Posted by alan on December 26, 1999, at 4:36:34
In reply to Prozac/Ami/Adderall/Wellbutrin & still suicidal, posted by dove on December 7, 1999, at 8:56:06
I'm jumping in without having read the whole thread, so I may be way off. If so, sorry. One, it seems to me that you may need a third dose of Adderall at 4. If it interferes with sleep and this effect does not go away, well, then you'll know. Welbutrin and all other ADs take 3-6 weeks or more to make a difference. Now to something very frustrating, indeed exasperating. We have a need, especially when under great stress, to think we or our experts really understand what they are doing. As a result we say such unsubstantiated things as that say. SSRI's work by increasing the seratonin in our brains. Actually, SSRI's and other ADs do increase the probability that certain switches in a complex circuit will close. We do not know which switches, since we do not know which switches among the billons of switches in the multitude of circuits are going to be affected by even drugs that affect the same neurotransmitter in test tubes, and we do not know how many types of receptors there are for each kind of neurotransmitter and which SSRis are most likely to affect which subsets. We don't know what else the different SSRIs do; they do flick switches with a greater or lesser probability that are not flicked by seratonin; they also affect the metablism of many other kinds of chemicals relevant and not relevant to mood. And when these unknown effects of the SSRIs flip all their switches, the probabilities of switching on or off maybe millions of other switches are effected. As if this were not enough, brains are as individual as we are, billions of variations creating the bewildering diversity of human personalities. It is important to acknowledge these immense imponderable complexities, because IF WE DO NOT, WE ASSUME A SIMPLISTICALLY SMALL SET OF POSSIBILITIES AND GIVE UP HOPE WHEN WE THINK THEY HAVE BEEN EHAUSTED, OR WE LOSE FAITH IN DOCTORS FOR NOT FINDING SIMPLE ANSWERS QUICKLY.
The good news is that, to quote Einstein, "The Lord is subtle, but not maliscious." We do learn, and we do manage to COPE WITH THE COMPLEXITY THAT KEEPS US IGNORANT. If we stick with it, the probability that we will not be freed of our suffering by some medication or combination of meds approaches zero; this cam take much time and each minute can seem intolerably long to one in pain, but in fact in a reasonable amount of time we get our lives back.
poster:alan
thread:16372
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/19991212/msgs/17506.html