Posted by bleauberry on December 15, 2007, at 5:46:41
In reply to Nortriptyline starting--any info, posted by Bellame on December 14, 2007, at 18:09:39
I can say that combining an ssri with a tca is fairly common. My GP favors the ssri+tca combos as well as the ssri+antipsychotic combos.
Keep in mind that the very drugs we take to treat depression can worsen it too in the longer term, via indirect mechanisms. For example, prozac has flouride, which will affect the thyroid gland. There is ongoing research in how ssris cause your biochemistry to make less serotonin, so that even though you are boosting the serotonin you have, you are making less to begin with than before you starting taking the med. There is ongoing research in how ssris disrupt the natural conversion of tryptophan into serotonin and that it may be a longterm or permanent alteration in biochemistry. Nobody knows the longterm consequences of taking any of these meds. There are books written on how psychiatric drugs actually make depression worse in the long run. I have no opinions on it, but throw it out there for thought.
In any case, if one or two or three of the other meds you are taking are not helping you, there is not much sense logically in continuing to take them, other than avoiding the withdrawals of weaning off them.
I wish you could just try prozac and nortriptyline without the other meds. So many meds makes it hard to know what is doing what.
The old tca antidepressants do have a reputation of being more effective than ssris, and the combo is fairly common, so it seems worth a try.
poster:bleauberry
thread:800857
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20071213/msgs/800968.html