Shown: posts 1 to 14 of 14. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by SLS on September 6, 2001, at 9:05:00
I thought it would be pretty nifty to find out which antidepressants doctors choose first. It might give a good indication of how they perceive efficacy and side effects.
I would like to find out which are the first three antidepressants you were given (in order). To be of any value, it is necessary to know in what years they were chosen. It might also be good to know how well you responded to them and add any other comments you would like to make.
First three antidepressants chosen:
Me:
19821. Tofranil (imipramine) - brief good response (1-2 weeks)
2. Parnate (tranylcycromine) - brief good response (1 week)
3. Desyrel (trazodone) - no response; I felt disgusting
Posted by SalArmy4me on September 6, 2001, at 9:10:57
In reply to Which drugs do doctors choose first ?, posted by SLS on September 6, 2001, at 9:05:00
In Sweden, the first choice is moclobemide.
In England, the first choice after an SSRI is Dothiepin--a tricyclic.
That's really surprising that you got imipramine right off the bat. It seems to me like a hellish drug to start with, although it is very powerful.
Posted by adamie on September 6, 2001, at 9:59:55
In reply to Which drugs do doctors choose first ?, posted by SLS on September 6, 2001, at 9:05:00
> I thought it would be pretty nifty to find out which antidepressants doctors choose first. It might give a good indication of how they perceive efficacy and side effects.
>
> I would like to find out which are the first three antidepressants you were given (in order). To be of any value, it is necessary to know in what years they were chosen. It might also be good to know how well you responded to them and add any other comments you would like to make.
>
>
> First three antidepressants chosen:
>
>
> Me:
>
>
> 1982
>
> 1. Tofranil (imipramine) - brief good response (1-2 weeks)
>
> 2. Parnate (tranylcycromine) - brief good response (1 week)
>
> 3. Desyrel (trazodone) - no response; I felt disgustinghere in canada I first was prescribed paxil by a doctor at a walk in clinic. later on phyciatrist prescribed me effexor. then i had my choice which didn't work well eighter.
Posted by Willow on September 6, 2001, at 10:57:20
In reply to Re: Which drugs do doctors choose first ?, posted by adamie on September 6, 2001, at 9:59:55
81 first severe depressive episode
90 impramine - cried steady, nervous wreck
95 trazadone - helped with hip pain, pins & needles, nothing else, later impaired thinking*** few others, then fall of 2000 settled with effexor
Posted by Simcha on September 6, 2001, at 11:03:41
In reply to Re: Which drugs do doctors choose first ?, posted by Willow on September 6, 2001, at 10:57:20
My general doc put me on Effexor first. It worked great at relieving the depression. There was a nasty side effect though. I call it "chemical castration."
Now I'm on a cocktail that includes 40mg of Celexa and 150mg of WellbutrinSR. It seems to work well too; the sexual side-effects are less but still somewhat present.
I'm also trying to mitigate the side effects with ginseng and ginko. I'm still determining whether or not this is working.
Posted by Sea on September 6, 2001, at 11:33:10
In reply to Which drugs do doctors choose first ?, posted by SLS on September 6, 2001, at 9:05:00
1997 - Zoloft, worked well 8-10 months
1998 - Wellburtin, worked for 3 years, discontinued recently because problems with word-recall were interferring with work.
2001 - Effexor XR, been on it 5 weeks, up to 150 mg and feeling much better!
Sea
Posted by mila on September 6, 2001, at 12:13:56
In reply to Which drugs do doctors choose first ?, posted by SLS on September 6, 2001, at 9:05:00
2000
Paxil - excellent, but too sedating and sexual side effects + Trazadone (awful, caused nocturnal panic attacks)
Prozac - very good, but too activating and sexual side effects2001
Effexor - a nightmare
Posted by Emme on September 6, 2001, at 16:25:29
In reply to Which drugs do doctors choose first ?, posted by SLS on September 6, 2001, at 9:05:00
1998 Paxil. Worked for 7 months or so.
1999 Zoloft 8 weeks, didn't help, too jittery
1999 Serzone. Was effective when Wellbutrin added. This combo eventually pooped out.
Have tried other ADs and combos, but those were the first three.cheers,
Emme
Posted by Kathleen6674 on September 6, 2001, at 22:01:19
In reply to Which drugs do doctors choose first ?, posted by SLS on September 6, 2001, at 9:05:00
1994 - Prozac. Worked great, then started working TOO great (got hypomanic). But I ignored that, because I didn't know what hypomania was, and I felt really good. Was on it for 6 years - it starting pooping out a little around year 3, my dosage was upped and the hypomania became more pronounced, as did the sexual side effects. Gained somewhere around 35 pounds over that course of time.
2000 - Wellbutrin SR; worked OK but not wondrously. When the dose reached 150mgs twice a day, started feeling panicky, thoughts racing, etc. I lost about 14 pounds, on top of about 10 of the Prozac pounds I'd lost through very, very strict dieting (while still on Prozac, it was very difficult to lose any weight unless I became stringent and obsessive about intake); Wellbutrin by itself also caused insomnia, so I ended up popping Ambien like there was no tomorrow.
2001 - Serzone; Doc went to this one next because I was still concerned about weight gain and sexual side effects. I did end up gaining some weight because the stuff left me too sluggish and weak to function beyond the barest minimum necessary, let alone exercise. Crying jags, leg cramps, sleeping 14-16 hours a night. A total disaster!
2001 - Now I'm on Celexa and Wellbutrin. The Celexa's starting to kick in as an antidepressant, the doc wants to see if the Wellbutrin helps with any of the side effects (weight gain, sexual stuff, amotivation) without making me too revved up. If it does helps any or all, I'll stay on it. Whether or not I add or change meds later depends on the results of this combo. I sure hope it works.
Posted by stjames on September 6, 2001, at 23:09:09
In reply to Which drugs do doctors choose first ?, posted by SLS on September 6, 2001, at 9:05:00
1984
1) Tofrinil (I had had a panic attack, this one stood out amoung the TCA's) Robust AD responce, horrible sweating despite 3 months trial.
2) Doc began to suspect NE issues based on responce for Tofrinil, we moved to Doxipin.
Excellent results till 1994 Poop out.
3) Every AD, as they came out, to avoid weight gain. Lack of any responce to any SSRI, with trials of high dose Prozac and trazadone proved NE was issue.
4) Polypharm in 1995 with Effexor and Doxipin, in 1997, Dropped Doxipin added Remeron, to avoid weight gain and flat affect issues
Posted by JohnL on September 7, 2001, at 4:27:43
In reply to Which drugs do doctors choose first ?, posted by SLS on September 6, 2001, at 9:05:00
I don't remember the years. It was early 1990's.First choice: Prozac. In a very small town with a population of just a few thousand people, my GP has over 200 patients on Prozac and only 50 on all other meds combined. For some stupid reason I didn't want to take it. So...
Second choice: Paxil. For some stupid reason I did agree to take this one. It ended my depression, but left me in an emotionless numb sexless state for about a year.
Third choice: Zoloft + Nortriptyline. Worked very briefly for a couple days, and then pooped out.
Basically I guess you could say my doc's strategy is SSRI first, then add either a tricyclic or Wellbutrin, then after that go back and try other SSRIs that had been missed, and then after that consider adding stimulants or antipsychotics. He very rarely uses anti-convulsants. Personally I think they would have a lot more success if they would get to the stimulants and antipsychotics quicker, and not spend so much time is SSRI monotherapy.
John
Posted by SLS on September 7, 2001, at 8:14:00
In reply to Re: Which drugs do doctors choose first ?, posted by JohnL on September 7, 2001, at 4:27:43
>
> I don't remember the years. It was early 1990's.
>
> First choice: Prozac. In a very small town with a population of just a few thousand people, my GP has over 200 patients on Prozac and only 50 on all other meds combined. For some stupid reason I didn't want to take it. So...
>
> Second choice: Paxil. For some stupid reason I did agree to take this one. It ended my depression, but left me in an emotionless numb sexless state for about a year.
>
> Third choice: Zoloft + Nortriptyline. Worked very briefly for a couple days, and then pooped out.
>
> Basically I guess you could say my doc's strategy is SSRI first, then add either a tricyclic or Wellbutrin, then after that go back and try other SSRIs that had been missed, and then after that consider adding stimulants or antipsychotics. He very rarely uses anti-convulsants. Personally I think they would have a lot more success if they would get to the stimulants and antipsychotics quicker, and not spend so much time is SSRI monotherapy.
> John
I think you are probably right. Good synopsis.
- Scott
Posted by Britt Park on October 18, 2001, at 0:45:40
In reply to Which drugs do doctors choose first ?, posted by SLS on September 6, 2001, at 9:05:00
I don't know if your still counting but.
1981 - Elavil. Did some good.
1982 - Tofranil. Worked more or less and has continued to do so, with several holidays until the present.
1999 - Tried switching to Paxil. It worked but increased my anxiety over time. Switched back to Tofranil.
Posted by Katey on October 18, 2001, at 17:51:55
In reply to Re: Which drugs do doctors choose first ? SLM, posted by Britt Park on October 18, 2001, at 0:45:40
1999-2000 zoloft....wasnt good about taking it and didnt have a good experience on it
2001- effexor xr...turned me into a zombie that couldnt function....lasted five days
2001- prozac....im nervous about this one pooping out, right when i started taking it i felt great and that lasted for two weeks....then we doubled the dose and we'll see how this goes...
we're also starting towards finding a pdoc and getting away from my gp so much....which would be good i think...
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