Posted by SLS on December 28, 2012, at 14:10:08
In reply to Re: Pristiq or Viibryd anyone?? » SLS, posted by brynb on December 28, 2012, at 12:12:21
> > In what ways was Effexor not good for you?
> It was a long time ago, but I believe it made my anxiety worse and made me very nauseas.
Hmm. Did you abort the trial in the first week? I became profoundly nauseous after my very first dose. I don't remember anxiety, but that is a possible startup side effect of many SRI drugs that can disappear within the first week.
Do you recall experiencing anxiety with Lexapro? It would have appeared briefly between days 14 and 21 of treatment.
> > What was your highest dosage of Effexor?
> I think it the lowest dose. (Does 3 mg sound right?)
Possibly 37.5 mg/day, which would have been a starting dose using the IR (Not the XR). The lowest dose of XR is 75 mg. I don't like to give up on Effexor until 300 mg/day is reached.
> > There are a few people reporting their responding better to Pristiq than they did to Effexor. However, if you didn't feel even the slightest bit of improvement with Effexor, I wouldn't put Pristiq at the top of the list.
> That makes sense.
Perhaps. However, you really cannot make a determination on the efficacy of Effexor because you didn't take it for long enough or at a therapeutic dosage. If you have the option of taking Pristiq, I would consider it. People report that it can be smoother than Effexor with respect to side effects. You could then add several other drugs to it, including nortriptyline, Wellbutrin, Abilify, Lamictal, Remeron, lithium, etc. I maintained a partial response to Effexor + nortriptyline a few years ago. Pristiq + nortriptyline might work for you, but you would have to use nortriptyline at either a low dosage of 75 mg/day or a high dosage of 150 mg/day. It depends upon your metabolism, and this can be determined using blood tests. I don't know about Wellbutrin. It makes anxiety worse and can aggravate OCD for some people.
- Do you ruminate?
- Do you have melancholic thoughts throughout the day, everyday?
- Is morning your worst time of day?
- Do you have early morning awakenings / insomnia?
- Are you either agitated or profoundly slowed-down?
- Do you have reduced appetite?> I wonder why there aren't many reports on Viibryd. I think I respond best to mild, "clean" meds (ie Lexapro) and certainly those that very effectively nail depression and anxiety. I have a bottle of 10 mg Nortriptyline here, and I'm thinking of adding it to my Lexapro at night (my pdoc originally wanted this for me, but I didn't feel well from the Nortriptyline, so that plan was aborted). As he hasn't returned my most recent call, I'm taking matters into my own hands. I'm off Lithium (with his approval) and only on Lexapro and Librium.
Why did you take lithium? Why did you discontinue lithium? How much were you taking?
I can empathize and commiserate with your thoughts and feelings regarding how your life has unfolded. 38 is still young. I can honestly say that from the perspective of a 52-year young person. It may be that your biology will be less than cooperative in achieving a pregnancy without some medical intervention. You can always adopt children. I had always wanted to have 2 biological and 1 adopted children. Apparently, it was not to be. I may yet meet someone who already has children. At this point, I really don't know what will be right for me. I still cannot help but to smile whenever I watch children operate. They are a true joy.
Take things one step at a time. Gather more information. Bring in literature for your doctor to evaluate. Find out the limits of what your doctor is willing to do for you. How willing he is to utilize MAO inhibitors makes for a good litmus test. Consult with more doctors if necessary. And try, try, try to have patience with drug trials. I have a great deal of trouble with this myself.
I understand how tiring it is to constantly be reciting your medical history to a new doctor. I type up my medical history and send a copy in advance to any doctor whom I am to consult with. Of course, I bring in a another copy just in case the first one gets lost or remains unread.
It is actual very probable that you will find a treatment that works for you. It sounds as if there are many things that you have yet to try. Polypharmacy works. The permutations of drug combinations is virtually limitless. I doubt that you have come close to exhausting them.
It is okay to feel depressed about being so chronically and severely ill. This will pass. It is understandable that you should feel demoralized, helpless, and hopeless. However, the facts indicate that you are far from being defeated. Hope exists in the uncertainty to be found in those treatments you have yet to try and those that have yet to be discovered. Know that some of those undiscovered treatments will include the use of old drugs in new ways. I respond to prazosin (an old anthypertensive) and minocycline (an old antibiotic). These two drugs operate in the brain in ways that are unrelated to their original indications.
Uncertainty. It is a fact that you cannot be certain that you are doomed. There are far too many paths that you have yet to explore.
I don't have the energy to proofread this.
:-)
You'll get there.
- 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:1033882
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20121217/msgs/1034080.html