Posted by greywolf on July 25, 2007, at 2:03:01
I've been off the boards here for awhile, in part because one of my last options--Emsam--did absolutely nothing for me. So, in a fit of disappointment and utter stupidity, I went cold turkey for about 2 months and that didn't work out too well. Let's just say that the bipolar ride was eventful enough that even people who never stick their noses into my business took the time to express their concern.
So, my psychiatrist was kind enough to see me on an expedited basis to discuss my limited alternatives. I won't repeat all the details here because I've posted them several times already, but in treatment of depression-dominant BPII and very severe OCD problems, I have been on most of the available meds at therapeutic levels during the last 15 years without significant success. Consequently, my current options are (1) VNS (which I just can't see doing until there's data indicating efficacy significantly greater than placebo); (2) ECT (which I can't do because of my job); and (3) trying the odd med that I haven't been on yet.
I've picked door #3, which happens to be Desipramine. I believe I've been on all of the other "pramines", so I don't have great hopes for this one, but I asked my doctor to be as aggressive as possible regardless of side effects. Much of my treatment has been concerned with finding a pharmaceutical approach that will avoid the fatigue and fogginess that makes it harder for me to get my writing done, but I have finally just said screw it, hit me as hard as you can as fast as you can and I'll just deal with it the best I can.
The plan right now is to take me up to 300mg Desipramine and 300mg Seroquel per day over the next 2 weeks, with Xanax as needed. I'll probably be pretty out of it for several days, and I'd appreciate learning from folks with experience on Desipramine what I'm likely to run into.
Thanks.
Greywolf
poster:greywolf
thread:771824
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20070719/msgs/771824.html