My crazy new cocktail - up, down, side to side...does any of this make sense?

[MarshmallowKitten]

Ok so very long story short here...
I suffer from severe depression. 60mg daily fluoxetine
I am prone to panic attacks because I am a wacko. 1mg alprazolam
Because my mind is always busy, I often don't sleep at NIGHT. 10MG zolpidem (that has somehow magically increased itself to up to 30MG at a time...)
Back pain. 10mg norco as needed (that has also magically increased itself to around 30/40MG per dose once or twice a day) btw at that but also must admit I absolutely ADORE the high but not the nod...wierdo I know but also its because........
I have Multiple Sclerosis which has just recently started giving me severe fatigue. The, omg all I did was get dressed to go to work and I feel like I've been at the gym for 3hrs type. Grrrr. We tried amantadine (lol at that one..), then modafinil, now today I have been switched to methylphenidate 5MG twice a day

I am feeling a bit like a walking, talking pharmacy at this point. What's bothering me here is a lot of these medications seem contradictory or even dangerous together. Granted, they were all prescribed so I am assuming they are not going to kill me off with their own prescription list but still I get a little paranoid (alaprazolam anyone? ).

So before I start taking the methyphenidate...since that is new...does anyone out there have any experience taking it for fatigue and does 5mg twice a day seem like a proper dose? IMO, it seems terribly low but I am afraid to take more and then either have to load up on the zolp to get sleep or start freaking out more and having to load up on the alpraz (can I take these together btw?). I am pretty darn new to having to take so many meds on a daily basis. The ones mentioned above aren't even all that I take daily but are the ones I felt should be listed for the sake of this thread. Anyway, I must admit that while I do have lots of issues that need medication, I also LIKE to get high and find myself wondering about not just the therapeutic effects but the fun side effects of the drugs I have and if I may accidentally be combining things I shouldn't when looking for a high. Is taking such a high dose of an SSRI keeping me from any recreational effects of the stuff I am taking? Are there things here I should not be mixing or should be spacing out. For the methyl, since i have to take it anyway, should I go ahead and chew it up or is sniffing it up a better route if I want to enjoy it? I read about a lot of nasty side effects from it but not many specifics? What exactly am I looking at here? Damit I hate being so paranoid. Normally I would have just taken the stupid things by now but noooo. 8)

Wow this thread is a mess. to anyone who can make sense of it and offer some advice to a newbie kitten.

 

[Swimmingdancer]

There is nothing wrong with doing your own research - just because a doctor prescribes something does not automatically make it safe. Although they should know your medical history, exactly what all you are taking and in what doses, your tolerance, etc and hopefully have a better understanding about what they are prescribing than the general public would, doctors are not infallible and don't have time to be super knowledgeable about all drugs, drug interactions and side effects.

If you are prone to anxiety and panic attacks I would avoid the methylphenidate or at least start with a very low dose to try it out. 5mg twice a day may not be a "recreational" dose but it is a pretty normal starting dose for fatigue. And you don't want a high dose that will give you bad comedowns, trouble sleeping, etc. Personally I find methylphenidate to cause me a lot of anxiety, so go slow with that one. You don't want to wind up having to raise your alprazolam and/or zolpidem to cope with side effects from methylphenidate.

I would also be concerned about adding a higher dose of the methylphenidate on top of the SSRI. Honestly I just think you should stick to taking the methylphenidate exactly as prescribed and not snorting it or trying to get high off it.

If you are fatigued during the day, taking 30mg zolpidem every night is probably not be helping with that. And I'd try to keep the Norco dose down as much as you can too.

 

[pasha]

So, to get this right:

60 milligrams fluoxetine
1 milligram alprazolam
30 milligrams zolpidem
5 milligrams methylphenidate x 2 daily
10 milligrams hydrocodone PRN

Even though stimulants are often prescribed to combat fatigue from MS, some scientists think that they can damage myelin sheaths, so methylphenidate maybe counter-productive in that respect, this maybe why your doctor has you on such a low dose. Also, taking alprazolam, hydrocodone, and methylphenidate concomitantly will kill most if not all of the effects of the methylphenidate. Methylphenidate can also worsen the symptoms of anxiety and depression at times.

Other than the obvious fact that mixing depressants isn't a good idea, I can't see anything else in your regimen to be hypercritical about. Also, if MS is a big issue, I would highly consider using medical marijuana depending on where you live, MS patients who have tried it consider it a revelation.

 

[MarshmallowKitten]

Oooh good points folks. Thanks for the info. I always try to read up on anything new I am given. The minute I was diagnosed with MS I suddenly was research crazy and that has stuck with me because all I really want to do is make myself better so I can be around/healthy for a long time for my daughter. So I tend to get paranoid and question what I am given. But then you hop on the internet and sometimes its almost too much and it makes it worse. xD You know I had like NO IDEA that any research indicated that stimulants can damage myelin sheath around nerves. That is the last thing I need. >.> I inject copaxone daily to combat that sort of thing and I do NOT enjoy needles so I hate to think I may be doing it for nothing by adding counter productive meds. D: Tonight I will give my hydro a break (I need to work on this one anyway!!!) and skip the zolp. Perhaps give melatonin a chance instead. I haven't had any sort of anxiety today (hooray!) so I think I will be good without the alpraz as well. If I need it, I've got it. I will see how the suggested dose of the methyl does. So far so good. I did take 5mg this morning and felt a bit more alert and focused at work but it didn't last long. I am overdue for the second dose so I will get that down now. I am so bad at remembering meds throughout the day. If its not in my morning box thingy, I forget.

 

[bronson]

^ Indeed. Try to cut down at least to a point. If you use any given medication recreationally, you're going to start seeing diminishing returns for any therapeutic value.

Trust me, I know when things already suck the temptation is highest, but you'll be much better for it overall if you can stick to Rx'd doses.

 

[Crashing]

60 milligrams fluoxetine
1 milligram alprazolam
30 milligrams zolpidem
5 milligrams methylphenidate x 2 daily
10 milligrams hydrocodone PRN

There's no way that's 'safe' but it is maintainable for a while i'm sure. It's just strange that the doctor took you from baseline, put you on pain meds, anti anxiety meds, sleeping pills.. and now you're FATIGUED... duh.... now hes putting you on a stimulant... i swear man some doctors are fuckin weird.

Am i missing something??

Just imagining taking that daily, i would assume that there would be very little difference between adding 5mg 2X/day methylphenidate and just lowering the dosages of your other meds. It's like the doctor is just gonna keep stacking you up higher and higher... ok more depressants, alright lets add some stims, oh cant sleep, cant wake up, something for this and that... jeez

You said you suffer severe depression, does that mean the SSRI is not working? Hey no surprise there.

Edit - taper off all that garbage before your brain melts, and smoke cbd rich cannabis instead.

 

[Jktm]

Never tell someone to stop taking their psych medications and to smoke weed, that could cause further problems. Face it potheads, it might be the be-all end-all drug for your problems, but that doesn't necessarily mean it is for everyone else.

You can always research what you're prescribed in depth if you want, but if you just want to know if it's safe, just use an online drug interactions checker. ^[example]

 

[bronson]

Face it potheads, it might be the be-all end-all drug for your problems, but that doesn't necessarily mean it is for everyone else.

QFT! It bothers me to no end the amount of times people have recommended this to me. The odds of it working would roughly equate to the odds of my exact medication combo doing wonders for them...

It's almost as if they want to recruit as many people to their culture as possible. It's every bit as absurd as me saying they need to try some high quality SSRIs.

The fact is, if you aren't happy with your meds talk to your doctor. If that still doesn't help find a new doctor.

 

[Crashing]

Just for the record, i do smoke pot but very rarely. You really think it's fair to equate cannabis to SSRIs? SSRIs are total shit and if you take them i'm sorry about that but I think it's perfectly logical to suggest people try cannabis instead of a ridiculous combination of drugs that their doctors are just throwing at them. Depression can be cured naturally, there are numerous studies done on it. In fact, most diagnosis of the western world can be treated naturally but are most often treated with shit medications. It's all right at your fingertips.. I mean, hey man nobody has to take my advice.

 

[Venrak]

Don't listen to anyone telling you to stop taking your SSRI and go speak with your doctor.

Some of these suggestions are very bad ideas.

 

[Crashing]

MarshmallowKitten, nobody is trying to hurt you. When I, and probably anybody else, says to stop taking your SSRI, we honestly mean to talk to your doctor about tapering down, not to just literally stop taking it.

 

[Swimmingdancer]

I think cannabis is worth trying for some who has difficulty sleeping, MS, pain and depression. A great many people find it very effective for those things. I don't think Crashing was saying "cannabis is guaranteed to treat all your problems and is effective for everyone". Of course it doesn't work for everyone but it's worth trying. Sadly it definitely does not work for me, and I've tried many different strains and products to no avail. But I do know a lot of people who find it to be a life saver and say it was the only thing that allowed them to live without sleeping pills, opioids, etc. So I think if it's at all an option it is worth a try at least, it has far less risks and side effects than the vast majority of medications frequently prescribed for similar purposes.

Aside from that, I agree with bronson that if you aren't happy with your doctor, find a new one. There are some great doctors out there. The main purpose of this thread was to tell you about the risks, side effects and interactions of the drugs you are prescribed and discuss the effects and dosage of the methylphenidate, which I already shared my opinion about.

As for stimulants damaging myelin, I don't know about methylphenidate but I do know that amphetamine has been shown to cause demyelination.

 

[laCster]

There is nothing wrong with doing your own research - just because a doctor prescribes something does not automatically make it safe. Although they should know your medical history, exactly what all you are taking and in what doses, your tolerance, etc and hopefully have a better understanding about what they are prescribing than the general public would, doctors are not infallible and don't have time to be super knowledgeable about all drugs, drug interactions and side effects.

If you are prone to anxiety and panic attacks I would avoid the methylphenidate or at least start with a very low dose to try it out. 5mg twice a day may not be a "recreational" dose but it is a pretty normal starting dose for fatigue. And you don't want a high dose that will give you bad comedowns, trouble sleeping, etc. Personally I find methylphenidate to cause me a lot of anxiety, so go slow with that one. You don't want to wind up having to raise your alprazolam and/or zolpidem to cope with side effects from methylphenidate.

I would also be concerned about adding a higher dose of the methylphenidate on top of the SSRI. Honestly I just think you should stick to taking the methylphenidate exactly as prescribed and not snorting it or trying to get high off it.

If you are fatigued during the day, taking 30mg zolpidem every night is probably not be helping with that. And I'd try to keep the Norco dose down as much as you can too.

I completely agree with swimming. Taking an ssri on a DSNRI aka methylphenidate will cause multiple side effects. Serotonin syndrome is a probably combing the two SSRI s such as Ritalin + fluoxetine.

30mg ambien is to high to high of a dose with the other drugs such as and xanax. I say ditch the ambien, xanax and fluoxetine, for methylphenide/dexedrine for depression and anxiety, anxiety (best for GAD/SAD, anxiolytic effect strengthens when combined with benzos such as valium , sleep issues (insomnia, trouble falling asleep,ect..also increased by benzodiazepines). Lyrica can be sedative and less sedative in its own way. Like Pregabalin (lyrixa) with methylphenidate or amphetamine is awesome because it will provide anti anxiety effects without too much sedation so you can focus and stay awake on methylphenidate. But honesltx , ritalin and concerts gives me more anxiety than amphetamines. I really suggest looking into vyvanse for chronic fatigue as it is the least anxious-causing amphetamine and definitely produces less anxiety as methylphenidate . Concerta/Ritalin ,.methylphenidate in general makes me feel exceedingly anxious and agitated . On the other hand, vyvanse which is basically dextroamphetamine xr, is very smooth. Smoothest of all amp meds because it doesbt provide drastic peak in blood lwevels like IR addy or methylphenidate or dextroamphetamine IR. I recommend it any day over methylphenidate (XR/IR) AKA concerta (XR) or Ritalin IR). finally for sleep, pain relief,and anxiety, go for low dose amiltryptamine. Take amiltryptamine 2hrs before bed, and even it is an ssri lik fluoxetine, amiltryptamine has a shorter half life thus having shorter duration of effects, so you can take it at night, and not kill amphetamine or methylphenidate(concerta) effects or high, bor cause any side effects like fluoxetine does when taken with concerta

Valium, vyvanse (listdextroamphetamine), Pregabalin (Lyrica), and amiltryptamine. I bet you will feel happier and less depressed or anxious abs these drugs. Also, the drugs I recommended to use will provide effective pain relief allowing you to take less oxycodone,, these drugs would make oxycodone feel stronger,, and give you the perception and feeling that opiate tolerance. Is lowered. Ambien is ineffective on you as it seems you increase to 30mg! No worries. Valium in your system, +amiltryptamine+lyrica will definitely make you get to bed to go to sleep faster and sleep longer than ambien. It is time to try something new

Xanax nit working well for anxiety and pain? Valium and Pregabalin will work twn time better for your situations. Valiums long half life and pregabalins long half life will prevent any anxiety or panic attacks from phobia, stress, ect.. and if you do have a panic attack or feel too anxious from methylphenidate , diazepam kicks in within 20mins orally on an empty stomach, and sublingual diazepam kicks in within 5-10mins sublingual for acute panic attacks. Also, Xanax has shitty muscle relaxation, which on other hand valium is an excellent skeletal muscle relaxant, hypnotix, anxiolytic, ect..the muscle relaxant effects iof valium really go a long way to help oxycodone so much more effective at stopping the sensation of pain. Lyrica potentiates benzos like valium and opiates extremely well, that includes dramatically reduction in pain taken with opiate or benzos.

So New drugs


Norco, valium (replacing ambien andXanax) , Pregabalin (replacing fluoxetine Xanax), vyvanse (instead of concerta and/or fluoxetine), and amiltryptamine (replacing ambien and fluoxetine).

If you can't get Pregabalin, gabapentin is basicall the same drug but three times weaker than lyrica. 100mg lyrica = 300mg gabapentin. Remember that you get added sleep and pain and anti anxiety control; much better compared to Norco, Xanax, ambien, fluoxetine


Take 20mg vyvanse on any empty stomach with 50-100mg. (or 200-400mg gabapentin) . Wait 30-69mins after taking the vyvanse and Pregabalin (lyrica), and take 5mg diazepam +5-7.5mg hydrocodone (norco).wait 6 hrs depending on evels , ans start with 50-100mg lyrica on an empty stomach, wait thirty to sixty minutesx and take another 5mg.valium and 7.5mg Norco....before wait 6hrs from last Norco, to take 50-100mg lyrica on empty stomach preferably before diner , then wait 30-60mins and take another 5mg valium and 7.5mg Norco ....2hrs before bed, take 10-25 mg amiltryptamine. The valium and lyrica will stack, for valium build up your system so effectively you will have 20-25mgs diazepam at any given time while lyrica just reaches a steady plasma levell. Both of thesedrugs will help keep away pain and anxiety 24/7 all day, around the cloxk. Amiltryptamine will be basically better version of fluoxetine but with better pain killing abilities so it will keep you out of depression more effectively

 

[paranoid android]

QFT! It bothers me to no end the amount of times people have recommended this to me. The odds of it working would roughly equate to the odds of my exact medication combo doing wonders for them...

It's almost as if they want to recruit as many people to their culture as possible. It's every bit as absurd as me saying they need to try some high quality SSRIs.

The fact is, if you aren't happy with your meds talk to your doctor. If that still doesn't help find a new doctor.

I fucking second that one! I smoke alot of Cannabis but i hate these potheads who think that weed can replace every drug on the planet. I swear when i have told some of these morons that i take morphine for trigeminal neuralgia, gabapentin for trigeminal neuralgia, clonazepam for panic disorder and GAD, lamotrigine for bipolar disorder, Quetiapine for bipolar and bupropion for the depression part of the bipolar as well as seasonal affective disorder they look at me like i have just slaughtered their first born baby ffs

Cannabis does help the nausea and vomiting i get from pain, it does stabilize my moods abit and helps reduce the frequency of my nerve pain. But it will not replace the meds i am on. It won't help me if i am rolling around on the flor crying from pain and it won't help me if i am shaking from a panic attack.

Honestly i hate the Cannabis cures everything crowd almost as bad as i hate the straight edge idiots.

 

[pasha]

Honestly i hate the Cannabis cures everything crowd almost as bad as i hate the straight edge idiots.

You might want to take it easy, I didn't say cannabis can cure everything and I certainly didn't say that it can be substituted for pharmaceuticals. I only recommended it because it's showing tremendous promise for MS. In the end of the day from a medical perspective, it can be suitable for some people, and not suitable for others, just like any other medicament.

 

[Epsilon Alpha]

You might want to adjust your diet to have more vitamin D and fats (particularly omega-3's) in it for the MS, that sucks man I see way too much of that in my part of the world. Be careful with the downers though, MS patients have VERY high rates of addiction to them unfortunately. You methylphenidate should be dosed as low as possible due to stims possibly worsening your myelin degeneration.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20218806

 

[Crashing]

ss

You might want to adjust your diet to have more vitamin D and fats (particularly omega-3's) in it for the MS, that sucks man I see way too much of that in my part of the world. Be careful with the downers though, MS patients have VERY high rates of addiction to them unfortunately. You methylphenidate should be dosed as low as possible due to stims possibly worsening your myelin degeneration.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20218806

This would probably make a world of a difference right there. My mother was on her death bed with bone cancer and just changed her diet and exercise habits and the cancer completely vanished within a few years. That was about 15 years ago and shes totally healthy today. But, she could have gone on a slew of meds instead, she just chose not to.

There seems to be two very clear cut methods of dealing with illness, as i outlined above. And when recommending cannabis, which has nothing to do with the culture whatsoever, it goes along with the healthy lifestyle.

 

[Jabberwocky]

okay so seeing as this has turned into a bashing/non bashing cannabis thread i want to make this clear to the OP:

cannabis will NOT cure you of your disease unfortunately. there have been multiple studies carried out to prove that cannabis helps treat the symptoms, not prevent the onset of it. now - if you can and are willing to try it, i think why the hell not? it could be really great for you. i strongly suggest you don't get off all your other meds though. as for the MPH - perhaps a different stimulant medication would be more suited for you, or perhaps just taking it out of your regime all together.

on another note: bronson - i didn't know you had ms?

 

[Swimmingdancer]

^Did he mean that? I thought he just meant that people recommend cannabis for all sorts of health problems, including his.

How's it going with the methylphenidate Marshmallow?

 

[bronson]

No I don't, nor did I mean to imply that I have ms. I've just been given the recommendation a sickening number of times in regard to my OCD and severe anxiety. Yes I've tried it. No, it didn't work, only made matters worse.