The Other Me
‘The Fugue’ v. Arguably the worst side-effect of Aropax was that it dimmed my imagination – maybe not an issue to many, but for me it was about the worst thing that could happen. Prior to Aropax, I could sit down and write anything any time. I’d written previously through anxiety and depression. Now, I struggled. The thoughts flowed sluggishly. Once I got going, I was okay (but never as fluent as I once was), but it was like whatever doorway into my mind gave me access to my writing had mostly closed. Years later, I read about ruminations, which is to reflect or brood negatively and to rehash a…
The Other Me
‘The Fugue’ iii. Over the years, I learned there are different types of antidepressants. There are the Tricyclic antidepressants, like Tofranil and Sinequan. Dr Jarasinghe told me that Tofranil was the ‘grandfather’ of antidepressants, and its use as an antidepressant had been discovered by accident. According to Dr Jarasinghe, it was designed and tried for tuberculosis, but in trials it was discovered that it improved mood. The MAOIs – the Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors – have lots of dietary restrictions and interactions with other medications. Aurorix is a MAOI, although (when I was on it) it was a very new MAOI, and didn’t have the same restrictions. Then there were a…