Posted by SLS on February 28, 2009, at 6:53:28
In reply to amphetamines and ssris counteract each other???, posted by dcruik518 on February 22, 2009, at 20:39:54
> I've tried taking a number of ssri's with Adderall and none of them seem to work well. In fact they seem to counteract the stimulating effects of the adderall and make me apathetic and lazy. My theoretical explanation for this is that the SSRIs must compete for and win out some of the receptors that would normally go to the Adderall. Does this make any sense pharmacologically? Is what I'm experiencing typical or not? Does it even make any sense to take these two kinds of drugs together? Or would it make more sense to mix adderall with a tricyclic or perhaps even an MAOI?
There seem to be quite a few posts concerned with drugs cancelling each other out. I don't think that happens very often. Two drugs might act on separate competing tracts. One may dominate over the other, or the net results are two behavioral effects occurring simultaneously. In your case, the SSRI cognitive impairments arise separately and in addition to amphetamine enhancements of percieved energy and perhaps some attentiveness, but I doubt it will cause the SSRI fog to vanish.Take one step at a time. Perhaps someone knows of an effective strategy for eliminating brain fog. I'm sorry to say that I do not.
I don't know how long you have given this cognitive side effect to dissipate, but I have had brain fog on several SSRIs and Effexor. Zoloft and Effexor were particularly bad at first. However, beyond 8 weeks, the fog dissipated. I don't remember what happened to the apathy except that I experienced it with some of the SSRIs. I don't have as clear a recollection about it disappearing.
I think some people judge the efficacy and side effects of drugs immediately upon beginning treatment; the result of which being to discontinue them far to early. It is their right to do so, of course, but as alternatives disappear with each successive drug trial, you would think that it becomes more urgent to find one that works. You often can't do that with 4 week trials. On the other side of the fence, I don't believe that it often happens that a drug will make the depression feel worse at first and later go on to produce an antidepressant response better later in treatment. No one is forcing anyone to stay on a drug that they don't want to be on. I am just making a plea for more tolerance of startup side effects and more patience in allowing a drug to work.
- Scott
poster:SLS
thread:881759
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20090223/msgs/883031.html