# Dr Simeon's prescription to me



## bark (Nov 7, 2005)

I was one of the luck ones to have participated in a DP study in NYC a couple of months ago and got to see Dr simeon for free afterwords. She diagnosed me with DP and suggested Clomiponmine for DP. Don't ask me why but I haven't tried it yet. Has anyone tried Clomiponmine and felt releif? :?:


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## Claymore (Jun 13, 2009)

Thanks for the post, if I were you, I would do what she said and take it the way she said so you can tell US if it helps as she knows what she is talking about and would not have given it to you if she thought it would make you worse or harm you. Please try it and tell us what happens because we are desperate for anything that helps and if you got that from Dr. Simeon herself, it very well could help. A lot of us are not lucky enough to have the moolah to take a trip to NYC to see her ourselves. Consider yourself lucky. :wink:


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## wael (Sep 5, 2008)

Do you mean Clomipramine? 
Have you only got DP? Is it anxiety related or more depression related?
Im not planning on using a trycyclic. Does she advise DP ers in general to use this medicine, or just you, in your situation?


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## flipwilson (Aug 19, 2006)

I saw Dr Simeon in October 06 for her marijuana induced Dp study. She also prescribed me Anafranil (Clomipramine). I didn't want to take it because it says one of the side effects could possibly be triggering schizophrenia, and that runs in my family. She actually emailed me and told me to stop worrying and just take it, no joke. So I took the lowest dose and it still wrecked the hell out of me. Felt like the night i smoked the joint. So they told me to take the capsule and only take a quarter of the already low dose and build up to the full pill. I took it for four months but was certain it was increasing my depression so i stopped taking it.

Looking back i probably should have upped the dose because that actually will lessens the side effects, usually the normal practice for anti-depressants. I had some better moments while taking it, although it obviously didn't cure me. At one point i felt 80% on it. I'm actually thinking of trying it again because going the med free route has seemed fruitless and i am convinced I may need something to help my brain along its journey back. She prescribes this to most people I believe because they did a small 5 person trial with the drug and for 2 people it helped quite a bit, 1 a little, 1 not at all, and 1 person had total remission of DP, although the Dp would come back once the drug was stopped. I would try to cope and get better without meds for as long as you can, then if you feel you've hit a wall try it, just my opinion.


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## Guest (Jun 15, 2009)

Hmmm. Everyone is different, so the reason for Dr. S prescribing this should be based on her assessment of you only.

Clomipramine is Anafranil -- an older tricyclic I tried years ago. It is "dirty" -- that is it not as "pure" as later anti-depressants and has more side-effects, but this was initially prescribed for OCD. A friend of mine has OCD and had panic with DP during the panic attacks, but her primary Dx is OCD. She had to switch from Anafranil (as did I) as it made her sleep all day. Also it's sort of an atypical tricyclic? Sort of an SSRI and a tricyclic? Comfortably Numb knows EVERYTHING about meds. Might ask in the meds section or search the drug.

If Dr. Simeon suspects OCD as causing your DP symptoms I'd gather that med is worth a try. However a few things that seem to help more are the more recent SSRIs - the "cleanest" being Celexa. But these are all in the Prozac class. Also, at the IoP, the real helpful med seems to be Klonopin/clonazepam and an SSRI -- and Lamotrigine. The best combo I've been on, I'm on now for quite a few years ... Lamictal/lamotrigine, Celexa/citalopram, Klonopin/clonazepam.

My diagnosis however is GAD, clinical depression, and chronic secondary DP/DR.

My friend w/OCD and panic is doing very well on Zoloft or Prozac now. I forgot. The more current "SSRIs" -- and I'd say Lexapro is even MORE current.

You can look up any med in a great search engine: http://www.rxlist.com and I think you are talking about clomipramine or Anafranil.

BUT, everyone is different. If she thinks it is appropriate for you you may as well give it a try, and push it to the dose she recommends. I just recall it making me impossibly sleepy... my friend as well.

http://www.rxlist.com/script/main/srchc ... &x=47&y=13 Here is the direct link to Clomipramine with all the info you need. There are always warnings here of 8 zillion side affects. Most people only experience the ones at the top of any list.

Did you ask Dr. S. why she chose this medication for YOU? Not just that it was effective for a group in a trial? Curious?


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## Guest (Jun 15, 2009)

flipwilson said:


> At one point i felt 80% on it.


Well, there you go. That's damned good. It is always good to try to force your way past initial symptoms. For me and my friend, we were just so knocked out it was pointless to push on with it.

You NEVER know what may work for someone.


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## bark (Nov 7, 2005)

flipwilson said:


> I saw Dr Simeon in October 06 for her marijuana induced Dp study. She also prescribed me Anafranil (Clomipramine). I didn't want to take it because it says one of the side effects could possibly be triggering schizophrenia, and that runs in my family. She actually emailed me and told me to stop worrying and just take it, no joke. So I took the lowest dose and it still wrecked the hell out of me. Felt like the night i smoked the joint. So they told me to take the capsule and only take a quarter of the already low dose and build up to the full pill. I took it for four months but was certain it was increasing my depression so i stopped taking it.
> 
> Looking back i probably should have upped the dose because that actually will lessens the side effects, usually the normal practice for anti-depressants. I had some better moments while taking it, although it obviously didn't cure me. At one point i felt 80% on it. I'm actually thinking of trying it again because going the med free route has seemed fruitless and i am convinced I may need something to help my brain along its journey back. She prescribes this to most people I believe because they did a small 5 person trial with the drug and for 2 people it helped quite a bit, 1 a little, 1 not at all, and 1 person had total remission of DP, although the Dp would come back once the drug was stopped. I would try to cope and get better without meds for as long as you can, then if you feel you've hit a wall try it, just my opinion.


The reason why i am resisting is because it can cause cardiovascular problems messing with your heart and can induce schizophrenia. It also causes confusion and memory loss which is my least favorite symptom of DP. Forget about ever having sex, with this drug it almost guarentee's minimal intercourse enjoyment. I did see one symptom that raised an eyebrow however...In some cases yawning will cause ejaculation. hmmm


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## spaced-out (Mar 28, 2008)

If you are talking about clomipramine (Anafranil) , I took it couple years ago . It did not help me and it did not do anything wrong to me, I believe. I was getting Anafranil shots directly to my vains to speed up the effects , as I was that time in a therapy group in Prague and doctors wanted to get the response ASAP . As far as I can remember the only major side-effect was lowered blood pressure or feelings similar to lower blood pressure. When I stood up too fast or when I was playing soccer , I felt really dizzy. Of course , as it comes to the psychofarmaka , everyone is different. 
If dr. Simeon prescribed me that , I would give it a shot. I mean , if just because of her name  
If you are afraid of side effects , you can always get on it just very very slowly and gradually, watching what its doing to you. If you start feeling schizophrenic just quit


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## voidvoid (Sep 5, 2008)

I dont think Schizophrenia is something you can just get rid of once you get it. Drug-induced or otherwise.


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## voidvoid (Sep 5, 2008)

Then again after watching "Generation Rx" I am extremely hesitant against all the drugs we use.


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## bark (Nov 7, 2005)

So has anyone tried Clomipramine? I was too chicken Sh*t to try it.


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## Absentis (Jul 10, 2007)

I think there's a single study on clomipramine that had four subjects, two of which improved, the other two didn't. With that few subjects it's easy to get statistically significant results. I don't think its use is supported by the literature. But hey, what do I know?


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## peacedove (Aug 15, 2004)

Wow, it can cause Schizophrenia? I was thinking about asking a doctor about it, but becoming Schizophrenic is a big fear of mine and I found out not too long ago that my uncle has it. Yikes. Yeah, I don't know... I can understand your fear. Taking the drug would be risking the possibility of getting something that might be worse.

Also, after seeing that cheerleader who got irreversible dystonia from the flu shot, I'm scared to take anything unfamiliar. I mean sure it was a flu shot, but I got acute dystonia once from an antipsychotic... so I may be prone to the other kind. I wasn't even aware of the irreversible kind until the story in the news about the flu shot...

Then again... she is a doctor, so she SHOULD know what she's talking about.... me though, I have issues trusting doctors.


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## York (Feb 26, 2008)

A lot of people on here has gotten different prescriptions from dr Simeon. I think she's a nutter who uses people as labrats.


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## aloof (Nov 18, 2008)

wow.....why she is so hyped oh anafranil is beyond me. did you see the actual trial? it was like 8 people, 3 or 4 dropped out due to side effects, and one had dramatic decrease in symptoms. Please....that drug is no more likely to help you than anything else, and my guess is had larger study been done, results would have been very negative. She should do more reading about what DPD sufferers have tried with success(why not recommend klonopin?) but making recommendations from these very small sample groups where one or two people have had some positive effects is ridiculous imo. she needs to seriously re-evaluate.


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## aloof (Nov 18, 2008)

york said:


> A lot of people on here has gotten different prescriptions from dr Simeon. I think she's a nutter who uses people as labrats.


Agreed...typical nut job researcher who wrote a book...not even a very good one really. I have read it along with the other 2 out there. The Sierra book is much better. Until some better studies can be done with larger sample groups, she should not be making recommendations to anyone.


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## voidvoid (Sep 5, 2008)

I have seen her name on some rather significant studies. I have not read her book.

example: http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/con ... 57/11/1782


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## Absentis (Jul 10, 2007)

aloof said:


> york said:
> 
> 
> > A lot of people on here has gotten different prescriptions from dr Simeon. I think she's a nutter who uses people as labrats.
> ...


Both of you should be grateful because a lot of what we know about DP/DR is due to her research. She is one of two experts in the world interested enough in DPD to devote their time to researching and treating it. Neither one of you are in a position to be criticizing her.

Edit: And you should *definitely* not be insulting her.


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## Rebekah (May 16, 2009)

I took a very small amount of Anafranil--I opened the capsule (it only comes in caps), and took a small bit of the bitter powder at bedtime and had a very bad experience. I actually had an anxiety attack and felt like ants were crawling all over and through my nervous system, plus I felt as if I were choking. Took an Ambien, then after I fell asleep I woke up nauseated, and almost puked. I could never take it due to the nasty side effects. I don't think there is a drug on the market that is targeted for DP?


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## aloof (Nov 18, 2008)

Absentis said:


> aloof said:
> 
> 
> > york said:
> ...


you are entitled to your opinion, as am i. the "nut job" comment i probably should not have said- it was not meant to suggest she does not do good work, i am sure she does. but to suggest to someone they should take a med- to stop worrying and just take it, that is uncalled for, especially when the trial that was done was anything but convincing on the effectiveness of anafranil for relief of depersonalization symptoms. sort of pompous if you ask me.


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## Absentis (Jul 10, 2007)

aloof said:


> you are entitled to your opinion, as am i. the "nut job" comment i probably should not have said- it was not meant to suggest she does not do good work, i am sure she does. but to suggest to someone they should take a med- to stop worrying and just take it, that is uncalled for, especially when the trial that was done was anything but convincing on the effectiveness of anafranil for relief of depersonalization symptoms. sort of pompous if you ask me.


See, that's the kind of discourse I like. You're criticizing the actions of a health care professional and the merits of a drug trial, both of which are needed in proper scientific discourse. My only problem with your post were was the ad hominem, without which we can have a proper discussion about the pros and cons of a prescribed drug in the treatment of DP/DR, a subject in which we're all invested.


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## York (Feb 26, 2008)

Absentis; You care too much, give it a rest.

I'm just saying, I've heard so many stories about people getting help from her, and it's mostly meds they get (not psychological help), and some seem a bit much to give people who have something no-one knows too much about and who are already fragile.

And why on earth should we be grateful to her, a lot of people are doing a much better job helping people who suffers from dissociation, without messing with their biology. I see what you say, I'm sorry I can't agree.


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## Absentis (Jul 10, 2007)

Have you even glanced at the literature? She's the lead author on the majority of articles published on the topic.


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## aloof (Nov 18, 2008)

Absentis said:


> Have you even glanced at the literature? She's the lead author on the majority of articles published on the topic.


what exactly does that prove though? Not saying her work isnt productive, but most of her studies are practically worthless due to the extremely small sample groups....and she seems standoffish and only willing to tell people to try some unproven med like anafranil. that is a nasty nasty drug, and she should realize that most DPD sufferers are sensitive to how meds make them feel, given the sense of detachment that already exists.


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## Absentis (Jul 10, 2007)

Would you rather her not have done any of that research, or not do anything to try and help people like us?


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