubercular pain, Bosworth noted that his patients developed a state of elation and a feeling of vitality. The patient is left, noted Bosworth, with "a normally optimistic instead of a depressed attitude."
"This trial, like the first, is exciting not only because it is testing a new delivery system for a powerful treatment of the most common psychiatric disease in the world," Bodkin says, "but because it is resurrecting the first family of antidepressants ever introduced - ONE THAT HAS NEVER BEEN SURPASSED IN EFFICACY." (my caps)
The full article can be found here: http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/1998/12.10/depression.html
Peace,
JH
Posted by scatterbrained on March 29, 2006, at 0:50:35
In reply to Re: Aiming for hypomania ? » scatterbrained, posted by linkadge on March 28, 2006, at 21:28:43
I tend to see the stims more in that light.After all the stimulants are probably along with sleeping pills and benzos, the most likely psychotropics to get abused; thats not to say that they don't have there place. I've never heard of people abusing maoi's, foaming at the mouth and whatnot.
Posted by linkadge on March 29, 2006, at 9:41:15
In reply to Re: Aiming for hypomania ?, posted by JaclinHyde on March 28, 2006, at 22:43:01
There are different takes on these initial studies. Not all of those TB patients had actual clinical depression, yet they all seemed to show behavioral activation as a result of the MAOI.
There have been other studies that have shown that the MAOI's can result in activation even in normals.
Linkadge
Posted by linkadge on March 29, 2006, at 9:43:07
In reply to Re: Aiming for hypomania ? » linkadge, posted by scatterbrained on March 29, 2006, at 0:50:35
Parnate is an abused substance. It's not readily available but it is still abused. One of my drugie friends said he'd "done parnate".
Linkadge
Posted by TylerJ on March 29, 2006, at 10:26:34
In reply to Aiming for hypomania ?, posted by linkadge on March 28, 2006, at 16:02:01
> Aiming for hypomania isn't really a good thing. Oh sure, some of us think we can trick the brain, and tap into some sort of secret happiness resources, its a self serving bias, but the brain is always smarter.
>
> Maybe I will get babble-warned for this statement but oh well.
>
> There just seems to be this hidden conscencious that taking an MAOI will give keep you in some permanant euphoric state, but its not true, and I don't think that promoting it is a safe measure.
>
> Sure they are strong drugs, but I still don't think it is that wise to aim for hypomania. It is not really a normal state and can be very taxing on the brain and body.
>
> I think if you aim to feel normal that you people might have a better chance at achieving long term mental health.
>
>
> LinkadgeI'm not aiming for hypomania, but I am aiming for "Normalcy". Let's see, do I like being severely depressed, very anxious, being suicidal because each day is worse than the last...living in a hell on earth. Or, do I prefer feeling relaxed, happy, more energetic, enjoying my children and being a better Daddy for them, and not being Suicidal at all!! Yea, I think I'll take the latter even if I had to eat rocks every day to keep feeling "well".
Hey Linkadge, I'm sorry that you are so miserable in your own skin that you can't be happy that someone else who has suffered for 20 plus years is finally feeling good. I know it could all change for me tomorrow ( even though i doubt it ) but I'm going to enjoy what I have today.
Tyler
P.S. Call it hypomania if you want, I really don't give a f*ck!
Posted by linkadge on March 29, 2006, at 10:53:01
In reply to Re: Aiming for hypomania ? » linkadge, posted by TylerJ on March 29, 2006, at 10:26:34
For starter, I wasn't referring to you at all, I was really referring to the general danger of trying to achieve hypmania.
>Or, do I prefer feeling relaxed, happy, more >energetic, enjoying my children and being a >better Daddy for them, and not being Suicidal at >all!! Yea, I think I'll take the latter even if >I had to eat rocks every day to keep >feeling "well".I just want people to stay well for as long as possible.
>Hey Linkadge, I'm sorry that you are so >miserable in your own skin that you can't be >happy that someone else who has suffered for 20 >plus years is finally feeling good.I really don't know what you're getting at. I'm glad that you're feeling good.
>I know it could all change for me tomorrow ( >even though i doubt it ) but I'm going to enjoy >what I have today.
All the best to you.
>P.S. Call it hypomania if you want, I really >don't give a f*ck!You know yourself better than I.
Linkadge
Posted by gibber on March 29, 2006, at 16:45:35
In reply to Re: Aiming for hypomania ? » TylerJ, posted by linkadge on March 29, 2006, at 10:53:01
Who's trying to achieve hypomania?
Posted by linkadge on March 29, 2006, at 18:39:08
In reply to Who's trying to achieve hypomania?, posted by gibber on March 29, 2006, at 16:45:35
I wasn't really talking about anyone on this board. I guess I am referring to some of my own personal life's situations.
I know that one of my friends for instance, said that he was well on a certain dose, but twice that dose made him feel better, so that what he stayed with.
It wasn't meant to be a judment as much as just a topic for discussion ?
Linkadge
Posted by tygereyes on March 29, 2006, at 19:02:57
In reply to Who's trying to achieve hypomania?, posted by gibber on March 29, 2006, at 16:45:35
People REALLY need to stop getting offended when their drugs come "under fire" on this board.
SSRIs have also been criticized for altering personality and making one feel "better than well" (please see the book "Listening to Prozac" for a psychiatrist's view of this). It seems to me that the individuals who are most susceptible to this are individuals with a mood disorder and underlying personality disorder - but that's just my experience, from working as a psychiatric researcher and as a residential psychiatric health counselor.
Don't get me wrong - I am not anti-psychiatry and I am not anti-MAOIs. In fact, I am quite PRO-MAOIs, being that most physicians are so ignorant about medication and want to try every SSRI (which are perhaps THE most ineffective class of drugs on this planet, if you look at response rates vs. placebo) before even considering alternates. However, I think people need to be honest about what they are looking for in a medication. And it seems to me that many of the individuals on this board have underlying personality disorders & other psychopathology that does not readily respond to medication. Myself included.
And for those of you who claim Parnate cannot be abused/is not an abusable substance, please see:
<< http://bjp.rcpsych.org/cgi/content/abstract/135/3/273 >>
<< http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=1883016&dopt=Citation >>
<< http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=1609897&dopt=Citation >>
<< http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=9930640&dopt=Citation >>
<< http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=7484306&dopt=Citation >>
<< http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&list_uids=963135&dopt=Citation >>
<< http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=2211541&dopt=Citation >>
<< http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&list_uids=6057356&dopt=citation >>
Posted by TylerJ on March 29, 2006, at 21:59:36
In reply to Re: Who's trying to achieve hypomania?, posted by tygereyes on March 29, 2006, at 19:02:57
> People REALLY need to stop getting offended when their drugs come "under fire" on this board.
>
> SSRIs have also been criticized for altering personality and making one feel "better than well" (please see the book "Listening to Prozac" for a psychiatrist's view of this). It seems to me that the individuals who are most susceptible to this are individuals with a mood disorder and underlying personality disorder - but that's just my experience, from working as a psychiatric researcher and as a residential psychiatric health counselor.
>
> Don't get me wrong - I am not anti-psychiatry and I am not anti-MAOIs. In fact, I am quite PRO-MAOIs, being that most physicians are so ignorant about medication and want to try every SSRI (which are perhaps THE most ineffective class of drugs on this planet, if you look at response rates vs. placebo) before even considering alternates. However, I think people need to be honest about what they are looking for in a medication. And it seems to me that many of the individuals on this board have underlying personality disorders & other psychopathology that does not readily respond to medication. Myself included.
>
> And for those of you who claim Parnate cannot be abused/is not an abusable substance, please see:
>
> << http://bjp.rcpsych.org/cgi/content/abstract/135/3/273 >>
>
> << http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=1883016&dopt=Citation >>
>
> << http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=1609897&dopt=Citation >>
>
> << http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=9930640&dopt=Citation >>
>
> << http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=7484306&dopt=Citation >>
>
> << http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&list_uids=963135&dopt=Citation >>
>
> << http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=2211541&dopt=Citation >>
>
> << http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&list_uids=6057356&dopt=citation >>I'm sure your right. Parnate has an amphetamine like effect on some people, and people abuse amphetamines all the time, so why not Parnate. As I'm sure most people here are aware that many if not most psychiatric drugs can be abused. All of the Benzos, the non benzo hypnotics, barbituates, pschostimulants, cognitive enhancers, and even Antiparkinsonian drugs. Also anti-convulsants...I know 2 people right now who are taking an absurd amount of Topomax to try to lose weight. And of course the Opiates. I'm sure I'm missing A LOT of drugs from this list. My opinion is if you abuse any of these meds they're obviously not going to work long term. But people will be people, and abuse will occur.
Tyler
Posted by tygereyes on March 29, 2006, at 22:15:02
In reply to Re: Who's trying to achieve hypomania? » tygereyes, posted by TylerJ on March 29, 2006, at 21:59:36
> > People REALLY need to stop getting offended when their drugs come "under fire" on this board.
> >
> > SSRIs have also been criticized for altering personality and making one feel "better than well" (please see the book "Listening to Prozac" for a psychiatrist's view of this). It seems to me that the individuals who are most susceptible to this are individuals with a mood disorder and underlying personality disorder - but that's just my experience, from working as a psychiatric researcher and as a residential psychiatric health counselor.
> >
> > Don't get me wrong - I am not anti-psychiatry and I am not anti-MAOIs. In fact, I am quite PRO-MAOIs, being that most physicians are so ignorant about medication and want to try every SSRI (which are perhaps THE most ineffective class of drugs on this planet, if you look at response rates vs. placebo) before even considering alternates. However, I think people need to be honest about what they are looking for in a medication. And it seems to me that many of the individuals on this board have underlying personality disorders & other psychopathology that does not readily respond to medication. Myself included.
> >
> > And for those of you who claim Parnate cannot be abused/is not an abusable substance, please see:
> >
> > << http://bjp.rcpsych.org/cgi/content/abstract/135/3/273 >>
> >
> > << http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=1883016&dopt=Citation >>
> >
> > << http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=1609897&dopt=Citation >>
> >
> > << http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=9930640&dopt=Citation >>
> >
> > << http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=7484306&dopt=Citation >>
> >
> > << http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&list_uids=963135&dopt=Citation >>
> >
> > << http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=2211541&dopt=Citation >>
> >
> > << http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&list_uids=6057356&dopt=citation >>
>
> I'm sure your right. Parnate has an amphetamine like effect on some people, and people abuse amphetamines all the time, so why not Parnate. As I'm sure most people here are aware that many if not most psychiatric drugs can be abused. All of the Benzos, the non benzo hypnotics, barbituates, pschostimulants, cognitive enhancers, and even Antiparkinsonian drugs. Also anti-convulsants...I know 2 people right now who are taking an absurd amount of Topomax to try to lose weight. And of course the Opiates. I'm sure I'm missing A LOT of drugs from this list. My opinion is if you abuse any of these meds they're obviously not going to work long term. But people will be people, and abuse will occur.
>
> TylerAgreed 100%. Many meds carry the danger of abuse. However, Parnate (and perhaps Nardil, to a lesser degree) have been singled out as the only antidepressants (besides amantadine) that can be abused.
In my opinion, this requires some consideration. As I said, I am very pro-MAOIs. However, I am NOT pro-drug abuse (though I've done it myself many, many times). And taking a drug to feel "better than well" - whether it's a benzo, a psychostimulant, or a MAOI - is drug abuse, plain and simple.
For a while, my cocktail consisted of Parnate and Ambien (which I also abused). It made me wonder, in terms of my psychological health, if anything had really changed from the times I snorted cocaine in the mornings and shot heroin at night. Clearly, I am not likening the physical attributes of illegal drugs like coke and smack to Parnate and Ambien - but psychologically? I was still getting high. I was still trying to feel "better than well."
Linkadge has brought up an AMAZINGLY important issue here. A few years ago, I would have been so threatened that someone was questioning my psychiatric drugs that I would have reacted immaturely and immediately denied misuse of psychiatric drugs. However, from years of experience working within the field (not to mention, being medicated myself), I think he has brought up points that we all need to address honestly within ourselves. I have often wondered, while reading this page: Is this why we switch meds so often? Because "normal" just isn't good enough anymore?
Posted by Tony P on March 30, 2006, at 2:00:43
In reply to Re: Who's trying to achieve hypomania?, posted by tygereyes on March 29, 2006, at 22:15:02
> Linkadge has brought up an AMAZINGLY important issue here. A few years ago, I would have been so threatened that someone was questioning my psychiatric drugs that I would have reacted immaturely and immediately denied misuse of psychiatric drugs. However, from years of experience working within the field (not to mention, being medicated myself), I think he has brought up points that we all need to address honestly within ourselves. I have often wondered, while reading this page: Is this why we switch meds so often? Because "normal" just isn't good enough anymore?
For sure there are times when I want to feel better than well, and of course I want it _right_ now, and please let it go on for ever. And I've abused antidepressants and looked for something better than normal from them. And yet, and yet -- I think we're not allowing enough for the fact that for most of us posting here "been down so long, feels like up to me" is part of our baseline "normality".
Last year, living in a supportive community and taking only Lamotrigine, I had a profound emotional (even spiritual) experience one evening. In journalling about it that night, I couldn't easily put the feeling into words. It wasn't until the next day that I remembered there _is_ a word for that experience: joy. It had been so long since I had experienced joy that I had all but forgotten the word for it. I think after a long bout of depression or anhedonia, experiencing the ordinary sense of well-being and connectedness that many people have on an almost daily basis, _feels_ like a peak experience or euphoria or even hypomania.
I was in that good zone once for a few years, and it seems to me the characteristics were: I didn't feel a need to touch it up or make it even better, I was able to feel normal ups and downs and still have the sense that life was worth living, and (always useful to get a cross-bearing from trusted others) nobody was telling me "you should cut back on your Serzone, it's making you too happy"!
Tony
Posted by SLS on March 30, 2006, at 6:43:57
In reply to Re: Who's trying to achieve hypomania?, posted by tygereyes on March 29, 2006, at 19:02:57
> People REALLY need to stop getting offended when their drugs come "under fire" on this board.
Why?
- Scott
Posted by TylerJ on March 30, 2006, at 7:23:02
In reply to Re: Who's trying to achieve hypomania?, posted by tygereyes on March 29, 2006, at 22:15:02
> I have often wondered, while reading this page: Is this why we switch meds so often? Because "normal" just isn't good enough anymore?
I've definitely wondered about this myself. It's not normal to feel great all the time. I'm doing very well on Parnate, but it doesn't make me high, and I certainly don't feel "wonderful" all the time. I'm most definitely not depressed or anxious anymore, but I'm not ecstatic either. I think a lot of people's perception of what is "normal" is incorrect. Normal people have challenges..good times as well as bad. For me bad used to be miserable, in bed all day long, anxious, anti-social and sometimes suicidal. Now, with the help of Parnate, I don't experience these kinds of lows anymore...but I still argue with my wife, get pissed off, get frustrated, etc. these things I think are quite normal. It's finally nice to be alive. :)Tyler
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