![[dr. bob]](/dr-bob-sm.gif)
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 3 of 3. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Jessica1977 on September 19, 2002, at 12:19:20
Hi,
I've been lurking a long time. This is my first post here.I was diag'ed with ADD. Comorbid social anxiety and slight depression too.
The only thing that has worked out of the dozens of things I've tried was desipramine. Took that back in college for a month. Worked GREAT.
I've been on Effexor xr for a few months. That is great for the anxiety and the depression, but did nothing for the ADD.
So my question: How should I go about switching from Effexor back to desipramine? I know I should taper the Effexor and ramp up the desip.
Should I wait til I'm off the Effexor entirely before I start the desip, or can I take a small dose of Desip while backing off the Effexor?
Thanks!
Jessie
Posted by Ritch on September 19, 2002, at 13:13:52
In reply to Switching from EFFEXOR back to DESIPRAMINE , posted by Jessica1977 on September 19, 2002, at 12:19:20
>
> Hi,
> I've been lurking a long time. This is my first post here.
>
> I was diag'ed with ADD. Comorbid social anxiety and slight depression too.
>
> The only thing that has worked out of the dozens of things I've tried was desipramine. Took that back in college for a month. Worked GREAT.
>
> I've been on Effexor xr for a few months. That is great for the anxiety and the depression, but did nothing for the ADD.
>
> So my question: How should I go about switching from Effexor back to desipramine? I know I should taper the Effexor and ramp up the desip.
>
> Should I wait til I'm off the Effexor entirely before I start the desip, or can I take a small dose of Desip while backing off the Effexor?
>
> Thanks!
> Jessie
Jessie,I would start the desipramine first at a low dose, and bring the dose up to about half of what you intend to take, and then taper away the Effexor slowly. When you stop the Effexor, bring the desipramine dose on up to the target. The rate you need to taper the Effexor is up to you. Some desipramine being in place before you taper should help reduce the discontinuation of the Effexor, but I haven't read about anyone doing this particular switch here.
good luck,
Mitch
Posted by BrittPark on September 19, 2002, at 19:28:59
In reply to Switching from EFFEXOR back to DESIPRAMINE , posted by Jessica1977 on September 19, 2002, at 12:19:20
Switching to desipramine from effexor which is mostly working, because desipramine worked for all you symptoms in the past is a reasonable approach. You should also consider the other route which is to add a stimulant (ritalin, adderal, dexedrine) to treat the ADD, and stay on effexor. Talk it over with your psychiatrist, and go with whatever choice you feel most confident about. All things being equal, which they never are :), fewer meds are better than more meds.
Hoping you get what you need as soon as possible,
Britt
This is the end of the thread.
Psycho-Babble Medication | Extras | FAQ
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.org
Script revised: February 4, 2008
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/cgi-bin/pb/mget.pl
Copyright 2006-17 Robert Hsiung.
Owned and operated by Dr. Bob LLC and not the University of Chicago.