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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
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Posted by SLS on April 8, 2009, at 14:35:56
Has anyone experienced a potent antidepressant response from adding memantine to their treatment?
What other drugs have you combined memantine with?
I am considering adding memantine to the following treatment regime in order to convert a partial response into a full remission:
Parnate 80mg
nortriptyline 150mg
Lamictal 200mg
Abilify 20mgAny other suggestions?
Thank you for all replies.
- Scott
Posted by myco on April 8, 2009, at 14:44:52
In reply to Memantine (Namenda) for depressoin. Success?, posted by SLS on April 8, 2009, at 14:35:56
This is the augment I asked for with nardil...in the near future I will be adding it.
Cant answer yet but just wanted to let you know d/r takes this with parnate.
myco
---------------
> Has anyone experienced a potent antidepressant response from adding memantine to their treatment?
>
> What other drugs have you combined memantine with?
>
> I am considering adding memantine to the following treatment regime in order to convert a partial response into a full remission:
>
> Parnate 80mg
> nortriptyline 150mg
> Lamictal 200mg
> Abilify 20mg
>
> Any other suggestions?
>
> Thank you for all replies.
>
>
> - Scott
Posted by Sigismund on April 8, 2009, at 16:05:06
In reply to Memantine (Namenda) for depressoin. Success?, posted by SLS on April 8, 2009, at 14:35:56
I've only tried memantine once at 5mg/d. It had a mild stimulant type feel of long duration.
I recall it made you feel drunk, but at a dose of perhaps 20 or 30mg/d?
I don't understand the rationale for using it, but it seems relatively safe.
Maybe in this case more is not better?
Posted by myco on April 8, 2009, at 16:11:31
In reply to Re: Memantine (Namenda) for depressoin. Success?, posted by Sigismund on April 8, 2009, at 16:05:06
I believe it's an antagonist of 5ht3 receptors...meaning it lowers seratonin. Also agonizes D2 receptors...supposedly increasing cognition/concentration etc. Med for alzeimers patients if I remember. Older people with cognition and memory issues.
> I've only tried memantine once at 5mg/d. It had a mild stimulant type feel of long duration.
>
> I recall it made you feel drunk, but at a dose of perhaps 20 or 30mg/d?
>
> I don't understand the rationale for using it, but it seems relatively safe.
>
> Maybe in this case more is not better?
Posted by bleauberry on April 8, 2009, at 16:28:08
In reply to Memantine (Namenda) for depressoin. Success?, posted by SLS on April 8, 2009, at 14:35:56
I think I remember 3 instances here over the last year.
One was a guy bedridden with a long history of med failures, with apparently a lot more problems than just depression. I remember his current list included prozac and ritalin. He was in the hospital. While there, he was started on 30mg memantine with no titration. Don't know what the rationale was. He was here just long enough to say what a miracle his new life was.
The other two instances were people saying they had not developed tolerance to their ritalin while taking memantine with it.
I am not the person to ask how it feels, because I only tried 5mg for about 3 days and it felt yuck. More tired, more depressed, more withdrawn. But ya know, 3 days, me being so weird, you have to take my trial of it with a grain of salt. It was monotherapy, not an augmentation of anything.
Since Parnate has a stimulant phase to it, memantine might play into that, maybe? It's actions are sort of in the family of lamictal, so I don't know how those two will play together.
I asked myself, if this question was asked by someone else, and SLS answered it, he might say something like...increase parnate to 100mg or 120mg? I personally would say, get the antipsychotic down. I would also have to ponder, when I think of all the clinical trials on lamictal, they all showed that it "delayed" relapse for a period of 6 to 9 months. It did not prevent relapse and did not provide longterm benefit. You know yourself better than anyone, but on the outside looking in I have to ask myself, why not a higher parnate dose, why is lamictal still there, and what is abilify doing to help. You know the answers to these questions, I don't.
Posted by desolationrower on April 8, 2009, at 16:28:09
In reply to Re: Memantine (Namenda) for depressoin. Success? » SLS, posted by myco on April 8, 2009, at 14:44:52
i had run out recently and restarted...i've had lowgrade headache all this week, which i remember from last time i started. i guess is might also be because i cut down to 40mg parnate, so i don't run out before i get some $ to refill it...anyway it does seem to help slightly, but most everything that isn't parnate (or nicotine) i can't *really* tell if its helping; i just notice things that might be from the drug, and try to make myself believe its working. i might just be imagining it. i take 20mg/day, probably going up higher is needed for full response, though in animals subtherapeutic dose synergized with other ADs.
i'm not sure what happens when you use memantine and lamotragine.
i'm sure you know of these things, and ive mentioned them here and there, but in order of trying i guess i'd list:
SAMe (or, as cheap substitute, some combination including creatine+methycobalamin/methylfolate+TMG).since its mental function, perhaps trying aniracetam etc. or an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor.
also some nutritional additions to diet, for health too, i think i've pretty much posted the same list of basic things a few times.
ALCAR is also good, one of the things i take.
-d/r
Posted by myco on April 8, 2009, at 16:32:19
In reply to Re: Memantine (Namenda) for depressoin. Success?, posted by desolationrower on April 8, 2009, at 16:28:09
d/r...is SAMe safe with a MAOI?
> i had run out recently and restarted...i've had lowgrade headache all this week, which i remember from last time i started. i guess is might also be because i cut down to 40mg parnate, so i don't run out before i get some $ to refill it...anyway it does seem to help slightly, but most everything that isn't parnate (or nicotine) i can't *really* tell if its helping; i just notice things that might be from the drug, and try to make myself believe its working. i might just be imagining it. i take 20mg/day, probably going up higher is needed for full response, though in animals subtherapeutic dose synergized with other ADs.
>
> i'm not sure what happens when you use memantine and lamotragine.
>
> i'm sure you know of these things, and ive mentioned them here and there, but in order of trying i guess i'd list:
> SAMe (or, as cheap substitute, some combination including creatine+methycobalamin/methylfolate+TMG).
>
> since its mental function, perhaps trying aniracetam etc. or an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor.
>
> also some nutritional additions to diet, for health too, i think i've pretty much posted the same list of basic things a few times.
>
> ALCAR is also good, one of the things i take.
>
>
> -d/r
Posted by Sigismund on April 8, 2009, at 16:38:12
In reply to Re: Memantine (Namenda) for depressoin. Success? » desolationrower, posted by myco on April 8, 2009, at 16:32:19
When I was on Parnate 10mg I took (for a time) 400mg/d SAMe.
It wasn't successful for me. I became agitated and had problems being out in the open.
Posted by desolationrower on April 8, 2009, at 16:43:21
In reply to Re: Memantine (Namenda) for depressoin. Success? » SLS, posted by bleauberry on April 8, 2009, at 16:28:08
myco - nmda antagonism itself has antidepressant effects, at least in various models. theres the ketamine studies. nmda downregulation from tranditional antidepressants. animal studies with memantine, and other things like zn/mg that increase AD response.
oh, btw i didn't notice any parnate 'stimulant' effect, tahts why i started originally, also 5ht syndrome prevention, some evidence for behavioral activation.
scott - perhaps, it might be worth trying not just a different AP, but something like pramiprexole that is a full agonist?
-d/r
Posted by Phillipa on April 8, 2009, at 21:25:47
In reply to Re: Memantine (Namenda) for depressoin. Success?, posted by desolationrower on April 8, 2009, at 16:43:21
Ever consider requip? Not sure if compatible with an MAOI but know someone doing well on low doses of it. Phillipa
Posted by desolationrower on April 9, 2009, at 7:19:08
In reply to Re: Memantine (Namenda) for depressoin. Success? » desolationrower, posted by myco on April 8, 2009, at 16:32:19
its not 100% guarenteed and tested safe, but scott is a little beyond well-studied monotherapy...
i've taken some before, although i was on namenda too so less risk of SS
-d/r
Posted by Jeroen on April 15, 2009, at 2:54:35
In reply to Memantine (Namenda) for depressoin. Success?, posted by SLS on April 8, 2009, at 14:35:56
oh, youre on lamictal,
not a good medicine for me :(
is it helping you?
This is the end of the thread.
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