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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 14 of 14. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by hockeygirlcanada on October 10, 2003, at 5:48:50
Hi Everyone,
Just curious of any success stories with Parnate for anxiety (GAD)! This is my first mao inhibitor, and my 10th med altogether. Six long years, also any other stories of successful meds for anxiety would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Posted by cubbybear on October 10, 2003, at 6:42:07
In reply to Parnate for Anxiety, posted by hockeygirlcanada on October 10, 2003, at 5:48:50
> Hi Everyone,
> Just curious of any success stories with Parnate for anxiety (GAD)! This is my first mao inhibitor, and my 10th med altogether. Six long years, also any other stories of successful meds for anxiety would be greatly appreciated.
> ThanksAbsolutely! Parnate has been my salvation for severe depression for ages and it has excellent anxiolytic qualities. Your effective dose should be no lower than 30 mg./day. When used with a benzo drug like Klonopin (Clonazepam) you probably have the best of both worlds to counteract depression and anxiety. Just be aware that you can easily develop a dependency on Klonopin after a short time, and should never stop either of these drugs cold turkey. Any good doctor will give you a tapering off schedule if and when you decide to stop taking them.
>
Posted by DoYouKnowHim? on October 10, 2003, at 10:54:54
In reply to Re: Parnate for Anxiety, posted by cubbybear on October 10, 2003, at 6:42:07
I would be interested in hearing what anybody had to say about Parnate on anxiety, also. I have GAD, too.
As far as Klonopin, it sometimes gets a bad rap, but is a wonderful med. I wouldn't worry about becoming addicted to it. The truth is, you can become addicted to any med or caffeine or nicotine, etc.
Michael
Posted by DoYouKnowHim? on October 10, 2003, at 11:04:29
In reply to Re: Parnate for Anxiety ONLY, posted by DoYouKnowHim? on October 10, 2003, at 10:54:54
Your diagnosis (GAD with secondary symptoms of depresson) and story (10 meds in six years) sounds EXACTLY like mine.I'd like to keep in touch and find out how you do on this new drug. Please e me at SPORTSCARvell@aol.com
Michael
Posted by wsj on October 10, 2003, at 12:57:21
In reply to Re: Parnate for Anxiety, posted by cubbybear on October 10, 2003, at 6:42:07
cubbybear - do you think parnate would help your anxiety w/o klonopin?
wsj
Posted by cybercafe on October 10, 2003, at 14:37:14
In reply to Parnate for Anxiety, posted by hockeygirlcanada on October 10, 2003, at 5:48:50
> Hi Everyone,
> Just curious of any success stories with Parnate for anxiety (GAD)! This is my first mao inhibitor, and my 10th med altogether. Six long years, also any other stories of successful meds for anxiety would be greatly appreciated.
> Thanks
>yeah it worked way better for anxiety than the SSRIs (paxil, celexa) ever did for me
Posted by cubbybear on October 11, 2003, at 2:38:11
In reply to Re: Parnate for Anxiety » cubbybear, posted by wsj on October 10, 2003, at 12:57:21
> cubbybear - do you think parnate would help your anxiety w/o klonopin?
>
> wsjOh, sure--if you recall, I've been a Parnate user for over 20 years. I was put on Klonopin only last year for insomnia problems, mostly. I know from experience (pre-Klonopin) that Parnate always knocks out my depression as well as the anxiety that always comes along with it.
As for insomnia--that's something else. I don't get the really bad insomnia that other people get with Parnate but it's definitely stimulating and reduces my need for sleep. Now that I've tapered down to .875 mg./day of Klonopin, the insomnia is getting bothersome. I expected this to happen so I'm not getting bent out of shape over it.
Posted by wsj on October 11, 2003, at 11:45:24
In reply to Re: Parnate for Anxiety » wsj, posted by cubbybear on October 11, 2003, at 2:38:11
what are you planning to use for sleep if you ween off klonopin?
wsj
Posted by hockeygirlcanada on October 11, 2003, at 21:09:58
In reply to Re: Parnate for Anxiety, posted by cubbybear on October 10, 2003, at 6:42:07
>
> Absolutely! Parnate has been my salvation for severe depression for ages and it has excellent anxiolytic qualities. Your effective dose should be no lower than 30 mg./day. When used with a benzo drug like Klonopin (Clonazepam) you probably have the best of both worlds to counteract depression and anxiety. Just be aware that you can easily develop a dependency on Klonopin after a short time, and should never stop either of these drugs cold turkey. Any good doctor will give you a tapering off schedule if and when you decide to stop taking them.
> >
> Thank you for your response. I have been on Klonopin for about 5 years now, and have never developed a tolerance, even when I have had rough periods and used more, I always can taper back down with no problems.
>
Posted by hockeygirlcanada on October 11, 2003, at 21:14:57
In reply to Re: Parnate for Anxiety » cubbybear, posted by wsj on October 10, 2003, at 12:57:21
> cubbybear - do you think parnate would help your anxiety w/o klonopin?
>
> wsjI am not sure, I have used klonopin for 5 years now, no matter what drug I was on. I have never found a drug succesfull, as far as not needing a benzo, but I just started parnate and so far i feel better than I have on any other drug, but not 100% for sure. I have never built a tolerance to klonopin, and have been told I may need it for the rest of my life, although hopefully with my cbt and a good drug, i wont.
Posted by hockeygirlcanada on October 11, 2003, at 21:18:02
In reply to Re: Parnate for Anxiety » cubbybear, posted by wsj on October 11, 2003, at 11:45:24
> what are you planning to use for sleep if you ween off klonopin?
>
> wsjI have never found klonopin to help me sleep at all, it certainly helps my anxiety, but it has never knocked me out. What dose is given for sleep?
Posted by cubbybear on October 12, 2003, at 6:23:03
In reply to Re: Parnate for Anxiety » cubbybear, posted by wsj on October 11, 2003, at 11:45:24
> what are you planning to use for sleep if you ween off klonopin?
>
> wsjI'm not sure about this--it would all depend on how bad the insomnia got, as I weaned off. I would probably adjust my tapering to decrease it even slower. My goal is to be completely off the Klonopin--for a number of reasons--and I expect that once I'm off it, my body will re-adjust and any withdrawal insomnia would disappear in time.
Assuming I can successfully wean off to zero mg., I've had success in the past taking .5 mg. Xanax for insomnia, but only on an as-needed basis. Or I might try using Klonopin on an as-needed basis for insomnia--whichever med would ensure the best sleep with minimal drowsiness in the morning.Hope this makes sense.
Posted by djmmm on October 12, 2003, at 9:07:45
In reply to Re: Parnate for Anxiety » wsj, posted by cubbybear on October 12, 2003, at 6:23:03
> > what are you planning to use for sleep if you ween off klonopin?
> >
> > wsj
>
> I'm not sure about this--it would all depend on how bad the insomnia got, as I weaned off. I would probably adjust my tapering to decrease it even slower. My goal is to be completely off the Klonopin--for a number of reasons--and I expect that once I'm off it, my body will re-adjust and any withdrawal insomnia would disappear in time.
>
> Assuming I can successfully wean off to zero mg., I've had success in the past taking .5 mg. Xanax for insomnia, but only on an as-needed basis. Or I might try using Klonopin on an as-needed basis for insomnia--whichever med would ensure the best sleep with minimal drowsiness in the morning.Hope this makes sense.I have always found that the rebound insomnia from benzos and newer sleeping pills (ambien, sonata)--specifically the newer sleeping pills- ended up being much worse than the initial insomnia.
My doc gave me a script for 7 sonata to take as needed, because I had ocassional sleeping problems..needless to say, the first night of insomnia was followed by 6...something I had never experienced before (but then the same happend with xanax and ambien) Klonopin, interestingly, never caused sedation (even at doses of 4-6mg...go figure)
...anyway, In my search for an occassional sleeping pill, I decided to try melatonin, and honestly (for me at least) I find it works FAR better than ambien or sonata...with no rebound insomnia. It may be worth a try.
Posted by cubbybear on October 13, 2003, at 2:56:20
In reply to Re: Parnate for Anxiety » wsj, posted by djmmm on October 12, 2003, at 9:07:45
> I have always found that the rebound insomnia from benzos and newer sleeping pills (ambien, sonata)--specifically the newer sleeping pills- ended up being much worse than the initial insomnia.
>
> My doc gave me a script for 7 sonata to take as needed, because I had ocassional sleeping problems..needless to say, the first night of insomnia was followed by 6...something I had never experienced before (but then the same happend with xanax and ambien) Klonopin, interestingly, never caused sedation (even at doses of 4-6mg...go figure)
>
> ...anyway, In my search for an occassional sleeping pill, I decided to try melatonin, and honestly (for me at least) I find it works FAR better than ambien or sonata...with no rebound insomnia. It may be worth a try.Thanks very much for the advice--I'll keep this in mind; however, since it seems that anything and everything is contraindicated with Parnate, I'll have to check out the meds as well as melatonin to make sure they're compatible.
This is the end of the thread.
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