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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 14 of 14. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Laney on June 10, 2010, at 10:16:22
I was trying to follow the advice from Dr. Gillman on combing sertraline and nortriptyline. But.... my own P-doc wants me to cut out the sertraline and only be on the Nort. How likely is Nort going to work on itself for depression and if it does work, how long is would it take before I see results. By the way, I'm still on 10mg. paxil. I've been on the Nort. for only 3 days and the only difference is anxiety in the a.m. which I take one 1/2mg. clonazepam for and have for like 16 years. Same dose the whole time. This is all confusing and disheartening at the same time. I just want something to work! Oh and by the way, I'm on 25mg. Nort. and on 50mg. of Sert. but like I said he wants me to stop the Sert.
Thanks,
Laney
Posted by Phillipa on June 10, 2010, at 10:45:41
In reply to Opinions on new med combo?, posted by Laney on June 10, 2010, at 10:16:22
Laney isn't it something when an old med seems to have a "hold" on your body? Same as my luvox. So the nort is causing increased anxiety for you? Zoloft is the sert right? Has he thought lexapro? Heard good things about that. The klonopin is a low dose. Could the nort not be the right med for you? Does you doc want you on the nort now. Wasn't he against it at first? Phillipa
Posted by Laney on June 10, 2010, at 10:58:16
In reply to Re: Opinions on new med combo? » Laney, posted by Phillipa on June 10, 2010, at 10:45:41
P- I'm with a different doctor. The one that I asked for Nort. to begin with didn't respond to my calls so I continued with a doc I had seen before. I'll have to stick with this one. I could show him the information on Gillman's site and see what he thinks but I don't know if it's too soon to see if the Nort is going to work. The sert (zoloft) didn't seem to do a thing. In fact I think it made it worse (depression). I have good days and bad.
Thanks for listening.
Laney
Posted by Laney on June 11, 2010, at 9:28:48
In reply to Re: Opinions on new med combo?, posted by Laney on June 10, 2010, at 10:58:16
Anyone care to give advice/comment?
Thanks,
Laney
Posted by europerep on June 12, 2010, at 6:38:32
In reply to Scott, Link, BB anyone- Opinions on new med combo?, posted by Laney on June 11, 2010, at 9:28:48
one thing I was just gonna say, and I cannot personally say whether this applies to you, but...
I've seen you opened quite a lot of threads where you ask for opinions and advice on med combos, sometimes only days apart - and don't get me wrong here, I am not at all criticizing this fact, but there are some people out there - like me - who constantly worry about how their meds are doing today, as opposed to yesterday, etc., and that is probably a bad thing to do..
when starting a TCA you have to wait for some time, for some it starts to work quickly for others it takes two weeks or more.. try to be patient and not judge a drug by its first days.. I know it's tough, but don't rob yourself of positive effects it might have later on.. also, everyone is different, and it's right to seek advice for the next drug trial, but once you chose a med or a combo, stick with it, believe in it, and start rethinking only when it definitely proved to not work for you..
Posted by Laney on June 12, 2010, at 12:00:37
In reply to Re: Scott, Link, BB anyone- Opinions on new med combo?, posted by europerep on June 12, 2010, at 6:38:32
Thanks Europrep,
Your probably right. I've just never been in this situation in my life. Just the past 1-2 years now. It's no fun to feel depressed and I'm just looking for answers. When I read too much on here, I get freaked out and wonder if I'll never find an answer. So six days in and nothing so I'll wait. That's all I can do.
Thanks for caring enough to reply.Laney
Posted by Laney on June 12, 2010, at 12:49:27
In reply to Re: Scott, Link, BB anyone- Opinions on new med combo?, posted by Laney on June 12, 2010, at 12:00:37
One more thing Europrep,
I've given these meds a chance. I've tried Prozac, Wellbutrin, Lamictal, and Sertraline along with my 10mg. paxil and feel I've given them my best shot so it's not like I'm trying to sabotage myself. Giving Sertraline the longest try of all of them. Wellbutrin and Lamictal about 2-3 wks each.
Laney
Posted by europerep on June 12, 2010, at 14:34:27
In reply to Scott, Link, BB? Opinions on new med combo?, posted by Laney on June 12, 2010, at 12:49:27
hey,
didn't mean to discredit you in any way, or to say that you didn't give your previous meds a try, I was just thinking of notriptyline which take some two weeks, or possibly even longer, to start working.. but, even if it's hard, try to stay on it for longer, four to six weeks, or eight if possible.. because then you can be sure about whether it helps or not. otherwise, you might at some point start wondering whether you gave those meds sufficient time to work, and then you'll start all over again, and that'll take more time than to give 'em each one, thorough try, you know?I know how, at the beginning, when you start seeing all the info on the internet, you feel compelled to read and read and read, and that's good, just try not to identify yourself too quickly with some members here who have been searching for answers for years.. you still have a statistically reasonable chance to find a good drug soon - kind of like I have, but I tend to forget it too, so no criticism here..
Posted by Phillipa on June 12, 2010, at 20:41:37
In reply to Re: Scott, Link, BB? Opinions on new med combo?, posted by europerep on June 12, 2010, at 14:34:27
Laney I do agree with Eurorep. Remember the conversation we had? BTW how long did it take for the paxil to work did you jouranal? I did and when on it my first ad took three months as that's when I stopped writing so figured all was okay. Phillipa
Posted by Phillipa on June 12, 2010, at 20:42:46
In reply to Re: Scott, Link, BB anyone- Opinions on new med combo?, posted by europerep on June 12, 2010, at 6:38:32
Sorry spelled your name wrong:(
Posted by Laney on June 13, 2010, at 10:55:27
In reply to Re: Scott, Link, BB anyone- Opinions on new med combo? » europerep, posted by Phillipa on June 12, 2010, at 20:42:46
Phillipa,
You asked how long it took paxil to work for me. Well, first of all I didn't take it for depression. I took it for some physical symptoms that were most likely anxiety. Head pressure/squeezing, etc. The doc put me on paxil and it took it away quickly. I mean I don't remember it taking long at all. It was only when I tried to come off of the paxil that I had depressive symptoms. But... everytime I went back to my regular dose of 20mg. everything was fine again. I just wanted to try to see if I could live without it. Well, now I wish I wouldn't have even tried because the last time I tried a taper and failed and went back to my regular amount, it didn't want to work again and I was stuck with depression. I've been trying to get better ever since. This September will be two years since going back up on paxil after a failed taper.
I tried naturall stuff for quite some time and none of it worked so just this past December/January is when I contacted a doc to try a new med.
So really I've only been at this for about 5-6 months and have tried Prozac for a few weeks, then lamictal, then Wellbutrin, then Zoloft which is what I've been on the longest. Almost two months I guess with it doing nothing really.
So a week ago I added Notriptyline to the mix and nothing yet.
Sorry about my rambling. Thanks for caring.
Love,
Laney
Posted by europerep on June 13, 2010, at 11:48:14
In reply to Re: Scott, Link, BB anyone- Opinions on new med combo? » europerep, posted by Phillipa on June 12, 2010, at 20:42:46
> Sorry spelled your name wrong:(
haha, don't worry, I thought you shortened it because it's a little weird to pronounce, like euro-prep.. I just chose it because I wanted to post urgently, and I was thinking "what do I identify with?" and that was the first thing that came up in my mind.. but now I kinda like it haha :)
Posted by Phillipa on June 13, 2010, at 19:30:20
In reply to Re: Scott, Link, BB anyone- Opinions on new med combo?, posted by Laney on June 13, 2010, at 10:55:27
Laney that is really a fast reaction to a med from what I read and experienced other than benzos but different type of med. So original dose wasn't 10mg the standard 20mg. Do you remember what caused it an event or just nothing? Yes also it's shame you went off it. I also went off the 10mg after about two years and was fine til the doc changed my med to another. I remember prozac being positive for me day l lots of energy, day 2 anxiety, day 3 sheer panic so stopped it. This was while only on benzos for anxiety and would barely take any. So the pdoc thought this was dramatic wanted me to take every three days refused. Who knows it might have worked? Phillipa
Posted by ed_uk2010 on June 14, 2010, at 15:41:23
In reply to Re: Scott, Link, BB anyone- Opinions on new med combo?, posted by Laney on June 12, 2010, at 12:00:37
Hi Laney,
If sertraline (Zoloft) isn't helping, I don't think there's any reason why you should continue to take it.
Personally, I found it easy to stop paroxetine (Paxil) after switching to fluoxetine (Prozac). Have you tried this? Fluoxetine was not difficult to stop.
This is the end of the thread.
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