# Tricyclics *please read*



## Mareegirl (May 2, 2006)

I have read a few very good things about tricyclic antidepressants - that they helped a lot of people break the shell, so to say, and find the way out. I broke out of this once before, when I was in high school. Now, I feel stuck. If anyone has experience with tricyclics, please let me know, but it seems a lot of dp/dr sufferers do not try medication at all.


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## Xu (May 6, 2006)

I haven't actually been on any tricyclics but I was on trazodone which is supposedly similar in its effects. I was on paxil at the same time so it's not really a fair comparison, but they made me really cocky and apathetic. Not very pleasing when I look back on it.

From what I've seen & experienced, I think it'd be a better bet to go on something safe like oils or herbs. If they don't make you feel better emotionally, at least you'll be healthier and prettier >_>


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## comfortably numb (Mar 6, 2006)

Well im on amitriptyline(brand name elavil) and id have to say it works great for depression. If you have the type of depression where you are awake allnight obsessing about everything tricyclics are probley the best option.

I was originally prescribed this drug to treat chronic pain but it also did wonders for my depression and insomnia. No other drug ive tried for insomnia even comes close to this. I am now on 150mg taken at bedtime which knocks me right out.

Doctor usually test you out on 25mg just to see how you react to it because some people are sensitive to the effects of this med. It took me about 6 or 8 months to work up to 150mg's.

The major side effects of tricyclics such as amitriptyline are dry mouth and daytime drowsiness. Only the dry mouth has bothered me. It actually made me more alert during the daytime because i could finally get some sleep.

The big advantage i found with amitriptyline is that it causes no sexual problems, atleast for me. The ssri's and effexor are notorious for causing this. I was on effexor a few years ago and that was one of the main reasons i quit the drug.

Saying that however this drug didnt really help my anxiety or dp/dr at all. It does seem to be effective in treating anxiety for some people but my anxiety was pretty goddamn bad so maybe thats why it didnt help.

I now take 2mg's of clonazepam a day and that has pretty much abolished my anxiety and dp/dr. So this combo is working great for me


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## gaddis (Sep 18, 2005)

Tricyclics have been very good for me also.

Elavil practically saved my life years ago when I was DPd 24/7.

Like the above poster said, it definitely knocks you out and keeps you knocked out all night, if sleep is a problem, but I'd only take Elavil if intense insomnia was a major problem, as in depressive disorders.

When I had a relapse more than 10 years ago, Imipramine (Tofranil) blocked my panic attacks and eliminated all anxiety, and DP gradually wore off too.

I'm still on imipramine today- it's not as sedating as Elavil, but it does help with sleep also.

There are more side f/x with tricyclics (that's why SSRIs were invented) such as decreased sex drive, weight gain, dry mouth, sedative effect, dizziness from lowered blood pressure (when taken at a high dose), and the most serious side effect is irregular heartbeat, so you need an EKG once a year (al least). This hasn't happened with me yet, and I've been taking it for 16 years.

One thing that I've found very important, it should be taken at night only.
Let it do its work when your asleep, because it makes you feel weird if you take it during the daytime.


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## aldo1987 (Jun 12, 2006)

i was on lofepramine for a brief period and found it did very little, maybe raised my mood a little but did jack shit for dp. made my jaw really funny, popping ears,little side effects besides that. however i think i was on a very mild course coz its before i actually got diagnosed with an anxiety disorder so i dont know how valid my experience with it is.
p.s. tricyclics affect norepinephrine only i believe, not serotonin, dont know the significance of this with dp/anxiety.


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## Xu (May 6, 2006)

I would think that anything affecting seratonin would be less beneficial, although I'm against anti-depressants all together. I did a lot of reading up on SSRIs because I had horrible effects and withdrawal from them. To my understanding, all they do is overload your brain with seratonin, which achieves the same type of effect that LSD and PCP strive for.


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## comfortably numb (Mar 6, 2006)

Not all tricyclics act on the same receptors. Amitriptyline acts as a reuptake inhibitor on both serotonin and norepinephrine. Imipramine and nortriptyline act only on norepinephrine.

Lofepramine im not to sure of. The only thing ive heard about it is that it has much less anti-cholinergic effects then the older tricyclics and that its not sedating.

Also just because a medication acts on serotonin doesent mean its going to work like lsd. Lsd has totally different actions on serotonin. I only wish tricyclics acted like lsd lol.

Also pcp does not act on serotonin. Its a nmda receptor antagonist and it also acts on dopamine.


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## Xu (May 6, 2006)

I only said it achieves the same type of effects, but I guess you're free to elaborate  As far as I'm concerned, it's all brain dysfunction one way or another.


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## comfortably numb (Mar 6, 2006)

Xu said:


> I only said it achieves the same type of effects, but I guess you're free to elaborate  As far as I'm concerned, it's all brain dysfunction one way or another.


 Well ive never taken pcp before but i have taken lsd and its close cousin psilocybin, and i can tell you that the effects of these drugs have no resemblence to anti-depressants. You can take as much of a ssri or a tricyclic as you want and you wont get any lsd type effects.

With lsd or psilocybin you get pseudo-hallucinations, intense joy or occasionaly fear, a feeling of being connected to the universe, time distortions and other weird, funny or sometimes scary feelings.

If you take an ssri more then likely all your going to feel is either jittery or abit tired. If you take a tricyclic such as amitriptyline your mouth will go dry in an hour or so and you will probley get very tired and go to sleep.


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## Xu (May 6, 2006)

lol, and yet you promote anti-depressants? Well, someone close to me was into LSD (and other drug explorations..), and the "good" feelings of it didn't last long for them. From what they told me, after the first time or 2 it was just like taking an SSRI. *shrugs* I heard it from some other people too on a message board some time ago. My understanding was that it emulates an effect in the brain which is similar.


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## comfortably numb (Mar 6, 2006)

Well i dont promote anti-depressants but they do indeed do alot of good for some people. They are overprescribed alot and this was especially true back in the 90's, but they do work well for some people.

As for the lsd thing that your friend experienced this is due to tolerance. You build up a very rapid tolerance to lsd if you take it for a few days in a row. The same thing happens with psilocybin(magic mushrooms). I took mushrooms for about 5 days in a row one week and after the third trip i could hardly feel anything just some mild visual distortions. It still beat the hell out of anti-depressants though lol.

The tolerance to lsd or psilocybin goes away just as quickly as it starts. If you only take them once a week you wont develop any tolerance to them. The tryptamines such as lsd and psilocybin are about the only non-addictive drugs that i can think of that you actually build a tollerance to.

All the same these drugs are best used sparingly. They tend to lose their magic after repeated use.

The only thing that the tryptamines have in common with the ssri's is that they both work on serotonin. In fact if your taking a ssri it will pretty much block the effects of lsd or psilocybin altogether. Or atleast you will only get some very mild effects.


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