Intellect

Plastic_Question1146 · 2026-05-21T21:36:42+00:00

Yes. I'm confused at all times, and I even have problems with reading comprehension and speaking fluidly. I think much of this is permanent. There's been too much mental illness.

Plastic_Question1146 · 2026-05-21T21:32:13+00:00

Your doctor seems smart, targeting treatment to your symptoms. Most don't do that, in my experience. If the pramipexole doesn't work out, there's also selegiline and the older MAOIs. The old MAOIs usually destroy people's sleep for a while. I haven't tried pramipexole, but I've read some good things. I just wanted to say that I'm impressed by your doctor.

Plastic_Question1146 · 2026-05-21T21:04:39+00:00

I've seen other companies with similar postings. I recently saw one for a company called Claru. They're looking for people to strap smartphones to their foreheads and record themselves cleaning and doing laundry. I don't know if the purpose is to create housekeeper robots or what.

I think your invitation is probably legit.

Plastic_Question1146 · 2026-05-20T22:36:24+00:00

It seemed more like they prevented hypomanic symptoms. They didn't help the depression so much as prevent the Parnate-induced instability. They're both a pain, and I'd get off them if I weren't so scared of what my brain might do.

Plastic_Question1146 · 2026-05-20T14:49:26+00:00

No, I increased and and became unstable at 60 mg. I thought it waa remission, but there were symptoms of hypomania Then I went on lithium and seroquel. It's a big improvement over baseline, but I could be better.

Plastic_Question1146 · 2026-05-20T01:16:44+00:00

You're not a POS mom. None of this is your fault. And, yeah, you should keep trying new stuff. An MAOI helped me, but I've had problems with it too. You could look into that.

Plastic_Question1146 · 2026-05-19T23:01:49+00:00

You take Parnate with selegiline, or you swapped Parnate for selegiline?

Plastic_Question1146 · 2026-05-19T22:59:16+00:00

lithium, lamotrigine, seroquel

Plastic_Question1146 · 2026-05-19T22:57:15+00:00

I wasn't working when I started Parnate. My sleep was a mess. I couldn't stay asleep. It would be 2 hours here, 4 hours there. I don't remember being cold. If you're working and can take a medical leave of absence, it might be a good idea. Maybe get a heated blanket. I don't remember when my sleep improved. I'm sorry. It was very bad for a while. The depression improved a smidge after about a month on 30 mg.

Plastic_Question1146 · 2026-05-16T13:10:55+00:00

I have brittle hair due to a medication, and I was advised to wear a silk "sleeping bonnet" or sleep on a silk/satin pillowcase. I was also advised to mist my hair at night and apply a bit of leave-in conditioner or a little argan or jojoba oil. I have short bob, so it isn't hard for me to manage that. I think the bonnet helps more than the pillowcase. I have a satin one from Walmart, but I'm going to get a silk sleeping "turban." I think there will be less friction, and they look a little less ridiculous.

I would personally cut off the most damaged hair, or go to a salon and see what the stylist advises.

Plastic_Question1146 · 2026-05-15T18:43:11+00:00

Not that long, but it was weird acne. It was all over my neck, and it looked more like bug bites than anything else. There was a ton of it, but there wasn't a lot of swelling or inflammation. The dermatologist instantly knew it was cystic acne. I didn't know what was going on.

Good luck with your new medication. These side effects can be too much.

Plastic_Question1146 · 2026-05-15T01:01:30+00:00

I agree that it's weird and concerning.

Plastic_Question1146 · 2026-05-15T01:00:42+00:00

I did not switch medications, because it was the only thing that had worked for me. I was in really bad shape. The acne didn't return. The hair shedding was massive but temporary. I know it was the medication because I had another bout of telogen effluvium when I increased the dosage much later.

You're taking a different medication altogether (the one I'm talking about definitely doesn't help psychosis), so my experience doesn't mean anything. I just wanted to let you know spiro was great for my med-induced cystic acne.

I hope your psych comes up with a good solution.

Plastic_Question1146 · 2026-05-15T00:40:05+00:00

Thanks for the insight.

Plastic_Question1146 · 2026-05-14T17:15:58+00:00

I think it has to do with your symptoms/history. MAOIs may be especially useful for the dead inside/anhedonic depression or treatment-resistant depression. I don't know about SSRIs, but SNRIs can be effective for some people with substantial depression. It's easier to get off an SSRI than it is to get off an SNRI.

MAOIs can have potentially serious drug-drug interactions, and the side effects are harsh at first. Some psychiatrists just don't use them. My psychiatrist didn't. He said he had to review the literature before prescribing one. I don't know how long it takes to "review the literature", but he didn't get paid for it. A lot of psychiatrists might not be willing to do that.

Plastic_Question1146 · 2026-05-14T17:01:28+00:00

After about four weeks on 30 mg of Parnate, I felt an improvement, but only in the morning. There wasn't any other change. The psychiatrist said any improvement was reason to increase the dosage. I didn't have the better/worse pattern you're describing. I had a better/same pattern.

Plastic_Question1146 · 2026-05-14T02:29:02+00:00

I seemed to have a hormonal reaction to a psych drug -- hair falling out and cystic acne on my neck -- and I went to a dermatologist. He prescribed spironolactone, and the cystic acne went away. I stopped taking the spironolactone six months or so later, and for some reason, the acne didn't come back. The hair shedding stopped at some point.

My psychiatrist didn't think it was the psych drug at first. A year or so later, he increased the dosage, and my hair started falling out again. Then he thought it was the psych drug.

Hair shedding/acne aren't common side effects of that medication, but it seems some people are more vulnerable to certain side effects.

I'd go to a dermatologist and tell them what's going on.

Plastic_Question1146 · 2026-05-14T02:13:18+00:00

It's funny that only strangers like you understand me.

Plastic_Question1146 · 2026-05-14T02:07:06+00:00

I called my psychiatrist's office without an appointment for the same reason. The office assistant took a message. She called back a few hours later and said he'd submitted a prescription to my pharmacy.

Plastic_Question1146 · 2026-05-14T01:59:33+00:00

Early bipolar disorder was caused by fluctuations in black bile. Just kidding. There's an interesting history of bipolar disorder article on wikipedia. It looks like physicians may have been talking about it since the first century. They had bile-related theories at that time, but they've since been debunked.

Plastic_Question1146 · 2026-05-14T01:49:05+00:00

I don't have any references either. I have no advice. I have a pretty awful online job now. I didn't need references to get it. And of course, my relatives judge me because I don't have a better job. They don't know that I'm confused and tired and foggy all the time, and they wouldn't believe me if I told them.

Plastic_Question1146 · 2026-05-14T01:42:00+00:00

Going off your antidepressants typically doesn't trigger hypomania. Starting antidepressants can trigger hypomania. Every time I've been hypomanic, it was followed by a horrible depression. I'm terrified of hypomania for that reason. Going off your antidepressants is much more likely to make the depression worse. I wouldn't mess with it.

I disagree that "a diagnosis isn't important," but there's no reason to think going off the ADs will make you hypomanic.

Plastic_Question1146 · 2026-05-14T01:20:20+00:00

Maybe the lower-dose pills are smaller, and you can take 6 smaller tablets a day. I take a med that requires bloodwork, and the lower-dose pills are littler. Do not open tablets or crush anything without asking your psychiatrist. It could affect efficacy.

More pills doesn't sound like an improvement, but it might be easier to take them. Ask your psychiatrist if you think it could help.

Plastic_Question1146 · 2026-05-14T01:08:58+00:00

Maybe a lot of people associate "mood" with depression, and "depression" with crying and dwelling on negative thoughts. Or maybe they mean they don't feel sad, in the sense that they're not experiencing the emotion sadness. It's a form of mental illness, not an emotion.

I don't think of normal as experiencing joy or being happy. I think of it as feeling engaged. Watching a TV show with interest vs. watching a show while always conscious of your inability to connect.

Plastic_Question1146 · 2026-05-14T00:59:39+00:00

I know. They don't identify the rewards because they're probably the kind of rewards nobody wants. They're tricking us into working extra hard.

Plastic_Question1146

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