Posted by Hombre on December 16, 2010, at 1:22:36
In reply to Re: Looking for some med advice » Hombre, posted by Conundrum on December 15, 2010, at 23:49:25
I only take 150mg effexor xr. I took 75mg by itself a couple of years ago, well, with lorazepam and ambien, and while it did relieve most of my depression symptoms, I still had problems with anxiety, insomnia, and restlessness. But I felt so good that I weaned myself off of all the meds after about 6 months...and subsequently crashed a few months later.
I feel good on the combo I'm on, and I think the remeron and the seroquel make effexor much more bearable. Effexor is a bit enthusiastic in terms of raw energy, so having something else to smooth out the edges can change the way it feels. Again, I consider the supplements and regular exercise at least as important as the meds. The meds work with what you've got, and nutrition and exercise improve what you have to work with. Herbs work at an even more fundamental level, but that's another topic.
I reviewed the section on combos, and maybe I'm just repeating what you already know, but the addition of atypicals to SSRIs is described as being the best documented example of combining HT2A antagonism with serotonin reuptake inhibition.
There also seems to be a lot of different things you could try involving remeron, effexor, atypicals, SSRIs and NRIs. Since this kind of combination strategy is clinically effective for some, but not researched in depth, you can only go so far without actually trying things out. I wouldn't be surprised if wellbutrin felt different with remeron (did you try that? I forget) or an atypical. Who knows, just thinking out loud.
Since you respond partially to prozac and remeron, it would make sense to build upon one of those. If you don't like effexor after a week or so, I think you could get off of it with minimal discomfort. Short-term discomfort seems to be something we have to get used to during the frustrating trial-stage. It's worth it, IMHO.
poster:Hombre
thread:973640
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20101203/msgs/973692.html