Posted by SLS on February 27, 2001, at 18:49:22
In reply to Could one add Mirapex, too??, posted by katrina on February 27, 2001, at 8:36:21
Dear Katrina,
> What about adding mirapex? Heard some interesting stuff on that and/or adrafanil...> PS. I am on 50 mgs of zoloft, too. What is your input on weight gain with zyprexa and risperdal? I am not a big weight gainer, but I notice a couple extra pounds with zyprexa after 9 days.
I think adding Mirapex (pramipexole) is a very reasonable choice. It is the type of drug that probably works only in conjunction with other drugs. I have seen more that one person here add it to an ongoing trial of an antidepressant plus Risperdal and obtain amazing results. However, I would give either Zyprexa or Risperdal at least a month to evaluate. I have noticed that with both of these drugs, there can be an almost immediate antidepressant effect, followed by a period with little or no improvement. Then, after a three to five week latency, the "real" response begins and is persistent.
As to the question which of the two drugs, Risperdal or Zyprexa, is best for you, there is only one way to find out. Since you are already on Zyprexa and have experienced that initial "blip" antidepressant response, it probably makes sense to continue with it. Zyprexa is usually associated with weight gain. It is hard to estimate how much any one individual will gain. Risperdal can produce weight gain also, but generally not to the same degree as Zyprexa. If weight gain does not become an issue, I would say to continue on Zyprexa to see how much you can "squeeze" out of it. Again, I have not seen with either of these two drugs a therapeutic "window" for which increasing the dosage beyond a certain point will cause a loss of effect.
50mg of Zoloft is a low dosage. You may consider asking your doctor if raising the dosage is indicated.
Do you think Zoloft actually made your depression worse, or is it that it did not help when used by itself?
How did you come by your current medications? Were they prescribed by a doctor?
Someone here has had great success with a combination of amisulpride and adrafinil. It seems that quite a few people have responded to well to amisulpride, often used in combination with some other drug. Amisulpride is a drug that is somewhat similar to Zyprexa and Risperdal. However, it does seem to have a therapeutic window when used to treat depression. The effective dosage range seems to lie between 25mg to 100mg. Some people respond well at 50mg, but when the dosage is increased to 100mg, they lose the antidepressant effect. Of course, neither amisulpride nor adrafinil is marketed in the U.S. They can be procured from overseas sources legally. You can refer back to some of the recent archived posts to find several threads regarding this.
I wish I could be more helpful.
- Scott
poster:SLS
thread:54693
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010221/msgs/55027.html