Posted by katekite on May 28, 2002, at 21:58:46
In reply to ADD and Comorbid Disorders; Expert Advice PLZ!, posted by azurebay on May 28, 2002, at 19:58:40
I found neurontin incredibly good for my anxiety. I got side effects and had to stop, but now and then I still take it despite that... it was great. It seems to reduce input a little, helping my ADD for me, and at the same time helps anxiety. I became all focussed on improving my life and getting social things done, etc.
There are a few reports, case anecdotes, of using it in kids with ADD and comorbid anxiety or behavior problems. They like it in kids because so few side effects. A typical starting dose would be 100 mg three times a day. I started at 200 three times a day with no problems and I'm quite med sensitive. And had good anxiety relief in a couple days.
My one experience with an atypical antipsychotic was yucky, xyprexa made me more anxious and unable to think straight. Similar experience with buspar. Both are anti-dopamine in normal doses, and us ADD people need more dopamine, not less, usually.
So my advice would be try neurontin next if xyprexa doesn't work out. Few ADD people can tolerate any xyprexa. Maybe if you increased your stimulant.
There is some evidence that the atypical antipsychotics in very small doses only hit some 'inhibitory' dopamine receptors (I mean autoreceptors) so that it can actually enhance some dopamine action -- so if you do try an antipsychotic you would want to go real low on the dose. They also work on serotonin receptors. My take on low dose xyprexa is that its not much different than high dose buspar.
If you try it tonight and it screws you up, try cutting the pill in half and take half as much. If you felt stupid or more anxious it would mean you were hitting the thinking dopamine receptors and not the ones I mentioned above. Its something like a tenfold difference in dose (with the micro dose hitting the receptors implicated in anxiety and the bigger dose hitting the ones important in cognitive processing). Absorbtion and metabolism will vary so what dose might work for you will vary.
I actually found if I took about 1/5th of the smallest available pill I felt a slight anxiety relief, not as good as benzos though, at least for me. That was the last day of the trial and I got fed up with it.
kate
poster:katekite
thread:107891
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020525/msgs/107901.html