Posted by JohnL on September 1, 2000, at 3:21:07
In reply to Luvox, posted by Jody L on August 31, 2000, at 14:30:47
Jody,
So sorry to hear of your suffering. I can't even imagine how disturbing this situaion must be.I wish I had some explanations or suggestions. The best I could do if I were in your shoes would be to seek a good psychiatrist. Not just any garden variety pdoc, but a real good one. They may for example put you on an anticonvulsant like Lamictal, Neurontin, Depakote, or Dilantin, and at the same time put you on a different kind of antidepressant. My gut feeling though is that an anticonvulsant is definitely warranted. Even people who don't have any seizure problems can find good relief of their depression with them. Of them all, I think Lamictal has probably the least side effects. On the other hand, since anxiety is a factor, Neurontin might be a good choice. It is usually more calming and relaxing.
I think an anticonvulsant may be needed in order to calm down whatever weird electrical short circuits are going on. I know all the tests came up negative, but that doesn't matter. You know for sure something is short circuiting. Anticonvulsants can tame that and possibility treat the depression and panic attacks simultaneously. The symptoms are all probably related in some intricate woven fashion. Lamictal or Neurontin would be top choices in my mind. You could add in an antidepressant later after stabilized on an anticonvulsant. But sometimes they cure the depression just fine with no need for an antidepressant.
If you go to Dr Bob's 'Tips' section and do a search on Lamictal(Lamotrigine), Neurontin(Gabapentin), mood stabilizers, new generation anticonvulsants, you could print out everything you find and bring it to your general practitioner. Who knows, he may be able to treat you with them without the need for seeking a specialist. Everything you and your doc need to know is spelled out by other docs in Dr Bobs Tips. Some general practitioners are comfortable with these psychiatric meds. Some are even better at it than psychiatrists. It's worth looking into.
Did Luvox cause all this? Who knows. My gut instinct is that there was already some weird electrical problem laying dormant, and the Luvox triggered it to come alive. But whatever, it certainly sounds like an electrical problem to me, and thus either Lamictal or Neurontin would be warranted, since they both smooth out and calm down the electricity in the brain.
John
poster:JohnL
thread:44170
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000822/msgs/44218.html