Posted by stan on June 1, 2006, at 2:14:19
In reply to One year on Aricept- ADD augmenter, sleep booster, posted by utopizen on May 25, 2006, at 16:21:57
have you ever tried exelon or razadyne, and if so, did you experience a similar response? how about namenda (which of course has a different mechanism of action than the pro-cholinergics just mentioned). also, do you think it's possible that your response may be due as much to the evoxac as the aricept? both are pro-cholinergics.....what's the difference supposed to be?
stan
> Yeah, just wanted to report my year now with a low dose (5mg) of Aricept.
>
> For one thing, why did I start it?
>
>
> I had social anxiety disorder really bad, along with ADD-inattentive subtype.
>
> I began reading journal articles in 2002 with doctors finding unique findings in patients with the combination of social anxiety disorder and ADD.
>
> Around the same time, the big Asperger's Syndrome push came around, trying to explain that you don't need to see Rain Man before diagnosing someone with Asperger's.
>
> Anyhow, I am on the following regimen:
>
>
> Klonopin Wafers (now generic!) 1mg 3x/day
> Desoxyn 5mg 2x/day
> Aricept 5mg/day
> Celexa 30mg/day
> Evoxac 30mg 3x/day (for dry mouth)
> Nexium 1x/day for GI side-effects of Aricept
>
>
> Side-effects:
>
> Well, I did attempt after a few months to go up to the regular dosing of 10mg (5mg is starting dose for geriatric patients).
>
> Long story short, I went manic for a few hours, it wasn't pleasant, but taking a Klonopin like with anything subdued the matter immediately.
>
> So I returned and stayed at 5mg.
>
> I was able to lower my dose to 5mg of Desoxyn 2x/day, while the average daily dose is 20-25mg/day.
>
> One thing I noticed when it began kicking in after a couple of months of being on it (2-3 months) was this incredibly refreshing sleep. The moment I awoke, whether it was a nap or during normal bedtime, I would find myself very restored.
>
> I also needed just 7 hours of sleep, and nothing more, to go all day long.
>
> I also had this sort of "automatic thinking" - I noticed it first when I awoke from a nap to a call, answered it, and the person on the other line said, "oh, I didn't mean to wake you" and I said "oh, no problem" all of a sudden energetically, and then he said something for a bit, and I spun off clearly and articulately (yet faster than I've ever talked) a few smoothly constructed sentences as though someone else had just written my response and orated it on my behalf.
>
> Well, I also managed to give presentations like this too-- concise, to-the-point, measured, quick-witted, and very cohesive. I just sort of would come in and out of topics with such ease.
>
> I even could exit gracefully (for the first time in my life) -- I would end the conversation I had to end by saying something very relevant to what had just been said by another person, and quickly cap it off with a "well, I have to go, but good to meet you, and we'll talk later" (an example) with no hesitation and total ease.
>
> Sounds oddly simple, but you have to understand the subtle nature of how smooth and effortless things like this became to me that were once incredibly difficult or frustrating.
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> I felt like that kid in the movie Thumbsucker (2005) -- and I have tried every ADD stimulant, and nothing came close to what happened when I combined Aricept with a stimulant.
>
> Anyhow, hope everyone is well.
>
> By the way, my mood, and energy, and everything, has been rock solidly awesome for a year now.
>
> My doc over last summer, after a couple of months into regimen, said "This is the best I've ever seen you!"
>
> (I came to him a year earlier, despondent and so depressed I couldn't hide it at all to anyone).
>
> Take care!
poster:stan
thread:648509
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20060530/msgs/651333.html