Posted by Amelia_in_StPaul on June 22, 2009, at 14:17:02
In reply to Re: Sigh. Abilify is now prescribed. What about Luvox?, posted by Brainbeard on June 22, 2009, at 12:53:17
> Thanks. I like it too. To me it evokes the image of a legendary pirate who had his brains growing out of his chin.
That's exactly what I was thinking. But because of bluebeard, I was imagining a blue brain-beard. Ha! Love it.
> I absolutely dislike feeling dead on medication too. The benefit of being dead emotionally is that you can't feel fear or depression. But it's a rather crude solution.Exactly. And I'm a writer, who has wasted a lot of time falling into apathy for months on end. ARRGGH
> Right now I'm in an experimental phase med-wise. I tried sertraline (aka Zoloft) for a couple of weeks but quit prematurely. I've started low dose imipramine (aka Tofranil). So far I think it's a splendid drug.That's great. What flavor of depression did you/do you have (or are you mostly taking this for OCD)?
>There's some amitriptyline (aka Elavil) on the way; I'd like to try and combine low dose imipramine with low dose amitriptyline for several reasons (it comes down to combining benefits).
Sounds like you have a great doctor. This is the frustrating thing for me. I switched doctors b/c my original one was satisfied with how Prozac was working for me (um, suicidality is working for me?) and didn't ever want to hear my ideas; now this new doctor is doing some of the same things. She told me too much knowledge is not a good thing, psychiatry isn't my field, blah blah blah, then put me on a normal dose of pristiq even though I told her about my history w/meds and metabolism problem (2D6--have I mentioned that already? I'm sounding like a broken record). And now her solution is abilify. Grrreeaaat.
> Then I also think about returning to sertraline, but low dose (25mg). And I'm trying low dose ondansetron, a drug normally used as an anti-emetic, i.e. anti-nausea drug, being a 5HT3-
> antagonist, for anxiety. There have been some promising studies. Can't tell yet if it works. I've just discovered that ondansetron and other 5HT3-antagonists indirectly inhibit dopamine transmission. Which is in itself not cool. But it's another clue that anxiety disorders are related to the dopaminergic system, perhaps even more than to the serotonergic system.Do you mean too much dopamine? Interesting. I didn't know that.
> And the SSRIs might work for anxiety because eventually they screw up your dopaminergic circuits.
Amen. I know that to be true about Prozac.
> That might even be the reason that for OCD, the SSRIs often start to work only after several months (instead of weeks as with depression).
Also interesting.
>
> I'm suspecting that the TCA's are less likely to kill your emotions, although they can be rather sedating at first.I think they metabolize using 2D6 too. My problems with a couple of TCAs were similar to SSRIs.
> Anyhow, I think I wanna stay away from total serotonin reuptake inhibition, because it obviously messes up your dopamine system, resulting in libido problems, emotional numbness, apathy, etcetera; in short: having less fun and being less alive.
Totally agreed!!!
> That's why I'm not taking clomipramine, the TCA that works excellent for OCD (which I have), but is such a strong SRI that it messes with your dopamine big time.
Yes, I have OCD too. The pure O version (I know that's a misnomer; I do have mental compulsions, after all).
Well, tomorrow I see a psychiatrist not in contract with insurance companies. I figured out that I could mostly afford it, since I've met my out of pocket and deductibles (don't know if you've done that before; you submit your receipts to insurance, and, as long as you've met all your maximums, they pay it all, up to what they think a psychiatrist should charge--above that, you have to pay some--but I do have some $$ left in my spouse's health savings acct).
I'm hoping he is different. I am afraid maybe he will be a little too different though, lol, because he does prescribe acupuncture (which my insurance does not cover). I would LOVE to do acupuncture, but alas, I have no money for it.
Well, we'll see anyway. I just know I am not going back the SRI route. And I am NOT going on an antipsychotic. I am not wrecking my body any more.
Good luck to you. Sounds like you have a good idea of what's going on with you and what will work. You must have a heck of a good pdoc.
>
poster:Amelia_in_StPaul
thread:902046
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20090620/msgs/902625.html