Posted by KaraS on August 30, 2004, at 13:56:22
In reply to Re: 2nd Q on paradoxical stim. response - z, anybody? » KaraS, posted by zeugma on August 30, 2004, at 5:24:36
> That's interesting about coffee. I'm sure glad it works that way!! I've read some posts by people who drink green tea or take green tea extract (not decaf versions) and they say that they think so much more clearly than when they drink coffee and without the jitteriness of coffee. Have you read any of those posts or tried green tea? I think the last poster said that he or she takes 3 bags in a cup of hot water. Yucko on the taste but it sure sounded like it worked well for him or her.>>
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> I tried green tea as a result of those posts. I was actually going through a lot of anxiety at the time, and the idea was to have something 'stimulating yet calming.' The green tea was OK but could not replace coffee on the one hand, or display marked anxiolytic effects on the other. When I was younger, I used to drink 20 cups of black tea a night (I was totally nocturnal, and would sit and write on an old manual typewriter). Then I went back to college and discovered that if I had a cup of coffee during EVERY class, I wouldn't fall asleep or drift off. It worked for a while but then the narcolepsy or whatever it was got worse, after I graduated from college and tried to work a number of jobs. Constantly fired because I simply never felt 'awake' no matter how much coffee i drank (and i drank huge amounts).That "constantly fired" must have been very hard on you. I was able to hold down jobs even though I was depressed and exhausted (also a total night owl and the 8-5 is very tough on me) until the last few years. I was let go from my last job because of being slow. It was devastating for me - particluarly considering my rejection sensitivity. And, if I hadn't left my previous job to move out west, I would eventually have lost that one too if I hadn't found adequate anti-d help (and ADD help?) soon. It's so frustrating when it's out of your control. (But I'm sure I don't need to tell you that.)
> Why doesn't Cymbalta have the side effect profile of being stimulating when it prevents the reuptake of NE? Does it have to do with the location of the reuptake?>>
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> This is something that is very important, but little seems to be known about it. Lilly marketed Strattera with the claim that Strat blocked NE reuptake in the prefrontal cortex while TCA's blocked it in the brainstem. Strattera did have a maked subjective difference from nortriptyline in that it made me feel totally 'clear', which was an improvement over how I felt without it. It did work on some symptoms of ADHD, and also on the narcolepsy or whatever, but eventually did produce the fatigue that most noticed when they started the drug. I think that's because it has extra pharmacological properties than advertised. It could be that Cymbalta does too, but time will tell.Maybe someday they will come up with a cleaner Strattera - like Lexapro vs. Celexa. Do you know if they're working on it?
> BTW, you've often mentioned your text books and you know so much about this stuff. Are you in medical school now?>>
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> No, I'm spending most of my time trying to figure out my brain on my own, which does seem to have some therapeutic effect, in that it allows me to connect the effects a medication has on me with some property of the drug, and I know by now (in my mid-thirties) that I don't do well with things I don't understand. I'm in philosophy, and I've been in grad school for ages now, mostly because finishing anything produces dysphoria so i have little incentive to get my degree (Linkadge had a post about the role of D1 receptors in completion, and the stims I am taking are actually helping with this).I saw that post by Linkadge. It was really fascinating to me.
I think it's truly amazing how much you've been able to teach yourself about psychotropic meds. I thought I knew a lot until I came here. (Nonetheless, I'm glad I found this site. It's been such a comfort to finally connect with others who have my issues or similar ones.) Are there any books or text books that you could recommend that could help me learn more about all of this?
> I'm currently taking 100 mg Provigil. I would like to take more, but need to get the s/e ironed out (still wary of insomnia, and Provigil seems to reverse nortriptyline-induced analgesia, bringing back the abdominal pain that miraculously disappeared when i started nortrip).
How frustrating about the abdominal pain coming back. It seems we're always trying to hit a moving target.
> How soon do you think you'll be starting Cymbalta?I've just recently decided to move it up on my list of things to try. The 2 things that I was planning on trying soon (not together) were SJW and selegiline. For several reasons, they're both off of the list now - though i have to look into one more thing about SJW which could put it back on the list. If not, then I'll probaby call my doctor (who I haven't seen in quite a while) and make an appointment to get Cymbalta. I also want to see what a few of the others' experiences are with it first as I'm quite strapped financially right now and that would be a large expense. It would be taken as a gamble though if I thought it could get me functional again fairly soon.
-K
poster:KaraS
thread:382683
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040830/msgs/384179.html