Posted by bleauberry on March 24, 2009, at 16:19:59
In reply to zoloft is a weird med, posted by manic666 on March 24, 2009, at 14:55:10
The feeling you describe is actually rather common with serotonin based antidepressants such as Zoloft, Celexa, Lexapro, Prozac, Paxil, Luvox, Effexor, Cymbalta. It is not unique to Zoloft. It is commonly called SSRI induced apathy. No downs, but no ups either.
It is theorized to be a result of too much serotonin squashing out the action of norepinephrine and dopamine, which are the get-up-and-go motivational pleasure hormones. To keep the good effect of Zoloft, but add back some motivation and pleasure, meds commonly added to the SSRI for that include Ritalin, Provigil, Nortriptyline, Desipramine, and even...weird I know...an antipsychotic like Abilify or Zyprexa.
At sites where patients rate their experiences with meds, Provigil has the highest praise by a long shot for motivation, energy, pleasure, antidepression. Some doctors really like adding a TCA antidepressant like Nortrip or Desip. Some go for the stimulants like Ritalin. The whole idea is to boost the other neurotransmitters to balance out the boosted serotonin.
I sometimes think of SSRIs not as antidepressants, but as anti-emotions. Emotional anesthetizers. Good for someone in deep darkness. But once out of that darkness, it is not uncommon to have to add a different med to get a more rounded effect.
poster:bleauberry
thread:886832
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20090322/msgs/886843.html