Posted by Racer on August 31, 2008, at 14:06:17
In reply to Re: Questions about Ixel, posted by ihatedrugs on August 31, 2008, at 12:51:00
Hi, here are some answers for you:
>
> Is this available in the US?No, it's not approved in the US. US laws are actually pretty vague on importation of unapproved medications for personal use. My doctor "prescribed" a medication not approved here, and we both did some research on how to get it. The best answer we could find seemed to be, "y'ain't s'posedta do that, but the guy who checks out the package at Customs gets to decide whether or not to do anything." Those of us who have tried medications not approved here have ordered online, usually after having searched for online review sites to help us find a source.
That said, here on Babble, the rules prevent anyone from telling you anything that could enable you to obtain medication without a prescription. Period. We can't even offer you a link to the review sites. Sorry.
And yes, my doctor and therapist both supervised my trial of the unapproved medication. I was exactly as medication compliant with it as I am with every other medication he prescribes. The only difference was where I got the stuff from.
> I does sound like Cymbalta. However I read somewhere that its serotonin vs. norepinephrine ratio is lower than Cymb. 3:1 or something like that. I wonder if it produces the same side effects.
Well, that's hard to say -- just as Zoloft and Paxil produced almost exactly opposite side effects for me, the same is likely to be true with any other medication related in mechanism. Some side effects are a direct result of the mechanism of action, but others are idiosyncratic. Maybe the side effects will be the same, maybe they won't.
The 3:1 ratio is cited in Wikipedia, but Medscape shows it to be 9:1, which is also the ratio listed for Cymbalta. (Effexor, on the other hand, shows as 30:1.)
> Also what do you know about alpha Stim? It is a device that delivers cranial electrotherapy stimulation? Is this just another scam?
>Unless it's prescribed by your doctor, it's unlikely to have had extensive research done on safety, let alone efficacy. I won't say it's a scam, but that's only based on my policy of trying to remember not to offer a definitive statement like that if I don't actually know anything about the subject I'm commenting on.
I will say that if it's sold directly to consumers, outside of reputable pharmacies, it's unlikely to provide any significant electrical stimulation. Additionally, ECT and TMS are applied at certain specific points on the brain in order to affect certain specific regions of the brain. Unless you are confident enough in your knowledge of neuroanatomy, I would advise you to consider whether you're willing to risk the potential adverse effects that lack of specificity might lead to. Those are just general comments, though, since I have never heard of this device before.
I hope that helps.
poster:Racer
thread:849437
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20080822/msgs/849473.html