Posted by King Vultan on November 29, 2004, at 11:20:58
In reply to Can't stand the AD rollercoaster--HELP!, posted by Emily Elizabeth on November 28, 2004, at 12:55:39
> Hi all. I'm wondering if anyone has had similar experiences. I'm feeling very alone and frustrated right now.
>
> I suppose I have been somewhat depressed since my teen years, but I have been struggling with the worst episode of it for the past 2 yrs. I have taken paxil, prozac, and lexapro w/o complete relief. In late September we decided to add a TCA (desipramine) to my lex to give it a boost. It seemed like it was helping for a while, but now I'm back in the dumps. I think I could stay in bed crying all day if I let myself. I'm still slowly increasing my desipramine (now up to 100mg along w/ 35mg of lex), but I'm losing faith in its effectiveness.
>
> To be fair, I had a pretty rotten week (was laid off from my grad school assistantship) and so that might be contributing. i guess I was just wondering if others have had similar experiences. I know w/ my other AD's it was usually the same story: seemed like to was working for a little bit, but then it stopped. I guess I'm just worried that this is more of the same.
>
> Any ideas or support would be much appreciated.
>
> EE
Well, being laid off from your assistantship would be considered a pretty major blow by most people, I would think. The issue is whether the downturn in your spirits can objectively be classified as normal and expected, or abnormal and excessive. From what you're saying, it does sound like you are perhaps taking this unusually hard and may be suffering through a depressive episode.As for meds, clearly, people can vary widely in their reactions to them, but I had to take a minimum of 100 mg desipramine by itself to get a reasonably noticeable AD effect. Of course, you also have the lexapro at work in this case. I'm not sure that I really have any suggestions regarding your meds, as it does not sound like a bad combination, and it's one that I would hope would be giving you at least somewhat of a boost, but it might help to talk about your situation with someone. I wish there was something I could do to help you.
Todd
poster:King Vultan
thread:421311
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20041128/msgs/421847.html