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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 7 of 7. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by CK1 on September 28, 2005, at 13:27:38
Hi all,
I was on Paxil 10mg for 3 years for social anxiety disorder. After 3 weeks, I forgot I even had social anxiety and felt great. It truly worked miracles. It stopped working awhile back and I've tried Prozac, Zoloft, and Effexor and none have done ANYTHING for my anxiety, and have actually made anxiety worse. I went off all SSRI's for 3 months this summer and did better. I worked 5 days a week, met tons of people, etc. but I still was anxious and knew I could be better.
My doctor is intent on having me try EVERY SSRI available, but I have a life to live and cannot keep waiting months to "see" if this SSRI could "potentially" work! It's pointless and I have no faith in them anymore. They are so ineffective for SO many people, it's really a tragedy. I've read TONS of wonderful information on Nardil for Social Anxiety and I REALLY want to try it, but my doctor only uses SSRI's. Has anyone else been on Nardil for SAD and how did it help them? I would follow a diet ANYDAY to get over this disorder. From what I've read, Nardil is THE GOLD STANDARD for Social Anxiety and that to which all other drugs are compared. I need positive experiences so I can plead a case to my "small-town" doctor who doesn't know anything about treating anxiety.
Thanks!
Posted by tecknohed on September 28, 2005, at 16:34:15
In reply to NARDIL FOR SOCIAL ANXIETY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!, posted by CK1 on September 28, 2005, at 13:27:38
I, like others on here, have found nothing that even comes close to the effectiveness of Nardil (phenelzine) for Social Anxiety/Phobia.
I had SP most of my life but really bad since my late teens. I've tried most SSRIs and plenty of other meds trying to find a solution to my pain. Then along came Nardil and it changed my life. It didn't change me, rather it allowed me to be who I really was - chatty, expressive, someone who thrives off others and for the first time ever I actually like myself.
But its not without its problems. There can be some strong side effects including sexual inabilities, urine retention and constipation, dizziness/faintness from low blood pressure and tiredness to name a few. But most of these do seem to go eventually, and for me I felt so good the side effects, although pretty bad, were a mere inconvenience to me.
One problem many people come across is poop-out. But I believe this can often be dealt with by several different strategies depending on the person. Also I feel its often the case that people just adapt to it, feel too 'normal', and want that initial feeling of 'breakthrough' back again. I myself came off it a few months back because I lacked energy and wanted to try something else, but I then realised just how much it was still helping my SP. So I'm back on it again. The tiredness is still there but its a relatively small price to pay for losing that constant fear of people.
I think I've said enough. Please ask any questions that come to mind, or babblemail me if you like.
All the best, Kev.
Posted by Phillipa on September 28, 2005, at 18:49:18
In reply to Re: NARDIL FOR SOCIAL ANXIETY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! » CK1, posted by tecknohed on September 28, 2005, at 16:34:15
CKl, if you can't get nardil why not a benzo? No withdrawal symptoms or any at all. Just a thought to a very talented person! Fondly, Phillipa
Posted by Jedi on September 30, 2005, at 4:49:52
In reply to NARDIL FOR SOCIAL ANXIETY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!, posted by CK1 on September 28, 2005, at 13:27:38
> ...From what I've read, Nardil is THE GOLD STANDARD for Social Anxiety and that to which all other drugs are compared. I need positive experiences so I can plead a case to my "small-town" doctor who doesn't know anything about treating anxiety.
> Thanks!Hi,
In my experience, Nardil is truly the best med for treating treatment resistant social anxiety and atypical depression. Most MDs do not like to listen to the anecdotal evidence written in sources like Psycho-Babble. Many MDs actually won't listen to any evidence that did not come from their limited ability to research. I use the information I gain from Babble and then support it with actual published studies. Sometimes a doctor will pay more attention if the evidence was published by another doctor. Here are some social anxiety studies which show a high degree of effectiveness from phenelzine.
Take care,
Jedihttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=12950437&query_hl=6
Acta Psychiatr Scand Suppl. 2003;(417):65-71.
Pharmacotherapy of social phobia.
Davidson JR.
Duke University Medical Center, Department of Psychiatry, Durham, NC 27710, USA. jonathan.davidson@duke.edu
OBJECTIVE: To review placebo-controlled medication trials in social phobia (SP). METHOD: Published and/or presented placebo-controlled trials of medication were reviewed and summarized. RESULTS: Phenelzine is effective in 60-70% of patients with SP and always superior to placebo. ...http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=12607230&query_hl=11
World J Biol Psychiatry. 2000 Jan;1(1):27-33.
A review of 19 double-blind placebo-controlled studies in social anxiety disorder (social phobia).
Versiani M.
Department of Psychiatry, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, R. Visconde de Piraja 407 s. 805, Rio de Janeiro, 22410-003, Brazil. versiani@openlink.com.br
Nineteen double-blind placebo-controlled studies on the treatment of Social Anxiety Disorder (Social Phobia) are reviewed. Initial trials yielded a high degree of efficacy for phenelzine, a large difference between drug and placebo and a low rate of placebo response. ...http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=11801236&query_hl=11
Biol Psychiatry. 2002 Jan 1;51(1):109-20.
Pharmacotherapy of social anxiety disorder.
Blanco C, Antia SX, Liebowitz MR.
Department of Psychiatry, Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons, 1051 Riverside Drive, New York, NY 10032, USA.
Over the last few years, a number of medications have demonstrated their efficacy in the acute treatment of social anxiety disorder. At present, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors probably constitute the first line treatment, based on their safety, tolerability, and efficacy in the treatment of social anxiety disorder and common comorbid conditions. Data from single trials suggest that clonazepam, bromazepam, and gabapentin may have efficacy similar to the serotonin reuptake inhibitors, but further studies are needed to confirm these findings. The monoamine oxidase inhibitor phenelzine appears to be at least as efficacious as these other agents, but should be reserved for cases that fail to respond to these safer medications. ...
Posted by ed_uk on September 30, 2005, at 14:51:56
In reply to NARDIL FOR SOCIAL ANXIETY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!, posted by CK1 on September 28, 2005, at 13:27:38
Hi CK
>I worked 5 days a week, met tons of people, etc. but I still was anxious and knew I could be better.
I get the impression that your anxiety is mild. Are you sure you need to be on medication? Perhaps you'd feel better on nothing at all. Nardil is effective but can cause considerable weight gain, dizziness, insomnia and sexual dysfunction. Its only really suitable for the treatment of severe anxiety.
Kind regards
~Ed
Posted by CK1 on September 30, 2005, at 15:21:40
In reply to Re: NARDIL FOR SOCIAL ANXIETY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! » CK1, posted by ed_uk on September 30, 2005, at 14:51:56
Hi Ed,
Good point. No, my anxiety isn't as severe as some people's on this board (I'm guessing?) but it does affect the quality of my life. Yes, I can do things like go to parties, meetings, and what not, BUT my anxiety keeps me from doing and saying what I want. It is ALWAYS on my mind and I'm always looking for ways to overcome it. For 3 years on Paxil, I was "free" from anxiety and I now know what it feels like to not be afraid and I'm not willing to accept the fact that worry, even so-called minor worry, can get in the way. I know I can be less anxious because I have been less anxious for 3 YEARS :) It's more of a constant nuisance than something that is so severe that I'm afraid to leave my house and I can't hold a job. I think all forms of anxiety should be controlled, regardless of severity. It's the same with mild-depression vs. severe depression and the question of whether or not to treat the mild depression. Well, it just so happens that mild depression that goes on for years can affect your quality of life MORE than major depression that goes on for 2 months. In my opinion, if someone thinks they can be better in regards to anxiety and/or depression (I know I can!), then they need to treat it whether it's mild or severe.
I had a girlfriend freshman year for 6 months and, when I see her now, I get nervous holding a long conversation with her. Yes, I can still talk to her, but that doesn't matter if I'm uncomfortable the entire time. It's really not normal and I consider it pretty "severe" -- something that needs to be treated. Maybe if I had never experienced the effects of Paxil, I would consider my anxiety now to be simply part of life, but I know it's not the case. Besides, I graduate in May and am going into a career that is "people-focused" and even my so-called "minor anxiety" would interfere with my chances for success.
On this board, there are people with extremely serious problems and those with mild problems and both of these groups should be treated if they know they can be better and/or have been better in my case.
In my case, it's the length of time that my condition has stayed the same that is the biggest issue. It's been 8 months since Paxil stopped working and I've tried 4 SSRI's and they haven't done a thing. When drugs that are supposed to work, don't, it's scary because I don't want to live my entire life being anxious. I've read wonder stories about Nardil and I fully understand the risks aka. hypertensive crisis (if you don't follow the diet), weight gain (I actually need to gain weight).
I joined a fraternity freshman year and gave 5 speeches to over 100 people during pledgeship, had a girlfriend, went out with friends thurs, fri, and saturday, and had an AWESOME time. Off SSRI's, I couldn't have done this....................I hope you understand where I'm coming from! It's hard to explain..........................
Posted by ed_uk on September 30, 2005, at 15:49:42
In reply to Re: NARDIL FOR SOCIAL ANXIETY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! » ed_uk, posted by CK1 on September 30, 2005, at 15:21:40
Hi CK,
>I hope you understand where I'm coming from! It's hard to explain..........................
I do! I guess I'm just wondering whether the side effects of Nardil will be greater than the benefit. You won't know unless you try it ;-)
~Ed
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