Posted by Christ_empowered on October 5, 2010, at 14:47:29
In reply to Most success with adderrall for depression, posted by ihatedrugs on October 5, 2010, at 13:54:53
I'm glad you found something that works for you.
I don't know how common it is for doctors to prescribe stimulants for depression...I don't think anybody keeps tabs on "off-label" prescribing, so there's really no way to tell. It seems to be becoming more common as docs finally admit that the antidepressants don't work so well, after all.
I don't doubt that part of the reason amphetamines are under-utilized for depression is money. The FDA restricted the sale of amphetamine preparations for depression in the early 1980s; since then, docs who use stimulants for depression have had to do it "off-label," with the result being that most docs will gladly prescribe heavily promoted "antidepressant" drugs that have questionable effectiveness, but they'll hesitate to prescribe other medications.
This is unfortunate, especially would you think about how easy it is for people with ADD/ADHD to get stimulants to help them; why should it be less common to use the same medication in depression? Also, like you said, most amphetamine products are cheap these days, which is a definite plus for patients (and insurers). I also don't see why more docs don't just give a good old fashioned "test dose" of amphetamines; just give the patient a couple days worth and see how it works out. That's how they did it back when "uppers" were all the rage for depression.Anyway...thanks for your post, and again, congratulations on finding an effective treatment.
poster:Christ_empowered
thread:964794
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20100926/msgs/964799.html