Posted by JESSsMom on June 10, 2003, at 13:00:19
In reply to Re: Severe GAD/Depression » JESSsMom, posted by Ritch on June 9, 2003, at 9:47:37
> > Hi All,
> >
> > This is what I take daily--sounds overwhelming, I know, but I am often treatment resistant to meds, suffer greatly, and am debilitated by my GAD, comorbid depression, obsessional thinking, agoraphobia, and insomnia:
> >
> > --112.5 mg Effexor XR for anxiety and depression,
> > --6 mg Gabitril (slowly titrating up)
> > --5 mg Xanax as needed
> > --50-100 mg Luvox intermittently for intrusive obsessional thinking and depression (I know "intermittently" is not beneficial to most but it helps me, excluding the agitation)
> > --30 mg Dalmane for the terrible insomnia caused by the GAD, depression, and of course the Effexor XR and the Luvox.
> >
> > The Effexor XR plays with my body temperature--I am so hot when everyone else is comfortable or even chilly. I used to sweat terribly on it until I found a remedy for that, thank God.
> > When I try to increase the Gabitril it knocks my socks off for the entire next day: flat affect, bad short term memory loss, and debilitating somnolence. But my pdoc, of course, wants me to increase the Gabitril so that I can eventually lower my benzo intake.
> > Also, the 30 mg of Dalmane causes extreme somnolence the next day. It's a hypnotic with a long half life. I am going to try to break a capsule in half tonight and only take 15 mg, but how on earth do you split a capsule without losing all the things inside? It's not like a tablet that I can just cut in half.
> > Any comments or advice are greatly appreciated.
> >
> > God Bless,
> > JM
> >
>
> I've been on all of those meds (at different times and not all together). Dalmane was the first sleep med I was prescribed. That stuff accumulates in your body and you wind up being zoned all day. You might ask about temazepam instead. You said your primary symptoms are GAD/agoraphobia/depression/insomnia? Have you ever been on tricyclic antidepressants? Just a thought--but you *might* be able to replace most or all of your meds with amitriptyline (Elavil) at bedtime. You might ask your doc about that-if you have'nt tried it before.Ritch, thanks so much for your reply. Had a pdoc appointment yesterday--no more Gabitril. Also, used Restoril for a few months until it stopped working (60mg. and I was up til 4am when I finally would break down and take an extra Xanax). Pdoc says all benzo sleeping aids eventually poop out. As for Elavil--yes, been on it (been on everything, it seems over the last 13 years) and gained weight like crazy.
Yesterday pdoc suggested continuing with cutting the Dalmane in half and added a small dose of Zoloft for the complete lack of energy and motivation. Can't win--either scared to death all the time or no motivation. Sucks.
Thanks again, Ritch.
JM
poster:JESSsMom
thread:231869
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030609/msgs/232907.html