as someone said earlier you really should be researching before taking something, tbh now i understand why everything is the way it is with the whole medical system and all.
really probably most people shouldn’t have to worry about this type of stuff on their own, it’s just if you are a stubborn person the whole “my way or the highway” mentality these practitioners have don’t always co-exist the best.
MAOIs
There is that Ken Gillman psychiatrist in Australia who has a website that has a lot of good research on MAOI inhibitors and parnate in particular. A lot of the "cheese" stuff is overblown today as those chemicals were less related to cheese and more in processed meat (and no longer used). You also had OTC drugs like dexedrine that obviously are not a good mix with parnate (despite it being an amphetamine derivative). Selegiline is also an amphetamine derivative, but Parnate is clearly superior.
Parnate was the last MAOI brought to market (1961) so didn't really get the attention it deserved. From what I've read, it's a good drug. The biggest problems are the bp issues that are actually variable (hypotension can happen). The dosing is also too arduous - 3x a day I think. I guess if you're so depressed you can't get out of bed you can remember 3x per day. My take away is it works fast and is probably best for a psychiatric hospital, but should be a 3rd line treatment just because of the dosing protocol and risk of fainting. Probably with the technology we have today, an extended release once per day form could be manufactured but the demand is just too low and the cheese stigma will never go away.
Commentary on psych medsI
think in the AAS world, psychiatric drugs should really only be considered as adjuncts to deal with the mood altering side effects of the shit we take. Too many have nasty side effects - especially the ones with anticholinergic activity (all tricyclics, Nardil (MAOI), Paxil, virtually all 2nd generation antipsychotics. And then there are the interactions that are unclear.
Personal experience with Reta and Vyvanse
An example of unknown interactions: I was running reta on cycle and was fatigued the entire time. Seriously fatigued. But the shit was working amazingly so I kept at it. Got a Vyvanse prescription. Didn't really help, and higher doses just made me feel anxious. Turns out the GLP-1 drugs reduce hunger by directly modulating how your brain responds to dopamine inducing pleasurable activity. They don't block dopamine like an antipsychotic, but keep it from spiking after eating food, drinking alcohol or doing cocaine (Tirzepatide is in Phase 3 clinical trials for alcohol and cocaine use disorder). For a slow acting drug like Vyvanse at the dose I was taking (about 10mg dextroamphetamine over 12 hours), it just makes it so it doesn't work. Did my AAS stack make this effect worse? Who knows.
But it doesn't block norepinephrine, so you get all of those side effects. Increased blood pressure, anxiety. Anyway, I stopped taking reta once I got to my desired weight, and I was fine. Stopped taking Vyvanse.
Lithium and new Cocrystal technology
I've written it here before, the only psychiatric drug I believe is beneficial for everyone long-term is lithium. But until we get the cocrystal technology delivery mechanism to market it's a real kidney risk. The risk of oral steroids is overblown - most people's liver can take a real beating. Your kidneys can't. I've read too many case reports of people with perfectly fine blood work every 6 months, then boom total kidney failure. But those are bipolar doses. Not dementia prevention doses.
Anyway, Alzamend Neuro is trying to bring a cocrystal version of lithium to market that more directly targets the brain and doesn't affect kidneys. Apparently, it has a complex structure not unlike Vyvanse. It will probably cost a fortune once released ($2,000 per month is the typical retail price of all the new antipsychotics). Hopefully China will say fuck your patents and we can buy it cheap. But what from I've read, it is extremely complex to manufacture and current plans are to manufacture it here in the US, which is rare these days.
Alzamend Neuro is researching it for everything they can. Bipolar, Alzheimer's, Alzheimer's prevention (preventing mild cognitive impairment from getting worse), major depression add-on, schizophrenia.... Data looks good on bipolar at least. it's definitely on the fast track for FDA approval.
I'd take 300mg of lithium carbonate per day over selegiline. I get kidney function tests every 3 months as part of my general blood work anyway. Lithium level tests are like $20 a PrivateMD Labs. 300mg won't do anything for mood most likely, but probably helps the brain.
Psych meds
I still think AAS users should keep something like Seroquel or Abilify on hand if they start to lose their shit, especially if using tren. The stuff is cheap from India and when used acutely (just a couple months) they are fine. And they work fast, in a week or less.
For many with mood risk, starting lamotrigine before cycle is 100% safe and has no risks like weight gain, lipids, etc. It just takes 6-8 weeks to titrate up to 200mg to avoid the risk of SJS. So you can really only use it to prevent losing your shit. Won't help if you are already going nuts over your girlfriend cheating on you.
