Posted by Brainbeard on October 13, 2009, at 11:36:17
In reply to Re: question for brainbeard., posted by g_g_g_unit on October 12, 2009, at 22:31:00
> are you taking anything aside from the amitriptyline at the moment? i have OCD, hyponchondria and, like you (from what i can gather?), an interest in preserving, or at least minimizing disruptions to, cognitive functioning on meds.
Yes, I'm taking 25mg of sertraline (Zoloft) and 900mg of gabapentin (Neurontin) at the moment, while I've also been using 12.5-25mg of imipramine and might restart that if necessary. I'm trying to find out wether the gabapentin is doing something for my chronic jaw pain, that's why I removed the imipramine (and should remove the amitriptyline, but that's not very easy).
I take benzo's PRN. I got lorazepam on prescription, though I have found out that I like diazepam (Valium) better.Right now, preserving sound cognitive functioning is not top priority for me, since I don't have a job (I'm in daytime treatment). I'm still able to read and understand Calvin's Institution.. (In a Dutch translation, I admit it.)
>>my doc is pushing for me to try anafranil at the moment (he begrudgingly has me trialling parnate), but i'm scared off by the s/e's. did you ever try it for OCD? sounds promising, but sadly anything that numbs me/dumbs me down too much also saps my social/professional confidence >>etc.
It's a good suggestion by your doc. Clomipramine (Anafranil) is probably the best med around for OCD. The side-effects can admittedly be rather incovenient.
I did indeed try it for OCD and depression, and especially as an antidepressant, it was quite promising. I didn't reach a higher dose than 100mg. I was thrown off at last by one of the side-effects it caused me: severe and even painful sensitivity of my eyes to sunlight, which made me too anxious to continue using the drug. (Although perhaps I should have endured it long enough to overcome my anxiety).
Further, it made me constipated, but this could be solved by a simple and relatively harmless laxative (lactulose syrop). It also gave me a very dry mouth - at the higher dose, I was walking around with a bottle of water all day at work. Also, clomipramine was the heaviest SRI suppressor of sound sexual functioning I have ever taken. It seriously made me wonder while having sex what the hell I was doing - now that's a very unnatural thought for me.
The anticholinergic brain fog was indeed quite noticeable, but it came along with elevated mood and more, rather than less, self-confidence in social situations. As for the brain fog, one time I found myself in the shopping mall, and couldn't figure out why I was there...
poster:Brainbeard
thread:919193
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/neuro/20090701/msgs/920798.html