Posted by Racer on January 31, 2008, at 10:43:38
In reply to Re: no luck with Emsam... what next?, posted by PsychJ on January 31, 2008, at 6:19:13
> >
> As far as I can remember, Zoloft, BuSpar, and Effexor made me tired, without any benefits at all, and the fatigue didn't improve over time. I had a bad reaction to Celexa, I was extremely anxious, jumpy, and kind of obsessive about things. When I took Cymbalta I actually felt really well for the first couple weeks, but after that it just didn't do anything at all (at least it didn't make me tired).
>Aha! So the drugs *did* do something! Just -- uh -- not *quite* what you had in mind...
BuSpar is an anxiolytic, so it's not too surprising that it made you "tired." (Question: tired? Or apathetic, lethargic, amotivated, any of those sorts of things? Did they affect your sleep, or only your wakefulness?)
Based on what you had to say about the antidepressants you've tried, I would first recommend trying one of the TCAs -- and I'd suggest desipramine as a first one, since it's got fewer side effects for most people. Other options that come to mind are Remeron or Wellbutrin -- they're different from the other medications you've tried, and while both have side effects, many people seem to tolerate them better than the old TCAs.
On the other hand, the TCAs are often pretty robust medications, and many have a known therapeutic window which can be monitored by blood levels. That's kinda nice, because if you don't respond, your doctor might find out it's because you need three times the dose he anticipated. It may be worth trying one or two.
Hope that helps, good luck!
poster:Racer
thread:809787
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20080124/msgs/809892.html