When meds "poop out" or stops to work (tachyphylaxis)

Medications
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I was on the strongest antidepressant available (MAO-I).

I stopped taking it, partly because it had no effect any longer and because I started methadone because I was addicted to opium. Then I crashed with a severe depression, and swapped methadone with suboxone and started my MAO-i again.

Now my MAO-i is working again. I’m not depressed anymore, quite happy in fact, but I am really worried that the effect from MAO-i will stop again.

One of the strategies if you experience poop out or tachyphylaxis is to pause the medication for a month or two and then start again.

Tachyphylaxis - Wikipedia

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Thanks for the tip.

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I have had this problem with seroquel, even the higher dose didn’t work anymore… this is years ago…

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I was on nardil for a while (MAO-i). I think it was really helping with my negatives, but it was also making me anxious (I think it was slowly making me go into psychosis) so I stopped it. But I still have some laying around. The thing is I have a bad habit of starting and stopping meds, to which I think my dr has been getting upset with me.

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Me too, but now i promised my pdoc to stay on my current meds for half a year, and yes MAO-i can cause psychotic like symptoms (it increases dopamine in the brain), i have such episodes too, but i have to take my MAO-i anyway because of its antidepressive effect

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I see, wish I had the balls to stay on the MAO-i, because it definitely was positive for the most part. But I’m on a really low dose of abilify (5mg) so I’m not sure I’m stable enough to be experimenting with stuff that increases dopamine.

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Wise not to start then, MAO-i is considered as a last choice when everything else has failed. Its mostly used when ECT and lithium doesn’t work - and i have tried both.

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Yeah, I just don’t think a regular antidepressant would work on me (something that just boosts seratonin). So I somehow talked my doctor into the MAOI. I think my doctor is just kind of naïve, which is why I was able to convince her.

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but yeah, once I’m more stable, I might try l dopa mucuna.

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I tried I dopa mucuna when i was without marplan, it had some effect, but not as powerful as MAO-i. I also tried Kanna, sceltioum tortousom, but only recreationally, i think it is still legal in the states. Its quite powerful, but expensive.

Good luck

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Hopefully I can get my doctor to represcribe me the MAOI if that is my only hope for negative symptoms once im stable

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