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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 20 of 20. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Shadowplayers721 on April 18, 2008, at 10:53:22
What anti-depressant do you feel has been the most beneficial for your type of depression?
For me, I feel that Lexapro has been most effective. I suffer from PTSD and Bi Polar II.
Posted by Phillipa on April 18, 2008, at 12:18:27
In reply to A poll on anti-depressants, posted by Shadowplayers721 on April 18, 2008, at 10:53:22
Paxil l0with xanax first ad ever unfortunately taken off. Then a partial response to luvox which I stay on with valium. Phillipa
Posted by Racer on April 18, 2008, at 12:50:01
In reply to A poll on anti-depressants, posted by Shadowplayers721 on April 18, 2008, at 10:53:22
My dx is major depression, anxiety, and anorexia nervosa. My depression is melancholic -- I'm worse earlier in the day, no emotional reactivity, early awakening, etc.
So far, the most beneficial antidepressant I've taken is Wellbutrin XL. It's not 100% effective, I've still got a lot of trouble, but it's had the fewest adverse effects by far, with enough benefit to the depression to be worth continuing. Not exactly a rousing review, but good enough for me to continue it.
Posted by sunnydays on April 18, 2008, at 13:14:00
In reply to Re: A poll on anti-depressants, posted by Racer on April 18, 2008, at 12:50:01
So far, Lexapro 10mg worked really well for about two years, then stopped working. Right now, Effexor XR 150mg and 50mg of Lamictal (which I may try to get off this summer) seems to be doing fantastic. I'm diagnosed with PTSD and depression.
sunnydays
Posted by Justherself54 on April 18, 2008, at 13:54:40
In reply to Re: A poll on anti-depressants, posted by sunnydays on April 18, 2008, at 13:14:00
Bipolar, treatment resistant depression, anxiety disorder..with a side order of fibromyalgia
Absolute best was Zoloft and Lexapro but poop out within a year but that's just me :(. Currently on washout period from Nardil.
Posted by Quintal on April 18, 2008, at 14:39:59
In reply to A poll on anti-depressants, posted by Shadowplayers721 on April 18, 2008, at 10:53:22
Parnate, Lamictal, dothiepin and tianeptine. Bipolar I.
Q
Posted by dbc on April 18, 2008, at 16:43:59
In reply to Re: A poll on anti-depressants, posted by Justherself54 on April 18, 2008, at 13:54:40
Stimulants, Lamictal and benzos.
Posted by JayBTV2 on April 18, 2008, at 17:48:48
In reply to Re: A poll on anti-depressants, posted by dbc on April 18, 2008, at 16:43:59
Lamictal is my current med of choice to fight off depression. It's worked well for 8months without any bad side effects.
Celexa would be my choice of SSRIs. Did pretty well on that but as with all SSRIs it caused libido problems :(
Posted by Phillipa on April 18, 2008, at 18:56:21
In reply to Re: A poll on anti-depressants, posted by Justherself54 on April 18, 2008, at 13:54:40
What a shame they pooped out. Love Phillipa
Posted by bleauberry on April 18, 2008, at 19:31:09
In reply to A poll on anti-depressants, posted by Shadowplayers721 on April 18, 2008, at 10:53:22
Diagnosis...depends on which doc you ask. Too many flaws and subjectivity in the system. Depression of the anhedonic type. Hints of bilopar II rarely, hints of delusional schizophrenia rarely, anxiety most mornings upon waking that soon vanishes into fatigue. It is depression with a whacky adrenal gland thing mixed in.
Darn, I wish I had a history that allowed me to say what worked best. Well, for a few years I was decent, but not 100% and not myself, on 20mg Prozac + 300mg Adrafinil + 5mg Zyprexa.
25mg Zoloft + 500mg Depakote ER + 5mg Zyprexa was fairly ok, but still andhedonic and withdrawn.
St Johns Wort (Kira brand) 600mg worked incredibly awesome but only for 2 weeks. It quickly pooped and could not be revived no matter what I tried doing with it.
Absolute best antidepressant ever was Cannabis, in small doses taken the same way as a drug, not enough to get high, just to feel normal. Hands down the best antidepressant on the planet if taken responsibly in a medical manner. But, very costly, widely fluctuating quality, and eventual jailtime make this a very shakey treatment.
If I am in real depressive trouble and need a fast fix to buy some time, Ritalin 5mg to 10mg does it reliably. Maybe 3 or 4 times a year I have to resort to this emergency.
In a similar fashion, Xanax can be an immediate lifesaver during rare emergencies.
Absolute worst treatment...ECT. It is only good on paper. In real life, not. Even if it works, relapse rate is close to 80% and comes on rapid.
The most commonly prescribed antidepressant in 2007 was Zoloft, if that means anything.
Posted by Shadowplayers721 on April 18, 2008, at 19:53:59
In reply to Re: A poll on anti-depressants, posted by bleauberry on April 18, 2008, at 19:31:09
I saw others kindly share their list of meds, so I will include my entire daily regime.
Lexapro 20 mg, Inderal 20 -30 mg, topamax 200 mg and Klonopin 1/2 - 1 mg as needed.
Posted by Molybdenum on April 19, 2008, at 1:50:34
In reply to Re: A poll on anti-depressants, posted by Shadowplayers721 on April 18, 2008, at 19:53:59
I'm "major treatment resistant depression", but I think that's just what the doc has to say here when he rings up to get the govt subsidised pricing authority number for the scripts. I'd say a bit of GAD & the one where you never want to meet people, whatever that's called. Is that Social Anxiety Disorder or Seasonally Affected Disorder? Doesn't matter - I'm pretty sure I've got both anyway. ;)
Celexa (citalopram) worked for a few years but slowly pooped out. When I quit I was on 80mg and had hardly any withdrawls, tapering down by 20mg each week. Funny thing (not) was that it pooped out so gradually, I never noticed it had pooped out. Very insidious. Hmm....gotta watch that in future.
Now I'm 225mg mirtazapine (Remeron / Avanza) & 600mg venlafaxine (Effexor XR). But I am trying to reduce the mirtazapine. I went a week with 45mg less & all seems OK. Tonight is start of week 2 when I'll knock another 45mg off & see how I go.
I also take methylphenidate (Ritalin) up to 80mg a day which is supposed to be for tiredness due to sleep aponea, but it helps the depression too of course. How can it not? A bit "speedy" for work though IMHO.
Moving from methylphenidate to modafinil (Modavigil / Provigil / 14 others) AS SOON AS THE DAMN PACKAGE ARRIVES FROM NORWAY, ETA 72HRS AND ABSOLUTELY C-O-U-N-T-I-N-G THE SECONDS.... I can't wait...! It's too expensive otherwise. I expect I'll start on 200mg in the morning & then add another 100-200 if it's not enough and / or spilt the dose to 1/2 at midday if it won't get me through to 6pm.
Add 0.5mg clonazepam to suppress hyperventilation response after I stop breathing over & over while you're sleeping ;)
Add 0.5mg - 1mg alprazolam (Xanax) if I'm on edge. Double that if the police are likely to turn up and arrest me again.... :(
Shake well & leave until set. Serves one.
Posted by JayBTV2 on April 19, 2008, at 12:57:36
In reply to Re: A poll on anti-depressants, posted by Molybdenum on April 19, 2008, at 1:50:34
> Now I'm 225mg mirtazapine (Remeron / Avanza) & 600mg venlafaxine (Effexor XR). But I am trying to reduce the mirtazapine. I went a week with 45mg less & all seems OK. Tonight is start of week 2 when I'll knock another 45mg off & see how I go.
>You take 225mg of Remeron?!?!?! That's extremely high :)
Posted by Molybdenum on April 19, 2008, at 19:04:53
In reply to Re: A poll on anti-depressants, posted by JayBTV2 on April 19, 2008, at 12:57:36
>
> > Now I'm 225mg mirtazapine (Remeron / Avanza) & 600mg venlafaxine (Effexor XR). But I am trying to reduce the mirtazapine. I went a week with 45mg less & all seems OK. Tonight is start of week 2 when I'll knock another 45mg off & see how I go.
> >
>
> You take 225mg of Remeron?!?!?! That's extremely high :)
>Yeah, I keep hearing that. Same for the Effexor but honestly I've had no increase in side effects at all. The reason the mirtazapine is so high is because initially it was fantastic for making me fall asleep. I'd take the dose at 8pm and before 9pm I was literally fighting to keep my eyes open. I have bad sleep apnoea & so getting 10 hrs sleep equals maybe 6 hrs for a normal person. So the 10 was just great for me. But after a few months the knock-out effect would subside, so the doc kept agreeing to up the dose and again I'd get the great sleep again. It took about 18 months to get up to 225mg. Every time we increased it, the great sleep would return. He told me its not supposed to work like that but it sure did for me.
Anyway, I'm trying to reduce it now as he said he won't go any higher. I've had a week on 45mg less & one night so far on another 45mg less. And I haven't had withdrawals - so I'm not too worried about getting it down. Although 2 weeks ago I decided to reduce it by 90mg but I woke up at 4am feeling awful & quickly too the 90mg and a Xanax.
Good Luck :)
M.
Posted by nellie7 on April 20, 2008, at 13:24:43
In reply to A poll on anti-depressants, posted by Shadowplayers721 on April 18, 2008, at 10:53:22
Celexa. Schizoaffective disorder and OCD.
Posted by jms600 on April 20, 2008, at 15:58:02
In reply to Re: A poll on anti-depressants » Shadowplayers721, posted by nellie7 on April 20, 2008, at 13:24:43
Hi everyone,
Just something to add here...
My doctor reckons that Luvox (fluvoxamine) isn't as effective as the other SSRIs. Is this true? Has anyone else found this?
Posted by Phillipa on April 20, 2008, at 19:41:04
In reply to Is Luvox (fluvoxamine) really any good..?, posted by jms600 on April 20, 2008, at 15:58:02
I distinctly remember my first dose of 50mg of luvox in the hospital I was so fearful of side effects as the others had caused them. I took it and acturally waited and monitored myself and none nothing at all. Maybe the benzos eliminated them???? Worked for me still on it although not really working but can not go off the 50mg although at one time on 250mg and it worked great for about two weeks then didn't know about poop out but it must have. Phillipa
Posted by elanor roosevelt on April 22, 2008, at 18:40:31
In reply to A poll on anti-depressants, posted by Shadowplayers721 on April 18, 2008, at 10:53:22
oh lexapro
it was me on a good day for almost a year
upbeat
funny
sensual
good focus
social gracethe melt down broke my heart
i have never found another med like thathave tried to revisit the med a number of times
can't get it to work for me again
Posted by yxibow on April 24, 2008, at 0:35:48
In reply to Is Luvox (fluvoxamine) really any good..?, posted by jms600 on April 20, 2008, at 15:58:02
> Hi everyone,
>
> Just something to add here...
>
> My doctor reckons that Luvox (fluvoxamine) isn't as effective as the other SSRIs. Is this true? Has anyone else found this?All SSRIs have their own characteristics and some psychiatrists use a set and some use others -- ultimately its a long haul trial to see if there is a response to it.
It also depends on its purpose.
I have found that Luvox indeed as its initial marketing is pretty good for OCD but it is a medication that requires a pretty hefty dose for some.
Paxil and Luvox tend to be for most, the most sedating
Prozac, at least at the beginning tends to be hyperactive, or at least stimulating. It also has the longest half life.
Zoloft has a rare trace amount of D2 blockade
Lexapro is supposed to be the "cleanest" of all SSRIs, meaning that the transmitters that cause side effects are not activated as much. I didn't find that to be the case, it caused a lot of nausea.
But that's an individual case again -- probably most people wouldn't... I'm sensitive to some and digest other medications like water.
So the short answer is, there is no answer. If you see a fork, take it. If your psychiatrist has seen a lot of patients respond to disorder X on SSRI Y, then maybe that's his/her instinct.-- tidings
Posted by undopaminergic on April 26, 2008, at 18:28:16
In reply to Re: Is Luvox (fluvoxamine) really any good..? » jms600, posted by yxibow on April 24, 2008, at 0:35:48
>
> Zoloft has a rare trace amount of D2 blockade
>I assume that you mean DAT (DopAmine Transporter), not D2. Otherwise, I'd be interested in references or data supporting the claim, as I've never heard or read anything implicating SSRIs in D2-antagonism.
This is the end of the thread.
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