Posted by AlexCanada on September 12, 2012, at 11:17:37
In reply to Re: Starting minocycline. » AlexCanada, posted by SLS on September 11, 2012, at 6:21:30
> > 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.I have tried Lamictal before and it seemed promising in terms of improving my mood initially, I was starting to enjoy things a little bit but it very quickly was negatively impacting my already poor cognition and I'd also feel empty headed and very dull. I never felt more dumb on any medication than I did on lamictal and even my short term memory was severely compromised. Constantly forgetting things moment by moment.
Do you know which other meds may have anti-glutamatergic action? Lamictal seemed promising but I just could not handle the infamous side effects. The ''Lamictal Stupid'' effect that is well documented online.
A very prominent doctor here in Canada stated glutamine could be one possible factor in my melancholic depression but he never specified anything on the issue and I am no longer able to reach him as he is not my main doctor.
Minocycline, might it be a viable option for augmenting an SSRI such as Zoloft which I am currently taking (and so far feeling very dull, blunted, flat, as I am on day 6 of 25mg) or an SNRI (such as Savella or others?). Or is it more suited to augment TCAs? Because I'm not sure if I'll be trying a TCA any time soon.
> 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/day
>
> I 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?I think it very well could be a missing link. Considering NRIs etc can supposedly have benefits to cognition, memory, drive, motivation, energy, things which I very often lack especially on the cognitive side. When my mind is more active and does not feel so cognitively blocked off and I am able to have some flowing stream of thought often other things become easier as well. In the past I did not respond well to Effexor, Wellbutrin, among others though. Effexor rapidly caused my condition to worsen but those were early days when aside from strong melancholic dep I was also dealing with severe ''out of nowhere'' anxiety, anxiety without reason, and intense burning pains in my head. I was never able to give effexor and certain other similar meds a long enough trial due to the worsening of my symptoms. Anxiety would strongly manifest itself yet in theory Norepinephrine info seems like it may help greatly.
Perhaps I have too much norepinephine? And very low dopamine and seratonin. I don't know. Dopamine based meds have worked wonders (ritalin/dexedrine/parnate etc) in the past. These days I have much tolerance to ritalin.
My anxiety these days is usually very low and has always been very secondary compared to my melancholic depression but much of this low anxiety might be due to how dulled and cognitively impaired i am right now.
poster:AlexCanada
thread:1023257
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20120912/msgs/1025494.html