Posted by bleauberry on March 30, 2009, at 16:45:00
In reply to Why is anhedonia regarded as a part of depression?, posted by Onestone on March 30, 2009, at 6:56:43
Anhedonia is a tough one to figure out. I've seen references at pubmed where it is described as a stand alone syndrome separate from depression, though it is also a primary symptom of depression.
After I had been on Prozac for a long time, I told my doc I felt fine except I really didn't feel pleasure in anything. I told him the lows are gone, I work great, sleep great, everything's fine and dandy, except I just find no pleasure in anything, not even hobbies I know I love.
So we had me fill out the depression survey. On each question I scored the best possible. But when it came to the question asking about enjoying previous activities and hobbies, I scored the worst possible. Yet because the total points of all the questions added up showed that I was in remission and did not have depression, the issue was dismissed as nonsignificant. But to me it was hugely significant.
Was it pure anhedonia, untouched by serotonin meds? Or was it instead a depression-anhedonia transformed into a serotonin-apathy-anhedonia? Like I said, it is a tough call.
Anhedonia can also be in the spectrum of schizoaffective disorders. That's why when APs knock a lot of people out or make zombies out of them, for some people they restore the ability to feel pleasure. Probably something intricate in the dopamine/serotonin circuits is my best guess.
Meds with the potential to treat it would probably include things like Abilify, Ritalin, Adderall, Wellbutrin, Nortriptyline, Desipramine, and the MAOIs. I was only on Milnacipran for two weeks due to severe side effects, but in that short time it did a respectable job in targeting anhedonia, indicating a norepinephrine link.
But, some people's anhedonia disappears on something as simple as Celexa or Zoloft, so go figure.
poster:bleauberry
thread:887696
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20090330/msgs/887783.html