Posted by daisymm on December 17, 2003, at 19:49:16
In reply to Re: ADs, Diminished brain-power, Dr.Bob, posted by Interject79 on December 17, 2003, at 17:29:15
Hey!
Today I met with my pdoc, and she wanted to change my AD but decided not to, bcs I am going abroad for a month and she doesnt want me to have new episodes with new meds. But Lexapro is lowered to 5 mg (which sounds like a joke) and Lithobid is to stay as it is now. (900mg)
I mentioned whether the extreme fatigue can be bcs of Chronic Fatigue Synd (I had a viral syndrome in late august and since then, my energy levels slowly but steadily detoriated.) She thinks it is too early to consider that and she ordered another lithium -blood test for tomorrow. I skipped meds yesterday and this morning, and around 6pm my nrg and mood started to pick up.
I also asked her about ginko biloba, fish oil, etc and she told me she wasnt in a position to suggest a dose that would work. (as these stuff is alternative trestments, i guess) She mentioned there was a lack of research about interaction and dosage between these supplements and ADs/Lithium.
So I'd be really happy if you could tell me what medications you were taking at which dose, and which supplements worked best at which qyantity. Please be as specific as you can. (like I bought the generic wal-mart brand fish oil and its name was... etc)
Thanks,D.
ps: I am hung up on schol, I admit. It is because school had been the only constant in my life that gave me a sense of achieveent and success. Now that it's gone and I have to submit my second she-is-crazy letter to the Department, I feel bad, really bad about losing the only thing I enjoyed for last 20 yrs. I know I so deperately wish to do well at school to prove myself to myself-profs-classmates, I may be burdening myself. Come to think about it, I cannot even finish the 3-credit hrs course I was taking this semester, and I couldnt finish the two incompltes either. I may have to drop out, and have to learn how to live with it. But as disabled I am with depression, I do not find the support and new coping skills in my environment. It's as if I had lost an arm or legs (some pyshical disability) noone would lift a brow; and there'd be a lot more understanding and help. But beeing disabled by depression has received a treatment of laziness and slacking from the faculty, and that makes is just so much more difficult to let go of clinging to school. BTW, I only gave an example of physical disablity to show that society is not yet accepting depression-caused-disability as it sould be. No offense intended.
> Fish oil, as linkadge pointed out, is very helpful--get some good stuff. Folic acid too, and B-6. Lithium, and all stabilizers really, can lead to mental slowing in some (should I say many?) people. That's probably a bad choice for you. SSRI's can do the same thing, though not as severely I've found. At 40mg and above of Celexa, my cognitive abilities diminished (temporarily), same with Zoloft above 75, and with Lexapro above 5.
>
> I certainly understand your concerns. My college GPA college dropped .3 or so while I was being treated with the wrong dosages of SSRI's. And my depression, as you could guess, worsened.
>
> Best,
> interject
poster:daisymm
thread:290590
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20031213/msgs/291092.html