Posted by JaneST on August 17, 2000, at 13:18:01
In reply to Re: celexa..prozac..wellbutrin, posted by JohnL on August 15, 2000, at 4:43:14
>
> I sure know how you feel, and it hurts to know someone else hurts in the same way. I've always excelled at whatever I do and have made many accomplishments, yet have been very very depressed throughout most of it all. Sometimes I think diving into whatever project and achieving high success is merely a survival means of escape from the relentless depression.
>
> As to psychotherapy, if it is proving useless so far then I doubt it will ever be much help. That is, until some medication works. Once a medication works, then and only then can psychotherapy make a big difference. Otherwise, the depressed brain just doesn't have the capability to process the psychotherapy information in a way that does any good. With me anyway.
>
> As to medication, if Wellbutrin doesn't work out there are plenty of other choices. Just so you know, there are a lot of medications that can and will work even though they aren't specifically intended for depression. Just because a med is called 'anti'depressant doesn't mean it will truly be anti depressant. And just because a medication is not called an antidepressant doesn't mean it can't work miracles against depression. It's all in the brain chemistry. Each of us has unique chemistry, and each of us will require a unique medication to fix it, and it may end up not being an antidepressant at all.
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> For example, Zyprexa. Now here's an antipsychotic that is showing surprising promise as both a mood stabilizer and an antidepressant. You don't have to have schizophrenia to respond to it well. The more antidepressants you've tried that don't work, the more likely it seems to me a different kind of medication will work instead. Your odds for success increase with each failure, but most especially when you limit your future choices to medication of different classes than the ones you've already failed.
>
> Zyprexa is just one example. Any of the stimulants (Ritalin, Adderall) could work beautifully. Adrafinil from overseas mailorder could be a nice alternative. The anticonvulsant Lamictal is showing a lot of promise in treating depression. And if one was to stay with the antidepressant group, one might consider either Desipramine or Nortriptyline...older meds that often work the best but come with more side effects too.
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> To make my long story short, you might consider other classes of psychiatric meds next. Forget about antidepressants. Any combination of Zyprexa, stimulants, or either alone would be my top choices at this point.
> JohnJohn:
What a great, well-thought answer...or maybe I just think so because it made me feel like you were talking to me???
Very positive and hopeful...plus good info...I'll be taking this with me tomorrow to my pdoc appointment.
Thanks for your insight!!
Jane
poster:JaneST
thread:42797
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000811/msgs/43165.html