Posted by JohnL on September 13, 2000, at 17:38:23
In reply to Re: John L., I'm scared of Lit!, posted by Anna P. on September 13, 2000, at 15:58:07
> Hello John. Have you ever tried Lithium? I'm thinking about adding Lithium, but I'm still concerned.
> I started Minalcipran 10 mg and Neurontin on Monday, and for now I feel kind of tired.
> I was hoping that adding serotonin will help with my focus, concentration and confidence like Zoloft in old, good days.
> I already tried desipramine and notriptiline in the past with same fading results.
>
> Have you tried bromocriptine yet? Any side effects?
>
> Anna P.
Anna,
Yes I have tried Lithium. It was pretty mild too actually, probably due to my lowish dose of 600mg. It is kind of scary, because it has a stigma attached to it. The false stigmas of Lithium were born in the old days when huge, almost toxic, doses were common. And when it was reserved only for the most crazy insane people. That reputation lingers on, but I don't think justly so. These days it is being commonly recognized that Lithium can potentiate and stabilize an antidepressant at low doses, ranging from 300mg to 900mg. It works on both serotonin and norepinephrine.I stopped taking it for the simple reason that it didn't seem to do anything for me. It was like taking candy. All I noticed was I had to urinate more often. But that's about it. That was with SSRIs. Perhaps one of these days, if needed, I could retry it again with Amisulpride or Adrafinil. But for now, no need.
When I was scared to try Lithium, my doctor explained it to me this way...he reminded me it is just a salt, a natural mineral mined from rocks. It is separated from rocks and dirt for purity. And then it's put in a capsule. It's not a manufactured substance, but rather a mineral taken from the earth. There are trace amounts in our water. El Paso Texas has the highest amount of Lithium in their water, compared to the rest of the USA. And interestingly, a very low suicide rate in comparison to the rest of the USA. For psychiatric problems, we just take a more concentrated amount.
Expected side effects can be increased thirst (same as if you ate a salty meal), and more frequent urination. Sometimes diarrhea early in treatment. But overall, pretty mild in comparison to other meds.
You mentioned Zoloft. Why not Zoloft today? Why did you stop it? Just a a point of interest, Zoloft supposedly is also a strong reuptake inhibitor of dopamine, even more so than Wellbutrin, some claim. Maybe that's why you benefited the way you did, in terms of focus, concentration, etc. Maybe there's a dopamine chemistry of significance with you. Just a thought.
Have I tried Bromocriptine yet? No. I decided to restart Amisulpride without Adrafinil and see how it goes. At the same time, I restarted my old buddy Prozac at just 5mg a day. As I recall, Prozac never cured my depression, but it did bring a sense of stability, and it was actually beneficial to my love life. For those reasons, I think I want a little of it in the background. I'm hoping its positive effects on my love life will be enough to overcome the negative ones of Amisulpride.
It was quite amazing. I started Prozac at 5mg. On day 3 I took Amisulpride. By the end of the day I was almost all better! Talk about fast response! So far so good. No need for Bromocriptine yet. We'll see how it goes.
Back on subject...I think you might consider staying with Reboxetine, because it did work, and try to regain its effectiveness. Lithium might do that. If not, then perhaps add something else instead. Cross that bridge later. But for now I think it might make sense to try to turbocharge the Reboxetine and get it to work again. Unless it never really worked very well in the first place, then maybe move on.
Hang in there. Thinking of ya.
John
poster:JohnL
thread:44679
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000905/msgs/44753.html