Posted by cbh on July 1, 2002, at 17:54:20
In reply to How many drugs until success?, posted by Dave1 on June 29, 2002, at 19:31:08
In my case, many! I've now lost count of the
total number of medications I've tried, probably
about 40 when I add the various augmentation
agents such as anxiolytics, hypnotics, antipsychotics
etc and seemingly countless combinations of those.My experience suggests that a if partial response to
one of these has been noticed then there's probably
a good chance that a sustainable solution is out
there. However, hindsight shows that in my case
I've had zero response to the numerous combinations
I've tried, the closest to a positive being the
relative absence or remission of side-effects from
any particular medication. I suspect that this is
because all of the usual drugs are much of a muchness
when it comes to their method of action, either
increasing serotonin and/or noradrenaline activity
(which makes me anxious) or reducing dopamine
activity (which makes me anxious), both of which
usually result in a list of side-effects as long
as my arm. Well, truth be told, I did have two
partial remissions with probable dopaminergic
combinations, measured in single-figure days and
hours respectively, but they probably ultimately
failed as that effect was secondary to one of the
above actions.I couldn't say whether or not this is good/useful
advice, but the way I feel is that if any response
is found after trying up to half a dozen of the
standard medications on offer then it's worth
pursuing other combinations, but if not it probably
requires looking elsewhere for more unconventional
solutions. Whether or not any are actually available
probably mostly depends on local demographics, eg
whether legislature permits anything outside the
usual scope, whether the prescribing doctor is
willing or able (insurance companies or their
workplace policies tend to dictate the latter) to
look further afield. I'm still looking, but find
myself increasingly pessimistic that a solution
can be found; not because it isn't there, but
because getting past the various levels of
bureaucracy is probably a lost cause.Chris.
poster:cbh
thread:111049
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020628/msgs/111152.html