Posted by pseudoname on November 3, 2006, at 13:39:43
In reply to Re: considering ECT, posted by ronaldo on November 2, 2006, at 12:51:28
Hi, Alan! Nice to meet you. Thanks for your really thoughtful post.
> Isn't ECT a bit drastic, more like the very last resort?
I think I qualify for the last resort. I have tried an awful lot of drugs and therapies over the last 19 years. My only sustainably effective drug so far (buprenorphine/Subutex®) is only a partial relief at its best.
> Wouldn't changing your drug regime be a more positive alternative?
I'm certainly open to specific med suggestions. Maybe I could give Provigil a shot while I'm waiting. --With bupe! Heh heh. That'll make the drug regulators uneasy. (Not that I mind that) ;-)
Also, it's been a while since I've had an MAOI; I could try one of those again. But with a history of ZERO response to all classes of typical ADs, there's not a lot to work with.
> Another alternative would be to change your pdoc. A new pdoc might have some new ideas and a whole different approach.
I got my current pdoc because my last one insisted on ECT. I've called around a little and the popular new ideas suggested by pdocs around here is VNS, which I rule out for myself as far more drastic than ECT.
I'm not sure where I could get another pdoc with great new ideas. The nearby major university pdoc program is where they insist on ECT. Also, my current pdoc is one of the very few in my state who is willing to prescribe buprenorphine to a non-addict for depression; a daring approach, actually. (For lurkers/info: Subutex, an opioid, is mostly restricted in the U.S. to opioid addicts in recovery programs.)
> Good luck whatever you decide to do.
Thanks much. Likewise. So, you're a nurse?
poster:pseudoname
thread:699762
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20061028/msgs/700041.html