Posted by bleauberry on January 28, 2012, at 8:32:00
In reply to Motivation vs. Anhedonia, posted by alchemy on January 26, 2012, at 19:03:14
I do not believe strattera on its own is going to do what you want. Could even make it worse. Depends on the size of the dose....less is good.
To really turbocharge your odds, take it with an SSRI. I know you've probably tried most of them and maybe they sucked, but they are different when mixed with a norepinephrine med. Best choices for this approach are zoloft and prozac.
Basically I think I'm saying this....
Pure serotonin, as in SSRIs....generally worthless.
Pure NE, as in strattera....generally worthless.
Equal mix of both....now we're talkin.Any med at a dose that is too high is going to squash your emotional spectrum. Even dopamine meds. I have heard multiple times over the years at pbabble folks complain of their wellbutrin making them feel numb. Wellbutrin actually did that to me even worse than SSRIs did. And how bout sex....wellbutrin is almost universally accepted as being good for sex, right? It gave me complete and total impotence and lack of desire. I'm not at all pointing a finger at wellbutrin, just trying to provide some perspective.
Most people do tend to think of anhedonie/motivation as being in the dopamine circuits. Personally, with me, it is more in the norepinephrine circuits. There is a tad little bit in the serotonin and dopamine circuits, but mostly norepinephrine. That's just me. But for anyone, all the neuros are involved, not just any single one of them.
I've pretty much had anhedonia since birth, and of course much worse during depression, and yet even worse on most meds. Meds generally anesthetize emotions, not enhance emotions. The most helpful substances I have encountered for myself are:
Low dose Savella
Low dose Ritalin
Low dose Amisulpride
Low dose Zoloft+Nortriptyline
Low dose Adrafanil+Prozac
Rhodiola Rosea
Resveratrol (only Source Naturals brand 40mg made with Polygonum not grapes).The king of the hill for anhedonia however is widely available to anyone living in a medical marijuana state.....strains of cannabis that are mostly Sativa. There's nothing better on the planet for anhedonia. In the right State a doctor can even prescribe it for that and there are specific strains for it. People who have battled anhedonia forever and want a new chance would do themselves a favor by making their new home California, Vermont, Maine, or other medical cannabis State.
poster:bleauberry
thread:1008490
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20120120/msgs/1008616.html