Posted by Anna Laura on February 4, 2002, at 22:56:40
Hi all,
I've had a bout of severe depression years ago and i have been suffering from residual symptoms ever since.
My main symptoms are lack of motivation and anhedonia.
I've been doing a lot of research on the subject during this last year : i've grown rather confident i was going to find a remedy for my anhedonia, the main obstacle being just a matter of time and patience.
I've tried Imipramine (which had been effective when i relapsed last year, but made more apathetic in the long run), Prozac, Amytriptyline, Levosulpiride (similar to Amisulpride) Venlafaxine and Reboxetine together.
Prozac and Amytryptiline didn't improve anhedonia at all, Effexor and Reboxetine improved motivation and negative thinking in the long run.
I'm back on Effexor now but i'm afraid it's not kicking in like it did last summer. (still not sure, i'm going to give it a couple of more weeks trial, noticing no increase in motivation so far).
My negative thinking got really worse during the last month and i hit the rock bottom yeasterday as i bumped in to this article while surfing on the net:http://www.psychminded.co.uk/old%20news/Newsl10.htm
In a few words, it says you'd better stay off from drugs since they make your depression worse in the long run (sensitisation) and that switching it's not good for the same reason.
The article advocates Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for residual symptoms as the only way out.
I did CBT therapy for two years and didn't help much. What really helped me was Imipramine and a compassionate, supportive and empathetic pdoc.
He didn't believe in drugs though, so he made me drop imipramine after a year and a half.
My anhedonia grew worse in a couple of years.
As far as my personal experience is concerned, i shouldn't believe in what i read, but made me real upset no matter what.
I'm loosing faith about finding the right drug for me and i'm back in the pitch black tunnel, hopeless and desperate.
Don't know where to turn.
Hope that you guys are going to bring a couple of positive experience contradicting what the above article is reporting...Thanks for listening
poster:Anna Laura
thread:92902
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020131/msgs/92902.html