Posted by Leonardo on January 24, 2001, at 6:20:41
In reply to Reboxetine/Ritilin for Depression?, posted by Katz on January 23, 2001, at 19:02:07
Hi Katz!I can identify with a lot of what you say and have pretty much the same problems now. I am trying to find an internet source of Ritalin/Dexedrine/Adderall etc (see my post above), though I gather that posessing this stuff without a prescription is illegal in the US (I am in the UK).
I have a lot of experience with reboxetine. I found it very variable and unpredictable when taken by itself, although it does have a very targetted noradrenaline action. I did at times find it energising, sometimes making me feel too wired. I also had spells of severe irritability/intolerance which conquered any social phobia, I would argue with shop assistants with the merest provocation and quite enjoy it! But I had a big row with my wife... I too had spells of feeling completely well, but couldn't hang on to it. I found that high doses of reboxetine were counterproductive for me, 4 or even 2 mg a day over a period were better. I got best results overall when combining with a small dose of Paxil, it helps with anxiety/social phobia, and the 2 cancel out each others side effects more or less.
However, I have given up on that conbo after 9 months, as I still have depression, lethargy, sometimes leading to not wanting to go out and face the world. I have come to think that anhedonia and social phobia, at least in my case, are just consequences of the depression, not really a specific condition on their own. So the answer is to fix the cause of the depression.
I also have tried quite a few ADs with poor results. I have tried Ritain 10mg on a few occasions (borrowed from my son...) and got a good response. I too feel that conventional ADs are unlikely to sort me out, but Ritalin holds promise. My Pdoc now wants me to try Zoloft and Effexor before he will consider stimulants.
In the UK you are not allowed to be prescribed stimulants for depression, but you (possibly) can get them for ADHD. So I am working towards getting a diagnosis of ADHD as soon as possible! ADHD can cause depression and all the other stuff anyway. If you have any symptoms of problems with concentrationa and attention span which you think were there before you got depressed, and don't go away with ADs, you might be able to get an ADHD diagnosis.
If Ritalin works for you, you probably wouldn't need to combine it with reboxetine, as they have a lot of similarities in their actions.
Good luck!
Leonardo
poster:Leonardo
thread:52347
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010122/msgs/52385.html