79 replies to this topic

[eon]

how's DXM working for you? Are you following the suggested dosage or taking a bit more? It's OTC but I think it is still bought behind the counter from a pharmacist if I'm not mistaken considering the abuse potential of it. I've never looked for it in stores, maybe I should to see if they are in fact OTC.

 

 Always Learning (so true,so true) I have been using low dose DXM like you are using memantine, with similiar benefits with the added advantage of easier availability(OTC cough syrup). I have some memantine  though that I have been meaning to try...thought 2.5mg.-5mg. to start? I believe it has a longer half-life also....Interesting thread by the way....

 

magnesium glycinate helps...but it's not a magic pill. maybe magnesium L-threonate might work better...

 

 

What about Magnesium for NMDA-antagonism/modulation?

http://en.wikipedia....ptor#Modulators

 

It's so subtle, it won't help anyone with serious anxiety problems.

 

 

[FeelsNumbMan]

I'd like to bump this to see if anyone else has any positive experiences with memantine. Was also wondering how OP's doing if he's still around or if he's even still on it.

 

I'm interested in giving this a try but I was wondering if anyone knew the best way to approach it without having to deal much with the brain fog and such.

[AlwaysLearning]

Yep, still on it and it's still working great. I'm actually taking things a step further by trying to enhance my glutamate transporter activity, hoping it will help with my "brain fog".

 

I noticed that Walgreens charges an insane price (over 1k for 30) for Namenda XR 28 mg, after my bf pointed out that Walgreen's overcharges for medications in general. So I'm going to switch to another pharmacy for all my meds for the greater good.  

 

Also, I noticed that vaping a particular hemp oil marketed for its CBD content seemed to quickly (and briefly) negate the antidepressant effect of the memantine. Just something to be aware of. (If anyone else has that experience, please post it.) Note that I am talking specifically about hemp oil, *not* cannabis/hash, for which I am unaware of any interaction with memantine.

 

 

[FeelsNumbMan]

Thank you for sharing. From your initial post it sounds like it has helped you out with apathy (feeling emotions and connection to others). Wonder if that was a huge problem for you prior to taking memantine. Also, did you experience any relief from anhedonia? I know you mentioned that it has worsened you anhedonia and brain fog in a few posts but was wondering if it has helped you overall.

 

Might be a long shot as it seems like not a lot of people get positive results from memantine as opposed to tianeptine (which didn't work for me)...

[AlwaysLearning]

Sorry if I was unclear. Mirapex was what (slightly?) worsened my brain fog and anhedonia. In spite of the drawbacks, I'm presently taking mirapex for its calming / mood stabilizing effects. I'm not sure whether memantine has had an effect either way on brain fog or anhedonia. 

 

I've never tried tianeptine, but it seems intriguing. I haven't read up on people's experiences with it, either. I'd be interested to give it a shot at some point, although I'm a little disappointed that its mechanism of action seems to be poorly understood. From what you've seen, a lot of people seem to have have experienced benefits from tianeptine but not many seem to have experienced benefits from memantine?

 

 

[Sygyr]

Thanks for giving us an update AlwaysLearning! I am thinking of getting some memantine myself. You mentioned last year "Also I'd like to note that some of the positive effects I've noticed recently are likely due to gentian root, so I would love to hear from others trying it independently of memantine. In the interest of minimizing bias, I'd prefer not to mention specifics at this point".

 

Since nobody has chimed in, I was just wondering if you could elaborate on these other positive effects? Also, are you taking gentian root in addition to memantine? Is gentian root supposed to be analogous to memantine in some way? Thanks!!

[AlmostEasy]

I'm resonating very strongly with your experience, though I believe I'm stuck in the middle still.  I believe I was suffering from long term excitotoxicity and was living in a completely different state of mind (dysfunctional one) but there I had some like blind/delusional confidence (since I didn't really feel anything) and it actually kind of worked for me to a certain extent.  Now I feel EVERYTHING and I feel like I'm in middle school again, re-developing who I am as a person.  Everything feels uncertain again.  I'm feeling sort of socially impaired almost.  It's really quite unsettling.  The positive is I feel like a normal human being again.  The sudden shift though makes this difficult.

 

But anyways, it appears as though you may have went through a similar stage?  Relearning the world in a new way again.  I'm not sure at this point if I want to increase my dose or decrease it as I don't know which is causing these issues, too much or too little, or if maybe I'm back to how I used to be but that returning to normalcy is a bit humbling and jarring from my delusional state.

 

Currently I'm on 15mg upon waking and ~10 mg mid afternoon.  I hit this kind of falloff point at about 6 hours after my first dose and I go into a sort of other "phase" of the drug and the secondary dose is my attempt to bump it back up, but it doesn't seem to.  So I guess I can say I'm on about ~25 mg / day, about 10 days in.  Is it possible I'm still in a brain fog state?

 

Thoughts?

[drg]

2nd day on memantine. 

First day 15mg, second day 10mg.

 

I feel quite agitated but have good energy. Zero desire to talk to people but don't feel anxious about it as I usually do. My heart rate seems to have increased by 10-15bpm and memantine seems the most likely reason. My blood pressure is high 140/80 today but my blood pressure seems to fluctuate between like 150/100 and 110/70 although low readings are more common. It didn't interfer with my already shit sleep which is good because I always adversely react to dopamine agonists so this one is not affecting me too harshly. But the increased heart rate is something I always get with things that act on dopamine and a side effect I hate because it always worsens my aerobic performance. 

 

Not sure if I can take this long term due to its effects on dopamine. Also I am pretty sure there have been antidepressant effects although it could just be stimulation. Being on it two days isn't really enough to get a good sense of it and placebo effects are very possible.

 

 

[AlexCanada]

2nd day on memantine. 

First day 15mg, second day 10mg.

 

I feel quite agitated but have good energy. Zero desire to talk to people but don't feel anxious about it as I usually do. My heart rate seems to have increased by 10-15bpm and memantine seems the most likely reason. My blood pressure is high 140/80 today but my blood pressure seems to fluctuate between like 150/100 and 110/70 although low readings are more common. It didn't interfer with my already shit sleep which is good because I always adversely react to dopamine agonists so this one is not affecting me too harshly. But the increased heart rate is something I always get with things that act on dopamine and a side effect I hate because it always worsens my aerobic performance. 

 

Not sure if I can take this long term due to its effects on dopamine. Also I am pretty sure there have been antidepressant effects although it could just be stimulation. Being on it two days isn't really enough to get a good sense of it and placebo effects are very possible.

 

Any more updates? How did it go?

[drg]

Things have stayed pretty much the same. Been taking 10mg in the morning. The memantine is definitely a bit stimulating, and improves my mood slightly. My  heart rate is still up 10-15 bpm which is a big annoyance to me trying to workout and get in better shape but it doesn't have nearly the same side effects as stimulants like: ritalin, adderall, modafinil even wellbutrin. Those meds keep me up all night yet memantine doesn't. 

 

I mentioned social anxiety and said it "seemed" better but I am not really noticing any change from taking it now.

 

Still undecided about taking it longterm.

[nicklesprout]

has memantine helped anyone with Benzo PAWS? my understanding is that it may not help if GABA receptors are damaged in Benzo PAWS.

[crazepharmacist]

Memantine kind of pooped out on me after a month of daily dosing. I think the benefits I experienced which were social anxiety, depression, and compulsion reduction were illicited largely due to the dopamine agonistic effects of the drug, not the nmda atagonistic action. The former is temporary and only felt during the initial honeymoon period while the latter functions long term. Does anyone know specifically the dopamine action of memantine works? Does it release dopamine similar to a reuptake inhibitor or does it sensitize receptors? I'm very intrigued as memantine supposedly staves off tolerance to stimulants and dopaminergic substances like adderall and methylphenidate yet how can that be true if the dopamine action of memantine itself stops working shorty after starting treatment?

[neuralis]

double post

Edited by neuralis, 07 June 2015 - 09:30 PM.

[neuralis]

has memantine helped anyone with Benzo PAWS? my understanding is that it may not help if GABA receptors are damaged in Benzo PAWS.

Memantine combined with agomelatine helped to clear out all my sleep issues caused by PAWS. Insomnia has haunted me for the better part of my life and it gets especially bad when coming off benzos. Staying up 2 nights in a row while experiencing other wd symptoms is no fun. Memantine and agomelatine took care of that part and that was relieving. It didn't do anything for other symptoms tho..

 

//edit: just to be clear, I relapsed after 2 months and I'm taking benzos again.. so definitely no panacea here

Edited by neuralis, 07 June 2015 - 09:29 PM.

[AlexCanada]

I took about 4mg Memantine sublingual about an hour ago. Pretty rapidly it's felt like my mind has slowed down from it's already currently slow state. I could see that being beneficial for certain subtypes of depression but not mine. I need more mindfulness, not less. I was playing an online game and all my decisions started to take forever. I feel more sense of calmness I guess but also more desire to sleep. In fact I think I will have to go to sleep in a moment after I eat dinner. I feel like I cannot function as well right now.  Does this abate generally and improved cognition tomorrow?  I feel a bit disconnected and apathetic right now. Not sure how to describe it. 

 

I also been taking Parnate 15mg + 1mg valium, 1.5mg LGD 4033,  and low dose dexedrine on and off (but none today).  

 

How might one augment this? Because I just feel like my day has been wasted. I guess initial sedation is meant to occur? 

 

 

What might be substances that behave in a more opposite manner to Memantine btw? 

Edited by AlexCanada, 21 June 2015 - 09:51 PM.

[Mind_Paralysis]

AlexCanada: What you're describing sounds a lot like the "brainfog" that almost everyone gets from Memantine, while going on a new dose. Usually it occurs when you increase your dose, I believe, but there does seem to be people who get it from the get-go - you're not the only one I've seen report this.

 

Generally it seems to improve, but it does take a few days - and generally that's why so many quit Memantine - the dosing is tricky, and the brainfog is a common and, sadly, recurring phenomenon.

 

That is supposedly one of the benefits of NitroMemantine - less brainfog, easier to find the right dose. Alas, that one seems to take a long time to come out, and possibly with good reason. ( nitro is mutagenic)

 

 

I think a bit of stimulants might counteract the brainfog to a certain degree - but if you're not prescribed something like that, I wouldn't recommend it.

 

Memantine seems to be one of those drugs that work the best when you've already got very high glutamate - since it's an NMDA-antagonist, it's bound to sedate you, since it lowers glutamate - but if you've already got abnormally high glutamate, you won't be quite as friggin' sedated - you'll be normal.

Edited by Stinkorninjor, 22 June 2015 - 10:23 PM.

[turchin]

After reading this I tried 100 mkg of memantine - just a small piece of a pill, and got 3 day of unexpectedly good mood. After it redosed 100-200 mkg and got instant mood improvement from - 1 to +2 on scale from - 10 to + 10.

But I put my memantine just on the tongue, didn't swallow, so it may absorbs quicker.

In the first day I had a little brain for and dull effect.

[timtam777]

After being diagnosed with ADHD and being a chronic nail biter (OCD spectrum) I thought this may have killed two birds with one stone as I didn't respond well to dex and ritalin.

 

Unfortunately, the highest dose of memantine I can tolerate without feeling bleh is 15mg/day. Unfortunately it's not really having much of an effect. I have been at this dose for a few weeks now.

So I've pretty ruled out excessive glutamate.

 

I am reasearching the high dose glycine route now...

[eon]

Vitamin B3 (niacinamide) for social anxiety? Read the great article below. I'm already familiar with the B vitamins but great news just keeps popping up:

 

http://neurosciencen...ty-status-3176/

[AlwaysLearning]

Great find eon! A vindicating narrative and an encouraging result. I will be looking more closely at B3 for anxiety. (I still have certain types of anxiety, including self-doubt, that I am hoping to treat. I still do not have the social status and alacrity I desire.)