Posted by Racer on January 13, 2008, at 12:54:21
In reply to Tried it all... MAO's and Lithium as sole AD ?, posted by francineus on January 13, 2008, at 12:14:20
Welcome to PsychoBabble! I've found a lot of good information here, and an awful lot of support. I hope it's as good for you as it has been for me.
What sort of reaction did you have to EMSAM, and how long were you on it? The answers to those questions may help predict your response to a traditional MAOI. Lithium has some good history with unipolar depression, although my doctors have usually offered it as an adjunct to other anti-depressants, rather than a sole agent. It's certainly worth trying.
How long have you been taking Remeron? One thing about Remeron is that its nature changes with dose -- lower doses are more sedating, higher doses less so, and it may be that a lower dose will address your symptoms more effectively. Regardless, it's always better to give any antidepressant an adequate time to show whether it will be helpful or not. The rule was always six weeks at an adequate dose, but the STAR*D study showed that many time the response was at or after eight weeks, so maybe a longer trial is worthwhile.
Speaking of symptoms, depression is a complex disorder, and there are a lot of different symptoms that can come along with it. Which symptoms you have show which sub-type you have, and the different subtypes often respond to different medications. If you give an idea of what sorts of symptoms you have, and which are most bothersome, that might also help in suggesting possible medications for you.
It does sound as though you've been on the Medication Go Round for a while. Not fun. There is hope, though -- speaking as someone with chronic treatment resistant depression, I can say that there's hope for more helpful treatments.
Good luck.
poster:Racer
thread:806143
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20080105/msgs/806157.html