Posted by novelagent on March 22, 2012, at 12:01:15
In reply to Re: any namenda/memantine experiences? » novelagent, posted by SLS on March 11, 2012, at 13:47:32
I think depression sounds more like it's a sign of toxicity than it is a general side effect. When I took Aricept, it made me, if anything, a tad manic (and I'm not bipolar)-- quick thoughts, only in a useful way (as opposed to racing thoughts, they were just quick thoughts-- in my writing, in my speaking during presentations-- words seemed more fluid. I believe this is related to its effect on verbal fluency.
However, I did get dysphoric at times, but only for a few hours-- it was definitely related to the fact Aricept potentiated my Desoxyn, and when I take anything above the therapeutic threshold of Desoxyn, I get dysphoric-- so if I took less Desoxyn, the dysphoria went away. It made me more sensitive to my desoxyn, so it requires a lowering of a stimulant if it's taken together (along with at least halving the dose of Aricept-- 10mg of Aricept would have made me nuts).
The problem with cholinergic drugs is, at least with Aricept, anyway, is that it made me incredibly anxious. This might be because I was combining it with Desoxyn. I was also taking klonopin, so I was fine, but I would not take it without klonopin. I'm presently poor, so I see a crappy resident who thinks klonopin is like heroin.
I've noticed now that I'm poor, docs like to suddenly bestow their wisdom on the dangers of benzodiazepines on me. When I paid them $300 for 5 minute appointments, they thought anxiety deserved to get treated...
anyhow, back to your point: cholinergic drugs aren't depressing; in schizophrenia trials, it's common for patients to ask for them to be continued at the end of the trial, as a result of their mood-brightening effect. I don't know of the rate of depression or dysphoria on them, but my guess is it's dose-dependent, like I said earlier.
> > try galantamine with 1gram of CDP Choline twice a day. In clinical trials for schizophrenia, this combo was effective as a cognitive enhancer-- which has failed as monotherapy in the past.
>
> That's interesting. Thanks for the information.
>
> It seems that galantamine enhances dopamine release in the VTA via nicotinic receptor potentiation. This effect is separate from its ACh cholinesterase inhibition. The nicotinic receptor effects occur at a lower dosage than enzyme inhibition. Perhaps lower dosages will prove sufficient to treat depression. This is good because cholinesterase inhibitors can be depressogenic. Less might be more.
>
>
> - Scott
poster:novelagent
thread:1012702
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20120316/msgs/1013623.html