Posted by Keith Talent on November 16, 2004, at 23:08:27
In reply to Re: Clomipramine and a beta blocker?, posted by Keith Talent on November 16, 2004, at 22:52:24
The alternatives that I'm faced with are:
1. Drop the clomipramine (even though it's the best antidepressant I've ever had).
2. Drop the atenolol (beta blocker), resulting in my heart rate going back up again to 120 at rest.
If 1., the likely candidates to replace it would be escitalopram, paroxetine, fluoxetine or sertraline. None of them are as good (for me) as clomipramine for my mood.
Does anyone have any experience in taking an SSRI with atomoxetine (Strattera)? I've already found reboxetine (Edronax) to be useless for me personally. This combo would be sort of equivalent to clomipramine, without weakening the heart's contractility and causing dysrhythmias.
Basically, there is definitely a dopaminergic component to my (and a great many other posters here's) depression. What I would like to trial would be an SSRI at a high dose and (dex)methylphenidate to compensate for the SSRI-induced apathy/anergy/amotivation/emotionally-numbing side effects. I've already found that dextroamphetamine worked very well for this, but only for a month, then the effect burnt out. I hope that (dex)methylphenidate would produce a more sustainable benefit because it does not cause release of dopamine (at low brain concentrations) - it only blocks reuptake.
You people here are fantastic and any tidbit of knowledge/experience/advice would be most appreciated.
poster:Keith Talent
thread:416569
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20041113/msgs/416894.html