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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 16 of 16. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by anita on November 8, 2000, at 19:42:59
Hi,
I'd like to find out if people who had no response or a negative response to Prozac had a good response to any of the following meds:
Zoloft
Lamotrigine
Neurontin
Risperidone
ZyprexaConversely, I'd like to know if people who had a good response to Prozac had no response to the above meds.
Thanks very much for your input.
anita
Posted by Buffet on November 8, 2000, at 21:43:14
In reply to Poll regarding Prozac response and nonresponse, posted by anita on November 8, 2000, at 19:42:59
> Hi,
>
> I'd like to find out if people who had no response or a negative response to Prozac had a good response to any of the following meds:
>
> Zoloft
> Lamotrigine
> Neurontin
> Risperidone
> Zyprexa
>
> Conversely, I'd like to know if people who had a good response to Prozac had no response to the above meds.
>
> Thanks very much for your input.
>
> anita
I don't know if this helps but I had a great response to Prozac, but it pooped after 7 months. I had some help from zoloft, but it cause more side effects and pooped out after about 4 months. Prozac is superior IMHO because the long half life, and it seems to have better results.As far as the others, I can't help you. I do want to give neurontin a try very soon.
Posted by Julie on November 8, 2000, at 22:38:04
In reply to Re: Poll regarding Prozac response and nonresponse, posted by Buffet on November 8, 2000, at 21:43:14
I first tried Prozac, and it made me really, really jittery; since I was a nervous wreck anyway during my depression, I stopped it after 4 days. I had no response to Wellbutrin and partial response to Nortriptyline- so they added lithium to the mix. A year of Nortrypt. and lithium later, I tried another SSRI, Zoloft, and it worked very well. I sometimes wonder whether the Prozac would have worked if I'd stuck the nervousness out and waited a few weeks. It would have saved me a pretty ghastly year.
Posted by Andre Allard on November 8, 2000, at 23:54:47
In reply to Poll regarding Prozac response and nonresponse, posted by anita on November 8, 2000, at 19:42:59
In high dosages all the ssri's helped my depression but nothing like effexor did.
Lamictal did nothing
Little improvement on manerix
zyprexa worked well but I am not willing to gain any weight so I will just wait until zyprasidone becomes available
Posted by JohnL on November 9, 2000, at 3:39:03
In reply to Poll regarding Prozac response and nonresponse, posted by anita on November 8, 2000, at 19:42:59
> Hi,
>
> I'd like to find out if people who had no response or a negative response to Prozac had a good response to any of the following meds:
>
> Zoloft
> Lamotrigine
> Neurontin
> Risperidone
> Zyprexa
>
> Conversely, I'd like to know if people who had a good response to Prozac had no response to the above meds.
>
> Thanks very much for your input.
>
> anitaAnita,
I've had about a 50% good response to all the above including Prozac. The exception is Neurontin which is the only one I have not tried.In most clinical studies, not all, a 50% or more reduction of depression scores is commonly the benchmark utilized to determine whether a drug is successful or not. If that is the case, then all the above were helpful to me. The problem is that if someone has a 50% improvement, well, they're still depressed. Not as depressed, but still depressed. It also doesn't account for individual symptom clusters, such as anhedonia in my case, in which all the above drugs were failures.
So yes I had a good response to all the drugs listed, but not a complete response to any of them.
John
Posted by ChrisK on November 9, 2000, at 6:04:18
In reply to Poll regarding Prozac response and nonresponse, posted by anita on November 8, 2000, at 19:42:59
I had a minor response to Prozac but never reacted much to most SSRI's. My reaction to Zyprexa was mostly related to removing obsessive ruminating thoughts. It has helped me more than anything but it is definitely more of an adjunct to my primary AD (Nortriptyline).
I never reacted to Neurontin at all. Risperdol made my emotions go completely flat. I couldn't stay on it more than 2 weeks.
Hope this helps,
Chris
Posted by maribeth on November 9, 2000, at 8:49:44
In reply to Re: Poll regarding Prozac response and nonresponse, posted by ChrisK on November 9, 2000, at 6:04:18
> I had a minor response to Prozac but never reacted much to most SSRI's. My reaction to Zyprexa was mostly related to removing obsessive ruminating thoughts. It has helped me more than anything but it is definitely more of an adjunct to my primary AD (Nortriptyline).
>
> I never reacted to Neurontin at all. Risperdol made my emotions go completely flat. I couldn't stay on it more than 2 weeks.
>
> Hope this helps,
> Chris
My responses: Prozac: Good response, got even better with the addition of Ritalin six months later. Zyprexa: worked well, but I gained 30
pounds in six months. Risperidol: I slept for six weeks! Not really but it felt like it! I've never been on any of the others ( I am currently
on Effexor, Seroquel, and Topomax and doing very well. Hope this
helps. Maribeth
Posted by dove on November 9, 2000, at 11:32:19
In reply to Re: Poll regarding Prozac response and nonresponse, posted by Julie on November 8, 2000, at 22:38:04
>
>I'd like to find out if people who had no response or a negative response to Prozac had a good response to any of >the following meds:
>
>Zoloft
>Lamotrigine
>Neurontin
>Risperidone
>Zyprexa
>
>Conversely, I'd like to know if people who had a good response to Prozac had no response to the above meds.
>Mixed response to Prozac. It enabled me to get organized, to get out of the house, initially gave me increased energy and stamina, quieted a thought-cycle of fears, and soothed some anxieties.
It also caused suicidal ideation, hopelessness, an inability to talk, and an inability to communicate or even discern my own emotions. And as time passed, I was completely consumed by apathy and hopelessness and thoughts of death.
Note: Concurrently, I was taking Adderall, Amitriptyline, Wellbutrin, Serzone, and Prozac.
Neurontin: the only med I've tried on that list and it is helping considerably. The depressive aspect of my being is what I'm currently working on, as the winter holidays are nearly upon me.Neurontin hasn't had a noticeable effect on my anxiety, phobias, or panic attacks yet, but I'm still holding out hope...
Note: Concurrently, I am taking Adderall, Amitriptyline, Serzone, and Neurontin.
Prozac versus Neurontin for depression would result in the winner being Neurontin. If we were talking about organizational skills, memory enhancement, getting things done, the winner would be Prozac.
dove
Posted by shellie on November 11, 2000, at 18:55:07
In reply to Poll regarding Prozac response and nonresponse, posted by anita on November 8, 2000, at 19:42:59
No response to Prozac for five weeks, I think.> Zoloft: never tried
> Lamotrigine: good response but weight gain
> Neurontin: negative response
> Risperidone: negative response
> Zyprexa: never triedshellie
>
Posted by Shirley on November 14, 2000, at 20:34:29
In reply to Poll regarding Prozac response and nonresponse, posted by anita on November 8, 2000, at 19:42:59
Anita,
I seem to be doing the best on a combination of Zoloft and Prozac. I was trying to transition from Zoloft to Prozac and had gotten completely off of Zoloft. But 20mg Prozac was not enough even though every time I tried to increase it, I would have nasty side effects.
When I told my psychiatrist that I felt the best on a combination of the two, he agreed that I should go with that. He said that combination is unusal and he only has one other patient in that situation. But since I am not on a high dose of Zoloft or Prozac, he felt that chances of serotonin syndrome were not greater than if I was taking 100mg Zoloft, which is what I was previously on.
I almost have the dose right, just need to tinker a little more. Anyway, sorry to throw a wrench into your poll, heh, heh.
Good luck with your situation.
Shirley
Posted by anita on November 15, 2000, at 17:23:57
In reply to Poll regarding Prozac response and nonresponse, posted by anita on November 8, 2000, at 19:42:59
Hi all,
Thanks so much for responding to my poll. I asked about these meds because I am wondering if a lack of response or a poor response to Prozac might indicate that the other meds might be helpful. While Prozac does not downregulate 5HT2 receptors, the other drugs do (tho I'm not sure about Neurontin, and I should have added Serzone to the list). Given the conflicting studies on whether depressives have increased or decreased 5HT2 receptors, I think there may be two subsets of depression (among many other subsets), one with decreased 5HT2 function and one with increased function, which would respond (at least partially) to only one group of antidepressants.
So, theoretically, if Prozac did not work, or if it worked only partially, and you had increased 5HT2 receptors, the other meds listed could help alleviate your depression.
anita
> Hi,
>
> I'd like to find out if people who had no response or a negative response to Prozac had a good response to any of the following meds:
>
> Zoloft
> Lamotrigine
> Neurontin
> Risperidone
> Zyprexa
>
> Conversely, I'd like to know if people who had a good response to Prozac had no response to the above meds.
>
> Thanks very much for your input.
>
> anita
Posted by shellie on November 15, 2000, at 18:50:19
In reply to My poll and why I posted it, posted by anita on November 15, 2000, at 17:23:57
Anita, just curious. I responded well to lamictal (as an adjunct to nardil) but gained weight. I was switched to topomax with no positive effects on depression and profound sleepiness. (despite great optimism on my pdoc's part that lamictal's effect would be replicated by topomax). Is there a reason topomax was left out of your poll, i.e., does it not fit the category? Thanks, Shellie
Posted by anita on November 16, 2000, at 6:58:03
In reply to Re: My poll and why I posted it » anita, posted by shellie on November 15, 2000, at 18:50:19
Hi Shellie,
I didn't put Topamax on the list because I don't know much about it. I do know that there is supposed to be something "special" about Lamictal, cause it seems to help depression a lot more than the other anticonvulsants. I'm sorry it didn't work out for you.
anita
> Anita, just curious. I responded well to lamictal (as an adjunct to nardil) but gained weight. I was switched to topomax with no positive effects on depression and profound sleepiness. (despite great optimism on my pdoc's part that lamictal's effect would be replicated by topomax). Is there a reason topomax was left out of your poll, i.e., does it not fit the category? Thanks, Shellie
Posted by SLS on November 16, 2000, at 16:09:04
In reply to Re: My poll and why I posted it » anita, posted by shellie on November 15, 2000, at 18:50:19
Lamictal.
Just do it.
Love,
Scott
Posted by shellie on November 16, 2000, at 19:31:09
In reply to Re: My poll and why I posted it » shellie, posted by SLS on November 16, 2000, at 16:09:04
> Lamictal.
>
> Just do it.
>
>
> Love,
> ScottScott, you are so cute--been a long packed day, just came home to your message and it made me smile.
And you are probably right..
HOWEVER....Saturday I start pindolol with Nardil and double my thyroid meds. I have just searched the archives for 2000 and can only find one other person who tried a pindolol-MAOI combination, and she had to discontinue because of hypotension. I'm psyched.
I'm also experiencing a agitated depression which is better than a regular depression because I get more work done. My therapist says that I am talking twice as fast as usual and not finishing words, let alone sentences. Actually, it is probably evident from my psychobabble posts of the last few days, including this one.
Anyway, I am not manic, just have a few layers of anxiety over my depression because of Christmas deadlines.
If this fails, yes, perhaps I will just "do it".
Are you doing better? Certainly from what I skimmed tonight, your intellect and humor seem to be working at full capasity.
Until later, take care, Shellie
Posted by SLS on November 16, 2000, at 20:45:11
In reply to Re: My poll and why I posted it » SLS, posted by shellie on November 16, 2000, at 19:31:09
> Are you doing better? Certainly from what I skimmed tonight, your intellect and humor seem to be working at full capasity.
Dear Shellie,At the risk of sounding like a braggart or otherwise pretentious, I am currently working at about 20% of my capacity as I can realistically judge relative to my brief periods of euthymia. Shellie, my 100% would scare the shit out of you. It does me. As best as I can recall, Life is wonderful.
Crap. I know I'm going to catch some heat for this one.
As far as humor is concerned, I am currently working at 110% of my capacity.
:-)
> Until later, take care, Shellie
Bon soir, mon ami.
- Scott
This is the end of the thread.
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