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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 8 of 8. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by idelle on August 1, 2012, at 17:22:07
Does anyone know about using this for bipolar depression? Including dose?
Posted by SLS on August 1, 2012, at 19:08:08
In reply to miraprex, posted by idelle on August 1, 2012, at 17:22:07
> Does anyone know about using this for bipolar depression? Including dose?
No. Sorry. Just be careful of "sleep attacks" with dopamine (DA) receptor agonists.
Abilify acts like a DA D2/D3 receptor agonist when dopamine levels are low. Have you ever tried it?
- Scott
Posted by idelle on August 1, 2012, at 19:19:03
In reply to Re: miraprex » idelle, posted by SLS on August 1, 2012, at 19:08:08
Within a week abilify made me very edgy and pacing.
Is there any way to predict which drug will help or is it total trial and error? I've tried a LOT of psychiatric drugs for bipolar depression with no good results. Zyprexa broke mania for me, but seems to depress me more when I'm depressed.
Posted by SLS on August 1, 2012, at 21:16:35
In reply to Re: miraprex, posted by idelle on August 1, 2012, at 19:19:03
> Within a week abilify made me very edgy and pacing.
This is not uncommon. It is an akathisia-like reaction that occurs as a startup side effect. It often disappears within a few weeks. This was my experience with Abilify. It took about a week to dissipate. Some people get severe and persistent akathisia with Abilify. In these circumstances, the best remedy is to discontinue it.
What was your dosage of Abilify before you discontinued it?
How long did you stay on it?
- Scott
Posted by Phillipa on August 1, 2012, at 23:30:10
In reply to Re: miraprex » idelle, posted by SLS on August 1, 2012, at 21:16:35
I see it's used mostly for Parkinson's and RLS. Why mirapex? Phillipa
Posted by idelle on August 2, 2012, at 11:43:54
In reply to Re: miraprex, posted by Phillipa on August 1, 2012, at 23:30:10
They affect dopamine receptors. For high ACTH (long story) I took 2 mg cabergoline /week, which is about 1/10 of what's used for Parkinson's....it's a D2 agonist....I only took it for three months, but I think it stopped the bipolar depression.
I've tried MANY psychiatric meds for the depression...to no avail. Zyprexa cuts the manic for me....it's a D2 antagonist.
Posted by bleauberry on August 2, 2012, at 17:53:47
In reply to miraprex, posted by idelle on August 1, 2012, at 17:22:07
There is actually more literature out there on this topic than I thought, but in the real world I think I only remember a few people who tried mirapex. Generally the impression I got was that it fit one of these scenarios.
It felt good for a short time but pooped. Difficult withdrawal. Sleepiness. Made depression worse. I can't recall anyone claiming it was a great med for them and lasted quite a while. Though I am sure it does happen. My own opinion is it would have its best effect when combined with other strategies that also hit serotonin and/or norepinephrine. An ssri for example could be problematic or ineffective for a patient, but with something like mirapex added, it could all come to life. I think that happens fairly often with abilify added to ssri, and though abilify is an antipsychotic it has some agonist activity also.
When I was in the hospital in the psychiatric ward I told the doc I had tried everything imaginable except dopamine agonists. So while I was there I got to try two different ones, including mirapex. To me they felt bad and I can't imagine how anyone can handle them for parkinsons. I thought antipsychotics made me feel sort of numb and tired and that a dopamine agonist would do the opposite but I was wrong because with me it made me even more tired and more numb and more depressed too. I think with the dopamine system there are 3 different types of people....normal dopamine function, hyper dopamine function, and hypo dopamine function. That's why a dose of amphetamine might make one person feel like they drank 5 pots of coffee, yet with someone else will calm them down so they can focus and concentrate. So back to mirapex, who knows. A personal trial would be needed to answer the question, and even then, it only pertains to that person. Could be a bust and could be a miracle.
Posted by phidippus on August 2, 2012, at 21:02:37
In reply to miraprex, posted by idelle on August 1, 2012, at 17:22:07
I don't remember my dose, but I used Mirapex for about a month to get myself out of a funk. It worked well.
Eric
This is the end of the thread.
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