Posted by bulldog2 on December 30, 2008, at 9:15:41
In reply to Theraputic med cycing, posted by linkadge on December 27, 2008, at 21:31:46
> Hi, I've noticed that there are a number of people who seem to survive depression through a regiment of medication cycling.
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> Many doctors seem to stray away from this idea instead looking for a single medication that is going to continuously treat symptoms.
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> When I say med cycling, I mean a handful of medications (maybe 5 or so) that have theraputic effect for a limited amount of time which can be peridocially interchanged to maintain a euthemic state. It could also mean medication pulsing, or taking medications on an as needed basis.
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> I think there may be some biochemcial basis for why this seems to work for some people. Perhaps different medications activate or supress different neural cicutry which may or may not be needed at a given time.
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> Perhaps interhcanging two antidepressants with different mechanisms of action can prevent tollerance to either agent.
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> Perhaps different neurotransmitter systems promote different forms of neuronal placiticty which are needed at different times.
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> For instance, certain SSRI's beneift me for a period of about 2-3 weeks after which apathy sets in. At this point I can reduce the SSRI dose and augment with atomoxatine or methyphenidate. After this, I might switch back to the SSRI alone with a full benefit. At some point I might switch to a third medication and then back to the original.
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> Not that I am encouraging self medication or the like, but has anybody found that sometimes they only feel well when they are able to systematically transition between certain medications.
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>I currently use neurontin 2-3 times a week for depression and anxiety. During vacation used every day without loss of efficacy. This way I can use it this way indefinitely without loss of efficacy. I think knowing I can look forward to three good days a week helps me out on the other days.
poster:bulldog2
thread:871100
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20081223/msgs/871400.html