Posted by 3 Beer Effect on January 27, 2005, at 21:37:47
In reply to What does everyone do all day long?, posted by Jen2 on January 26, 2005, at 16:58:09
I first sought treatment for depression while in college. In my opinion, people do not pay enough attention to the dumb drug effects of psych meds. Being dumb is in itself debilitating. (I can't imagine taking any of the Bipolar mood stabilizer or anti-psychotic meds, I would think the Zombie/brain numbing effect of those drugs would make you virtually unemployable).
In college I was taking Zoloft 100 mg + 1 or 2 mg of Klonopin. The Klonopin combined with the Zoloft short circuited my memory & I would blank out on tests. I also tried various other antidepressants including effexor, remeron, Celexa, Paxil & had similar dumbness/memory/apathy problems with each. Eventually I stopped taking them & only took ADD meds which definitely improve your motivation. The key might be to avoid benzos while in school b/c of the memory problems with them & avoid taking too many psychoactive meds at once.
I started taking generic Prozac 20 mg a few months ago & it is the only AD i've ever tried that does not cause dumbness. It actually motivates you to get out of bed, especially if you drink 2 cups of coffee with your 20 mg morning dose. There are perhaps some slight short term memory issues but they seem to be less significant that with any other med & your pace of thought seems to quicken with Prozac. I used to take it with Selegeline at 5 or 10 mg & that combination was activating & motivating but I quit that because of anxiety & dry mouth/eyes. The best combination for you is probably Prozac 20 mg + 20 mg 2x per day of either Dextrostat or Adderall or Ritalin. That is a powerful combo to defeat apathy & get you out of bed + you will have the cleanest house on your street! Another combo could be Prozac + Provigil or Prozac + Strattera or even Wellbutrin XL taken by itself.
In closing I would do what you can to bust a** while in grad school because although it may hurt now, you will be much happier later in life when you have a job in a field of interest that you like. I am taking a grad school class + working full time & Prozac + 2 cups of morning coffee & either 1 cup of coffee (or a Red Bull) at lunch makes it much easier since the Prozac gives you a great energy boost!
Thanks,
3 Beer Effect
poster:3 Beer Effect
thread:448264
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20050124/msgs/448922.html