Posted by Bob on April 21, 2010, at 22:16:15
In reply to Re: zoloft doesn't seem to help... » Bob, posted by SLS on April 21, 2010, at 6:32:57
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> I look at my tolerance of these medications to be a bad thing. I don't think my brain is likely to respond positively to such changes in drug exposure. My only robust and sustained response to medication was when using a treatment that produced pronounced side effects.
>I'm not sure there is any link between how many side effects one gets and what type of therapeutic effect is achieved. There have been many meds which have seemed to help for awhile but produced many side effects which I could not tolerate. Then there are meds which just produced side effects and possibly made me more depressed. I have gotten some of the short therapeutic windows you describe that quickly fade away, but I'd much rather experience these things without the ridiculous side effects and med sensitivity.
> I wish I knew how to approach a case such as yours. I find it interesting that people report an increasing sensitivity to the negative effects of antidepressants as a result of previous exposures. Perhaps there is a sensitization (upregulation) of postsynaptic receptors as a result of a precipitous drop in neurotransmitter levels during drug discontinuation. I guess the genes that get turned on to produce this condition remain on. It might take an agent that inhibits second messenger cascades to turn these genes off. Lithium perhaps? I'm reaching. It is almost as if there is a kindling process occurring. Perhaps low dosages of AEDs would help.
>What is an 'AED'... an anti-epileptic? Which meds in particular would you be referring to, and why do you think they'd be helpful in the application you mention?
Your train of thought on increased sensitivity to treatment is interesting, and a little beyond my current understanding of psychopharmacology. Something has definitely changed for me over the years though, and I no longer respond anything like I did in the beginning few years. The one treatment that probably changed my sensitivity the most was ECT. After my course of treatments, I literally could hardly touch an antidepressant or any other drug for that matter except in miniscule dosages. It was very scary and I thought I really might not make it past that point. Also over the years my body has developed many somatic problems that complicate my illness - something that wasn't a part of the problem in the beginning years. I guess maybe I've got some severe form of fibromyalgia, or maybe I'm in the pre-diagnostic stages of another illness, such as MS. I've been checked for all kinds of things and nothing has ever turned up. Anyway, I digress.
-Bob
poster:Bob
thread:943917
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20100416/msgs/944465.html