PDA

View Full Version : anafranil



obair
29-06-08, 17:55
i Doctor prescribed me anafranil 100 mg per day. Anyone else on this??

Tom_M
29-06-08, 18:57
Hi obair

Anafranil is a tricyclic antidepressant which are considered more powerful and effective than SSRI's. The reason why doctors prescribe SSRI's rather than tricyclics, seeing that tricyclics are more effective than SSRI's is that they are considered a dirty drug. What that means is that they are not as selective as the SSRI's and can cause more side effects. However, side effects aside, Anafranil is not only a antidepressant but it also as a tranquilliser effect which is ideal for anyone with panic. Of all the antidepressants I've ever had in the past Anafranil was the only one that completely got rid of my depression and panic.

Just to add. The side effects completely go away after a couple of weeks - apart from loss of libido and failure to orgasm if you are a male.

Tom

belle
29-06-08, 19:20
I don't want to put a negative spin on this medication, but this was the one that put me off all others.

I took TWO, thats all. The first one i took within one hour i had blacked out (while having at the time my 9 month old son in my care and i was alone), i almost vomited on myself and i felt absolutely horrendous. I didn't give in, i took another...and then that was it, i couldn't take any more. The nausea, fainting and dry mouth was more than i could contend with.

I couldn't eat for 2 weeks i felt so sick and achey.
Good way to lose weight though ;)

x

london
30-06-08, 12:03
wonderfull pills and it works

pete69
16-09-08, 15:20
starting this med tomoz as all ssris have had zilch effect for my social anxiety.
just hope side effects aint gonna be to bad.i have to work and cant spend the day shaking in the house:blush:

joy
16-09-08, 17:48
Thought you were going on Nardil???

Joy

Tom_M
16-09-08, 18:16
I think you get less side effects with Anafranil than you do with SSRI's. Anafranil don't just work on Serotonin they work on most of the neurotransmitters, even the ones associated with pain, so they also make a good painkiller, especially with spinal pain. 75mg is the optimum dose - well it was for me.

Tom

pete69
17-09-08, 22:36
tom: yup im gonna be taking 75mh eventually,just starting out on 25mg for 3 days then up to 50mg for 3 days then finally full whack of 75mg .
had 1 tablet a few hours ago,feel like i do when i took ssris,shaky hands,headache,general nervousness...didnt expect to get away totally s/e free...hopefully they will do some good n stop me constanly thinking of myself ,my thoughts,and how others percieve me.

joy: i was hoping to start on nardil,but shrink decided that we should go with the trycylics route first,then if that didnt work we can have a go at nardil.
got 8 weeks worth so plenty of time to know if they gonna benefit.

hope your keeping well

pete

Tom_M
17-09-08, 22:47
Anafranil is an excellent antidepressant. I suffered with depression on and off for 40 years, and of all the antidepressants I tried (which was most of them) Anafranil was the only one to completely get rid of my depression and panic attacks. I think I have been on them over 6 times and they never fail to work. The side effects vary from person to person, but only last a couple of weeks at the most. The only down side of this medication is that you can loose your libido while on them, but coming off them (gradually) causes no side effects what's so ever.

Tom

chloe555
22-09-08, 17:35
clomipramine is the only anti d that i could take as i tried all different ssri and had terrible side effects.I have been on 20mg for 2 and a half years now and they have helped me so much also great for intrusive thoughts.I had horrible harming thoughts as well as many other obsessive thoughts and they have helped so much with them.
Hope they work as well as they have for me for you,although they will make you feel worse at first but that will wear off.



chloe x:)

diane07
22-09-08, 18:41
I was given this drug 19 years ago, and it left me so bad that i went through childbirth twice with absolutely no drugs at all, not because i was brave but because it left me with a terrible fear of ever taking tablets or drugs again. I personally would rather have the panic than the side effects.

di xx

pete69
24-09-08, 22:55
i have been doing some research on various social anxiety sites and generally this med doesnt get great reviews for the treatment of sa.

it even states in the leaflet that it is for anxiety and ocd.
where as meds like seroxat and nardil will actually mention social anxiety.

ive been on them a week and had dry mouth like im eating flour,cognitive movements are very rigid,shaky hands,headaches.
yup i know -all the side effects that all anti dep have but im asking myself if its worth the aggro if in the long term im still at square one.

joy
25-09-08, 17:59
oh dear pete you are getting on the side effect band wagon as you say is it worth it!!!!

Joy

pete69
25-09-08, 18:06
joy,
i know no drug is s/e free but yet again im questioning what the shrink has given me-hes only trying these as nardil is bottom of his list -so basically im taking at drug from the 70s when no one had even heard of social anxiety,and
its supposed to help...me thinks different-nit even gonna bother carrying on with em-just wait 6 weeks till see shrink and tell him they did no good-was on em regular-honest doc!!

i think venlafaxine is next on his list before we get to nardil,i may give that a proper go as have heard good reports on it and our good friend yvonne is doing ok on it.

hope your well joy
pete:yesyes:

joy
25-09-08, 18:28
well venlafaxine didnt do me any good and sent the anxiety sky high, as a matter of interest i've gone back on seroxat not the generic version but still waiting for the miracle that was seroxat the first time so in other words still struggling

Joy

pete69
25-09-08, 19:52
joy,
i have heard that seroxat 2nd time around is never the miracle it was first time,in most cases it just doesnt cut it.
i hope you find different.i think they call it poop out.
a good side for info is seroxatmad

how long was you on the effexor for? now youve made me think no a/d is gonna help-i will end up 75 and still a klon head!!

joy
25-09-08, 20:03
on effexor for several months. I was a member of seroxatmad for ages. I know several people that seroxat hasnt worked for again but several it has. It was really last chance saloon for me as nothing else has worked anyway.
dont be put off by my experiences something has to work sometime

Joy

Franz
26-09-08, 13:14
100mg Anafranil completely cured me of social anxiety, so much so that I was able to go down to 25mg.

Worst side effect for me was big weight gain.

The only reason I now suffer with it again is that I dabbled in occult things. That was really a very bad idea.

Tom_M
26-09-08, 13:33
Antidepressants effect people in different ways. Some people swear by Citalopram while others find them unbearable. I guess you have to experiment to find out which antidepressant suites you the most.

Tom

pete69
26-09-08, 20:25
absolutely tom,its all trial and error,
franz,interested to hear the anafranil helped greatly with your sa.
i may give it another chance-i have nothing to lose,and everything to gain..weight, according to your post!!

are you on anything else for the sa or just the 25mg.

joy
30-09-08, 18:23
Hows the anafranil going Pete or has it gone????

Joy

Phil_85
12-10-08, 15:39
Hi, I was diagnosed with severe OCD, severe depression and severe anxiety in Septemeber 2007 after a nervous breakdown. I had the OCD all my life but as I got older it got worse and worse until it came to a head. I tried numerous drugs through my psychiatrist and GP but eventually ended up on the tricyclic antidepressant Anafranil (Clomipramine) 250mg. My psychiatrist told me that this is gold standard treatment for the psychiatric symptoms I was suffering. I was also perscribed alongside Anafranil an anti-psychotic called Olanzapine 2.5mg, a benzodiazepine to mask the anxiety called Lorazepam 1mg when needed (very addictive if abused), and a sleeper called Zopiclone 7.5mg at bed. I took this concoction from December 2007 until July 2008 as advised. Of course I was slowly weened onto the medication and slowly weened off between the dates I have given. The doses I state I was taking was at its peak. Anafranil didn't work for me (even at 250mg), the OCD/anxiety/depression remained. The only things that did work were the highly addictive drugs Lorazepam (to mask anxiety) and Zopiclone (to sleep). I suffered severe side effects which I can't be sure from which medication but anyway, I gained 3 stone of weight over 4 months, terrible stretch marks on arms, stomach and legs and heavy sweating (all probably weight related). I also had a total loss of libido - which at 22 was very worrying and upsetting. Everyone reacts differently to medication usually depending on how your body metabolizes the drug. I think I have a slow metabolism which then caused me to get most of the bad side effects. I would be very careful about trying different drugs to see which ones work. It is better to go into some kind of therapy first drug free (such as CBT), and then if no improvement is obtained over a period of time then maybe trying something. However, on the whole I wouldn't recommend drugs full stop. At the time I took these drugs I had the understanding that I was in the safe hands of the medical professionals but I now wish I'd been more assertive and refused. Who knows - hindsight is a wonderful thing - or not if it becomes part of your obssession as it did with me lol. Anyway, since coming off these drugs finally in July 2008, I have lost 2 stone of weight. I plan to lose another stone through diet and exercise to get back to my normal weight of 12 stone at 5ft 9in. The OCD/anxiety/depression is still there but after over a year it has become more manageable. I will now manage it without any drugs.

pete69
24-10-08, 20:35
phil,
thxs for sharing that.made interesting reading.
the anafranil can be great for ocd reading some posts but i think for social anxiety/gad maybe not so.
i think maybes the anti psycotic med would have given you the worse side effects-they are nasty meds.made me shake from head to foot when i had 2 tabs.

i am lucky in the fact i dont actually suffer with depression and the social anxiety while limiting my life to certain areas doesnt get me totally down,i cope with klonopin -i work have a g/f ,house etc so in that sense my life could be a hell lot worse.
im just looking for a med that has no side effects and makes me comfortable in other peoples company so on the spur of the moment i can do"whatever i want" this drug is not been invented-you could argue a benzo is that drug,and yeah will keep anxiety at bay and work in 30mins....i dont know-just rambling on now,good post anyways and good luck with the future.

pete