Posted by Jamal Spelling on March 4, 2008, at 7:41:29
In reply to Which is the *Best*?, posted by tensor on March 4, 2008, at 7:19:12
I expressed an interest to my doctor to augment Cymbalta with a low dose of an AP. These were the options we discussed:
(i) flupenthixol (Fluanxol): a typical AP, it carries the risk of TD. It has motivating properties.
(ii) olanzapine (Zyprexa): very effective, but too expensive and weight gain is going to be a problem w.r.t. diabetes and hypertension.
(iii) amisulpride (Solian): an atypical AP, it is, like flupenthixol, motivating. However, she says there are cardiovascular concerns, so I would have to go for regular ECGs.
(iv) quetiapine (Seroquel): for the treatment of depression, this is currently her favourite. It is atypical, and has a reasonable risk profile. The main problem is that many find it sedating, and reading some posts on Psycho-Babble, I see many also complain that it flattens their mood.
As for an AP with a benign side-effect profile, it does - unfortunately - not exist. APs are amongst the big guns of psychiatry, and they all have their own problems. At the low doses that one would use for depression, side-effects are less likely and less severe, but they still exist. Nature did not intend for dopamine receptors to be blockaded.
poster:Jamal Spelling
thread:816086
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20080303/msgs/816088.html