Posted by sukarno on March 7, 2006, at 5:15:54
I can't believe a year has passed so quickly. Wow. Anyway, I would say my experience on Stablon has been satisfactory, although I had to supplement with light therapy for my depression which is mostly related to S.A.D. (Seasonal Affective Disorder).
Stablon seems to be effective for mild to moderate depression in my opinion and own experience and effective for panic disorder. It improved my anxiety a lot and did not cause any sexual dysfunction. In fact, a few times I had taken an extra Stablon I experienced an increase in libido the following day.
There was some "poop out" after a month or two and a dosage increase was necessary. After that I remained stable on 4 tablets a day (recommended dose is 3 tablets a day and maximum is 6) for several months.
After the birth of my son and arrival of the monsoon (rainy season) I began to become more nervous and depressed, so I increased Stablon to 5 tablets a day and then 6 a day.
I also was tapering diazepam (Valium) beginning in October at the rate of 1mg reduction per month.
I'm now on 13mg/day diazepam (7mg AM and 6mg PM).I've been on light therapy for one month and have no depression and my libido has gradually increased to the point where I can say I'm almost normal in terms of libido, whereas I had suffered from very low libido for a few years. I assume depression caused that.
I saw a psychiatrist a few weeks ago and he said 6 tablets a day was excessive for Stablon and that some people abuse this medication, so he recommended a taper down to 3 tablets a day which I accomplished in 2 weeks.
I didn't experience any significant withdrawal symptoms, except for a transient increase in anxiety and depression which quickly resolved on its own without any further intervention.
In the beginning of Stablon treatment one year ago I found it to be somewhat anxiety-provoking in the beginning although I didn't have any panic attacks as a result. After that it began to have strong anxiolytic effects without producing sedation.
The only side effects I have experienced are headache (that could be due to excessive use of my computer though as my computer monitor gives me eyestrain) and slightly dry mouth, but neither of these caused me much concern and declined in frequency with continued use.
I'd recommend this for those who cannot tolerate SSRIs, and/or those who want to avoid sexual dysfunction. I'd also recommend it for anxiety and panic attacks. It seems to be better as an anxiolytic, even in the long term in my experience.
No emotional numbing..in fact, I'd say I experienced the opposite but that didn't happen often.
It is just a much more gentle antidepressant...much easier on the body. Thank God for Stablon. Too bad this isn't marketed in the USA.
poster:sukarno
thread:616958
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20060304/msgs/616958.html