Posted by scott-d-o on January 28, 2004, at 3:42:22
In reply to I think we need to start a Dopamine Club here... » scott-d-o, posted by Karen Moore on January 28, 2004, at 1:37:14
> Excellent, thanks for your thought provoking response, Scott.
> I dropped Effexor ages ago and found out quickly with other trials that SSRIs make me absolutely miserable. ADD is the least of my problems, I was taking it for agitated depression, but now I find myself fitting into the bipolar spectrum. Stimulants make me a little hypomanic if I'm not careful, but it's the pleasant sort rather than the dysphoric flavor. As for sleep drugs, I've tried benzos, trazadone, sonata, anti-convulsants, all nada, my brain just doesn't want to ever shut down. And if I don't sleep I get downright manic. I just finished putting together a summary sheet to see a psych. researcher tomorrow (s.dubovsky) and counted 31 prescription drug trials in the last 2 and half years! And that doesn't count some of the other unsanctioned pharmacology experiments I've put myself through...
> OK. There's my whine for the evening.
> Thanks again,
> KM
hi karen,sounds like you've been thru a lotta meds.. assuming I was correct about your insomnia being provoked by excess NE, believe it or not, I can still sit here all nite and name meds that could help until I come up with one you haven't tried..
how about switching the effexor to the old tricyclic doxepin.. it blocks reuptake of serotonin and norepinephrine, like effexor does, however it is also a very potent antihistamine (sedative), and also has alpha-1 antagonism (which I assumed was the reason seroquel helps your insomnia.) In fact, the only reason effexor was supposed to be an improvement over older tricyclics, such as doxepin, is because effexor doesn't have the sedative and anticholinergic action of TCA's. doxepin also happens to be a 5-HT2a antagonist, again like seroquel, and this should help with the insomnia as well.. sounds like the best of both meds for you..
> P.S. Have you ever heard of anyone having LOW blood pressure problems on stimulants? And I don't mean orthostatic hypotension... My only theory so far is cortisol, but that hasn't proven to be the problem (yet).
yeh.. sounds like your on the right track.. raised cortisol levels in plasma.. for the insomnia you should definitly try the alpha-2 agonist clonidine; assuming you don't like the doxepin idea. but go slow; I know for sure the clonidine will knock ya out like never b4 ;-)
scott
poster:scott-d-o
thread:306217
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040127/msgs/306310.html