Posted by polarbear206 on June 18, 2007, at 22:24:56
In reply to Re: See my Pdoc today - PLEA for advice! PLEASE HELP » polarbear206, posted by flame on June 18, 2007, at 12:45:41
> Polarbear,
>
> Not to pull away from this thread or anything, but do you mind me asking you how long you have been on your current med regimen? I ask because I believe my husband has been having problems (for the past three years) because of his current regimen. He has been on Effexor XR 375mgs (for anxiety and depression), Ambien CR 12.5mg , Mirapex 1 mg (for RLS) and Provigil to control sleepiness the next day. I'm thinking that the sleepiness is caused by the Mirapex taken the "night before" ..?
>
> Anyway, I'm wondering if the main reason he is experiencing such bad RLS symptoms is because of the high dose Effexor? The Mirapex, has .. I believe, caused compulsiveness that resulted in heavy drinking and spending money. He has also decided (somewhere during this three year period) that he "cannot" work any more.
>
> I was interested in your current regimen because I thought that maybe I would aks my husband's psychiatrist why he could not consider changing my husband's regimen to something similar to yours?
>
> Thanks,
> Flame
>
> "I think the best thing IMO is to keep the number of medications you are taking to a minimum. The combination of all of these drugs is dramatically impairing and having an adverse reaction on you. I would ditch the stimulant and opt for a more activating AD like Effexor or an MAOI. Wellbutrin added on to Effexor has worked very well for me. Gardengirl has some very good suggestions about mood stabilizers. I can't say enough good things about Lamictal for mood stabilization. Start low and slow and try to see if you can keep it to 3 drugs at a time.
>
> Polarbear 206
>
> Lamictal 100mg
> Effexor 75mg
> Wellbutrin 150mg
>
> P.S. I cut my Effexor back from 300mg to 75mg and cut Lamictal in half to 100mg since I added Wellbutrin. This has resulted in more energy, return of normal sex life, normal sleep cycle. I just feel a balance that I haven't experienced in a very long time. Hope this helps. "
>
>
HiWould you mind giving me a more detailed history about your husband? Was he on the effexor first before the others? What were his symptoms of depression prior to the start of antidepressants? What other drugs has he tried or been on in the past. The high dose of effexor can exacerbate his symptoms, esp if he has an underlying bipolar disorder. The mirapex and provigal don't help matters either if this is the case. Has he tried to cut back the effexor to see if his symptoms improve? He is not getting the proper response on the effexor if he needs something to help him sleep and something to keep him awake during the day. Why has his doctor let this continue for so long without switching to another AD? I hope he is seeing a psychiatrist and not a family doctor. The drinking and spending raise some red flags. Has it been discussed that this could be drug induced mood cycling? Sorry for all the questions.
Polarbear
poster:polarbear206
thread:763880
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20070613/msgs/764063.html