Posted by cache-monkey on April 7, 2005, at 1:16:40
In reply to AD Survey - please contribute your exp., posted by barbaracat on April 6, 2005, at 23:19:19
Fun stuff. Here goes...
ANTIDEPRESSANT SURVEY:
BabbleName: cache-monkey
Diagnosis and Symptoms: Originally thought I was depressive (2001-2003). Then noticed strong anxiety component, negative thinking, dysregulated reward system (2003-2004). Finally, am realizing (late 2004+) that I might have a soft bipolar with frequent dysthymia and anxiety, and occasional mixed states. During strongly anxious periods and mixed states I tend toward OCD.
Name of Med: Wellbutrin
Dose: 150-400 mg
Year: April 2002 - August 2002
Rating (1-10): 5
Comments: Found it agitating. Amplified my normally slight OCD tendencies. On the positive side: great for weight and libido. Also somewhat energizing.Name of Med: Wellbutrin + Celexa/Lexapro
Dose: 400 + 20 / 400 + 10
Year: August 2002 - February 2003
Rating (1-10): 6
Comments: Felt great on this combo. Too great, in retrospect. Definitely hypomanic. Experienced substantial weight gain and sexual dysfunction.Name of Med: Serzone
Dose: 50 - 400 mg
Year: Nov 2003 - May 2004
Rating (1-10): 3
Comments: Increased anxiety to the point of paralysis. Also increased OCD behavior. (As with Wellbutrin, this was probably a response to the higher levels of anxiety.) Great for weight and sexual function. (Quite annoying that the best two in terms of side effects actually worsened me mentally.)Name of Med: Serzone + BuSpar + Xanax
Dose: 300 mg + 10 mg + 0.25 PRN
Year: May 2004 - August 2004
Rating (1-10): 4
Comments: Adding BuSpar might have helped some with certain aspects of my anxiety (cognitive) but worsened me in terms of the physical manifestations of anxiety.Name of Med: BuSpar + Cymbalta + Xanax
Dose: 10 mg + 10-20 mg + 0.25 mg PRN
Year: Sept 2005
Rating (1-10): 1
Comments: Adding Cymbalta sent me into a very agitated anxious state. Truly horrible.Name of Med: BuSpar + Lamictal + 0.25 mg PRN
Dose: 5 mg + 12.5-50 mg
Year: December 2004
Rating (1-10): 4
Comments: Lamictal made me groggy at first, but then energizing. Increasing the dose from 25 to 50 mg sent me into a panic state. Also experienced lower back pain and erectile dysfunction.[Note: at some point during Autumn of 2004 I realized that my reactions to Serzone, BuSpar and Cymbalta might be partially explained by a liver enzyme issue -- CYP-2D6 deficiency. Got a genetic screen and found out that I was an "intermediate" (closer to deficient than extensive) 2D6 metabolizer.]
Name of Med: Xanax
Dose: 1 mg
Year: Dec 2004 - Jan 2005
Rating (1-10): 8
Comments: Worked wonders for my anxiety. Inter-dose rebounding was a problem, though.Name of Med: Klonopin + Lithium + Xanax
Dose: 1-1.5 mg + 0.25 PRN
Year: Jan 2005 - March 2005
Rating (1-10): 6
Comments: Klonopin was more sedating and less anxiolytic than Xanax. It also caused some problems with libido and sexual function. The Lithium helped greatly with stabilization. However, my psychiatrist insisted on pushing the dose to traditional therapeutic ranges. As a result, I developed nephritic diabetes insipidus and had to d/c the lithium.Name of Med: Valium
Dose: 8 mg
Year: March - April 2004
Rating (1-10): 7
Comments: Libido/sexual function returned to normal. Obtained better anxiolysis and less sedation, as compared to Klonopin. Some mixed states and hypomania remained untreated.Name of Med: Valium + Depakote
Dose: 8 mg + 250 mg
Year: April 2004 -
Rating (1-10): Too early to tell.
Comments: Just added the Depakote two days ago. Have been having minor GI issues and sweaty palms. Will post a later update on this combination...
poster:cache-monkey
thread:480962
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20050404/msgs/480993.html