Posted by merpmerp on January 15, 2011, at 13:57:50
So I haven't talked about this with anyone yet, but for the last 2 weeks I've been playing around with an even lower dose of Lexapro - about 1.25 mg. (It's hard to get it right because the pill starts to crumble.) With this I've been taking 500 mg tyrosine 30 min before breakfast and another 500 mg 30 min before lunch. My tyrosine also has Vitamin B6 in it which is supposed to help it be absorbed? I guess.
The result has been quite good. My cognitive functions have returned. I have interest in things again and interest in life again. I have no nasty ideation, either of the intrusive or non-intrusive type.
It's wonderful to feel the color come back into life and feel curious about things again.
There are some downsides. I do get more anxious than I did on higher doses of Lexapro. I'm combating this with exercise and cognitive behavioral exercises. I do think that I am less anxious than I would be without the med - i.e., I think that it is having an effect even at such a low dose.
I also have been having trouble sleeping. Not a lot of trouble, but a little bit of trouble, which is leaving me slightly tired. I may have to cut back on my caffeine intake... sadness. :'(
The tyrosine bottle says to take only 1 caplet a day (500 mg total) but from reading research online, I saw that doses of around 6000 mg/day have been tested and shown to have good effects, so I feel safe taking 1000 mg/day. I did try taking 1500 mg/day but it left me feeling weird. Headachy, spacey and kind of hot all over. I'm not sure if that was the tyrosine or the Vitamin B6 that's in it, but I won't be doing that again.
Anyway, I just wanted to let people know how this combo was working out for me. So far, so good!
Diagnosis: recurrent melancholic depression
Meds: Lexapro since Sept. 2009
poster:merpmerp
thread:976873
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20110115/msgs/976873.html