Posted by bleauberry on June 1, 2008, at 19:28:24
In reply to Is there a good non SSRI AD - Rx, herbal, anything, posted by elbe on June 1, 2008, at 8:13:11
If you did well on wellbutrin, it should be possible to return to it to see if it works again. If it does, you would need a prescript for hydrocortisone to take the strain off the adrenals. 5mg to 20mg per day are physiological replacement doses for weak adrenals. They are not the risky high doses used for other conditions. Though this was fairly new a few years ago, there is a growing body of medical evidence supporting it. There are hundreds of people on low cortisol right now for hypoadrenalism, which is what it is for. If your doctor hesitates on the idea, he/she is not up to speed. Most integrative doctors do this routinely.
That said, sometimes a drug that once worked won't work again the second time. No way to know without trying.
There are plenty of options. Your doctor seems rather limited if the ssris and wellbutrin make up the universe of drugs at his/her disposal.
Here are some:
Modafinil
Nortriptyline
Desipramine
Overseas mailorder Milnacipran
Stimulants (Ritalin, Adderall)
Deprenyl
EnsamNaturals:
DL-phenylalanine
Tyrosine
(you are correct, 5htp is a lot like the ssris)
St Johns Wort is possible. Similar to ssris, but quite different also. Try a miniscule dose to test (75mg-150mg). A bad reaction should show up within hours and be gone in a day.And you are wrong on one count...that is, not everyone raves about the ssris. There are plenty of people just like you and me who get much worse on them very fast even at tiny doses. It means our mood disorders are probably related to a different neurotransmitter, not serotonin.
I am as sensitive as you are and I react the same way. I even did super bad with wellbutrin recently. There is one drug that has shown to be more effective than most, and amazingly I can tolerate it and it actually helps pretty fast even at tiny doses. (Milnacipran)
> Help! I am a 51 year old woman and have been fighting depression for 20 years (that I know of) I was on Wellbutrin for years, but it supposidly took a toll on the adrenals. (PDoc had prescribed various SSRI's prior to the Wellbutrin) but they did not agree with me. Now I am suffering terribly again and am taking small dose of ativan at night for anxiety, but need an antidepressant. OD prescribed Lexapro, Zoloft - both in mini doses because I respond intensely. With each I only took it once and only took 1/2 of the lowest dosage available and was out of my mind for 3 days - awful depression!!!! I have also previously tried Celexa and others - all SSRIs?? What can I do? OD has let it go - doesn't have any suggestions. I have read threads and blogs and websites. Investigated 5HTP - but it seems that is the same type of drug, though herbal, as Lexapros and those. Everyone raves about those drugs - what's wrong with me?
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poster:bleauberry
thread:832333
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20080528/msgs/832408.html