Posted by Katz on December 11, 2001, at 12:30:22
In reply to Re: Reboxetine/Ritilin for Depression?, posted by manowar on August 20, 2001, at 17:14:35
> > After reading so many positive things about Reboxetine, I ordered some from IAS and eagerly began a course of 8mg/day to treat my depression, anhedonia and social phobia. On or about day four, I began to feel the energizing effects which were encouraging. One particular day into week two, I actually felt almost "happy". I was filled with child like awe as I watched the snow falling outside my window. WOW! Is this what normal feels like I thought! This is cool! My next thought was, "this is to good to be true. I can't last." IT DIDN'T!!! Here I am at the end of week three and the energizing effects that I felt in the beginning seem to have waned. I never did experience any of the other positive results I was hoping for. No increase in socialability, no motivation, no increased self-esteem...none of that good stuff! As I begin week four, I have increased my dosage to 10mg/day. I have little hope that this is going to be the miracle pill I have been waiting for most of my adult life.
> >
> > I was wondering if anyone suffering from depression, anhedonia and social phobia has had any positive results with this drug? How long did it take for you to get full relief from your symptoms?
> >
> > Several years ago I was seeing a pdoc several states away who prescribed ritilin. At 20 mg/day, it was my miracle pill! I found complete relief from depression, anhedonia and social phobia. I remained on ritilin for 6 months. I took 20mg in the morning only. I never needed to increase the dose. Unfortunately, I could not afford the expense of traveling 3 states away every month (gas, motel, food, etc). I tried unsuccessfully to find someone in my area to prescribe the ritilin for me. All refused and insisted on more trials of anti-depressants! I have tried them all. They don't work! Three years have since past. 3 more years of my life wasted because nobody was willing to prescribe a drug that is handed out indiscriminantly to children as though it were candy! Who's crazy here?
> >
> > Has anyone used ritilin or another stimulant to successfully treat depression, anhedonia and social phobia? Any input would be greatly appreciated. I'm desperate. I want a life! HELP!!!
> >
> > Katz
> Hi Katz,
> I hope you get this because I may have some interesting news for you. I had almost the exact same symptoms that you had and none of the anti-depressants seemed to work, that’s when I picked up a book by Dr. Amen called “Change Your Brain Change Your Life”. Basically, he uses a brain imaging technique called a “SPECT” scan which is like a MRI but instead of showing an anatomical view of the brain, it shows a functional image of the brain. As I read the book, I noticed that I had many ADD symptoms along with depressive symptoms. I thought that a psycho-stimulant may be the answer for my depression, but my pdocs disagreed. Finally, after being fed up with their run-around and tired of trying every AD available with no benefit, I called the Amen Clinic in CA and made an appointment.
>
> I went to the Amen clinic in CA a couple weeks ago. They scheduled two scans. A scan during concentration, and a scan at rest. The results of the concentration SPECT didn't look too good. It seems as if my ENTIRE brain is under functioning big time except for the deep limbic area which is way overactive. However, my brain at rest looked just fine. Anyway, my doc at the Amen clinic started naming what he thought some of my symptoms were before we really started talking. Like he would say—I bet your thinking is cloudy all the time? Yes -- Routine tasks are very difficult? Yes – anhedonia? Yes and so forth. It was amazing. It seems that moods and actions are pretty predictable depending on how the brain functions.
>
> He diagnosed me with a condition the Amen clinic calls “deep limbic ADD”, and cyclothymia. He told me that the first order of business was to stabilize my moods. Since Klonipin had been successful in the past, he said it should work now. He also said that we should try an amphetamine like Adderal. Funny thing is I already have, (just a few times) and it worked great. He then added an AD- Wellbutrin. He also suggested that I take several aminos and herbal supplements.
>
> I just saw my local p-doc for the first time since the visit to the Amen clinic. He had consulted with the pdoc in CA and agreed that I had ADD. Duh? I guess that since Ritalin and Adderal are sold as street drugs, pdocs are very cautious (I believe overly cautious) about prescribing those drugs. My local pdoc told me that depression was common with people with ADD.
>
> I should start with the Ritalin or Adderal in about a week and my pdoc seems pretty confident that I will recover. I spent a whole lotta dough, but I finally feel vindicated and I’m ready to move on with my life.
Hi Manowar,
Thank you for all the information. I hope that you are doing well on the stimulants. Funny thing, I had a test similar to the one you describe approx. six years ago. It was called the BEAM. It was basically an EEG hitched up to a computer which prints out a color topography of brain functioning. A cap with lots of electrodes are attached to the scalp to get the readings. Like you, large areas of the brain were underfunctioning. Alpha, deta and theta were all very low and slow in amplitude. I have shown these test results to conventional doctors and they discard them as *experimental* and refuse to take them seriously. It's maddening.It's been a year since my first post on this board. My condition remains unchanged although for a time I was having some good results on Yohimbe and huperzine. I did find a psychiatrist who prescribed ritalin and then adderal at my request. I was disheartened to find that these meds no longer worked in the positive way they had in the past. It was as though I was taking no medication at all...go figure!
poster:Katz
thread:52347
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20011202/msgs/86569.html