Posted by Viking on September 21, 2007, at 10:42:35
In reply to med change, posted by sadone on September 21, 2007, at 1:08:23
> I am curious to find out from others what their experiences were when they withdrew from an SSRI - in my case 350mg Effexor (not working after 3 years) to an MOAI Parnate? I dont mind skipping the foods on the do not eat list assoc. with these older anti-depressants - but I DO mind the possibility of weight gain issues. I have heard the carbo cravings are particulary bad with Parnate - which in turn would make my depression worse - as I also have many years of eating disorder issues. I am so unsure of what road to take...Do I stay with effexor and coast along in my isolated antisocial suicidal thinking world or try something that may make it worse - or better? any advice would be helpful !
> Sad-One
I did take Effexor some years ago and i did not like it very much. It just kept me in a "grey" state, not really depressed but not really well either. I tried different augmentations but without any success. At last my pdoc asked me to stop "cold turkey" from 300 mgs/day! I dont recommend that anyone else do so, it was very unpleasant.After that I was given Marplan (an old MAOI), but that made me sick. I never took it long enough to see any effect on my depression. The pdoc concluded that there were no more options to be tried.
I then made the same decision as I sense you are about to make. I completely ditched all meds and decided to live the best I could without meds. I deeply regret this decision. After 1-2 years the suicidal thoughts became unbeareable and I had no other option than to start taking meds again. I did a lot of trials of different meds (without any docs assistance) and came up with a few good options.
I was very impressed with Reboxetine (Edronax). It brought me from the worst mood I have ever been in to euphoria in 8 days! And I did not even take a full dose. Unfortunately it had some very peculiar sideeffects which became untolerable after some months.
Amisulpride (Solian) worked well for some time but pooped out. It did not so much lift my mood, but it sure gave me a lot of initiative.
Abilify is definitely the best I have ever tried. The effect is somewhat similar to Amisulpride, but stronger and more lasting. And it made me far more social, than I have ever been.
My present meds are:
2.5 mg Abílify
20 mg Prozac
30 mg RemeronI know from personal experience that Remeron causes weight gain, but I have not gained weight on this combo. My life still leaves a lot to be desired, but I am optimistic at the moment.
My advice to you is not to give up and accept the present situation. Antisocial and suicidal thoughts should be and can be treated. You have to find the right solution for you. There must be many options that you have not tried yet.
I hope this can help you.
Viking
poster:Viking
thread:784270
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20070919/msgs/784300.html