Posted by MamaB on October 17, 2003, at 13:28:01
In reply to Re: Some advice and non-serotonergic ideas for you... » MamaB, posted by Ame Sans Vie on October 17, 2003, at 10:12:23
Dear Ame Sans Vie (and any other folks),
Without seeming arrogant or defensive, perhaps
I should clarify a few things.
First, I am a mental health professional with twenty years experience in the field and a good number of years of post-graduate education. I have witnessed first hand just about every idiosyncratic reaction to psychotropic medications
you can think of. I am very well aquainted with the functions of the enzyme I mentioned, CP2D6, and know about the function of P450 both from reading and research. I simply stay away from using medical, biochemical or neurochemical etymology when posting here. I do not claim to be an expert, but time, experience and education have kept me pretty well informed.
Now, all of that having been said, I should perhaps also say that I have spent my fair share of time on "the other side of the keys". I have been treated for depression for the past forty years myself, and for attention deficit disorder for the past twenty-two. (I was diagnosed before most people even knew that adults could have
AD(H)D.) I myself am one of those mentioned who might be called "treatment resistant" currently I take 500 mgm of buproprion (Wellbutrin) daily, and have recently begun taking Strattera. I used to follow this board, and returned to it when I began the Strattera to see what other's experiences have been on this medication. I also take several other psychotropic meds. There is a genetic component in my depression and my extended family and I have been part of an ongoing study at a major medical center.
Yes, you are correct, with larger, more long-term doses of Wellbutrin the problems I mentioned are far less likely to occur -- however not so at lower doses. I have witnessed three cases of negative reaction to the Wellbutrin/stimulant combination when the client was on less that 300mgm/day of Wellbutrin -- I have also experienced it myself when I was started on Wellbutrin while on Ritalin and Prozac. (This is why the Strattera may be a real blessing for me.)My post was merely a caution based on experience.
In case you are wondering, I am sixty two years old.
poster:MamaB
thread:269769
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20031015/msgs/270233.html