Posted by Cybele on March 8, 2006, at 19:39:10
In reply to Re: PDOC wants me to try a mood stabilizer » Cybele, posted by Racer on March 8, 2006, at 18:07:44
Thanks for your reply!
> I don't know much about mood stabilizers, but I did have a revelation a couple of months ago when my brand spanking new pdoc said that she thought most comorbid depression and anxiety was actually bipolar. The revelation: it doesn't matter what the diagnosis is, if the drugs work...
Exactly!
> That said, a number of mood stabilizers are being used for unipolar depression, either as augmenting agents or as the sole drug. They do seem to help a lot of people, so it's worth at try.
>
> As far as weight goes, it might be that something like Effexor and Wellbutrin would kick you into remission, without major side effects, and without the weight gain. Alternately, it might be worth trying Topomax, which is increasingly being used both as a mood stabilizer, and to mitigate the weight gain from the other drugs. The rule, to avoid side effects with Topomax, is start very low, and go very slowly in titrating upwards. Also, taking bicarb might help with it, too.I suggested Cymbalta plus Ritalin, but my PDOC wouldn't go for it, ha ha. The sedating effect of Cymbalta for me was significant. Provigil didn't seem to help much. I can't take Wellbutrin at all ever again for the same reason as Cymbalta. For WB (the last time I took it), I am pretty sure the sedation was due to the short REM latency and lack of deep sleep (I've posted about this on here in the past), but I am not sure why Cymbalta was so sedating. I literally felt normal and alert 48 hours after my last dose. I didn't seem to have a short REM latency, but maybe I did and just wasn't woken up by my family so much right after going to bed. (This is how I knew my REM latency was short; my hubby or kids might wake me up 5-10 minutes after I went to bed and they'd wake me from a dream.)
Re: Effexor, it didn't seem to help much. I had ramped up my exercise level, and I think that helped more than anything. My Effexor weight gain was ***definitely*** due to lowered metabololic rate as I wasn't eating enough to justify it. WB might help me eat less (at first), but then I'd just be treading weight. I still need to lose 50 pounds.
My PDOC laughed when I suggested Topomax. He does not think it helps with BP. ALso, I did try it for 2 weeks three years ago right after the last time I took WB (my family doc at the time prescribed it for me when I asked her if I could give it a try), and it made my hair fall out. Not all, but enough to be worrying.
poster:Cybele
thread:617057
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20060304/msgs/617711.html