3 ms·

I was on Nardil (phenelzine) for about 6 months. That's some weird stuff right there. I gained a whole bunch of weight, lost the ability to dream while sleepi

I was on Nardil (phenelzine) for about 6 months. That's some weird stuff right there. I gained a whole bunch of weight, lost the ability to dream while sleeping, and couldn't eat any foods with tyramine in them (like Iberian ham or fava beans), but man, chocolate cake never tasted so heavenly as when on Nardil. Prior to Nardil, I had been taking Prozac (fluoxetine) but a combination of sexual side effects, an impatient disposition, and scientific curiosity prompted me to ask my psychiatrist about Nardil. He said, "Why not?" This psychiatrist would prescribe just about anything (not that I see anything wrong with that) so over the course of grad school I tried Prozac, Nardil, Modafinil, and Adderall. Oddly enough, it turned out that an extremely low dosage of Adderall fixed most of my issues. My psychiatrist started with me 30 mg twice a day but I found that 10 mg worked better (less euphoria, more focus), so nowadays I only take 10 mg Adderall about twice a week and don't seem to have any depression or focus issues anymore.

chillwaves 10y ago
What did you think about Modafinil? I went on it for a few months (without advice of a doctor) and thought it put a great pep in my step. Now that I have insurance, I will try to get it prescribed but it seemed gentle in a way, like a different flavor of caffeine but also gave me confidence. Unless I took too much, then I felt on edge, like I was clenching my jaw (probably was). I guess I am asking you about Modafinil because somehow I was under the impression it's a somewhat casual drug and the rest in your list seem like heavy weights to me. I have never taken any kind of antidepressant but sometimes think I need to.
- throwaway713 10y ago
  I had no response to Modafinil at all. I started at 100 mg and worked up to 400 mg (under my psychiatrist's supervision), but at 400 mg, both he and I decided it wasn't doing anything — positive or negative — so I quit taking it. After researching the subject a bit, my guess as to why Modafinil had no effect on me is that I probably have the wrong variant of the rs4680 gene. rs4680 is known as the worrier/warrior gene; those with the AA variant tend to be neurotic, have high anxiety, and handle stress poorly (my personality in a nutshell). Studies have shown that people with this variant of rs4680 do not significantly respond to Modafinil, so I suspect that I am one of them. I plan on sending a DNA sample to 23andme soon to confirm whether or not my hunch is correct. With regard to getting a prescription, I'll note that my psychiatrist couldn't prescribe Modafinil directly to treat anxiety, so he indirectly prescribed it to address the "sleep issues" that were caused by my anxiety/depression. For me, 5 mg of Adderall does what I was hoping Modafinil would do. Personally speaking, productivity is far more important to me than "feeling good", which is what I think a lot of people abuse Adderall for (and it certainly does produce that "feel good" sensation at high enough dosages). But at 10 mg and less, it's like a much "smoother" version of caffeine. In fact, lately I've found that I don't really like caffeine anymore because it makes me crankier, sweatier, and more jittery than Adderall does, and it doesn't help my ability to focus as well.

chillwaves 10y ago

What did you think about Modafinil? I went on it for a few months (without advice of a doctor) and thought it put a great pep in my step. Now that I have insurance, I will try to get it prescribed but it seemed gentle in a way, like a different flavor of caffeine but also gave me confidence. Unless I took too much, then I felt on edge, like I was clenching my jaw (probably was). I guess I am asking you about Modafinil because somehow I was under the impression it's a somewhat casual drug and the rest in your list seem like heavy weights to me. I have never taken any kind of antidepressant but sometimes think I need to.

throwaway713 10y ago
I had no response to Modafinil at all. I started at 100 mg and worked up to 400 mg (under my psychiatrist's supervision), but at 400 mg, both he and I decided it wasn't doing anything — positive or negative — so I quit taking it. After researching the subject a bit, my guess as to why Modafinil had no effect on me is that I probably have the wrong variant of the rs4680 gene. rs4680 is known as the worrier/warrior gene; those with the AA variant tend to be neurotic, have high anxiety, and handle stress poorly (my personality in a nutshell). Studies have shown that people with this variant of rs4680 do not significantly respond to Modafinil, so I suspect that I am one of them. I plan on sending a DNA sample to 23andme soon to confirm whether or not my hunch is correct. With regard to getting a prescription, I'll note that my psychiatrist couldn't prescribe Modafinil directly to treat anxiety, so he indirectly prescribed it to address the "sleep issues" that were caused by my anxiety/depression. For me, 5 mg of Adderall does what I was hoping Modafinil would do. Personally speaking, productivity is far more important to me than "feeling good", which is what I think a lot of people abuse Adderall for (and it certainly does produce that "feel good" sensation at high enough dosages). But at 10 mg and less, it's like a much "smoother" version of caffeine. In fact, lately I've found that I don't really like caffeine anymore because it makes me crankier, sweatier, and more jittery than Adderall does, and it doesn't help my ability to focus as well.