Posted by medlib on January 16, 2003, at 16:19:06
In reply to Atypical Depression: How can I help my husband?, posted by Theresa Rae on January 16, 2003, at 11:46:02
Hi Theresa Rae--
Please ignore my screw-up above, if it's still there. Dr. Bob will remove it when he gets to it. A delivery interrupted what I was doing and, when I returned, I failed to notice that I was still on PLB, not PB. There are so many boards with similar names, it's easy to do.
What I was *trying* to do was post your message to the medication board, PsychoBabble, as well as here. It may attract some replies there specific to the meds involved from posters who don't read this board. I managed it this time, and here's a link.
http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030113/msgs/136132.html
Most of us on Babble are depressives, and, probably, a majority of those are atypical depressives. I am, and have been for 3 times as long as your husband. Where we differ from one another (and often within ourselves) is in our ability (or lack of) to pretend to be normal part of the time w. any consistency. I cycle from "down" to "deep down" and back on a regularly irregular basis. If I am able to function at all, it is always on someone elses's behalf, not my own; I borrow their expectations for motivation to climb our of the pit, temporarily. It takes a great deal of energy, as long as I'm out, to keep from falling back in. This is in addition to whatever energy is required for what I'm trying to do. The *minute* I stop, the gravity of the pit grabs me back into it. It's not really a matter of if, but when. Sleep is a way of escaping the grim reality that I am not what I was/am supposed to be.
Effexor is activating for me, but not enough. I have augmented it with an unending variety of meds over the last 3 years; currently I'm on E. and Wellbutrin. For some, Effexor *is* sedating, and, therefore, not the right med. It's possible that, if your husband has sleep apnea, it is contributing to his depression. What is *not* likely is that sleep apnea alone could be enough to cause the kind and severity of depression that your husband suffers from; so dealing with possible sleep apnea should not be the first step in treatment (IMO). If that is what his pdoc wants to do, it indicates to me that he is not sufficiently experienced w. atypical depression to be of help to your husband.
I'll let others weigh in w. recommendations for more stimulating meds. I wil say that, if your husband has tried Effexor and Celexa without relief, I would not be willing to try another SSRI without auditioning other classes of meds first.
Hope this helps some---medlib
poster:medlib
thread:2238
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20021230/msgs/2243.html