Posted by Elizabeth on July 19, 2001, at 7:56:38
In reply to Is switching stressful for your nervous system?, posted by Anna Laura on July 18, 2001, at 13:54:57
> I called my pdoc today, 'cause lately i've been suffering from "micro-bouts" of depression. He told me i might switch to effexor (i'm currently taking amytriptyline, 50 mg., plus 100 mg. of an atypical antipsicotic).
Which antipsychotic? They have different potencies.
> He was quite reluctant, though. He told me it might be counterproductive since switching could be stressful and i don't need that.
That's true. My idea would be to decrease the amitriptyline gradually, then start adding Effexor slowly. It might make the transition easier. I'm not sure of the exact details of how you might do this (like, a schedule). (There's the potential for Effexor to decrease the clearance of the amitriptyline, which could be bad; that you only take 50 mg of ami for depression suggests to me that you might already be metabolising it poorly, and I'm not sure what the right thing to do would be under those circumstances.)
> I suffer from double depression, until the last month felt quite stable since my major problem was anhedonia. In the last few weeks i grew more nervous and apathetic. I don't know if i'm going backwards again or if it's just a false alarm ( I hope that).
> What do you guys think?
> Should i stay on my current medication or not?I'd go for it with the Effexor, but slowly.
-elizabeth
poster:Elizabeth
thread:70659
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010714/msgs/70820.html