Posted by Racer on March 23, 2008, at 8:44:41
In reply to What made you try Stimulants ?, posted by tepi on March 23, 2008, at 0:36:44
Tepi,
I thought your main problem was anxiety? Social phobia? If that's the case, then stimulants might make some of that worse. Stimulants trigger the same sort of physical response as low level fear does, and it can feel like anxiety to some people.
I take stimulants. I've tried many, and settled on Concerta -- a long acting form of the drug in Ritalin. Concerta works for me because there's a smoother ride during the day. I can't tell you whether my dose will stay the same over years and years and years, but I am now taking the same dose as we first hit on when I started a year or two ago. The only difference is that I now take two 18mg pills, rather than 1 36mg pill, so that on days like today, I can choose to take half a dose.
If I should find a perfect medication, I'll be renting billboards, but as far as the imperfect medications I've found now, methylphenidate is a good one. It does augment my antidepressant -- Wellbutrin -- and it does help a little with energy. I do have an anxiety disorder, but I believe I have learned more psychological coping strategies than you have at this point, so I'm not sure that you can extrapolate from my results.
Can you find yourself a book with exercises you can use to learn self-soothing techniques? Relaxation/meditation techniques? Maybe get into therapy for a while? I know that therapy at least is harder for you, but it might be helpful.
As far as stimulants go, that's one class of medication that I very, very strongly urge you to take *only* under a doctor's supervision. The reason I recommend that is simple -- stimulant abuse is so insidious, so hard to overcome, and so seductive, I think it's best to have an outsider who can keep an eye on things and pull the plug if the need arises...
poster:Racer
thread:819498
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20080316/msgs/819515.html