Posted by neuroman on June 12, 2006, at 17:01:35
In reply to Re: anti-inflammatories and depression, posted by Declan on June 7, 2006, at 13:54:35
I guess I'm a little late jumping into this thread, but I've been reading a lot about this lately. When I stopped Elavil after being on it for three and a half years my health really went down the toilet. Not only did the original neuropathic pain that led me to take Elavil come back, but all kinds of other pain. I felt like I was dying. Since stopping it I've suffered from chronic pelvic pain, genito-urinary pain and a mild irritable bowel type syndrome. Of course the original neuropathic pain in my left foot also returned worse than before.
Blood tests after stopping Elavil showed an elevated sedimentation rate. Something I didn't have prior to taking it. Over the past couple of years I've managed to make something of a comeback thanks to DLPA, tyrosine, antioxidants and EFA's. I'm still a long way from healthy though. I've also tried a couple of meds since stopping Elavil. One of which was bupropion SR. With the first dose of this med I felt a lot of pain relief. I assumed it was the increased NE transmission, but I've read that bupropion is a fairly powerful anti-infammatory. It lowers TNF-a and IL-1 and raises IL-10, which is an anti-inflammatory. I'm beginning to wonder if the efficacy of the antidepresants I've taken has less to do with boosting monoamines and more to do with fighting inflammation. It turns out that most antidepressants, regardless of class, are fairly potent anti-infammatories. This may be something to consider, particularly in those individuals whose depression is accompanied by somatic complaints. It probably has to do with both, since TNF effects NE neurotransmission anyway.
In any event, I'm wondering if a low dose of bupropion or a NE specific tricyclic like desipramine might be a good choice for someone like me. That is, someone who has had fatigue and pain along with depression. (In fact, I've always felt the fatigue and pain have been the cause of my depression.) I'm reluctant to try any of the "broad spectrum" TCAs anymore. (In many respects I guess all TCAs are "broad spectrum".) For the most part I've been med free for the last couple of years but I feel like its been a constant struggle to keep my head above water. It sure as heck hasn't been living. Just surviving. Maybe someday they'll finally figure out how these friggin' meds actually work...
Paul
poster:neuroman
thread:652899
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20060610/msgs/656056.html