Posted by zeugma on April 18, 2003, at 18:18:18
I was wondering if anyone else here suffered from NVLD (Non Verbal Learing Disorder)? Just had a conversation about this with my therapist, who is one of the few people around who specialize in NVLD and right hemisphere dysfunction (which NVLD is attributed to). She said NVLD'ers are tough to medicate, which is true in my case. Several SSRI's, and Wellbutrin, caused colorful, strongly aversive-conditioning, side effects. Cylert (I also have severe inattentive ADD) was OK, except that I lost 10 lbs. in 2 weeks and I'm severely underweight to begin with.
Currently I'm on 60 mg of Pamelor and 30 mg of Buspar. These meds are helpful, but I'm still dealing with the ADD haze (not fog anymore, thanks to the Pamelor). I asked my pdoc on Wednesday about trying Ritalin, but given my weight loss with the Cylert, he thought that inadvisable. Can't really argue- I'm feeling a lot better these days having gained all of 7 lbs. since last summer on the Pamelor, and I have little desire to emaciate myself again with a drug that'll quicken my metabolism. (Sedatives, always sedatives for me.)Anyway, I also have GAD, and the Ritalin might aggravate that.
My options are these: either increase the Pamelor again (pending results of a blood level for the Pamelor), and/or add on Strattera. According to my doc, Strattera, while similar to Pamelor, might contain some dopaminergic boosting activity, along with its well-documented noradrenergic activity, that might help specifically with ADD, and, I'm hoping, NVLD, though officially there's no medication yet for this condition. (In practice NVLD'ers have often been prescribed TCA's and Effexor because a lot of the symptoms, as in my case, resemble melancholic depression). This tallies with what I've read at neurotransmitter.net, which says that in a recent study Strattera increased DA levels in the prefrontal cortex 3-fold (for the abstract look under "ADHD and Dopamine"). I could probably benefit from some more NE reuptake inhibition, too. Plus I've seen here that it made some people sleepy and hungry- perfect for this melancholic type depressive with enough comorbidities to be fun at parties (let me indulge my sense of humor a little). If this doesn't work out, I can always drop the Pamelor and Buspar for some Remeron, gain about 40 lbs. and then tell my doc I'm ready for Ritalin. (Seriously, does anyone think Remeron is good for ADD?)I'd appreciate any comments/similar experiences. Thanks everyone,
z
poster:zeugma
thread:220460
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030417/msgs/220460.html