Posted by AlexCanada on September 4, 2012, at 20:06:43
In reply to Rhodiola frustration, posted by Tomatheus on August 30, 2012, at 15:02:23
Hi. My melancholic depression is very similar in terms of symptoms. very difficult for me to think, concentrate, poor energy, drive, motivation and especially poor ability to have interest or enjoy anything. Over 10 years here.
For me Parnate worked very well for over a year. Paxil helped somewhat for a few years. Risperidone worked somewhat. Ritalin and Dexedrine amazingly well but tolerance build up beyond the first few weeks. Gabapentin astonishingly well but much tolerance build up (but stopping and restarting does help). Ironically Gabapentin worked longer term for over a year until it developed most of it's tolerance. Almost everything else has had little effect or made me worse.
Rhodiola helped me quite a bit too especially for drive, motivation, energy and especially cognition. Sisu brand worked for me for many months, causes aggression but was small price to pay. NoW brand worked similarly.
After a year rhodiola doesn't help me as much anymore but Arctic Root (swedish brand used in clinical trials) works to some degree.
May I ask out of everything you've tried these years... what has helped you the most?
> Hi,
>
> I recently decided to try the Jarrow Formulas brand of Rhodiola rosea to see if I might get a different response to it than I did to a previous brand of Rhodiola that I had tried, which had basically worsened my vegetative depression. To sum up my response to the Jarrow Rhodiola, I would say that I responded wonderfully -- much the opposite way that I responded to the previous brand of Rhodiola that I had tried -- but only for a day before the herb completely lost its effectiveness. Rhodiola rosea apparently has MAOI properties, which might explain my temporary response to the herb, given the fact that so many other MAOIs that I've tried have produced strong responses that were short lived.
>
> I guess I'm just really frustrated right now at the fact that all of my medication and supplement responses are so short lived. I mean, there are so many people who say that they respond well to Rhodiola rosea, but never do I come across anybody else who's said that they just respond to the herb for a day. So, I guess the question is, why am I such a freak as far as my responses to medications and supplements is concerned? What is it about my body that makes it respond to medications and supplements so differently from pretty much everybody else, that allows me to respond temporarily to so many treatments only to lose my responses? Finally, does anybody else on these boards have the same problems with responding to medications and supplements only temporarily? If so, have you found anything that helps with the symptoms that I have (lack of energy, psychomotor retardation, hypersomnia, difficulty concentrating, and anhedonia) on an indefinite basis?
>
> I just feel so stuck. I've been suffering from chronic vegetative depression for more than 12 years now, and I'm tired of being teased with treatments that only relieve my symptoms for a few days. Please someone tell me that there is a way to return to my premorbid level of well being and functioning *indefinitely* -- not just for a day, a few days, or perhaps a little longer. I want to believe that the saying that "depression is treatable" has some merit to it and that it's not just a bunch of b*llsh*t designed to give false hope to those who have a disease that they'll have to live with for the rest of their lives, but 12 years of experience with chronic vegetative depression and treatments that haven't helped leave me feeling like I've been lied to about how treatable depression really is.
>
> I'm really starting to believe that there isn't any treatment that's going to alleviate my symptoms in the long run. I hope that somebody can prove me wrong and let me know about a treatment that's helped them for at least several months after they had struggled with one temporary response after another, but I'm doubtful as to whether that's going to happen.
>
> Anyway, thanks for listening.
>
> Tomatheus
poster:AlexCanada
thread:1024470
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/alter/20120530/msgs/1024903.html