Posted by JohnL on March 4, 2001, at 4:27:21
In reply to new here--request for advice, posted by Andrew D on March 3, 2001, at 17:48:32
Hi Andrew,
In your shoes I would handle the situation one of two ways:
1) Try each of the SSRIs for about 2 weeks each. No long trials. If there is a superior match in the bunch, you'll know it early on. You could then choose your favorite to focus on for a longer trial. The trick is convincing your doctor to cooperate. They seem so mythically sold on, and deep rooted, in the long trial thing that it is sometimes hard to explain you just want to sample different drugs before making any longterm commitments to one of them. The short trial thing really works though. Ever wondered what it's like to take the SSRIs you haven't tried? I find it very comforting and even therapeutic to know for sure how I liked each one during a two week trial. Usually they are duds or had bad side effects, but inevitably there is almost always one in the bunch that is great. Never would have discovered it without sampling.
2) Go back to Prozac, but be prepared to add something to it. The top choice as I see it would be small dose Zyprexa. Other excellent choices would be Amisulpride, Risperdal, Adrafinil, Ritalin, or any combination of these. Lithium is probably the most popular add-on in literature, though in the real world it is hard to find anyone doing real well with it. It should though probably be considered. I believe your best odds for success are in the antipsychotic categories and the stimulant categories. If I had to place blind bets for just one top choice, I would go with Zyprexa. Prozac+Zyprexa is an awesome combination for a whole array of different symptoms.
John
poster:JohnL
thread:55467
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010302/msgs/55509.html