Posted by bleauberry on September 2, 2011, at 17:43:06
In reply to med help/suggestions/advice/does it get better?, posted by JohnLA on September 2, 2011, at 0:57:07
I totally understand your situation and I'm sure everyone here can relate to it. You aren't alone in what is happening to you.
I'm not a fan of remeron except as a sleep med. It has a flawed journey all the way from its invention to now. Effexor....I can understand your reluctance because yes it usually has nasty withdrawals if it doesn't work, can sometimes make you worse, could certainly cause more apathy. On the bright side, it combines well with remeron....not always but often enough to at least give it a look. Being sensitive you would probably want to go with the immediate release version so you can customize your doses throughout the day. You don't need extended release and in fact the lowest dose of that version might be too much for a sensitive person. Since the other meds....cymbata, celexa, and even ect....didn't work, effexor doesn't really have a whole lot more to offer than those had.
Here's something interesting for you to ponder. I too had failed ECT, bilateral, and I had been through a backpack of failed meds prior to that, hospitalization, everything. Well, guess what actually did work after all that?.....milnacipran (savella). I'm not making any judgements here, just saying it the way it is and I cannot offer an explanation. I've also tried other meds since then and there are only a few I find helpful....
Ritalin
Milnacipran
Amisulpride
VicadinIt's hard to draw conclusions, but hey, you and I have some stuff in common.
Here's what I think would be your best strategy....
Do some probing and experimenting to narrow in on which chemistry is mostly involved with you.For example, to rule in or rule out serotronin, you need to try some ultra low dose 5htp and then tryptophan. If they feel bad or don't do anything, that's cool, now you just ruled out a whole bunch of meds that involve heavy serotonin action including effexor. Moving on, now we want to try DLPA and then tyrosine....trying to see if the norepinephrine/dopamine circuits are involved. You'll either experience good, bad, or nothing. Either way, it tell you a lot. Next on to the most overlooked of them all....the endorphins. You will want to try at least one day of Vicadin. That single day will tell you what you need to know, no matter how it goes.
Ok now fast forward into the future and you've done some probing and experimenting. Now you have some clues to better pinpoint your choices of meds and/or supplements and/or herbs. For example if you had a great response to Vicadin but not the others, then you can pretty much toss out all the psychiatric meds and instead go straight to the herb Rhodiola Rosea.
Actually now that I mention it, no matter what circuit is involved, Rhodiola is a strong candidate. So there's my advice for whatever it is worth....try Rhodiola before you go to the pdoc for a prescription. At the very least, try some stuff as if you were a detective so that when you do go to the pdoc you can be very specific about what you want and why. There are still no guarantees, but at least you have increased your chances of success greatly. It makes more sense to me than shooting while blindfolded.
What's one of the top symptoms of Lyme disease? Depression. Sometimes without any other common lyme symptoms. That can also be ruled in or ruled out with some simple anti-lyme herbs. Or antimicrobial herbs to rule in or rule out any kind of pathogenic organism as the cause of your brain turmoil. A common diagnosis goes like this....feel better than in a long time within a short time after starting, but then quickly deteriorate into worse than before. That is diagnostic.
Just some stuff to think about. The more clues we can gather, the better our chances in the pdoc office to make a right choice.
Ok so let's say you and I are standing outside the pdoc's door and he is about to call you in. You ask me if you should ask for effexor. My answer would be no, ask for milnacipran instead.
But everything else I've said here is more important than that. Just wanted to put my thoughts clearly on the table.
poster:bleauberry
thread:995585
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20110902/msgs/995636.html