Posted by Bob on January 14, 2011, at 19:58:57
In reply to Re: Agomelatine (Valdoxan) and Body Pains? » Bob, posted by SLS on January 14, 2011, at 18:02:45
Ironically, I was going to mention that heightened pain has also often gone hand-in-hand with extreme irritability for me. So it doesn't surprise me that you mentioned it as well.
I don't have a PTSD diagnosis or an event I could point to in my life that would recognizably cause such a thing, but I've often thought that certain aspects of my illness are very close to what PTSD sufferers describe. My condition is permeated with a significant level of GAD and when I get worse this, along with what I call "intrusive rumination" and an exaggerated startle reflex are exhibited prominently. It's like my brain gets re-traumatized. I guess it also elucidates the significant overlap that is present in the various subtypes of mental illness.
"The trick here is not to break what you have already fixed for the sake of putting more pieces together."That indeed is a trick - a situation which I've always intellectually been aware of but didn't give as much credence to in the early years as I think I'm inclined to now. Back then I couldn't bear the thought that just a simple tweak of this or that would get me back to 100%. I've lost most of that feeling these days and I don't know whether it is due to an overall reduced response to anything I try anymore, or maybe the experience I've gained with all the painful failures. I tend to think the former is more likely the case. If you get a decent response to something, it would logically embolden you to try for that last stretch. There's that feeling that one is so close and that some small change will close the gap and all this can be put in the past. A very slippery slope indeed.
Where would you try to get rTMS?
You mention how you probably wouldn't try vilazadone because it would require you to discontinue Nardil. This is a very familiar quandary to me since at this point tapering off current meds would be highly destabilizing. I read about a drug in development considered to be a RIMA that sounds interesting as it naturally would be hitting the three main monoamines at a minimum, but I don't know if I would survive a situation where I have to taper off my current regime only to find out that the drug is intolerable (or worse) for me. Like you said, "the evidence would have to be very compelling".
I sometimes have distant fantasies of returning to work in some capacity, but it doesn't seem within reach for me these days. I hope the best for in this regard however. It would be very reassuring to achieve such a goal. That goes for any treatment out there really.
Bob
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URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20101231/msgs/976808.html