Posted by SLS on September 11, 2012, at 6:21:30
In reply to Re: Starting minocycline. » SLS, posted by AlexCanada on September 11, 2012, at 5:23:17
> Hey Scott. Good to hear you are improving.
Thanks.
:-)
> Do you feel minocycline may be working for you due to it's effect on Norepinephrine or other factors?Gosh. It's so hard to know for sure. I am guessing that there is more than one effect that is contributing to my therapeutic response. I know that minocycline amplifies the antidepressant effect of desipramine. It might work with other TCAs as well. Researchers have found that it also has anti-glutamatergic properties via receptor downregulation. These might amplify the antidepressant effects of Lamictal, a glutamate release inhibitor. Even its anti-inflammatory properties might contribute, as drugs with this effect have shown antidepressant activity in rats. In fact, there is a study currently underway that is designed to see if the addition of aspirin to minocycline works better for bipolar depression than minocycline alone. These treatments are to be compared to placebo. Although it might not produce new nerve cells (neurogenesis), minocycline does protect new cells from damage (neuroprotection) by suppressing microglia activity. Microglia have a nasty habit of producing neurotoxic pro-inflammatory modulators.
There comes a time when I say the heck with theory. To some degree, we act as blind guinea pigs for one another. So far, this guinea pig is happy with the results of my minocycline investigation. It is important to note that I am taking Lamictal. Theory here is helpful in that it might indicate to someone who is not responding to minocycline therapy that adding Lamictal would "unlock" its therapeutic potential or vice-versa.
Currently:
Parnate 80 mg/day
Nortriptyline 150 mg/day
Lamictal 200 mg/day
Lithium 300 mg/day
Abilify 10 mg/day
Minocycline 200 mg/dayI found that minocycline works better for me at 200 mg/day than it did at 100 mg/day. Most of the current studies of minocycline to treat depression use 200 mg/day or higher. It should be dosed twice a day.
I was able to discontinue prazosin, which produced a significant antidepressant effect for me. My next move will be to attempt to discontinue Abilify. I am less confident that I will able to do this without relapsing. I might need its dopamine system stabilizing (DSS) properties. However, it is logical to try this due to the metabolic side effects Abilify produces. I have gained 50 pounds over the course of several years and my triglycerides are way too high. Abilify is the likely culprit.
Do you feel that noradrenergic (NE) hypofunction is a component of your illness?
- ScottSome 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:1023257
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20120830/msgs/1025362.html