Posted by med_empowered on September 23, 2005, at 1:18:38
In reply to Re: Cymbalta, posted by TommyIsland on September 22, 2005, at 20:08:28
Hey! I hear you on going through the meds and *still* finding no relief. Personally, I refuse to do ECT...I have some relatives (older ones) who did ECT and I'm not impressed...they don't seem any happier (still on meds and still upset), and they don't seem to have aged as well as my relatives who didn't do ECT--more memory/cognitive problems, *more* age-related depression/anxiety, etc. Anyway, the reaction you had to Geodon pops up now and then with antipsychotics--particularly the new ones at low-doses. For some reason, Geodon seems to pop a lot when case reports of antipsychotic-induced mania come up. SAMe is good stuff; Eli Lilly, the Prozac, Cymbalta and Zyprexa people, did a study where they found that combining 5-HTP with Prozac resulted in a significantly higher number of patients responding and/or achieving remission...ading b-vitamins helped too, in another study; apparently, lots of people with depression (and presumably other mood disorders, as well) have mild to moderate vitamin deficiencies; since they're not severe, they escape notice in terms of physical symptoms, but supplementing sometimes helps with mood/anxiety. I dont know how you feel about talk-therapy, but that really does help a lot of people. Sometimes, I've found that the best "therapy" is doing something that *isn't* directed at your problem; re-focusing your attention and finding something meaningful sometimes helps..personally, I've found Logotherapy to be tremendously helpful; it isn't directed at problems per se...the focus is more on YOU as an individual and your goals, needs, beliefs, etc. One other thing I've found that helps considerably is sleep deprivation...when I'm "in a funk," I deliberately stay awake for a day or two...in the past, my insomnia could result in anxiety, hypomania, and mixed-episodes; these days, after some trial and error, I can "feel" a bad depression coming on, do some sleep deprivation, and then feel much, much better for a good while. Apparently, sleep deprivation functions kind of like a stimulant. Be careful, though, if you've had problems with (hypo)mania and/or psychosis. I just mentioned it b/c I get the same sort of depression you're describing--fatigue, lack of motivation, etc. Its technically considered "atypical," but its surprisingly common. Mood-stabilizers might actually be a good thing for you. It used to be thought that mood-stabilizers just lowered mood to normal, or helped prevent mania in bipolars. Turns out some people, bipolar and unipolar, don't respond well to antidepressants alone but will respond well to an antidepressant+mood-stabilizer combo. Adding a mood-stabilizer may also help with anxiety, sleep, anger/hostility...but do watch the dose; if it gets too high, there's a risk of cognitive impairment and emotional "flattening". Depakote is an old standby, but lots of people make progress with some of the newer ones, like Trileptal or Lamictal. Lamictal in particular is effective for bipolar depression; presumably, it should help unipolar depression. You might atually have "soft" bipolar; some people dont meet the usual criteria for bipolar disorder, but they respond well to mood-stabilizers and have other bipolar-esque features in their disorder. If you can deal with weight gain, you could always try Symbyax; its zyprexa+prozac in one cap. I'm not a huge fan of antipsychotics, and Prozac doesn't have the best rep, either, but the combination seems to produce amazing results in many people who have failed trials of other medications and combinations. Its approved for depression in Bipolar I disorder, but its being used off-label for all kinds of stuff. I personally found that 5mgs abilify+celexa was *amazing*, at least for a while...I was suddenly able to leave my house and I had the motivation to do something besides brood and think about how hellish my life was. I noticed in your note that you said you're 29..I hear you on having all these problems when you're young. I just turned 21, and all these "issues" have had a *terrible* impact on my life. I still have to finish school--I dropped out at one point b/c my social anxiety was so bad I couldn't go to class and my doc refused to prescribe benzos..instead he rx'd antipsychotics, and I was both *stupid* and *anxious*. Great guy. Anyway, good luck to you, and keep us all posted!
poster:med_empowered
thread:557557
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20050921/msgs/558398.html