Posted by babak on June 29, 2002, at 13:31:12
Hi Everyone
For some reason I can’t find any trace of my previous postings on this subject.
Basically I didn’t respond to 45mg of Mirtazapine and 375 mg of Effexor over a period of ten days. I tried increasing the Mirtazapine but it didn’t help and flared up my tinnitus which has now back down to its normal level.
Mirtazapine on its own worked for about four weeks but then it fizzled out. I tried Lithium to augment its effect but it was of no use.
My doctor says that this combination is the strongest available and ECT is the only other suggestion he can come up with. But I neither work nor have insurance cover and the cost is just too much for me. Instead he has put me on 45mg of Mirtazapine and 75mg of Effexor XL with the view to increase the Effexor dose gradually. I don’t think this is going to work but I can’t propose an alternative either.
I feel that Mirtazapine is still doing some good as it has completely stopped the anxiety part of my condition. It is the depression part which is refusing to go over the threshold. As to Effexor, it helps me with my aggression and irritability even at very low doses. However my response to it does not change much at higher doses. At 375mg I feel exactly the same as I would on 37.5mg apart from additional muscle tension and tiredness at high doses. Anhedonia is the real problem. I just can not be bothered with anything. I can’t concentrate and if I am pushed I become irritable. I have no libido what so ever and don’t enjoy anything. I spend most of my time alone at home continuously zapping channels on the TV. I know this is not right and feel frustrated inside. It feels like some sort of block in my head. When I first started Mirtazapine the block just dissolved on the morning of the fourth day in matter of minutes but after four weeks it crept back slowly over two weeks or so. It sounds mad but I can almost pin point the block inside my head. It feels like knot on the left hand side of my brain. If I weren’t so numb I would probably commit suicide out of frustration.
I have tried Reboxetine which caused unbearable kidney pains. I was on Prozac for the initial five years but then it stopped helping with my anger and so I switched Effexor. Within eighteen months I started to loose my libido but I was working then and it didn’t bother me that much. However after six years my marriage broke down and my company went bankrupt after the dot COM crash. This was almost a year ago.
My question is: is anyone else out there who didn’t respond to this combination and have they found an alternative.
Thanks
Babak
poster:babak
thread:111030
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020628/msgs/111030.html