Posted by blueberry on November 25, 2006, at 7:25:45
In reply to Avolition, Anhedonia, Flat Affect, Cognitive Bl..., posted by ronaldo on November 25, 2006, at 6:12:47
I had the same symptoms of avolition and anhedonia when on prozac. Zyprexa added to it didn't help. There was not joy, no motivation, no pleasure, no zest. But I wasn't depressed.
I experimented with probably thousands of dollars of meds and supplements to counteract the symptoms (what I eventually decided were very close to what are called the negative symptoms of schizophrenia).
I found one that worked fairly good...amisulpride. But it had two major problems...I had to mailorder it from overseas and was afraid of losing an order; the sexual side effects were really bad.
I stumbled on to one that worked fantastic. Adrafinil. Its purpose in Europe is to increase vigilance. Its major metabolite is modafinil, so modafinil might have the same effect. I had to mailorder adrafinil from overseas but never had any problems. It is dirt cheap and easy to order. The US Customs intercepted one of my shipments, they put a green Customs label on it that said "supplements" and sent it on its way to my mailbox no problem. It is not a controlled substance or anything like that. It is actually pretty popular in Europe as a nootropic, antidepressant, and vigilance promoter. It is called a kinder gentler stimulant. Side effects at first were agitation and inner tension. Those went away in a few days.
I got immediate benefits the very first day. Then they faded away. I kept taking it. At about 3 weeks it really kicked in and I was alive with zest for life. Anhedonia and all that stuff was gone. I had no side effects. The dose is 3 pills a day, but I never took more than 2 a day, and I spent a few years on just 1 a day. It was an excellent antidepressant and vigilance promoter, targeting all of the symptoms you described.
I screwed up though and started smoking pot. The two didn't mix...explosive diarrhea. I wanted pot so I stopped adrafinil. And I'm sorry. I don't smoke anymore and am looking at a box of adrafinil right now saying, "Hmmmm".
poster:blueberry
thread:706990
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20061123/msgs/706994.html