Posted by Toby on October 6, 1998, at 13:38:25
In reply to Toby - lost post, posted by Lynn on October 6, 1998, at 9:44:58
Some antidepressants can make you feel flat and unemotional. Just be careful to watch for signs of relapse to depression (disrupted sleep, decrease in appetite, irritable) since you stopped everything. The last post I remember from you said that you had never experienced mania or hypo-mania, so I'm wondering where that diagnosis came from, i.e., why the mood stabilizers were added since they don't tend to help plain old depression very much unless there is a clear reason to suspect some underlying bipolar illness. Do I remember corretly that your mother or another family member has bipolar disorder? If so, that may be why mood stabilizers were thought to be necessary... the doctor didn't want to risk precipitating a manic episode in you.
Regarding the ADD, do you think you have had those symptoms you read about since kindergarten? If so, and your parents can also confirm that, you don't necessarily need that expensive testing to confirm the diagnosis. Stimulants are not the only medications used to treat ADD these days. Search out ADD on Dr. Bob's home page and see what all is available (some of which you have already been on). I recently read an article somewhere that indicated that depressed adults who have ADD can often get relief of the depression with treatment of the ADD alone, so it is worth looking into. Besides the diagnostic criteria in the DSM-IV, your doctor or therapist can give you an ADD questionaire that will help. If your symptoms weren't present before age 6 or 7, though, ADD is not likely (many symptoms of ADD overlap with depression and others overlap with mania or anxiety).
poster:Toby
thread:831
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/19981001/msgs/835.html