Posted by michael on March 8, 2000, at 1:54:11
2 questions: They may be silly, but here it is anyway...
I've read a bit (both here & elsewhere) about using stimulants (i.e.: ritalin, adderall, dexedrine, etc.) to augment AD's, particularly for persistant fatigue / tiredness. (as a symptom - not a side effect - related to depression, as opposed to it's use for ADD)
First:
Wouldn't most people find that stimulants reduce fatigue/tiredness? Not just depressed people? Why wouldn't this be used more frequently to address that symptom - especially in refractory cases? I know they were the first line of treatment, in the past.Second:
And as far as addiction is concerned, who cares? You take AD's every day, what's the difference with taking a stimulant every day? (provided, of course, that tolerance, along wiht a need for significant dose increases, is not built up exceedingly fast)Is it that in the "normal" population, tolerance/addiction are the common outcome, whereas in our cases, that doesn't typically seem to occur? (at least not exceedingly quickly)
Anyway - stimulants are obviously not for everyone. However, given that it addresses consistant fatigue fairly well, I would think stimulants would get used more than they seem to be used today.
Hope that ramble makes some sense - if not, sorry - it's late. Just wondering if I'm missing something here.
Thanks
poster:michael
thread:26331
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000302/msgs/26331.html