![[dr. bob]](/dr-bob-sm.gif)
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 2 of 2. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Raoul on March 7, 2001, at 15:14:00
I've been on Nortriptyline for almost a year at 125 mg.
This dosage gives me a blood level just above 50, like
56, within the 50 to 150 "therapeutic window."I'd been spending a few nights at the home of this guy
I'd been seeing and as a result I may have missed four
or five doses over a three week period. I then sorta
crashed with anxiety and depression and thought it might
be the result of a drop in my blood level. I decided to
take an additional 25 mg a day in the hope of bringing the
level up. I thought it also might be a good idea to
push my level further into the therapeutic range.Up until this point I've had no real side effects from
the Nortriptyline. Just dry mouth, which is a pain, but
better than the sex problems attending Zoloft and the
like (not that it would interefere with actual sex, just
with thoughts of sex and the things one might do to put
them outta your head). Within 18 days of taking the higher
dose(150 mgs) I put on what I consider an unacceptable
amount of weight -- maybe ten pounds (in addition to
much worse dry mouth).I thought the weight gain might be attributable to
the lack of exercise that accompanied my relapse --
all that lying in bed for 48 hours at a time. I stuck
with the 150 mg dosage and dived back into my exercise
regimen for two weeks. No weight loss. I've
had other lapses in exercise (although not with this
much weight gain) and have been able to get back down
real fast -- a week or so. I decided the new dosage
was the culprit and now I'm going back to 125 mg.Has anyone had a similar experience? Could this 25 mg
jump switch-on the weight gain side effect like that?Does it matter where you fall within the therapeutic
range?Thanks
Raoul
Posted by Cece on March 7, 2001, at 22:08:03
In reply to Nortriptyline and Weight Gain, posted by Raoul on March 7, 2001, at 15:14:00
Hi Raoul-
I gained a lot of weight (and had nasty dry mouth)on Nortriptyline also- but still take some (40mg) because it really helps my sleep and depression. At the end of this, I'll give you the url's of a couple of posts I've made about this problem and what helped.
But, I winced a bit at a couple of things you said, and want to respond, with concern and good wishes. First, I really hope that you aren't making up these dose changes all by yourself! Not a good idea- these are powerful drugs! If you don't have a really good pdoc to work with, please get one ASAP. And as for missing doses- also not a good idea (I crash fast if I miss my Nortriptyline)! I always carry meds with me. I take a lot of meds in addition to Nort.- I pack up my doses in little ziploc bags for a few weeks at a time, and carry 3 days worth with me in my purse. So, if I stay over at my boyfriend's unexpectedly, I'm not stranded. Actually, I also carry another week's worth in my car for real emergency (I live in earthquake country and have a fear of being caught somewhere, unable to get home, and w/o my meds).
So, here's where to go if you want more info on my experience with Nortriptyline weight gain:
http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010302/msgs/55724.html
http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010302/msgs/55393.htmlTake care,
Cece
This is the end of the thread.
Psycho-Babble Medication | Extras | FAQ
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.org
Script revised: February 4, 2008
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/cgi-bin/pb/mget.pl
Copyright 2006-17 Robert Hsiung.
Owned and operated by Dr. Bob LLC and not the University of Chicago.