high dose memantine side effects?

[Satsumass]

i can't figure out if the high dose memantine (35-45mg) i'm on is the cause of this extreme fatigue i'm feeling, or if it is just continual sleep problems. I'm wondering if anyone else has experienced extreme fatigue (more than just brain fog) on high dose memantine.

also, how long does it take before the memantine dissociative symptoms / feelings go away. i was on 40mg of memantine 2 years ago and tolerated it fine, but this time, it's thrown me for a loop since the first 5mg dose over a month ago. maybe cuz i'm not taking PEA at the same time . i want to stick with it, and i think some of the dissassociative symptoms have actually really helped cognition and quieted the noise and distraction, but I still feel "high"...like I feel high for the past 4 weeks basically. its definitely helped mood and OCD symptoms, but i can't go through life feeling like this, it's really decreasing functionality.

[alias45]

Try the addition of piracetam; its been reported to synergize (dunno wheter it would block the ocd benefits) but its worth a try for the side effects.

[Satsumass]

OH really? THanks! I didn't know that. Do you have a reference? Is it just piracetam or any racetam?

[rjm07]

Memantine disrupted sleep architecture for me. Even at 10mg, following chronic use, it produced broken and unrefreshing sleep. I've read of others who have taken the drug who got this side effect too. 35/40mg is a whopping dose.

I had a retrial a few months back and 10mg totally kicked my ass. Interestingly, it now had the opposite effect to what it used to, making my OCD a million times worse. Internal chatter was horrendous after a week of use. I promptly discontinued.

Definitely interesting though because it shows how my brain has changed within that year.

[joy_shape]

apparently it decreases stage 1 and 3 sleep. strange, i coulda sworn i remember reading it improved sleep architecture, but now i can't find the cite.

[rjm07]

Yeah, it probably might improve some aspects of sleep. For myself though, I would awaken maybe two or three times a night (which is unusual) and even if I did sleep right through I would always wake up, not feeling bad - would even feel pretty decent, but it would just feel unrefreshing. That's my n=1 though!

[joy_shape]

did you only ever take 10mg? what were you using it for?

[Psych0]

Someone is having nightmares while on it? Which dosage?

[rjm07]

I used as an experiment for OCD as I had become disillusioned with SSRIs. It worked well the first time but not on the second trial which was a few months back.

[Satsumass]

interesting...well my sleep was already screwed up before memantine, and i can't detect any impact either way it's having, but i can't afford to lose any deep restorative sleep. i still feel really out of it. i don't know how wise it is for me to keep trying to push the dose, but everything i've read online says it's a/d and antitolerenace effects really kick in at 40mmg+. I'm shooting for 50mg, and tapering off of prozac and wellbutrin and saphris (hopefully) at the same time., which is what I'm justifying such the high dose with. i'm hoping memantine can fit the bill for depression and especially my OCD type behaviors....even at a low dose it really improved self-insight, toned down the bipolar / hypomanic speedy thinking, and helped reduce senseless behaviors. it REALLY quieted the noise, but i do feel like a little bit of my creativity and passion has been lost. ideas i was passionate about in recent months now seem just loony (i don't know if this is good or bad), and i'm a bit less motivated, though that could be the other med changes and general despair over the extreme fatigue i'm feeling / sleep deprivation.

i don't know what to do next. i feel like i'm a mess....i know something is wrong, but i don't think docs take me seriously because of all the meds/ supplements i'm on / changing, but even independent of that, i know something is amiss underlying. i haven't slept well for 10 months, have had definite bipolar instability over the past 12 months, mixed states, extreme fatigue, compulsive idea seeking, and addictive med seeking behaviors. i was hoping memantine would help with a lot of this, and i think it has, but if its making the fatigue worse or causing brain fog which won't ever go away, i can't tolerate it.

ho long does memantine brain fog take to go away/ fatigue after every dose increase? is going up by 5-mg once every 5-7 days too fast? i don't plan to go higher than 50mg, and may go back down to 20-30 if i don't start feeling better after a week.

[joy_shape]

interesting...well my sleep was already screwed up before memantine, and i can't detect any impact either way it's having, but i can't afford to lose any deep restorative sleep. i still feel really out of it. i don't know how wise it is for me to keep trying to push the dose, but everything i've read online says it's a/d and antitolerenace effects really kick in at 40mmg+. I'm shooting for 50mg, and tapering off of prozac and wellbutrin and saphris (hopefully) at the same time., which is what I'm justifying such the high dose with. i'm hoping memantine can fit the bill for depression and especially my OCD type behaviors....even at a low dose it really improved self-insight, toned down the bipolar / hypomanic speedy thinking, and helped reduce senseless behaviors. it REALLY quieted the noise, but i do feel like a little bit of my creativity and passion has been lost. ideas i was passionate about in recent months now seem just loony (i don't know if this is good or bad), and i'm a bit less motivated, though that could be the other med changes and general despair over the extreme fatigue i'm feeling / sleep deprivation.

i don't know what to do next. i feel like i'm a mess....i know something is wrong, but i don't think docs take me seriously because of all the meds/ supplements i'm on / changing, but even independent of that, i know something is amiss underlying. i haven't slept well for 10 months, have had definite bipolar instability over the past 12 months, mixed states, extreme fatigue, compulsive idea seeking, and addictive med seeking behaviors. i was hoping memantine would help with a lot of this, and i think it has, but if its making the fatigue worse or causing brain fog which won't ever go away, i can't tolerate it.

ho long does memantine brain fog take to go away/ fatigue after every dose increase? is going up by 5-mg once every 5-7 days too fast? i don't plan to go higher than 50mg, and may go back down to 20-30 if i don't start feeling better after a week.

you should talk to Phidippus on pbabble - he's taking 60mg without problems.

[bugasman]

Maybe sleepiness from memantine is due agonism of D2 receptors. Dopamine agonists have sleepiness as a common side effect.

[kassem23]

Definitely inhibits sleep quality at first; maybe even chronically. Can't be sure.

[DSTiamat]

Hello,

For me the brainfog didnt go away even after a month of use (came to 15 mg) so I dropped it, Is there something that can be done to silence those shitty D2 receptors or make them downregulate faster?
DST

[kassem23]

Take amphetamine. Your D2 receptors aren't shitty. I don't know where you have this reductionistic view of your entire brain from, but it's dead wrong, I can tell you that much.

[Satsumass]

i've noticed a big big difference between 5mg memantine either way, around 40mg dose. i'm still trying to find the right dose. this is one weird med. you really have to stay at a stable dose for a long time to assess. i didn't listen to anyone and was making adjustments way too fast i think, going from 40 to 45mg after 2-3 days....the effects of each dose raise take a few days to hit you (duhh given the pharmacokinetics). anyway i think the memantine brain fog is causing me to make poor memantine-related dosing decisions. I dialed down back to 15mg last night and 20mg this morning and think I may cruise around 35-40 mg for a while before challenging higher. this weekend was horrible, went up to 50mg for a few days...it's like over a few days period, even an extra 10-15mg surplus over say 3 days is enough to totally fuck me up.

but on the benefits side, memantine, when it's doing what it's supposed to, is a miracle for me. even though i'm a little disassociated, and still fatigued, my functionality is so much higher, i'm less distracted, i m,can, i can actually WORK when i'm at work, i don't' care about blogs, news, stock market, etc. it doesn't seem unnatural or forced to do work. it's like my motivation is actually focused in the right direction. even vyvanse alone didn't do that, vyvanse (or PEA) just increased the spotlight but didn't turn down the background distractions or maybe help me choose the right stuff to focus on. it's like my motivation is now focused on what it "should" be focused on. i feel like a normal motivated working person...even though my job isn't perfect, i'm not sabotaging myself over that fact this time.

anyway anymore insights about high dose memantine?

[bugasman]

I never used memantine and don't know about the mechanisms of it. Why did you upped a lot your dosage? In USA the maximum prescription dosage is 20mg. If fatigue is the biggest side effect you can try a noradrenergic drug like Ephedrine, Pseudoephedrine or Yohimbine (this is my favourite because is vasodilative).

So I can expect motivation from memantine? I mean, can I use memantine instead of amphetamine to have more discipline and motivation to study.

[rjm07]

I would say that on its own memantine is pretty useless for a condition where motivation is the problem. Like SSRIs you get this initial honeymoon period where you feel nothing short of amazing, but that soon subsides. After chronic use it just felt like a mood stabalizer to me. No highs or lows. I mentioned this at the time and people would say to me 'well it's time to bump up the dose'. These people obviously not being aware that with any drug you take, tolerance eventually comes into play so you'd just end up in the same position eventually but now you're stuck on a higher dose with more SE's.

It's useful to take for tolerance purposes though. But even that idea id flawed if you have drug problems and can't use amphetamines responsibly in the first place.

[evanski]

It's useful to take for tolerance purposes though. But even that idea id flawed if you have drug problems and can't use amphetamines responsibly in the first place.

I <3 you for this.

[rjm07]

What do you mean dude, This is just basic advice that pretty much anyone would know I would think. Were you bring sarcastic? Or genuinely appreciative?