Posted by Seamus2 on May 24, 2002, at 20:53:06
In reply to MAOI success for persistant GAD/dep?, posted by jaby on May 24, 2002, at 11:46:56
You ask an interesting question: can an MAOI tackle depression, GAD and rumination?
(I'm thinking back a few years here) Nardil gave me excellent AD activity and the gumption necessary to address psychological issues pertaining to what is now called social anxiety/phobia. Perhaps "GAD" falls under the same rubric.
I also used Xanax at the time; but were I to prescribe for myself in perfect 20/20 hindsight I would have used a long-acting beta blocker like timolol, with perhaps far less Xanax. The rationale is simple: block the physiological response to stressful situations and expose yourself to them by means of systematic desensitisation. The net result is your head no longer associates "that panicky feeling" w/ situations. Takes a while, but it worked for me.
In my case, the rumination/obsessive (self-deprecatory) thoughts persisted, but only as a function of the depression. Once the depression cleared, I was free from the internal harangues. Which isn't to say my brain doesn't have a tendency to get stuck on a thought or a song for a day or two or three -- it does! That's just how my brain is, I guess.
So yes, I would recommend a couple months on Nardil at a decent dosage (> 60 mg/day) to see where it gets you.
Clomipramine is used for OCD; if the rumination is a bigger concern you might want to try it. I never did.
Seamus
poster:Seamus2
thread:107498
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020517/msgs/107556.html