Posted by ideopath on July 8, 2016, at 14:31:05
This post is about Provigil but I copied below my current meds for background.
I forgot to pack Provigil on an out of town trip and was out of it for a few days this past week.
I majorly suffered. And now I am on my 2nd day back on it. I take 200 mg twice per day.It has a very large positive effect on 4 fronts: anxiety, depression, energy, and feeling of well being.
I would highly recommend it as an augmenter to ADs. I think it is worth a try. Being off of it for a few days did not give a withdrawal effect. I just felt the way I did before I started on it 15 years ago. I never had any side effects from it.
My doc back then thought that Provigil was underused for anxiety and depression augmentation. He is considered to be one of the best docs in Baltimore.
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As I mentioned on the medication board, I am posting my meds on the alternative board since they include supplements.
I have had horrific anxiety and depression my whole life. Truly unbearable. I am 60 years old. I started with SSRIs maybe 20 years ago which made things definitely better, but not great.
I am still on an SSRI but with other meds. I have been on the same cocktail now for a number of years with no change in meds or dosage and am doing really good. I can safely say that I could not enjoy life before this time period, but have done so since.
Of course what works for me might not work for others. But here they are:
Lexapro (escitalopram): 20 mg 1x per day
Xanax (alprazolam): 0.5 mg 5x per day (every 3 hours) immediate release
Buspar (buspirone): 30 mg 2x per day (I actually take 2 15 mg pills at a time, twice a day instead of a 30 mg pill due to a pricing glitch)
Remeron (mirtazapine): 30 mg 1x before bed
Provigil (modafinil): 200 mg 2x (morning and at 3 pm)
Geodon (ziprasadone): 40 mg 1x before bed
That's it for Rx drugs. Here are the supplements:
Gotu Kola: Nature's Way 475 mg. I take 2 pills at a time, 3x per day- 9am, 3pm, 9pm
Aloe Vera: Solaray Super Aloe Vera- 2 pills at a time 4x per day- 9am, 3pm, 6pm, 9pm
Acetyl L-Carnatine: Doctor's Best 500 mg- I take 2 pills at a time 3x per day at 9am, 12pm, 3pm
Free and Easy Wanderer Plus- Plum Flower brand- 10 pills at a time 3x per day at 9am, 3pm, 9pm
In terms of brands, I have found differences in efficacy except for Gotu Kola. I have not tried other brands of that.
For acetyl l-carnatine I would recommend either Doctor's Best or Jarrows. They are the only 2 brands that I am aware of that have Biostint sigma tau carnatine. That is the one used in a clinical trial.
For Free and Easy Wanderer Plus by Plum Flower- make sure it has the word "Plus". There is another version without the "plus". The "plus" adds 1 or 2 additional herbs. The "plus" version is the one that worked in a clinical trial to augment Zoloft.
For Aloe Vera, I tried a few brands. I felt that Solaray seemed to work the best. I was surprised to read the Amazon ratings to see that very few people use Aloe Vera for mental health. IT is used for other purposes. But I read about it for mental health and it definitely helps me.
All of the above really help. I don't feel that I am taking any Rx drugs or supplements that I don't need. I get all supplements from Amazon.
In terms of side effects, I get sexual side effects which I am sure are mainly from Lexapro. So I have tried to stay off of SSRIs but was not successful in that attempt. Wellbutrin did not help me enough. I have not tried Remeron by itself, but my guess is that it would not help without an SSRI along with it. And Effexor also caused sexual side effects.
poster:ideopath
thread:1090272
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20160609/msgs/1090272.html