Posted by JohnL on February 14, 2001, at 2:06:44
In reply to Med change--need help AndrewB, JohnL, CamW, posted by Lorraine on February 13, 2001, at 15:54:11
Hi Lorraine,
This is just off the top of my head, but the first thing that seemed obvious to me when I read your post was that drugs that increase neurotransmitter levels didn't work out for you, with the possible exception of Effexor.If Effexor worked real good for you (not just so-so, but real good), then definitely I think it is worth returning to it and dealing with the weight gain and sexual matters. If it worked a little, but not really impressive, then I personally would probably not bother returning to it.
In the SSRI category, have you tried good ole Prozac? Just curious.
I think your doc should be trying you on Zyprexa, or Risperdal. It just seems to me that when people have a hard time with a long list of antidepressants (like me, or like you), then for some reason the neuroleptic class of drugs can be magic. Especially considering the panic attack thing, I would forget the antidepressants for now (except maybe Prozac or Effexor) and instead look at drug class categories that have not yet been tried. They represent various brain chemistries that as of yet have not been addressed, or only made worse, by antidepressants. The amino acid thing is a powerful clue. That implies that certain neurotransmitter levels need to be tamed, not increased. Neuroleptics could do the trick.
If I were in your shoes, top drugs on my priority list would be:
Zyprexa
Risperdal
Prozac
Ritalin
Adderall
Lithium (small dose)
Depakote
Amisulpride
AdrafinilSorry, I'm rambling. Basically, look where you haven't yet looked. Turn over some rocks that haven't yet been turned over. Do something completely different. Even though all the drugs you've tried were quite different, they all still fell into a common theme. That theme didn't work, and only made things worse. Time to try a completely different angle.
John
poster:JohnL
thread:53901
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010212/msgs/53942.html