Posted by medlib on June 26, 2002, at 2:28:07
In reply to Anyone tried calcium channel blocker lik verapamil, posted by JohnX2 on June 25, 2002, at 19:35:42
Hi John--
My dx = double depression--i.e., I cycle between "down" and "deep down". I took verapamil several years ago for hypertension; if it had helped with my depression, I'd still be on it. V. slows pulse rate; sometimes,it's used in the ER to convert runs of vtach. If you're really fit and have a naturally low PR/BP, you might have to ease into V. use slowly. I think that there's been some use of V. *with* lithium.
If you haven't found it already, there's a brief thread here on this subject on the 14Aug99 board. The 2 responders were Chris A. and Dove. I haven't "seen" Chris A. in a while, but Dove's still here (see her post further up this board). Also, there's some info on Psychopharmacology Tips; Ivan Goldberg (psydoc) was 1 of the posters and might provide his current oopinion.
Btw, 1 new med I'm eager to try is aripiprozole, a next gen. AP that S. Stahl has some hopes about. (I think Scott (SLS) is anticipating it, as well.) The NDA for it was filed last Nov., so best guess for approval is early 2003 (but our beloved FDA moves with "all deliberate speed", so who knows). Apparently, BMS is trying for bipolar designation; they're currently recruiting for trials in Austin, if you;re interested.
Good luck---medlib
poster:medlib
thread:110743
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020617/msgs/110786.html