Posted by harryp on March 23, 2004, at 23:00:16
In reply to Re: prozac and lack of motivation » King Vultan, posted by zana on March 23, 2004, at 21:39:34
> Hey thanx so much for your answer. I've been thinking about Wellbutrin because I also need an antidepressant. I tried it before without much success... I didn't think the MAOIs were used much anymore. How did you decide to try them?
> Have you tried any of the "adjunctive" agents like Lamictal or Provigil? I'm having mixed success with each at very low doses (added to Prozac.)Hi,
I take the MAOI Parnate (50mg/day) because all the modern AD's either had horrible side effects or didn't work. I had a really dramatic response to the Parnate. Suddenly I could get out of bed in the morning, could make plans, and was able to go back to school. Amazingly, there were no significant side effects at all--I felt completely like myself.
Everyone responds differently to AD's, so it is a good thing that there are a wide variety available. Surprisingly, though, there is no evidence that any of the new antidepressants are actually more frequently effective than the old TCA's and MAOI's. Their main clinical benefit is that they have few interactions and are safer in overdose.
I get the impression that many pscyhophamacologists consider the MAOI's the most powerful and effective AD's for very severe and hard to treat depression. They aren't prescribed very often for two reasons:
1. Like the TCA's, they are old, out of patent, and are not marketed aggressively.
2. If you eat the wrong food or take the wrong medicine while on a MAOI, you can die of a stroke. A patient on MAOI's has to be smart and have good judgement. In practice, the diet and med restrictions are not very troublesome.
Hey! If you're still reading :), I have tried lamictal 25-75mg/day (no difference noted between dosages), and it does seem to have mild AD properties. It made me feel dumb, though, and didn't really do that much good, so I quit taking it. You might respond to it differently, though.Prozac+Welbutrin is a very common mix, and seems to work for a lot of people. In my experience, may you need to go to 300mg/day or more of Welbutrin to get a result.
poster:harryp
thread:327202
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040319/msgs/327568.html