Posted by Tomatheus on September 10, 2012, at 22:11:29
In reply to Re: Starting minocycline. » Tomatheus, posted by SLS on September 10, 2012, at 18:29:02
Scott,
Thank you for sharing the good news about the way you're coming along on minocycline. I'm happy that as of today, you're feeling the best that you've felt since you started minocycline. I hope that you're right that a strong response is likely around the corner for you, and I certainly hope that you will at least continue to experience the benefits that you're experiencing up to this point in time.
Although I'm not feeling nearly as bad as I was feeling when my depressive symptoms were at their worst, I haven't been doing too well lately. I was noticing some improvements on the supplement Sytrinol (which somebody on another site recommended to me) for about a week before that response gave way a few days ago. To see if I could recapture some of the benefits that I was initially noticing from taking the Sytrinol, I increased the dose yesterday. I would say that I seem to be noticing a little something from the dose increase (a slight increase in energy, a slight boost in concentration, and a slight reduction in hypersomnia), but overall I would say that my response is rather weak -- and definitely weaker than my initial response from when I started Sytrinol. In addition to Sytrinol, the supplements that I'm taking are folic acid (which is to combat anxiety that emerged after I took aminoguanidine), coenzyme q10, Korean ginseng, liquid vitamin B12, and liquid SAM-e. Other than the folic acid, the supplements that I take are for the management of my depressive symptoms (diminished energy, psychomotor retardation, hypersomnia, difficulty concentrating, and anhedonia), but even together, the supplements that I'm taking don't seem to be doing much.
At this point, I'm considering adding phosphatidlycholine to my regimen of medications and supplements. The phosphatidylcholine would hopefully help with my cognitive impairment, which along with my anxiety and psychosis, emerged shortly after I took aminoguanidine. Unfortunately, I have good reason to think that the phosphatidylcholine might also have a detrimental effect on my depressive symptoms (particularly the diminished energy and psychomotor retardation). Still, I think that I will take this supplement and plan to possibly increase my SAM-e intake and also possibly my Starbucks hot cocoa intake, because SAM-e and Starbucks hot cocoa have historically been some of the most helpful tools that I've had in combating my depressive symptoms. SAM-e tablets no longer seem to do much of anything for me, and a liquid version of the supplement helps me significantly on a rather short-term basis, but I would like to test this idea that I have that phosphatidylcholine might help to give SAM-e some new life. My idea that phosphatidylcholine might sort of reactivate the SAM-e is based on the fact that when I last took phosphatidylcholine (and also when I last took DMAE, which is another cholinergic supplement), my cognition seemed to improve, but my depressive symptoms seemed to get worse. This was more consistent with the way that I felt when I responded well to SAM-e, which was prior to the time that I took aminoguanidine, which is what I think probably brought on my cognitive impairment (along with my psychosis and my anxiety) in the first place. Of course, time will tell whether or not my idea about phosphatidylcholine giving SAM-e new life will have any merit to it. I think that the odds actually favor me being wrong with this idea, but it's something that I want to test.
Another treatment that I may try soon is low-dose nalxtrexone, possibly along with an MAOI such as Rhodiola rosea or moclobemide. Slabicki from these boards said that she had good results for quite a while from taking low-dose naltrexone in addition to moclobemide, and her response to moclobemide monotherapy was similar to mine (a strong, but very short-lived response), so I'm hoping that I might see some results from trying low-dose naltrexone with an MAOI.
Well, I think that what I've written above basically sums up where my treatment is at right now and where I'm thinking about possibly taking it. If you have any suggestions for me, I'd be interested in hearing them.
Let's hope that the response that you noticed today will be the beginning of better days ahead for you. And of course, let's hope that better days will be ahead for all on Psycho-Babble, myself included.
Tomatheus
Dx: schizoaffective disorder
Treatments: Abilify, 6 supplements, & counseling
tomatheus.blogspot.com
poster:Tomatheus
thread:1023257
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20120830/msgs/1025343.html