Posted by SLS on February 9, 2012, at 6:33:08
In reply to Re: Blue areas..., posted by Twinleaf on February 8, 2012, at 18:40:30
> Oh, Scott, that's extremely blue! Did you see my post above about my pdoc giving formulated oral ketamine to a severely bipolar patient? It sounds like you need something outside of the ordinary- that might be worth a try, and is apparently available right now with more forward-thinking psychiatrists.
If necessary, I will lobby my doctor to try ketamine. Thanks for the encouragement. I am currently watching Morgan Miller's trial of LDN (low-dose naltrexone) to treat his depression.
We do have quite a few guinea pigs here.
I like the idea of rTMS, too.
I am currently experiencing a significant improvement in depression due to the addition of prazosin (Minipress) to my treatment regime. My doctor chose it when he learned of my history of childhood abuse and neglect. I almost didn't try prazosin. It seemed like too great a reach, and I didn't buy my doctor's explanation that I may have occult PTSD. I don't have PTSD, but rate very high in the "prisoner of war" subscale of the MMPI. My doctors at the NIH acted as if they had never seen that before in a case of depression. I have truly been imprisoned for decades, so this didn't surprise me. It's funny, but when they saw my PET scan, they revealed to me that I was "very sick". No kidding. I don't need a PET scan to tell me that. It is helpful to educate people, though, and convince them that I have a disorder of brain function.
My concern is that my current improvement may plateau early in treatment. I am no more than 25% improved right now. That's a lot for me, but not nearly enough to get me back to work, which is my goal.
I don't understand how someone with depression can be employed. It doesn't make sense to me.
Without treatment, I score 34-37 on the HAM-D depression rating scale. That's ridiculous. Even a 25% improvement still leaves me severely affected.
Sorry to complain. Some people here accuse me of "showing off" whenever I describe in some detail what I experience as depression. It is not a contest, but I find comparisons helpful sometimes.
- Scott
Some see things as they are and ask why.
I dream of things that never were and ask why not.- George Bernard Shaw
poster:SLS
thread:1009603
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20120202/msgs/1009788.html