Posted by franco neuro on April 2, 2005, at 11:12:05
In reply to Re: Anyone TIRED on Wellbutrin XL?, posted by islandangel on April 2, 2005, at 5:32:07
Hi. You made the right move in starting Wellbutrin before stopping the Elavil. I only wish I had done the same. I started at 10mg of Elavil and ended up going up to 100mg during the four years that I was on it. I felt like it was starting to prematurely age me. I became frustrated and decided to stop it. Unfortunately, I did it too quickly and without a backup med. I really hit the skids after that. If only I had known that Wellbutrin could help with pain. Oh well you live and you learn. Hopefully...
It is interesting that some people get tired on a med that should act as somewhat of a stimulant by boosting dopamine. In his book Dr. Goldstein says that this is common among many people with neurosomatic disorders (i.e. CFS, FMS, IBS, pelvic inflammatory disease, etc.) I'm currently trying to figure out why this is and what can be done about it. His book is pretty complex. Why did he have to retire?! I was ready to drive across the country from New Jersey to California to see him. The guy basically went into hiding. People were coming from around the world to see him. A lot of people would show up at his house and hound him. I guess he just got tired of it all. But thank God he's still writing books. He's supposed to have another one coming out soon called "Brain Static: Case Studies in Neurosomatic Medicine." I can't wait.
By the way, I also have the book by Dr. St. Amand, the guy who came up with the guaifenesin therapy. The funny thing is, he had no clue as to why it was helping some people. The reason he came up with was all wrong. It turns out that guaifenesin is a NMDA (N-methyl-D-aspartate) antagonist. They're finding out that in a lot of people with CFS and FMS there is over activity of the excititory neurotransmitters glutamate and aspartate. Initially, this causes over secretion of dopamine and neurepinephrine. But, over time it causes DA and NE to become suppressed. Either because they have become depleted, or there is synaptic failure, or the DA and NE recepter cells have become down regulated. This is why meds that boost dopamine and norepinephrine are so helpful. Many of the newer anti-convulsants (i.e. Neurontin, Lamictal, etc.) are also helpful in CFS and FMS because they suppress NMDA and glutamate. Dr. St. Amand also had to come up with a reason why it didn't help some of his patients so he came up with the salicylate theory. Which, apparently, is also wrong. Hey I'm not knocking the guy. He meant well and helped some people so he's alright with me. Should have worked on the science behind his treatment a little more though. Anyway sorry for rambling. Researching this stuff has pretty much been my whole life this past year...
poster:franco neuro
thread:473033
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20050330/msgs/478879.html