Posted by TheMeekOne on September 27, 2006, at 21:38:50
I'm a 43 y/o male with a mixed bag of ADD, depression, hypomania, and social anxiety. My impulses are the worst: they come out of nowhere and I do things despite what others (family and co-workers) have previously told me NOT to do and I still do it. My acts are not criminal, but they cause serious aggravation to others and ultimately to myself. At core, my behavior is self-damaging. Previously, they have cost me a well-paying job that took years of schooling and hard work to get to, and after being unemployed for a while, I'm now doing a menial office work with a minimal contact with others.
I started my pill odyssey two years ago with Lexapro (10 mg./daily). While on Lexapro, I was happier and easier to get along with, but it had no effect on my impulsive behavior. So I took it for about 16 months and quit on my own.
While I was taking Lexapro, I tried, in succession, Wellbutrin SR (100 mg. daily), XL (150 mg. daily), and regular (75 mg. daily). (To those who say that's too low, I agree, but I can't tolerate the full, so-called therapeutic dosages.) Wellbutrin focused me better, kept some control over me, and I had few impulses, mostly because I was tired and sleepless.
The next step was Buspar but I felt bad on it after several days and had some bad cardiac effects.Then came Ritalin (5 mg/daily), replaced by Dexedrine (5 mg/daily). They were an eye-opener. On Ritalin, I was functioning well, although in a robot-like fashion. On Dexedrine, I appeared to others as a smart, enthusiastic guy that was a pleasure to work with. But I couldn't tolerate either of them for more than a week at a time. Dexedrine, which is far superior to Ritalin, eliminated most, if not of my impulses, but the price of Dexedrine (and Ritalin, too) in my opinion is an early death from heart failure.
After the stimulants, I've moved to the other extreme. I've been on Xanax 2 mg. daily for the past 2 weeks and everything seemed OK until tonight when those ugly devils came through and have caused so much problems at home -- my behavior was at fault -- that no one is going to speak to me for weeks.
People with impulses, what meds are you talking to keep your impulses down, other than what I've already tried? Please share your knowledge.
poster:TheMeekOne
thread:689737
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20060927/msgs/689737.html