Posted by SLS on August 29, 2009, at 5:42:26
In reply to pdoc says: pristiq a bust, posted by floatingbridge on August 28, 2009, at 22:21:15
> So I'm going down to 50 tonight, then no major changes till he comes back at the end of Oct.(!). He said he'll help me with withdrawals.
>
> Something that first intrigued me, then disturbed me. He thought a possible course would be to dump the pristiq and add Strattera, for 'both anti-depressant properties and add.' Upon googling (and reading Scott's reply to Triedeverydrug) I see that Strattera is an snri and fails as an anti-depressant. And wellbutrin eventually ramped up to 450 did nothing but dull and fatigue me. I have no idea what his thoughts may be on this--does he think I am in less need of an anti-depressant? Cr*pes. I don't want anymore snri's! (Insert tantrum here.)
>
> Had a good therapy session, though :)
>
> fbStrattera is considered to be a NARI - noradrenaline (norepinephrine) reuptake inhibitor.
There is often a depressed mood component to ADD, which is different from having a combination of two separate disorders. If you effective treat the ADD, you often resolve the depressed mood at the same time. I have seen Strattera be extremely effective in treating ADD in this regard.
Another NARI is the TCA, desipramine. It, too, is used effectively to treat ADD, but is also effective to treat major depressive disorder (MDD). Since ADD can be comorbid with MDD - that is to say that they are two separate disorders occurring at the same time.
It's great that Sam K has found Strattera (atomoxetine) to be effective as an antidepressant in the absence of ADD. Strattera was originally researched as an antidepressant, but never made it. They even changed the name from tomoxetine to atomoxetine. You can try the Strattera first, and then switch over to desipramine if it doesn't work out.
- Scott
poster:SLS
thread:914608
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20090826/msgs/914654.html