Posted by JohnL on March 3, 2000, at 1:53:11
In reply to What do you know about...., posted by Noa on March 2, 2000, at 14:17:51
Noa,
Sorry to hear things are not going as well as expected. Having followed your posts for some time, I'm still cheering for you.
You don't have a psychostimulant in your mix, right? Based on your history so far, I would not spend any more time beating around the bushes with antidepressants or lithium. There is clearly some other chemistry involved.
If you don't have a stimulant in the mix, I would bet money either Adderall, Dexedrine, or Ritalin(in that order) would do the trick. And fast. They will target other depression-causing chemical imbalances that your previous medications have not touched. You are so used to these long trials, and I know how dedicated you are at giving things a good trial. You'll be pleasantly relieved to find out that if a stimulant is to work, it will do so in days. Usually 24 to 72 hours.
Some docs object to stimulants. I don't know why, since they don't seem to have any problem medicating millions of children with them. But if your doc is at all hesitant, beg for just a one week's supply of Adderall. Dexdrine and Ritalin one-week trials to follow if needed. Psychostimulants are legitimate for refractory depression.
My history is so similar to yours. My pdoc recently wrote my family doc instructions for me. He specified in writing "John should try Adderall or Dexedrine for refractory major depression". I believe this is probably the most overlooked treatment to correct depression-causing chemical imbalances, especially when other popular approaches have been disappointing. All it will take is a couple weeks to see if this is the right direction for you. Take a break from those long trials. Your frustrating search may well come to a happy end. :) I don't remember if you already have a stimulant in the mix, or if you've tried the three I mentioned. If you do, or have, never mind about this post. But to anyone else reading, stimulants can pleasantly halt those long frustrating searches. Especially when there have been multiple failures on a couple other classes of medications. JohnL
poster:JohnL
thread:25503
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000302/msgs/25671.html