Amisulpride — A Multipurpose Drug for ME/CFS

[godlovesatrier]

I'm sure Goldstein said prolactin was often high in the ME patients he saw. Sure I read that in one of his books.

In my case oat bran is what increases my prolactin. I've had this confirmed by the NHS.
Although I think oat bran might have been conferring it's benefits via toxin binding and prebiotic ability. So I've found some alternatives finally.

 

[jaybee00]

have been using bromocriptine for the last 4 months

Has this helped with MECFS symptoms? Bromocriptine is either a dopamine agonists or partial agonist. If it’s a partial agonist then it might be similar to Abilify and maybe help with MECFS symptoms. If it’s a full agonists then it may be difficult to withdraw from.

 

[sb4]

Has this helped with MECFS symptoms? Bromocriptine is either a dopamine agonists or partial agonist. If it’s a partial agonist then it might be similar to Abilify and maybe help with MECFS symptoms. If it’s a full agonists then it may be difficult to withdraw from.

I don't get PEM so don't have ME. It doesn't seem to have had much affect on my dysautonomia symptoms. I take 5mg in the morning, this makes me rather sleepy for a few hours and I have a stuffy nose. The upsides are bromocriptine makes calorie restriction more feasible as a method for losing weight.

 

[jaybee00]

So it doesn’t help with fatigue or brain fog?

 

[lenora]

I'm a grandmother from the last century and we actually had bromocriptine then as I had a pituitary tumor and it was a useful cure for the problem.

I was on for probably 15-20 years and never had any problems. So, if this makes any of you feel like you're using something safe enough, go for it. The prolactin levels are now fine, it has been a non-issue and, to be honest, even though the tumor was the first of my problems, it is now the least. I don't even list it as a problem now because it isn't. It did return to normal. Best wishes. Yours, Lenora

 

[sb4]

I'm a grandmother from the last century and we actually had bromocriptine then as I had a pituitary tumor and it was a useful cure for the problem.

I was on for probably 15-20 years and never had any problems. So, if this makes any of you feel like you're using something safe enough, go for it. The prolactin levels are now fine, it has been a non-issue and, to be honest, even though the tumor was the first of my problems, it is now the least. I don't even list it as a problem now because it isn't. It did return to normal. Best wishes. Yours, Lenora

Just out of interest did you notice any weight loss particularly when starting the bromocriptine?

 

[lenora]

Hi @sb4......This was such a long time ago and I was young and very thin. I can't say that I recall a change one way or the other.

You're right though, medications can play havoc with our weight at times. Of course life's changes do the same. I don't know anyone who wears the same sizes and our closets are full of everything from XS to sometimes L.

Whereas I once used to donate my clothing, I now keep it. Meds, physical activity and so many other things play a role. Heavens, you even read the side effects of many things and they can have either weight loss or weight gain for the same thing. I don't let these things bother me anymore....but I hope you aren't losing too much weight. Ask your doctor the next time you're there.

I wish I could help you more....but this was probably over 35 years ago. Yours, Lenora

 

[sb4]

@lenora Ah, no problem. I am actually happy with the wieght loss so no problems their either.

 

[rushington]

Hey,
I was put on 25 mg Amisulpride then 50mg for 9 months, it worked fine but recently I have become so anhedonic and irritable, should I lower the dose even further than 25 or go higher ? Please share your input with me, I don't want to lose my job, I'm a disaster these days...

 

[Rvanson]

Hey,
I was put on 25 mg Amisulpride then 50mg for 9 months, it worked fine but recently I have become so anhedonic and irritable, should I lower the dose even further than 25 or go higher ? Please share your input with me, I don't want to lose my job, I'm a disaster these days...

They don't test for it on drug screens. I'd up the dose slowly. If it is negative, then back down.

 

[Hip]

I was put on 25 mg Amisulpride then 50mg for 9 months, it worked fine but recently I have become so anhedonic and irritable, should I lower the dose even further than 25 or go higher ? Please share your input with me, I don't want to lose my job, I'm a disaster these days...

I found very low-dose amisulpride helped a great deal to reduce the irritability symptom of ME/CFS, but it does not do much for my anhedonia. But then anhedonia is almost impossible to treat.

I don't know whether lowering or raising your amisulpride dose will help. I take 12.5 mg daily, and find when I go up up 50 mg, I start to lose motivation, and become less task focused. So that's why I keep my dose low.

You may like to look at this list of possible biochemical causes of irritability, and suggested solutions. N-acetyl cysteine might be worth trying. I have also found that lots of salt increases irritability.

 

[Artemisia]

I don't get PEM so don't have ME. It doesn't seem to have had much affect on my dysautonomia symptoms. I take 5mg in the morning, this makes me rather sleepy for a few hours and I have a stuffy nose. The upsides are bromocriptine makes calorie restriction more feasible as a method for losing weight.

Any particular reason you take it in the morning rather than at night?

 

[sb4]

Any particular reason you take it in the morning rather than at night?

As far as I understand it and I may be butchering it here, you want bromo to activate the dopamine / leptin receptors in the morning as that is when they should be peaking. In obesity they aren't getting activated so much at this time. At night time if you take bromo it gives a boost in dopamine when there shouldn't be one.

The book I got this from (Lyle Mcdonald) mentioned studies showing bromo taken in the morning leading to wieght loss and not so at night.

I am also going to speculate that the short half life helps in this regard too.

 

[nsdn]

Taking 8 mg of Amisulpride plus Mucuna Pruriens, my prolactin does not drop below 40. Now I will take 4 mg of Amisulpride daily to see what happens. I don't think anyone has taken such low doses.

 

[nsdn]

With 4 mg of Solian I have finally given prolactin in the range, 15, and I have returned to having a normal sexual desire for my age and better erections than with high prolactin. I remember that I have reached 86 due to Solian and my sexuality was zero. The problem now is that my noise tolerance has lowered somewhat and this is important for social life.

I'll go up to 6mg Solian and see what happens.

Of course I am still improving with Abilify after 18 months, and I attribute that to complementing it with Solian.

 

[nsdn]

With only 6 mg of Solian I am having prolactin in range, at the end of the year I had 16.80 ng/mL.

I tolerate reasonably noisy situations so 6mg is my dose.

 

[Shanti1]

I had amisulpride in my possession for over a year before I finally gave it a try. I didn't do well with low dose Abilify, so I wasn't hopeful for amisulpride. However, one evening after fanaticizing about strangling my saint-like husband for putting his spoon down too loudly, I decided to give it a go.

I started with 12 mg and with in 15 min began to feel relief from the hyperacusis, misophonia, irritability, and the inner tension they create. Within an hour I was happily chatting away with my husband and actually having thoughts about how it might be nice to visit with a friend. I did find, though, that my motivation was a little low at the 12mg.

I dropped the dose to 6mg and then to 4mg and still found relief at these doses, though never quite as much relief as the first time I took it. Sadly, amislpride wasn't all roses for two reasons.

1. After a few doses it seemed to aggravate my OI, especially the feeling of weakness in my heart that I associate with poor ventricular filling.​

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2. I became ravenously hungry, putting on 5lbs in the two weeks I used it. Menstrual cycle was also one week late. I could measure prolactin and try cabergoline or bromocriptine to see if I could curb the cravings, but I'm hesitant to take meds to treat my meds.​

For now, I decided to only use amisulpride as a rescue med for when the sound sensitivity and irritability get really bad. Interestingly, they have been better since my amisulpride experiments, which ended about 3 weeks ago. I'm not sure if this is a residual benefit from the amisulpride or due to what I am currently experimenting with (coenzymated B1 and GHK peptide).

 

[Hip]

I started with 12 mg and with in 15 min began to feel relief from the hyperacusis, mysophobia, irritability, and the inner tension they create. Within an hour I was happily chatting away with my husband and actually having thoughts about how it might be nice to visit with a friend. I did find, though, that my motivation was a little low at the 12mg.

This is what I found too, that amisulpride improves the desire to socialise. I found that with my ME/CFS, I did not realise that my tendency to social withdrawal is not just due to a desire for peace and tranquility, but also because the brain no longer gets as much pleasure from socialising. Social activity seems to have less meaning. But as soon as I started taking amisulpride, I found this brought back some of the sense of enjoyment and meaning derived from socialising.

Also, the soothing of irritability I think increases the desire to socialise, as when you feel irritated by people, that never really helps.

I also found that amisulpride would reduce my motivation and dull my mind slightly, like a tranquillising effect, especially at doses higher than 12.5 mg daily. But after some time on amisulpride, I think my motivation returned to normal.

 

[Shanti1]

Despite feeling better overall, this evening, after a poor diet choice, I could feel a bad episode of irritability and hyperacusis coming on. I took 6mg of amisulpride and it worked like magic. What a relief, what a great find. I'm so glad you posted about amisulpride @Hip

This is what I found too, that amisulpride improves the desire to socialise. I found that with my ME/CFS, I did not realise that my tendency to social withdrawal is not just due to a desire for peace and tranquility, but also because the brain no longer gets as much pleasure from socialising. Social activity seems to have less meaning. But as soon as I started taking amisulpride, I found this brought back some of the sense of enjoyment and meaning derived from socialising.

Also, the soothing of irritability I think increases the desire to socialise, as when you feel irritated by people, that never really helps.

Yeah, I didn't realize how bad some of my antisocial feelings were until they were temporarily lifted. I have to remind myself that most of my critical thoughts of others are due to the ME's effect on my brain and are not really reasonable and are hardly compassionate. Its nice to have something that provides some relief for when the irritability overcomes reason, or for when I need to socialize.

 

[Hip]

Despite feeling better overall, this evening, after a poor diet choice, I could feel a bad episode of irritability and hyperacusis coming on. I took 6mg of amisulpride and it worked like magic. What a relief, what a great find. I'm so glad you posted about amisulpride @Hip

I used to have military-grade irritability when I first developed ME/CFS. It was really severe, and I had to bite my lip all the time. So I was always looking for treatments, and trying to figure out what would trigger it, because it is such an unpleasant mental state.

Apart from amisulpride, I found the following reduce my irritability:

Estriol 0.3 mg (as a transdermal cream on my arms) I found improves irritability, sociability, and boosts mood a bit within a few hours. Though as a male I can't use it all the time, as you would start growing breasts. I originally experimented with estriol as it is a weak oestrogen which has anti-autoimmune effects, and has been used as an MS treatment. I found no benefits for my ME/CFS, but noticed it was good for irritability.

Arginine 10 grams daily.

Vitamin B2 50 mg.

N-acetyl-cysteine I read is sometimes used to treat the severe irritability found in autistic children, though I have not tested this for my own irritability symptoms.



Occasionally I also get anger flair ups (for no external reason, just due to aberrant brain chemistry), and would spend the whole day in an angry mood, which I don't find pleasant at all. Anger I find is similar to irritability, but there is more emotional weight behind anger.

It took me many years to find a solution, but I discovered that supplements which suppress testosterone, and suppress dihydrotestosterone (DHT), actually work very well to calm the anger, and work within a few hours.

So my usual anti-anger protocol is: saw palmetto (standardised extract) 320 mg, peppermint oil 200 mg and zinc 25 mg. These all lower testosterone or DHT, and clear my anger within a few hours.