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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 6 of 6. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by mikes on April 22, 2001, at 20:26:38
I am asking this question with regards to chronic depression, preferably either atypical or dysthymic. Are you happier? More optimistic? Less irritable and anxious? Is it significantly easier to get up in the mornings? Do you have more motivation and energy? And if you do feel these things, for what portion of the week do you feel them (x/7 days)?
Posted by JahL on April 22, 2001, at 20:54:17
In reply to what does it feel like for an ssri to work?, posted by mikes on April 22, 2001, at 20:26:38
> > I am asking this question with regards to chronic depression, preferably either atypical or dysthymic. Are you happier? More optimistic? Less irritable and anxious? Is it significantly easier to get up in the mornings? Do you have more motivation and energy? And if you do feel these things, for what portion of the week do you feel them (x/7 days)?
I felt normal, contented, 4 the 1st time in my life. It may sound a little dramatic but I suddenly understood what it was to be human. Motivation & sociability were no longer an issue & everyday activties became pleasurable & no longer a chore.
J.
Posted by Kathy99 on April 23, 2001, at 12:32:47
In reply to Re: what does it feel like for an ssri to work? » mikes, posted by JahL on April 22, 2001, at 20:54:17
I have experienced a sense of well-being and ease. I find pleasure in life's experiences, rather than troubles. The cup is half-full, instead of half-empty. I can successfully meet more challenges, and with less fear.
Posted by JohnL on April 24, 2001, at 4:50:46
In reply to what does it feel like for an ssri to work?, posted by mikes on April 22, 2001, at 20:26:38
> I am asking this question with regards to chronic depression, preferably either atypical or dysthymic. Are you happier? More optimistic? Less irritable and anxious? Is it significantly easier to get up in the mornings? Do you have more motivation and energy? And if you do feel these things, for what portion of the week do you feel them (x/7 days)?
When an SSRI or any other med works you just feel, well, normal. Not high, not unusually good or bad, but simply normal. Happier, more optimistic, less anxious, improved sleeping and eating patterns, normal motivation and energy. Of course, for someone who has been suffering dysthymia for a long time, simply feeling normal can feel like winning the lottery. It's a wonderful feeling to just be normal.
When a med does work, it will or should do it day after day. If there are days it doesn't work, or if feeling normal is not achieved, then the med is probably not targeting the real chemical/molecular problem underlying the symptoms.
More often than not it seems to me that most people who suffer from chronic depression or dysthymia respond more completely with a dopamine drug rather than a serotonin drug. Both together is often better than either alone.
For a complete response, adding Zyprexa to ongoing SSRI is a good option. Others include Risperdal, Amisulpride, Ritalin, Adderall. In your shoes I would focus on finding my favorite SSRI, and then add to it one of the drugs I mentioned. Two weeks is plenty of time for one of them to show considerable promise. If one of them doesn't within two weeks, then switch to another and give it two weeks. With the dopamine drugs, long torturous 6 or 8 week trials are not often needed. When one works, it is not uncommon to see it start to do so within days or a couple weeks. In short, anecdotal evidence might suggest that SSRIs alone are often not completely effective for dysthymias, and sometimes even make things worse by causing a numbing or mentally anesthetic effect. The addition of a dopamine drug could be considered for a fuller sustained response.
John
Posted by PaulB on April 24, 2001, at 7:10:35
In reply to Re: what does it feel like for an ssri to work?, posted by JohnL on April 24, 2001, at 4:50:46
> > I am asking this question with regards to chronic depression, preferably either atypical or dysthymic. Are you happier? More optimistic? Less irritable and anxious? Is it significantly easier to get up in the mornings? Do you have more motivation and energy? And if you do feel these things, for what portion of the week do you feel them (x/7 days)?
>
> When an SSRI or any other med works you just feel, well, normal. Not high, not unusually good or bad, but simply normal. Happier, more optimistic, less anxious, improved sleeping and eating patterns, normal motivation and energy. Of course, for someone who has been suffering dysthymia for a long time, simply feeling normal can feel like winning the lottery. It's a wonderful feeling to just be normal.
>
> When a med does work, it will or should do it day after day. If there are days it doesn't work, or if feeling normal is not achieved, then the med is probably not targeting the real chemical/molecular problem underlying the symptoms.
>
> More often than not it seems to me that most people who suffer from chronic depression or dysthymia respond more completely with a dopamine drug rather than a serotonin drug. Both together is often better than either alone.
>
> For a complete response, adding Zyprexa to ongoing SSRI is a good option. Others include Risperdal, Amisulpride, Ritalin, Adderall. In your shoes I would focus on finding my favorite SSRI, and then add to it one of the drugs I mentioned. Two weeks is plenty of time for one of them to show considerable promise. If one of them doesn't within two weeks, then switch to another and give it two weeks. With the dopamine drugs, long torturous 6 or 8 week trials are not often needed. When one works, it is not uncommon to see it start to do so within days or a couple weeks. In short, anecdotal evidence might suggest that SSRIs alone are often not completely effective for dysthymias, and sometimes even make things worse by causing a numbing or mentally anesthetic effect. The addition of a dopamine drug could be considered for a fuller sustained response.
> JohnIve taken Paroxetine and Velafaxine. I took the Paroxetine for social anxiety disorder. The Paroxetine started to have an effect after about two weeks. I didnt feel self-concious walking down the street. Then I woke up after 4 weeks and I just felt different. I was in a cafe that morning and my hands were shaking and everyone was looking but I just knew the Paroxetine was working and id didnt seem to matter. Thereafter, for 6 months it changed my personality. I guess, on occassions I became hyper, over-confident and then the effect just seemed to wane. These SSRI's are very potent drugs because they powerfully inhibit the reuptake of just a few of the serotonin receptors in the brain i.e 5-HT1a, 5-HTc,. However I would also say that it caused me to become v-depressed while I was takin it. I think it had a inhibitory effect on the catechoamines in my brain. Effexor taught me that these chemical play a significant part in my depression and seroternergic drugs help with my anxiety.
Paulb
Posted by mikes on April 24, 2001, at 11:56:57
In reply to Re: what does it feel like for an ssri to work?, posted by JohnL on April 24, 2001, at 4:50:46
My condition is definitely serotonergic...however I do find that GHB helps a great deal with motivation and energy.
> > I am asking this question with regards to chronic depression, preferably either atypical or dysthymic. Are you happier? More optimistic? Less irritable and anxious? Is it significantly easier to get up in the mornings? Do you have more motivation and energy? And if you do feel these things, for what portion of the week do you feel them (x/7 days)?
>
> When an SSRI or any other med works you just feel, well, normal. Not high, not unusually good or bad, but simply normal. Happier, more optimistic, less anxious, improved sleeping and eating patterns, normal motivation and energy. Of course, for someone who has been suffering dysthymia for a long time, simply feeling normal can feel like winning the lottery. It's a wonderful feeling to just be normal.
>
> When a med does work, it will or should do it day after day. If there are days it doesn't work, or if feeling normal is not achieved, then the med is probably not targeting the real chemical/molecular problem underlying the symptoms.
>
> More often than not it seems to me that most people who suffer from chronic depression or dysthymia respond more completely with a dopamine drug rather than a serotonin drug. Both together is often better than either alone.
>
> For a complete response, adding Zyprexa to ongoing SSRI is a good option. Others include Risperdal, Amisulpride, Ritalin, Adderall. In your shoes I would focus on finding my favorite SSRI, and then add to it one of the drugs I mentioned. Two weeks is plenty of time for one of them to show considerable promise. If one of them doesn't within two weeks, then switch to another and give it two weeks. With the dopamine drugs, long torturous 6 or 8 week trials are not often needed. When one works, it is not uncommon to see it start to do so within days or a couple weeks. In short, anecdotal evidence might suggest that SSRIs alone are often not completely effective for dysthymias, and sometimes even make things worse by causing a numbing or mentally anesthetic effect. The addition of a dopamine drug could be considered for a fuller sustained response.
> John
This is the end of the thread.
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