I've had Nortriptyline on hand for quite sometime and I've decided to try and swap over to it from Mirtazapine. I've noticed that whenever I dose it the feeling of "dopamine" comes back, every single time. My nervous system feels fried from years of chronic stress, low carb diets, fasting and high dose SSRI's & TCA's.
I respond very poorly to cholinergics also. My sleep statistics show that every single night my sleep are almost purely made up REM sleep and barely any deep sleep also. Even after a few days of nortriptyline I notice that I feel way more social and goal driven, I'm not stuck inside my head and full of bodily tension, rather my body feels somewhat lucid and relaxed - enabling me to focus and think rationally. I have a-lot of issues with my gut, sensitivities, breathing, Ph balance etc that are honestly just too fucking exhausting to get to the bottom of and have nearly killed myself trying to "figure out" and "solve" wtf the route of my problem is.
I used to be on High doses of Imipramine & Nortriptyline years ago (200mg+) and at times was on high doses of Lexapro (15mg) which made me mentally retarded. I became very ill after I stopped all these medications while on the infamous "Carnivore" and "Keto" diets. After some time I found out a lot of my problems could be reduced due to chronic hyperventilation from improper ventilation (too HIGH pressure from CPAP). Once I got off CPAP my conditions and brain function improved considerably. However, issues with medications, side effects, withdrawals etc left me unable to understand what was what and spent many years going on and off medications, all whilst still not treating my sleep apnea properly.
Now it seems my issues are mostly controlled with the use of increased deadspace added into my CPAP via an EERS. . I'm now on a low dose of Lexapro (5mg), Nortriptyline (25mg) and tapering off of Mirtazapine (30mg down to 7.5-15mg). With these in place I seem to be on the mend. I'm hoping to GOD that things go well with Nortriptyline, Im concerned that it's anticholinergic action will lead to long term negative effects with my stomach via slowed motility etc - However, I'm also sure that worrying and feeling tense 24/7 is enough to ruin the body and mind anyway so I'm praying it is a net positive at this point.
I'm not even really sure what my question is but I thought I'd just chime in with my current thoughts if anyone wants to add their perspective.
