Posted by Tomatheus on August 7, 2012, at 23:56:19
In reply to ketamine infusion reults, posted by johnLA on August 7, 2012, at 22:38:33
JohnLA,
I'm sorry to hear that the results of your ketamine infusion weren't very positive. I would certainly recommend giving some of the medications that you haven't tried yet a chance, in combination with psychotherapy if at all possible. Have you tried Wellbutrin? If you haven't, I would probably recommend trialing it before moving on to the TCAs and MAOIs. Cymbalta is also an option, although I think that its chances of working aren't very good considering that you haven't noticed any positive results from Effexor or the SSRIs.
At this point, it sounds like you have some medication options that you haven't explored, so I would explore those options and also look into psychotherapy. If medications and therapy don't produce satisfactory results, there are always alternative treatments to consider, including St. John's Wort, SAM-e, fish oil, and others. Some dietary supplements can be used with medications, but some of them interact with medications, so as with all treatments, it's best to be cautious with alternative treatments.
Well, that basically sums up my thoughts on what your treatment options seem to be from my perspective. I wish that I can say from experience that a particular treatment is helpful, but nothing's really helped my depressive symptoms in the long run, so in some ways we may be in similar boats, so to speak. But I would certainly try to exhaust every option that you have available to see if you might land on something that will produce at least some positive results. Also, if you haven't already done so, maybe consider getting your thyroid tested, since the symptoms of thyroid disorders tend to mimic the symptoms of psychiatric disorders.
I hope this helps a little, and I wish you luck.
Tomatheus
Dx: schizoaffective disorder
Treatments: Abilify, 5 supplements, & counseling
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