Posted by JohnL on August 25, 2000, at 5:48:47
In reply to Help me understand, posted by Ron Ron on August 23, 2000, at 0:11:53
Ron,
It's not easy to put a distinct label on a set of symptoms, though that's what most doctors attempt to do (often proves futile anyway). Especially in mental health, there is considerable overlap of varying conditions. Depression, social anxiety, anhedonia (lack of interest), schizophrenia, etc...these are all very close cousins of each other and a person can have traces of each, rather than distinct definite symptoms of just one or the other. Many psychiatric symptoms share common root causes.
That being said, there are meds that can be helpful for the symptoms you describe. They can unintentionally make them worse too though. Only through trial and error can we find out what works best.
Paxil for example could help you. On the other hand, with some people, any SSRI will create a sense of anhedonia (lack of interest) at the same time that it creates social comfort. In other words, you could be comfortable in a crowd, yet uninterested. Or you could be comfortable and very interested. The response will vary considerably from one person to the next, depending on their own unique chemistry, personality, and circumstances. I wish there was some easy way to say you have XYZ condition and ABC med will fix it. Sometimes it is that easy, but sometimes not.
Some general practitioners are pretty good with psychiatric medications. Most in my experience are fairly limited though. You may need to see a psychiatrist, one who isn't afraid of trying anything. If you get a pdoc who just wants to throw Paxil, Celexa, and stuff like that at you, then you might as well just see a general practitioner. They can just as easily start you on one, switch you to another, etc, at a much cheaper cost. But if some of the more straight forward meds don't work, then you'll need a pdoc to help choose other not-so-straight-forward meds.
In my experience the best med out there for your symptoms is Adrafinil. It's inexpensive and easy to try, without the troublesome side effects of other meds a doctor may give you. Of course, there are plenty of other meds that could work for your symptoms, but Adrafinil in particular is well suited to target specifically just the symptoms you described.
John
poster:JohnL
thread:43551
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000822/msgs/43691.html