Psycho-Babble Medication Thread 954574

Shown: posts 1 to 7 of 7. This is the beginning of the thread.

 

Less is More?

Posted by chujoe on July 15, 2010, at 10:07:13

After several months of stability in recovery from crippling GAD & depression, I have reduced my Cymbalta from 90 mg / day to 60 mg. I felt as if the Cymbalta had a sedating effect & since my sleep patterns have been weird since I was a kid, I was falling asleep -- sometimes twice! -- during the day, often right after I woke up, drank a cup of coffee and too a tab of Ritalin. (I still take 20 to 30 mg of Ritalin for ADD.) I've only reduced the Cymbalta now for three days, but I feel sharper & brighter in mood. And I'm less sleepy. I haven't got any particular desire to "get off meds," but this is interesting because with less AD the effect seems stromger, or maybe it's just letting the Ritalin come through?

 

Re: Less is More? » chujoe

Posted by Phillipa on July 15, 2010, at 10:47:02

In reply to Less is More?, posted by chujoe on July 15, 2010, at 10:07:13

I always found that not having an ad worked best for me. Ideally would just like to be back on benzos without an ad. Phillipa ps seems more and more people prefer less from what I read

 

Re: Less is More? » chujoe

Posted by jade k on July 15, 2010, at 17:49:54

In reply to Less is More?, posted by chujoe on July 15, 2010, at 10:07:13

> I feel sharper & brighter in mood. And I'm less sleepy

Hey Chujoe,

Thats great! Hope it keeps up :-)

~Jade

 

Re: Less is More?

Posted by bleauberry on July 16, 2010, at 15:11:29

In reply to Less is More?, posted by chujoe on July 15, 2010, at 10:07:13

I think a common mistake is the assumption that more is better. Sometimes it is, sometimes it isn't. But it is almost always assumed that it is.

How about one drop of lexapro (that's 1/10th of 1mg). How about 1mg of lexapro. How about 2.5mg prozac. 6mg zoloft. These are not uncommon doses in my Lyme doctor's office. Just so you know , yeah, in the hands of someone who has seen a lot of difficult cases, less is sometimes much better.

I actually think that most of our common starting doses of meds are already double or triple too high right from the start. Lots of people would debate me on that issue and that's fine.

The amount that works is the right amount. That may well be an amount that is either significantly lower or higher than the ones used in the clinical studies or the local doctor's office. You know when it is too high, because that's when other problems begin...dulling, apathy, inability to function as well as before, etc. A couple studies on pubmed indicated that low doses worked as good as higher doses, it just took longer.

 

Re: Less is More? » bleauberry

Posted by jade k on July 16, 2010, at 15:48:17

In reply to Re: Less is More?, posted by bleauberry on July 16, 2010, at 15:11:29

I rarely assume that more is better with a/d's. I usually know I'm not gonna like the feeling in the beginning. Whats hard to tell though is whether what you are feeling is normal (s/e's that will wear off) or are you taking too much.

I've taken klonopin (1-3mg) a day for years for nerve pain. Once I took 2 for a bad headache and it just made me depressed. I'm weaning off now. I know many people get "high" on klonopin and love the feeling. I never did. (probably a good thing)

I think it just depends on the person and the med, and where that therapeutic level lies.

Unfortunately, being too consevative when starting a med could cause a person to quit, one who might otherwise have been helped.

Its a tricky business.

~Jade

 

Re: Less is More?

Posted by chujoe on July 16, 2010, at 18:49:15

In reply to Re: Less is More? » bleauberry, posted by jade k on July 16, 2010, at 15:48:17

And at the beginning, 60 wasn't enough & 90 did the trick, but now 60 is better. Yeah, a really tricky business.

 

Re: Less is More? » bleauberry

Posted by g_g_g_unit on July 16, 2010, at 23:38:41

In reply to Re: Less is More?, posted by bleauberry on July 16, 2010, at 15:11:29

>A couple studies on pubmed indicated that low >doses worked as good as higher doses, it just took >longer.

got any links?


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