Posted by SLS on February 15, 2001, at 20:59:24
In reply to Re: Targeting cortisol for depression? Scott, posted by JasonL on February 15, 2001, at 18:21:37
Dear Jason,
It sounds to me like you have a melancholic, classical unipolar depression that tends to respond well to tricyclic antidepressants like imipramine and Anafranil. Anafranil sucks. It is probably the worst of the tricyclics in terms of side effects, although it is probably the most efficacious. Imipramine has been the "gold standard" against which other antidepressants are compared. If you are particularly sensitive to the side effects of tricyclics in general, desipramine and nortriptyline would make good choices as their side effects are relatively mild. I encourage you to try either imipramine, desipramine, or nortriptyline and start at a low dosage and increase the dosage gradually. Startup side effects often lessen with time, so the key is to minimize them early with low dosages so that you can move up more comfortably. I believe days 3-5 are the worst. See if you can get through them.
I tend to agree with Mark regarding the treatment of cortisol activity.
Keep going. You'll get there. But you gotta' be in it to win it. Easier said than done - I know.
Sincerely,
Scott> > Scott,
>
> I have a brief stint on Anafrinil for a about 3 days before I found the side effects intolerable. I'm on Paxil right now. I was just reading some posts about imiprimine...is this a tricyclic? I'm running out of hope and options. I'm extremely suicidal during the days, though I notice a decided lessoning of the depression as the evening comes. I spend most of my days in bed just trying to breathe the pain away, asking God to just take me in my sleep. Its an aweful existence. I wondered if I could get my cortisol levels down if this could help take some of the pain away that I go through during the daylight hours...when my levels are well above the normal range. As midnight approaches, the cortisol levels drop back to normal levels...and this why I suspect I don't have insomnia as many people who are severely depressed do.
>
> Curious, Scott, has anything helped you with depression? What has kept you going?
>
> JasonL
> >
poster:SLS
thread:53836
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010212/msgs/54101.html