Posted by PhoenixGirl on May 26, 2004, at 0:30:14
In reply to Re: Terrified....Transitioning to MAOI, going off » PhoenixGirl, posted by Questionmark on May 25, 2004, at 0:08:01
I'm weaning off of Strattera (used in place of desipramine, because it has fewer side effects), and Wellbutrin SR. I'm still taking Lamictal, with some Klonopin at night.
I'm not sure exactly how to classify my depression. It has usually been that I could sleep forever...Wellbutrin has stimulating properties that help me stay awake enough to function. When I'm pretty badly depressed, which is most of the time, I eat to make myself feel better, but when I get severely depressed, my appetite is gone.
My depression takes away my sex drive and makes me disinterested in things in general. I want to avoid people (I have social phobia, and depression worsens it). I feel rejected a lot, like atypical depressives are known to feel, but I was rejected and humiliated a lot throughout life. I have anxiety in general, too. But my depression causes a "flatness" in the way I come off.
I guess it's hard to classify me. It is possible for me to feel good, but only in reaction to some specific event. Mainly when I feel that someone likes me, because I have very few relationships of any kind.
Though I have not been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, my mother is very bipolar, so her bipolar chemistry is surely a strong factor in my depressive chemistry.
Maybe all that info gives you an idea of my kind of depression? Well, right now I'm going to go to sleep, because I'm weaning off the Wellbutrin and the major lethargy is creeping back.> Hey. My sympathies are with you. Just remember that it will most likely get better soon.
> Two questions:
> What med were you just/last taking?
> What is your depression like? (E.g., amotivated, lethargic, & anhedonic, or anxious &/or over-emotional?)
>
> > I'm really scared because I'm about to transition to Parnate, an MAOI. The scary thing is that I have to reduce my current meds for one week, then go two weeks WITHOUT antidepressants!
> > I'm 26 and have been on antidepressants since I was 13. My depression has been severe, chronic rather than episodic, and often suicidal. I've required ECT a couple of years ago as well. Since I have tried almost every antidepressant there is without recovering from the depression, I'm about to try Parnate, because the MAOI drugs are the only kind I haven't tried.
> > When I've tried to reduce my meds in the past, I get really really REALLY depressed. It will probably get to the point that I can't go to work. But I really have to get through this period so I can start the Parnate. An MAOI is my last hope. I am just so afraid that the brutal agony of my depression will lead me to go back on my current meds too soon, so that I couldn't try the Parnate. There is also the horrible possibility that Parnate either won't work or will have intolerable side effects, in which case I have to wait ANOTHER 2 weeks for it to wash out so I can start my old meds again.
> > Going through this would be easier if I had family or friends for support. But I have no friends, my twin sister doesn't talk to me, my dad is depressed, and my mother is seriously manic depressive. I will be facing this alone. I've faced almost everything in life alone, in fact, and I can't believe I'm still alive.
> > I'm just so afraid. It is crucial that I survive the next several weeks until I'm on the Parnate and it starts working.
>
>
poster:PhoenixGirl
thread:349435
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040521/msgs/350656.html