Posted by ggggg123 on October 31, 2010, at 11:06:06
In reply to Re: To Cheryl-Lynne Anhedonia, posted by Conundrum on October 30, 2010, at 15:19:53
I think remeron is a good drug when combined with other ad's, but not as a sole agent. I think as many of its ad properties consist of antagonism that synergistic use is the best policy. I have tried very briefly combining with venlafaxine, but i did'nt like the side effects of taking venlafaxine as it was making me feel sick, so I did'nt stick with it, although I know it is suppose to be very effective and they call it Californian rocket fuel, once the side effects have passed it could be a good combo. My theory on anhedonia is that norepinephrine and dopamine downregulaton must play a big part, i think to see any benefit one would have to take drugs to raise these for many many months to try and reverse the years of downregulations by the ssri, the tcas could be a good bet, exercise could also be very helpful, I'm pretty sure that once proper norep and dop functioning is restored one would feel normal again, although it could be a long process, I am definately feeling better taking the bromocriptine, but its not very strong, as I'm only taking low dose, so the effects are'nt amazing, but the only drugs I believe that could fully relieve the symptoms of anhedonia would be illegal and unsustainable, this is why it is inevitably a long process and all we can do is find other drugs which can provide a helping hand. Personally it annoys me that doctors dish out ssri's for any kind of mental disturbance, when everybodys depression is so unique, maybe if they understood mental health better then we would'nt be put in this mess!
I think the nortryptiline could be a good idea, I am also thinking about trying a noradrenergic tca, but I am unsure about the anticholinergic side effects and whether they would subside. Personally I don't think serotonin deficiency is the cause of depresson, it certainly was'nt the cause of mine, straight away I suffered side effects from citalopram, which included sexual dysfunction and blunted emotions, when a diabetic takes insuline they normally experience no side effects!!! now that is replacing a deficiency, now ssri's seem to produce side effects at even low dose, which would indicate a rise beyond normal levels. If you ask me, if you experience any side effects on an ad, which makes you feel very abnormal and are representative of a change in neurotransmitter level, such as apathy, anxiety, sexual dysfunction, loss of energy/motivation and the side effects persist then I would say to anybody that the ad is not for you and to find another rather than putting up with it for years and letting our doctors fool us into thinking its doing us some good.
I think recovering from anhedonia is one of lifes big challenges as it trys to prevent you from doing the things that will aid recovery.
poster:ggggg123
thread:10100
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20101030/msgs/967786.html