Posted by LibbyH on April 2, 2003, at 12:47:41
In reply to Re: Straterra - Back to Ritalin SR » LibbyH, posted by not exactly on April 2, 2003, at 3:05:31
I've experienced the rebound depressions before and every depressive episode is a little different, but over the course of my entire life, up until this last time I could say I've had certain tendencies when depressed. This last time, the impulsiveness and suicidal impulses specifically were awful. Between suicidal impulses, I felt great. It looked a lot more like mania. It was strange enough to make me wonder if all those trials with the BIpolar drugs were a fluke & I actually had some weird type of super rapid cycling bipolar with swings every 2-3 hrs. instead of every several days, so much so that I asked my pdoc about it.
He directed me back to my history, the trials, the testing, and the fact that I had been stable for two years on a pretty high doe of some pretty stimulating meds, so he was pretty confident I wasn't Bipolar.In other words, it wasn't like I was DEPRESSED so much as BIPOLAR, so I think what was goin on must have been a combination of both the sudden withdrawal from the Ritalin (the Wellbutrin had pooped out months ago) AND the effects of the Straterra. I have been doing some reading on the drug since my experience & increased impulsivity can be a side-effect of the drug. I understand that sometimes this can settle down as one builds a tolerance, but I was in a situation where I was making active (albeit not very seriously threatening) suicide attempts. I had never seen myself behave this way. I was scaring myself, my family, and even a pdoc who has seen me through five years of awful depression. I couldn't afford to wait. I don't mean to alarm anyone, but I will be on Ritalin for as long as the FDA, my pdoc, and my health will allow. Without it, I am dangerously impulsive and thoroughly capable of destroying my life in less than a week.
Libby
poster:LibbyH
thread:133458
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030402/msgs/215428.html