Posted by zeugma on September 21, 2003, at 12:36:53
In reply to Re: Any meds that doesn't have sexual side effects » zeugma, posted by francesco on September 21, 2003, at 11:09:33
> Thank you a lot. I will ask for desipramine. My dumb psychiatrist says all the TCAs are the same. May I ask you if are on it for depression or something else ? Most boring side-effects ?
> I'm looking for a med for ADHD and secondary amines seem good. I have been on clomipramine for many years but I'm nervous as hell while I'm on it ... Thanks againI'm on nortriptyline for depression and ADHD. I was hyperactive as a child, but since adolescence my ADHD has more and more manifested itself as a severe feeling of being 'out of it,' fatigued, not feling fully awake even after multiple cups of coffee. The ADHD is similar to melancholic depression and I am convinced they are both expressions of a single underlying pathology.
Nortriptyline helped with the physical symptoms of depression (lacking energy, appetite, inability to sleep despite being tired all the time) but I was still feeling insufficiently alert to function the way I wanted. So I added Strattera in May. That has brought my alertness levels close to where they should be. Strattera is probably more like desipramine than nortriptyline, because it is less sedating (although a lot of people seem to find it sedating, so perceptions will vary).
The worst side effects of nortriptyline have been dry mouth and constipation. I have constipation-type iBS anyway, and I am currently taking two constipation-inducing meds (TCA and Strattera) so I don't know how much to attribute to nortriptyline.
Another point I would like to make is that I have a chronic condition (of depression, ADHD, and anxiety) that has been completely untreated through most of my life and has put me at a major disadvantage when interacting with others (because I have little experience of being a functional person). I can say this: Nortriptyline pulled me out of a condition where I couldn't eat, couldn't sleep, couldn't work more than a few hours a week, and couldn't talk to others without feeling like I was having a nervous breakdown.
poster:zeugma
thread:260754
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030917/msgs/262182.html