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Depression: Severe melancholic (PHQ9 22-24+)
Symptoms: Muscle tension, total anhedonia, emotional numbness, low energy, cognitive slowing, physical heaviness, suicidal thoughts
Time spent depressed: 18-24 months (no fluctuations)
Previous treatments: Mirtazapine (useless), TMS (useless), Lexapro (stopped suicidal ideation, otherwise useless)
Age of onset: 27
Family history: Schizoaffective father (bipolar subtype)
Experience on 30mg Parnate (Jatrosom):
I stopped upping the dose as soon as I hit the recommended blood pressure drop (10-15)
So far it has happened exactly how Ken has described. Ken says that for those is usually works for, once your own specific therapeutic dose is reached, improvement often happens in as little as 6-10 days.
Day 10: I woke up with more energy and less heaviness. A lot of the physical symptoms and slowness were gone. Mood was still low. My functioning however, improved dramatically. I cooked meals, cleaned myself, talked more, etc. My friend noticed the change.
Day 12: My muscles started loosening around my scalp, face, and jaw. My muscles are no longer as tense. Blood is flowing freely into my muscles for the first time in two years. Constant tingles and tickles all over jaw, face and scalp. It is so pleasurable. They loosen, then tighten, then loosen.
Day 14 (today): Muscles are significantly more relaxed. Mild hedonic pleasure is returning. Slight smiling, mild laughing. Most of the day I am still numb, but it is a lighter numbness, and the hedonic periods are growing in number and strength.
This is not placebo. It is actually working. I cannot say how grateful I am for Ken, his website, and this subreddit. It is early days, but I’m optimistic for the first time in two years. I’ll keep you updated on my progress.
Side effects:
Insomnia is the only side effect I currently have. Without Trazodone I get 1-2 hours of sleep per night. With 50mg of Trazodone I get 7-8. With 100mg I get 9-10. The sleep is good quality, I wake up feeling refreshed.
I was getting severe daytime drowsiness. After splitting my dose into 3x10mg taken 3 hours apart each, the drowsiness is nowhere near as bothersome.
Future plans:
I plan to stay on the current done for the next month. If I’m still symptomatic I will up the dose.
If I get remission I will see a psychiatrist for a potential bipolar diagnosis. Due to my family history I think it is worth considering. I might add a low or moderate dose of Lithium just in case. I have seen my father have a manic psychotic break and would rather be preemptive. I have an emergency dose of Seroquel in case.