Posted by JohnX2 on April 18, 2002, at 3:00:57
In reply to Re: SSRI vs TRYCICLICS, posted by JohnX2 on April 18, 2002, at 2:55:03
> > > Hi all. I've been on SSRI switching from one to another almost four, five years. In the first part of treatment (as I wrote in another post, see HOMEOSTASIS), let's say in the first two/three weeks, everything was ok, and I had no problems, but starting from one month to the end of therapy I became to get angry, better, nervous almost all the time, and to have bad mood shifts during the day. I benefited by adding a benzo, but wanted to go off of it as soon as I could because even in this case, also the benzos give with time very marked tolerance. In one word I felt "stimulated" a bit too much on SSRIs. I have mixed anxiety and depression. Now the point is : I know that tryciclic antidepressants are more sedative than SSRI even if they have more adverse effects. My pdoc wants to put me on them (clomipramine). Have you guys any experience with this old class drugs ? Do they better relief anxiety sympotms of depression ?
> > >
> > > Thanks to all who'll answer.
> >
> >
> > Sounds like you are getting some med-induced dysphoric hypomania from SSRI's-I do too-I have to keep the dose insanely microcosmal or I get really *tweaky* on them. I have tried most of the TCA's. I don't know if you will like them or not. Most people don't (because of side effects). Clomipramine is the most serotonergic of the bunch and is used for OCD primarily. If you start getting the same problems with it that you got on the SSRI's you may need to add a mood stabilizer or switch to a more noradrenergic TCA (like amitriptyline or doxepin).
> >
> > Mitch
>
> The benzo acts as a mood stabilizer (although sort of a dirty one). It sounds like you may do well augmenting your medicine with a more classical anticonvulsant mood stabilizer as Mitch suggested (Depakote, Lamictal, etc, these help to stabilize the AD response for some people and these stabilizers doesn't usually poop out like a benzo might). Try this if the other AD classes of medicines don't go well.
>
> Regards,
> JohnPS. The anticonvulsant (mood stabilizer) medications help to maintain the homeostasis achieved after an antidepressant response. (Per your other thread).
John
poster:JohnX2
thread:103329
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020416/msgs/103407.html