Posted by AlexCanada on October 19, 2012, at 22:17:11
In reply to Re: This is a bit frightening. Alert but not awake. » SLS, posted by SLS on October 19, 2012, at 9:04:48
today when i woke up around noon i felt quite terrible. and i had some intense fear regarding a certain person who was causing me stress. that issue is dealt with but the stress and rapid heartbeat would still continue. I still felt the weird dissassociated feeling from the day before but it is subsiding a little bit as the day goes on. also as the day goes on i feel less intelligent. i was able to have some remarkable thinking and deductive reasoning this morning. Memantine certainly has that one benefit but it really does make me feel more depressed. the small minor interest i'd have which would be enough to push myself to at least do a little something would be gone.
my diagnosis: treatment resistent melancholic depression, some general anxiety (usually not too severe), antero grade memory loss (difficulty retaining new information.
I don't have ADHD.
I often feel cognitively impaired, dull, cloudy, poor drive/motivation/interest and usually very poor ability to enjoy anything, feel bit dysphoric, unable to relate to normal people, very poor long term memory, fairly poor short term memory, low energy.
Parnate I tried and it worked remarkably well the first year (but especially the first month). Beyond that it continued to work but at less effectiveness. Eventually after 2 years it would lose much of its benefit. Despite the benefits of Parnate I would still often have trouble enjoying things, interest would be mild but better than nothing. Higher doses just made me too tired and cognitively impaired.
Ritalin and dexedrine have worked remarkably well for me in the past. Dexedrine when i tried it many years ago was the first time I actually felt that I was returning to my old self again, i had interest, drive, motivation, was full of life, passion, i felt normal, i felt alive rather than like some zombie. both rit and dex have built much tolerance but still ritalin usually helps to some degree yet I cannot be entirely sure if I perhaps possibly may be better without it in the long term due to it's dopamine down-regulation. It helps very very little now compared to years ago.
Nardil did not work well for me. But it was generic brand. Lamictal made me feel extremely stupid and impaired. Abilify would rapidly make me feel worse. Difficult to remember but I believe it gave me intense anxiety. Wellbutrin did not work for me. Lamictal did give me a tiny bit of interest but the extreme cognitive effects were too much to bare.
Aricept I have not tried yet but I will make a note of it. I've read about it before but don't recall the details.
I have only modest confidence in my doctor but most doctors give up on me anyway. He is one of those who feels I should more naturally go out and do things but I cannot get through to him that I cannot just snap my fingers and force myself into routines. Some days being productive comes more naturally and I have no control over it. I lack a spark. The desire to do things. My doctor is often open to me suggesting new things but sometimes is stubborn.
Gabapentin I may ramp up. It has tolerance issues and withdrawal causes some strong anxiety but I'm really tired of throwing so many months away. This year has been the worst in many.
I really need some relief.
I was going to try Savella/Ixel but like many promising medications I cannot get it in Canada and Canada's government has put new laws in place which keep medications stuck at the border. I have less options available to me thanks to those corrupt politicians.
> Hi Alex.
>
> I don't have any immediate answers for you.
>
> What is your diagnosis?
>
> Have you been screened for ADHD?
>
> How would you describe your depression?
>
> Have you tried stimulants (amphetamine or methylphenidate)?
>
> Have you ever tried a MAOI (Parnate or Nardil)?
>
> What other drugs have you tried and what were the results?
>
> A dopaminergic cocktail could include Lamictal, Abilify, Wellbutrin, and methylphenidate. I know that the use of Lamictal and Abilify seem counterintuitive at first, but they do support dopamine function, albeit via different mechanisms.
>
> Some people gain a great deal of cognitive improvement using Aricept, a drug used for treating Dementia Alzheimer's Type (DAT). My only concern with that drug is that depression is a theoretical side effect. Still, some people do quite well with it. In fact, one person I now had a very robust antidepressant effect with Aricept.
>
> Are you confident in your doctor?
>
>
> - Scott
poster:AlexCanada
thread:1029101
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20121018/msgs/1029189.html