Posted by jojo on July 13, 2001, at 12:28:21
In reply to Re: stimulant tolerance - help, posted by Andy123 on July 13, 2001, at 10:52:32
> > I am writing about my 19 year old son who I have written about before. He is has ADD and some OCD and depression and his experience is that adderall worked great for about a month and then pooped out and the same thing with concerta after two weeks.
> >He feels as if his brain is not working correctly nad has trouble thinking and having any initiative at all.
>
> Is this from rumination or just anergy?
>
> >He had had a binge eating disorder that has been a lot better, but this lack of mental energy is awful. He also is on zoloft 50 mgs and has tried so many things. The dosage has been upped and changed and it is as if he gets immune to it.
>
> I have had very good results with effexor + stimulant. Others around here seem to have also.
>
> > He also seems to do worse when he drinks diet soda and seems to be very chemically sensitive.
>
> 3 amino acids compete with tryptophan for entry across the BBB. As I'm guessing you know, phenyl-alanine is one of them. I think acid hydrolysis of "nutrasweet" leaves an available form of this amino acid. Experimentally, diets with reduced tryptophan content can initiate depression/anxiety.
>
> >Please write back if you ahve had experience with this. THere is a phenomenon where people build up a tolerance to stimulants, but he is getting pretty dioscouraged.
>
> Here is my 2 cents worth of unqualified opinion:
> 1. Nobody should be taking stimulants unless they have a fair amount of antioxidants in their diet. 2. I've had moderate success with phosphatidyl serine for stimulant tolerance. Keep away from any supplement that mixes it with other things like any choline precursors.
>
> Really it sounds like your son needs more aggressive antidepressant therapy and not more stimulants. To qualify that: whenever i've taken stimulants during a period of affective difficulty, the result has been poor. That is a pretty typical trend, I think. Stimulants in general shouldn't be taken when there is unmedicated (or poorly medicated) anxiety or agitated depression. The OCD/depression description of your son's condition lead me to believe that he is probably ruminating. If he is stuck in an "analysis paralysis" then stimulants will worsen his overall condition. The affective difficulties should be treated completely and to remission before stimulants are used.It has been my experience that stimulant resistance
is delayed for years while one is taking an
adequate dose of an SSRI, and if and when it does
develop, switching stimulants is effective.
Ritalin, Adderall, Desoxyn, and Dexedrine (immediate
release tablets) have been effective for many
years while taking Prozac or Celexa at adequate doses
(20 mg of Prozac or 20-40 mg Celexa).
poster:jojo
thread:69983
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010708/msgs/70000.html