Posted by Elizabeth on July 31, 2001, at 17:59:13
In reply to Re: Handholding » Elizabeth, posted by Lorraine on July 31, 2001, at 12:02:17
> Yes, I have tried T3 augmentation, twice. It is activating.
That's what I've heard, so it surprises me that it would be useful for panic.
> I got off it the last time because I switched to Moclobemide which is also activating and needed to reduce the amount of activation in my system generally.
A lot of people seem to get overstimulated when they first start taking moclobemide.
> > That is interesting. Tell me, can you make anything out of my experience with the pill? (fairly sudden relapse of depression while taking Parnate)
>
> Do you know what your pill had in it?It was a combination pill (Ortho Tri-cyclen) -- estradiol and norgestimate. The ratios changed every seven days (the amount of norgestimate increased while the amount of estradiol remained fixed), and of course there were the inactive pills for the last week of each month.
I don't recall when I first started taking it or when the depression emerged.
> Progesterone can increase depression (which is why I was initially put on unopposed estrogen).
I took Depo-Provera for a little under a year. I would say I got depressed, but I did get irritable and moody.
> How are you right before your period?
No premenstrual mood changes. (I just get bad cramps on day 1, which the pill was supposed to alleviate.)
> I'm sure a mood chart could also help you figure this out--the NIMH has a good chart that tracks monthly cycle along with mood.
I did that (mood charting) for a while. I couldn't find any patterns.
> My point was just that when I took a pain reliever before I started my period (depending on the timing of when I took the pain reliever), it could delay my period--or make it irregular.
I gather that opioids can do that in general (although I'd previously thought that irregular periods were just due to the junkie lifestyle). NSAIDs are better for cramps, anyway. It's odd that ibuprofen caused the same thing for you, though -- I'd never heard of or experienced that (I always take NSAIDs -- usually Relafen -- at the start of my period).
> > > > Decongestants are basically bad speed.
>
> So why do some pdocs recommend Benedryl as a sleeping aid?Benadryl is an antihistamine, not a decongestant. As a rule, antihistamines are sedating (if they cross the blood-brain barrier easily, that is).
> I guess right now the problem is that we don't know enough about the physiology and we don't have meaningfully defined presentation categories. And, we shouldn't pretend that we do on either front.
Exactly.
> The drug company studies of the effect of a drug on "depression" or even treatment resistant depression just lack enough specificity to be helpful in determining whether the drug will work in a particular case.
That's right. "Depression" (or even "major depressive disorder") is a pretty big umbrella.
> Yes, some correlational analysis studies using say depression presentation criteria and effectiveness of meds would be really useful.
They used to do this; it's how atypical depression and panic disorder were identified. For some reason, interest in this type of research has plummeted.
> If you ever find yourself in a Nardil weight gain situation again, it might be worth trying to see if low carb helps.
I'm never taking Nardil again -- in the long run, it did more harm than good. And anyway, a carbohydrate-restricted diet would be very difficult for me to maintain (the four food groups, for me, are: starch, starch, carbohydrates, and starch).
> Zo over on the thread about Zyprexa said that low carb did not help with it. So it may be that these different drugs cause weight gain for different reasons.
Zyprexa is a strong antihistamine. Nardil isn't; I've never been clear on the mechanism of Nardil-associated weight gain.
-elizabeth
poster:Elizabeth
thread:67742
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010731/msgs/72772.html