Posted by Tomatheus on December 24, 2005, at 12:10:37
In reply to Re: Nardil weight gain, posted by forgetful mary on December 23, 2005, at 8:00:47
Forgetful Mary,
Thanks again for your post. As I mentioned in my previous post, my problem with insomnia has grown worse since I switched from 60mg/day to 75mg/day. Strangely, I actually feel less tired during the day than I did at 60mg/day, as long as I get at least 5-6 hours of sleep at night. But still, even when I do feel tired and/or depressed during the day and fight off the urges to nap, I still get the insomnia at night. At any rate, it's definitely nice that the daytime fatigue isn't as bad as it once was. I think the Nardil is finally starting to work for me, at least to some extent.
Having said that, I'm still not getting a robust response, and the side effects are pretty frustrating. I just wonder whether or not I might have gotten a better response at a lower dose with the "old" Nardil. Obviously, if 45mg/day or 60mg/day is all that I would need, the side effects would be less pronounced. But I am thankful that I'm getting a partial response (and I hope it lasts). I really feel for those who responded wonderfully to the "old" Nardil for decades only to have their lives ripped apart by the inconspicuous decision to change the formulation of their drug in such a way that it could no longer provide relief for them. It's difficult to imagine how painful it must have been for those individuals to work so hard to find a treatment that could finally allow them to live some semblance of a normal life, to feel capable of realizing their goals in life, only to have it all taken away by a corporate decision to cut costs on a product that wasn't producing a profit. Never mind the fact that this corporation had enough money to give its CEO a raise of $6.9 million in one year. This is a corporation that is "fundamentally about saving, improving, and enhancing lives." Or so their Web site says. Tell that to the the man (or woman) who's lost his job, his family, his mental health, and his ability to pursue happiness as he once did. Whose rights really matter?
Ok now, off of my soapbox...
Now that I've started my message on a rather despairing note, I'd like to welcome you to Psycho-Babble. I've been reading some of your messages over on the Anxiety Community's message board, and I've found the things you've said to be very informative. I know that this isn't the best time to bring this topic up, but I would like to thank you for pointing out the fact that Nardil is nowhere to be found in the 2006 edition of the Physicians Desk Reference. As optimistic as I'd like to be, this new revelation worries me. Although I can't say for sure what it means, Pfizer has already pulled enough stunts on us that I fear the worst. But maybe I should wait until I find out exactly what Pfizer is planning to do before I scare everyone too much. That's really not what I was hoping to do with this message, especially not today. Assuming that He exists, may God please help us.
And may we help ourselves. I'm actually already importing my Nardil from Australia - not because I'm preparing for the possible "end" of Nardil in the U.S., but because I actually started it by self-medicating (I am seeing my pdoc again, though). It is my recommendation to all U.S. Nardil users here to begin thinking of a contingency plan that might involve importing Nardil from outside the U.S. (remember, this could involve using a legal pharmacy that requires a doctor's prescription). I'm not saying that everyone should just switch over to an overseas version of Nardil immediately, but I think it might be a good idea to begin thinking of a plan.
Of course, the planning should be able to wait until the holidays are over (I hope). I'm sorry if I depressed anyone too much with this message. But remember, the future is not set in stone. There's hope.
Happy holidays
Tomatheus
> I was able (over 20 years) to control the weight gain of nardil with diet and execise. Luckily I started out skinny so the weight gain was okay..BUT since the nardil reformulation in fall of 2003 the weight gain is worse as is the insomnia....It never used to be this way.....It sucks that they tampered with this medication!!!
poster:Tomatheus
thread:591485
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20051221/msgs/591875.html