Posted by Alex01 on July 24, 2001, at 5:32:08
Hi all, this is my first post, I have dropped in on the site before and have been impressed by the quality of the information provided, so here goes.
I've had dysthymia all my life which has flared into greater or lesser depressive episodes with anxiety, and occasionally manic espisodes (which have never been psychotic). Key problems are an inability to concentrate and lack of distinct emotional response to outside events. I have tried many different anti-depressants but so far with limited luck.
My father was schizophrenic and died when I was young so I saw some psychs to see if it was a cognitve or emotional sort of problem, but after years of talking, they thought I seemed fine except for some messy brain chemistry.
Anything seretonergic left me feeling very blank (which wasn’t bad given that it wiped away anxiety and depression but left nothing else). I’ve tried all the usual SSRI suspects and Effexor and Serzone. These exacerbated the problem I have with little emotional response to outside events and difficulty concentrating.
Noradrinergic meds succeed in lifting my mood but also leave me feeling blank and unable to concentrate or think clearly, make decisions etc. Have tried effexor, modrafinil, adrafinil and buproprian. I had a bad reaction to burproprian with muscle tenseness, dizyness that felt like I was going to faint which didn’t go away with time.
One psychiatrist thought I was manic depressive and suggested Zyprexa which made me feel heavy headed and dull.
One psych thought I had ADD so I have an amphetamine stimulant a try. I had a tiny chip of a tablet and got very anxious, nauseous and muscle stiffening.
The good news is this: I have had a few episodes when my brain’s reaction to medication (effexor, buproprian and an amino acid dl-phelalanine) seemed to produce a stimulant effect which sharpened my mind, gave me clear and distinct thoughts and responses. These drifted away after a few memorable days.
Questions I want to ask are: what are some future avenues of investigation? Other meds? Physical cause? Anything else? Any suggestions gratefully received.
poster:Alex01
thread:71589
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010720/msgs/71589.html