Posted by patc on March 26, 2003, at 22:06:33
In reply to Re: Gepirone update » patc, posted by jrbecker on March 26, 2003, at 20:33:22
I don't know what anhedonia is.
All I know is I having been dealing with this disease for 17 years (now age 37) and no drugs have put a dent in this atypical depression, except Nardil and Klonopin. Perhaps, Neurontin helps a little. The latest stage of the disease involves heavy depression.
SSRIs have all failed and I tried them all.
The boys up in Colombia think Gepirone is very effective ag/ atypical depression. I think Quitkin told me McGrath said 50%+ success on Gepirone and that BMS was "crazy" to sell it to Organon. 50%+ success has to be close to Nardil.
Wellbutrin is great for depression, but I get the worst anxiety attacks. The agitation is killer.
Pat
> Pat,
>
> I'm really surprised to hear that no AD at all (with the exception of nardil) has no usefulness to you. Being a fairly treatment-resistant atypical-type myself, I certainly know where you're coming from though. Do you suffer from a profound sense of anhedonia or just the other atypical symptoms of overeating/oversleeping, etc.?
>
> Does a very low dosage of an SSRI provide at least some mood lift...or are side effects a problem still? I'm quite sensitive to most meds myself. Some are either too stimulating or untolerable due to side effects at regular dosage levels. But I have found undeniable benefits from taking just low dosages of some meds (e.g., Effexor 37.5mg, Celexa 10-20mg).
>
> Last question...I'm curious why you're holding such a candle for gepirone. Quitkin, McGrath, and Stewart's 1st study results were certainly impressive, but many others doubt that it will not be that great of an antidepressant. Perhaps the best benefit of the drug will just be that it has the lowest incidence of side effects of most modern ADs. Care to add any knowledge to the debate?
>
> JB
>
> PS- be thankful you're in Miami. It was brutal up here this winter.
>
>
> > As you know atypical depression is a mix of anxiety (social phobia/GAD/panic) and depression.
> > Wellbutrin and other stimulants cause too much anxiety. Serotonin-reuptake inhibitors, trycyclics and anti-psychotics don't help. Nardil is the only thing that's really helped, but I will not deal w/ the weight gain. Plus, it pooped out. I had no luck w/ Parnate, and Seligiline is too stimulative. What's left?
> >
> > The Miami sun helps a little, but not when I'm inside working all day. Granted, if I was in NYC I'd would be screwed. But at least I be part of the Gepirone study at Columbia.
> >
> > Pat
> >
> >
> >
> > > pat -
> > >
> > > how the heck do you get by with just taking klonopin and neurontin? Doesn't any AD provide some relief? Or is sunny Florida providing its own mood effect, ha. Actually, I just returned from a trip to key west recently and thought it was the best mood lift I've had all year.
> > >
> > > JB
> > >
> > >
> >
> >
>
>
poster:patc
thread:80214
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030325/msgs/213305.html