Psycho-Babble Medication Thread 56006

Shown: posts 1 to 15 of 15. This is the beginning of the thread.

 

Please help! latest... adrafinil trial

Posted by JonW on March 9, 2001, at 11:28:58

Hi...

This board has been a great resource, and I'm now at a point where some input from those more knowledgable than me could prove to be invaluable. In any case, any help from *anyone* is greatly appreciated.

I have social phobia and/or atypical depression and have had it my entire life. My most prominent symptoms are sensitivity to rejection and "they're thinking bad things about me...quick, get out of here!", mood reactivity, and low energy/motivation. Other info -- I have essential tremor, I'm very sensitive to food (sugar and caffeine for example), if I drink alcohol I feel very depressed 2-3 days later, and I was orginially misdiagnosed (apparently) as having ADD and being bipolar. Below is a history of response to medication in no particular order, followed by my lastest thinking. Thanks in advance.

PAXIL 20MG/DAY -- good mood brightener, and partially helpful for social phobia but far from a cure and not worth it with near anorgasmia and near impotence. Also made me very tired most of the day. Other SSRIs were all similar experiences, except prozac made me very wired and nervous.

SERZONE -- just made me sleepy. sleepy but edgy, weird feeling.

BUSPAR 30MG/DAY -- made things peaceful, and I could "hear the silence" if that makes any sense. Weak mood brightener, ineffective for SP, and made my essential tremor worse. Somewhat helpful in the sexual department though.

WELLBUTRIN 300MG/DAY -- made me very jittery the first week but then went away. Increased my focus and mental clarity but seemed to be causing disapointing erections but I'm not sure about that because I recently stopped prozac. This gave me the worst headaches I've ever had and I couldn't bear it after two weeks so I stopped. However, I did seem a bit more confident while on it.

PARNATE 20MG/DAY-- nearly asymptomatic (a little aggressive though) during the high after each dose, but very depressed and bad headache as it wore off. The day was like a rollercoaster and not worth it with the restrictions and sexual dysfunction.

MOCLOBEMIDE 600MG/DAY -- Also could "hear the silence". First day I thought this was my miracle drug... the world looked bright, crisper, and it increased sexual desire. It even lowered my blood pressure which was good because I'm usually on the high side (130/90 give or take). It was no good for SP though, so I increased the dose to 450 and 600mg/day and things got progressively worse. I was getting depressed and had headaches that kept getting worse. So I reduced the dose back to 300mg/day and things were a little bit better but still had headaches that didn't seem worth it and so I stopped it cold turkey and started adrafinil.

ADRAFINIL 300MG/DAY -- This reminded me of moclobemide the way things were crisper clearer, and my thinking was sharper. Keeps me up at night though. Still on this, and it too gives me some pretty bad headaches that I'm not sure I'll stick it out, but it's efficacy has not faded yet and gives me some additional confidence I think. I've only been on it for about 4 days, though. Last night I took my bp and it was 147/100 which scared me. I stoped the moclobemide 3 days prior to that, could there still be an interaction? I'm still taking this stuff and monitoring my bp. Would modafinil be better?

ADDERALL -- makes me feel very good be it somewhat "speedy" but I crash when it wears off and feel a bit depressed and it raises my bp and is not so great in the sex department which is not what I expected. When I was driving while on it I noticed that I cared less what the other drivers thought of me and having sp I usually think they're thinking bad things about me. All in all not the best med.

DEPAKOTE -- when I was younger I remembered responding to this the same day so I tried again recently and had no resonse. Not good, not bad, essentially nothing.

OK... if you've read this far I want to thank you just for that. My own interpretation of myself is that I'm confused! No medicine is clearly the best med, but the best have been paxil, moclobemide, adrafinil, wellbutrin, parnate maybe, and adderall was fun but it felt more like I was getting high than curing an illness. I recently ordered bromocriptine. Is there any danger with blood pressure and this? I was actually hoping it would lower my bp like moclobemide did. I might give effexor a try but am anticipating sex. dysfunction and so a effex. + bromo combination might do the trick. First I'd like to try adrafinil + bromo if I can stick out the adrafinil. Does anyone see any problem with any of this?

More importantly... what does all this say about my brain chemistry if anything? What might it indicate for what to try? Please help... I feel like I'm running out of options. I can survive half-assed, but why if I don't have to?

Thanks Again,
Jon

 

Re: Please help! latest... adrafinil trial

Posted by JohnL on March 10, 2001, at 5:26:58

In reply to Please help! latest... adrafinil trial, posted by JonW on March 9, 2001, at 11:28:58

Hi Jon,
You provided very good information. The one thing that popped out at me was 'dopamine'. Though some of the drugs you've tried had slight effects on dopamine, none of them really focus on that. I think that is the one area that has been overlooked.

Specifically I think you would do well to stay with the Adrafinil for at least 4 weeks. Take an OTC pain reliever as needed until the headaches go away. They are likely caused by increased noradrenaline function, which will adjust and go away. But in addition, I think you might do well to steer your direction toward dopamine drugs. I'm thinking of drugs like Zyprexa, Amisulpride, Risperdal, in that order. Any of them can be added to Adrafinil. Zyprexa in particular will cure any insomnia, and any sedation will not carry over into the next day after you adjust to it. For me that was about a week.

I'm pretty confident you may find one of those drugs helpful. They've helped a lot of difficult cases here in babbleland, including me. Small dose (5mg to 10mg) Prozac may also be very helpful. It goes very well with the other drugs I mentioned. At that dose there shouldn't be any sexual side effects. I take 20mg with no side effects. (Paxil and all the others had terrible sexual side effects for me.)

Hope something here is helpful.
John

 

Re: Please help! latest... adrafinil trial

Posted by BK on March 11, 2001, at 9:50:17

In reply to Re: Please help! latest... adrafinil trial, posted by JohnL on March 10, 2001, at 5:26:58

> Hi Jon,
> You provided very good information. The one thing that popped out at me was 'dopamine'. Though some of the drugs you've tried had slight effects on dopamine, none of them really focus on that. I think that is the one area that has been overlooked.
>
> Specifically I think you would do well to stay with the Adrafinil for at least 4 weeks. Take an OTC pain reliever as needed until the headaches go away. They are likely caused by increased noradrenaline function, which will adjust and go away. But in addition, I think you might do well to steer your direction toward dopamine drugs. I'm thinking of drugs like Zyprexa, Amisulpride, Risperdal, in that order. Any of them can be added to Adrafinil. Zyprexa in particular will cure any insomnia, and any sedation will not carry over into the next day after you adjust to it. For me that was about a week.
>
> I'm pretty confident you may find one of those drugs helpful. They've helped a lot of difficult cases here in babbleland, including me. Small dose (5mg to 10mg) Prozac may also be very helpful. It goes very well with the other drugs I mentioned. At that dose there shouldn't be any sexual side effects. I take 20mg with no side effects. (Paxil and all the others had terrible sexual side effects for me.)
>
> Hope something here is helpful.
> John

Jon,

I too have tried a wide range of medications and all of the ones that you noted with the exception of Adderal. I'm currently on Adrafinil, 300 mg, and have been taking it for a little over two weeks. I did experience headaches which seemed to be helped most by Ibuprofen. I also notice episodes of anxiety which I have had in the past, so I'm not really clear if it is related to the Adrafinil. Insomnia and some sexual dysfunction have also been noted. I'm still depressed and have noticed little if any improvement in my cognitive abiilities, but i think its way too early to give up yet.

I'm going to stay the course for at least three more weeks and give the med a fair shake. Its always been my rule to try a med for a significant period, regardless of side effects, so that I may cross it off my list with confidence. This has proven to be a painful experience, but a necessary one as far as I'm concerned.

John L provided me with some good insights and recommendations also. Namely, the supplementation with Prozac which I most certainly will do after I've given the Adrafinil a sufficient try on its own.

Good luck with your trial and please keep me posted via the boards. Lets hope its the answer for both of us!

 

Re: Please help! latest... adrafinil trial

Posted by JonW on March 11, 2001, at 18:46:20

In reply to Re: Please help! latest... adrafinil trial, posted by BK on March 11, 2001, at 9:50:17

BK, I agree that it's important to give a medication a significant amount of time to be effective but I've been doing that with meds for years and so I thought I might try something different. My hope is to get different results -- hopefully good ones! Dr. Jensen's method seems somewhat logical and I'm willing to give it a try because if it doesn't work at least I didn't waste too much time with it. In any case, thanks for the words of encouragement! I hope the best for you as well! Am I correct in assuming that you have had a somewhat similar history of response to medication as me? I would be very interested in learning what proves to be effective for you. Please keep me posted on how things turn out for you. Thanks again! I wish the best for you.

jon

> Jon,
>
> I too have tried a wide range of medications and all of the ones that you noted with the exception of Adderal. I'm currently on Adrafinil, 300 mg, and have been taking it for a little over two weeks. I did experience headaches which seemed to be helped most by Ibuprofen. I also notice episodes of anxiety which I have had in the past, so I'm not really clear if it is related to the Adrafinil. Insomnia and some sexual dysfunction have also been noted. I'm still depressed and have noticed little if any improvement in my cognitive abiilities, but i think its way too early to give up yet.
>
> I'm going to stay the course for at least three more weeks and give the med a fair shake. Its always been my rule to try a med for a significant period, regardless of side effects, so that I may cross it off my list with confidence. This has proven to be a painful experience, but a necessary one as far as I'm concerned.
>
> John L provided me with some good insights and recommendations also. Namely, the supplementation with Prozac which I most certainly will do after I've given the Adrafinil a sufficient try on its own.
>
> Good luck with your trial and please keep me posted via the boards. Lets hope its the answer for both of us!

 

Re: Please help! latest... adrafinil trial » JohnL

Posted by JonW on March 11, 2001, at 18:46:28

In reply to Re: Please help! latest... adrafinil trial, posted by JohnL on March 10, 2001, at 5:26:58

Thanks for taking the time to respond, and all the good advice! I agree that dopamine has been somewhat overlooked, and my intuition as unscientific as it may be tells me dopamine is an important player in my problems. It's my understanding that the drugs you suggested lower dopamine. Why not try drugs that raise dopamine? I've read Dr. Jensen's book and I don't seem to have much in common with those who typically suffer from dopamine elevation, but I do believe that any chemical imbalance can cause any problem. I'm concerned about lowering dopamine and sexual dysfunction. Would zyprexa + bromocriptine cancel each other out? I recently stopped adrafinil due to a significant elevation of blood pressure, but I may give it a go again at a later time. I tried lithium alone today and it made me very depressed and I startled more easily than usual. Klonopin seemed to remedy the situation somewhat. I'm curious if this reaction to lithium is an important piece of information? Thanks again for all your help! The world would be better off if there were more people like you! Or at the very least, if my doctor was more like you :)

jon

> Hi Jon,
> You provided very good information. The one thing that popped out at me was 'dopamine'. Though some of the drugs you've tried had slight effects on dopamine, none of them really focus on that. I think that is the one area that has been overlooked.
>
> Specifically I think you would do well to stay with the Adrafinil for at least 4 weeks. Take an OTC pain reliever as needed until the headaches go away. They are likely caused by increased noradrenaline function, which will adjust and go away. But in addition, I think you might do well to steer your direction toward dopamine drugs. I'm thinking of drugs like Zyprexa, Amisulpride, Risperdal, in that order. Any of them can be added to Adrafinil. Zyprexa in particular will cure any insomnia, and any sedation will not carry over into the next day after you adjust to it. For me that was about a week.
>
> I'm pretty confident you may find one of those drugs helpful. They've helped a lot of difficult cases here in babbleland, including me. Small dose (5mg to 10mg) Prozac may also be very helpful. It goes very well with the other drugs I mentioned. At that dose there shouldn't be any sexual side effects. I take 20mg with no side effects. (Paxil and all the others had terrible sexual side effects for me.)
>
> Hope something here is helpful.
> John

 

Re: Please help! latest... adrafinil trial

Posted by BK on March 12, 2001, at 17:30:15

In reply to Re: Please help! latest... adrafinil trial, posted by JonW on March 11, 2001, at 18:46:20

> BK, I agree that it's important to give a medication a significant amount of time to be effective but I've been doing that with meds for years and so I thought I might try something different. My hope is to get different results -- hopefully good ones! Dr. Jensen's method seems somewhat logical and I'm willing to give it a try because if it doesn't work at least I didn't waste too much time with it. In any case, thanks for the words of encouragement! I hope the best for you as well! Am I correct in assuming that you have had a somewhat similar history of response to medication as me? I would be very interested in learning what proves to be effective for you. Please keep me posted on how things turn out for you. Thanks again! I wish the best for you.
>
> jon
>
> > Jon,
> >
> > I too have tried a wide range of medications and all of the ones that you noted with the exception of Adderal. I'm currently on Adrafinil, 300 mg, and have been taking it for a little over two weeks. I did experience headaches which seemed to be helped most by Ibuprofen. I also notice episodes of anxiety which I have had in the past, so I'm not really clear if it is related to the Adrafinil. Insomnia and some sexual dysfunction have also been noted. I'm still depressed and have noticed little if any improvement in my cognitive abiilities, but i think its way too early to give up yet.
> >
> > I'm going to stay the course for at least three more weeks and give the med a fair shake. Its always been my rule to try a med for a significant period, regardless of side effects, so that I may cross it off my list with confidence. This has proven to be a painful experience, but a necessary one as far as I'm concerned.
> >
> > John L provided me with some good insights and recommendations also. Namely, the supplementation with Prozac which I most certainly will do after I've given the Adrafinil a sufficient try on its own.
> >
> > Good luck with your trial and please keep me posted via the boards. Lets hope its the answer for both of us!

Jon,

My experience with AD's are similar to yours. The only one that really worked, albeit short lived, was Nardil. I felt tremendous on it, but after a few months it actually made me feel worst. That was 14 yrs ago and i've been searching for a new med ever since.

Just recently, I'm feeling light headed and experiencing insomna which i attribute to the Adrafinil. Still no positive effects to speak of. I'll keep you posted and you do likewise.

 

Re: Please help! latest... adrafinil trial..Jon

Posted by JohnL on March 16, 2001, at 4:31:11

In reply to Re: Please help! latest... adrafinil trial » JohnL, posted by JonW on March 11, 2001, at 18:46:28

> Thanks for taking the time to respond, and all the good advice! I agree that dopamine has been somewhat overlooked, and my intuition as unscientific as it may be tells me dopamine is an important player in my problems. It's my understanding that the drugs you suggested lower dopamine. Why not try drugs that raise dopamine? I've read Dr. Jensen's book and I don't seem to have much in common with those who typically suffer from dopamine elevation, but I do believe that any chemical imbalance can cause any problem. I'm concerned about lowering dopamine and sexual dysfunction. Would zyprexa + bromocriptine cancel each other out? I recently stopped adrafinil due to a significant elevation of blood pressure, but I may give it a go again at a later time. I tried lithium alone today and it made me very depressed and I startled more easily than usual. Klonopin seemed to remedy the situation somewhat. I'm curious if this reaction to lithium is an important piece of information? Thanks again for all your help! The world would be better off if there were more people like you! Or at the very least, if my doctor was more like you :)
>
> jon

Hello Jon,
Thank you for the nice comments. I wish there was something we could do real fast to fix things. But I guess the best we can do is the best we can do, right? If that makes any sense.

As far as lowering dopamine or elevating dopamine, I'm not sure there is any way to predict which might be helpful to you. And most of the drugs have such wide range mechanisms nobody really knows for sure what they do. Dr Jensen speaks of antipsychotics as dopamine reducers. However, I don't think that is accurate, depending on the drug in question. For example Zyprexa. Zyprexa affects serotonin, NE, and dopamine, but nobody really knows for sure exactly how. For example, does it raise dopamine at low doses but block dopamine at high doses (similar to Amisulpride)? Just based on my own experimentations I think that is the case. But there is no scientific evidence I'm aware of the clearly shows Zyprexa's effects at different doses. In all honesty, I get the feeling it does both, that is, it raises dopamine in some parts of the brain and lowers it in others.

No matter, it just seems that these dopamine drugs work well when everything else hasn't provided the desired results. Zyprexa as I see it is a Cadillac of mood enhancing drugs. Exactly why or how I have no idea, and I'm not sure anyone else does either.

Concerning Lithium, it has effects on serotonin and norepinephrine. Why it made you more depressed I don't know. There is a clue there, but I don't know what it is. In your shoes the best I would be able to do is say forget that one. Next. :-)
John
John

 

Re: Please help! latest... adrafinil trial

Posted by patrick on May 28, 2001, at 12:02:59

In reply to Please help! latest... adrafinil trial, posted by JonW on March 9, 2001, at 11:28:58

I am just like you.

I'm on Wellbutrin. It helps somewhat, but I still wake up with depression. I also take Neurontin, which was initially a Nardil enhancer. Off Nardil, now, thank God, and getting by. However, the key drug for me is Klonopin. If I try to cut the 2.5 mgs that I'm on, to 2mg, bang! acute social phobia/anxiety/panic attacks. I think the benzos are driving this whole thing. That's why I'm so curious about the neurotransmitter GABA.

Anyway, I only drink on Fridays. However, I can't stop at one drink on that Friday, because I get so pumped up to party/living for the moment/hanging with friends, etc., so I'll have 6-10 drinks on that Friday. The next 3-4 days I'm in depression hell. The suffering is intense. Then by the next Friday, I feel fine, and I'll do it all over again. I forget about the prior week's pain. It's like getting knocked to the canvass and getting up only to get knocked down again.

Finally, I lose all emotional control on these Fridays when I drink -- like I'm possessed. I constantly put myself in danger on these Fridays and then I pay over the next 3-4 days.

I'm trying to quit alcohol, because I have atypical depression and I can't drink. I wonder if I'm an alcoholic. I wonder if I stop drinking (and it’s only 1x/week), will my atypical depression (social phobia, GAD, depression, anxiety/panic attacks) go away.

Patrick

 

Re: Please help! latest... adrafinil trial

Posted by AMenz on May 28, 2001, at 15:00:40

In reply to Re: Please help! latest... adrafinil trial, posted by patrick on May 28, 2001, at 12:02:59

You have the evidence right there that alcohol is contributing to your depression.

Whereas I drank when I was stabilized without major problems (although not more than 3 glasses of wine on a weekend and 1 to 2 glassess with dinner) now that I am no longer stabilized (this is another story) just one glass of wine will propel or worsen a mixed state (horrible with depressive and irritable symptoms and terribly clouded thinking and lability).

The reason is simple - alcohol is a depressant. Now I don't know whether you are and alcoholic or not but maybe you want to quit drinking FOR NOW.

FOR NOW are the key words that helped me stop. That way you are not depriving yourself forever just for now till your mood situation changes.

Over time I now find, and you may, too, that I don't really want alcohol, not because it wasn't fun to drink, but because the aftermath just wasn't worth it.

> I am just like you.
>
> I'm on Wellbutrin. It helps somewhat, but I still wake up with depression. I also take Neurontin, which was initially a Nardil enhancer. Off Nardil, now, thank God, and getting by. However, the key drug for me is Klonopin. If I try to cut the 2.5 mgs that I'm on, to 2mg, bang! acute social phobia/anxiety/panic attacks. I think the benzos are driving this whole thing. That's why I'm so curious about the neurotransmitter GABA.
>
> Anyway, I only drink on Fridays. However, I can't stop at one drink on that Friday, because I get so pumped up to party/living for the moment/hanging with friends, etc., so I'll have 6-10 drinks on that Friday. The next 3-4 days I'm in depression hell. The suffering is intense. Then by the next Friday, I feel fine, and I'll do it all over again. I forget about the prior week's pain. It's like getting knocked to the canvass and getting up only to get knocked down again.
>
> Finally, I lose all emotional control on these Fridays when I drink -- like I'm possessed. I constantly put myself in danger on these Fridays and then I pay over the next 3-4 days.
>
> I'm trying to quit alcohol, because I have atypical depression and I can't drink. I wonder if I'm an alcoholic. I wonder if I stop drinking (and it’s only 1x/week), will my atypical depression (social phobia, GAD, depression, anxiety/panic attacks) go away.
>
> Patrick

 

Re: Please help! latest... adrafinil trial

Posted by AMenz on May 28, 2001, at 15:22:46

In reply to Please help! latest... adrafinil trial, posted by JonW on March 9, 2001, at 11:28:58

It is not clear from your post over what period of time you have tried all these medications. I've been through a similar medication rigamarole and have concluded that less meds and over a longer period of time is the answer. Multiple chemical agents (I don't mean a steady cocktail, but frequent changes in the cocktail components) altering your brain chemistry can only destabilize you. Perhaps this most recent medication deserves a chance and a trial period.

Social phobia is about anxiety. I suffer from it in a major manner and have found SSRI's helpfuld, but they do promote sexual dysfunction and in my case precipitate mixed mood states so I have had to decrease it to 50mg of Zoloft daily.

I think the socially anxious like us benefit from therapy. Because besides the anxiety mode there are thinking or external stimulus triggers to these situations.

Take a symptom like they're thinking bad about me (my bugaboo was "they don't like me") The answer can be "So What". Or more likey "they are not even aware of my presence" This effort to undo a thought pattern may be of some help in coping with this symptom.

The other thing I think is crucial in social anxiety is that the state of being anxious itself seems to be a great people repellent. Anxiety seems to be catchy, people tend to move away from the anxious. It's nothing the socially anxious persond said or did (I have pretty good social skills from having had to work at them so hard), it's just that the person is uncomfortably anxious and this is upsetting to the other individual. So obviously if the medication helps relieve this feeling of anxiety then this ought to help.

Another thing about social anxiety, on the people skills level. There is nothing people love more than being listened to. Developing the skill of listening and asking people questions about themselves has helped me with social interactions. It provides a "grease" to ease the rough patches of what is a social handicap.

Better people relations will I think ameliorate some of the depression.

I hope this helps although it may not be the kind of medication advice you are looking for. I am not familiar with all of the meds you've been on except the SSRI's and parnate, but I have had a different reaction. Parnate made me seriously anxious, hence socially anxious.
> Hi...
>
> This board has been a great resource, and I'm now at a point where some input from those more knowledgable than me could prove to be invaluable. In any case, any help from *anyone* is greatly appreciated.
>
> I have social phobia and/or atypical depression and have had it my entire life. My most prominent symptoms are sensitivity to rejection and "they're thinking bad things about me...quick, get out of here!", mood reactivity, and low energy/motivation. Other info -- I have essential tremor, I'm very sensitive to food (sugar and caffeine for example), if I drink alcohol I feel very depressed 2-3 days later, and I was orginially misdiagnosed (apparently) as having ADD and being bipolar. Below is a history of response to medication in no particular order, followed by my lastest thinking. Thanks in advance.
>
> PAXIL 20MG/DAY -- good mood brightener, and partially helpful for social phobia but far from a cure and not worth it with near anorgasmia and near impotence. Also made me very tired most of the day. Other SSRIs were all similar experiences, except prozac made me very wired and nervous.
>
> SERZONE -- just made me sleepy. sleepy but edgy, weird feeling.
>
> BUSPAR 30MG/DAY -- made things peaceful, and I could "hear the silence" if that makes any sense. Weak mood brightener, ineffective for SP, and made my essential tremor worse. Somewhat helpful in the sexual department though.
>
> WELLBUTRIN 300MG/DAY -- made me very jittery the first week but then went away. Increased my focus and mental clarity but seemed to be causing disapointing erections but I'm not sure about that because I recently stopped prozac. This gave me the worst headaches I've ever had and I couldn't bear it after two weeks so I stopped. However, I did seem a bit more confident while on it.
>
> PARNATE 20MG/DAY-- nearly asymptomatic (a little aggressive though) during the high after each dose, but very depressed and bad headache as it wore off. The day was like a rollercoaster and not worth it with the restrictions and sexual dysfunction.
>
> MOCLOBEMIDE 600MG/DAY -- Also could "hear the silence". First day I thought this was my miracle drug... the world looked bright, crisper, and it increased sexual desire. It even lowered my blood pressure which was good because I'm usually on the high side (130/90 give or take). It was no good for SP though, so I increased the dose to 450 and 600mg/day and things got progressively worse. I was getting depressed and had headaches that kept getting worse. So I reduced the dose back to 300mg/day and things were a little bit better but still had headaches that didn't seem worth it and so I stopped it cold turkey and started adrafinil.
>
> ADRAFINIL 300MG/DAY -- This reminded me of moclobemide the way things were crisper clearer, and my thinking was sharper. Keeps me up at night though. Still on this, and it too gives me some pretty bad headaches that I'm not sure I'll stick it out, but it's efficacy has not faded yet and gives me some additional confidence I think. I've only been on it for about 4 days, though. Last night I took my bp and it was 147/100 which scared me. I stoped the moclobemide 3 days prior to that, could there still be an interaction? I'm still taking this stuff and monitoring my bp. Would modafinil be better?
>
> ADDERALL -- makes me feel very good be it somewhat "speedy" but I crash when it wears off and feel a bit depressed and it raises my bp and is not so great in the sex department which is not what I expected. When I was driving while on it I noticed that I cared less what the other drivers thought of me and having sp I usually think they're thinking bad things about me. All in all not the best med.
>
> DEPAKOTE -- when I was younger I remembered responding to this the same day so I tried again recently and had no resonse. Not good, not bad, essentially nothing.
>
> OK... if you've read this far I want to thank you just for that. My own interpretation of myself is that I'm confused! No medicine is clearly the best med, but the best have been paxil, moclobemide, adrafinil, wellbutrin, parnate maybe, and adderall was fun but it felt more like I was getting high than curing an illness. I recently ordered bromocriptine. Is there any danger with blood pressure and this? I was actually hoping it would lower my bp like moclobemide did. I might give effexor a try but am anticipating sex. dysfunction and so a effex. + bromo combination might do the trick. First I'd like to try adrafinil + bromo if I can stick out the adrafinil. Does anyone see any problem with any of this?
>
> More importantly... what does all this say about my brain chemistry if anything? What might it indicate for what to try? Please help... I feel like I'm running out of options. I can survive half-assed, but why if I don't have to?
>
> Thanks Again,
> Jon

 

Re: Please help! latest... adrafinil trial » patrick

Posted by Mitch on May 28, 2001, at 16:15:30

In reply to Re: Please help! latest... adrafinil trial, posted by patrick on May 28, 2001, at 12:02:59

Patrick,

Sounds a lot like myself (back in my 20's) suffering with excess drinking, social anxiety and depression. Working for the weekend! Yep, no doubt about it, excess booze will make you depressed. I don't know if this would help you any, but maybe you can find a med that reduces your alcohol cravings AND helps with panic. One I have found that is good for anxiety and reduced my alcohol cravings was Effexor. I personally can't take it because I am bipolar and it also triggers hostility and hypomania. If you don't have trouble with bipolar then maybe you ought to give it a shot? I found taking just 25mg/day redyced my booze consumption to a fraction of what it was with several days during the week where I didn't even think of buying any. Desipramine was even better for that (at just 10mg/day), but it made me very panicky. Perhaps Imipramine (Tofranil) might be an idea??

Good luck
Mitch

 

Re: Please help! latest... adrafinil trial

Posted by patrick on May 28, 2001, at 18:42:18

In reply to Re: Please help! latest... adrafinil trial, posted by AMenz on May 28, 2001, at 15:00:40

A,

Your analysis and advice are very much appreciated and very much correct.

"FOR NOW" will take a lot of pressure off me.
Since I'm a single guy that hits the bars with friends in order to girl hunt, alcohol seems to be a prerequisite. Can a sober guy pick up girls at a bar? Can a sober guy have fun at a bar, especially for a long time span?

The struggle, as you addressed in your second posting, is that social phobia and GAD turns people off. I get very self-conscious about that, and then hence, I'll drink to be one of the crowd.

Today, after a night of drinking, I'm having anxiety attacks, depression and worse social phobia than when I was having at the bar.

You're right. A lot of these issues can be addressed without medication. I'm just wondering if I should just avoid bars and parties. But then I'll become agoraphobic (joke).

Anyway, thanks for taking the time to share some of your wisdom. It helped me a lot.

Pat


 

Re: Please help! latest... adrafinil trial

Posted by patrick on May 28, 2001, at 19:13:11

In reply to Re: Please help! latest... adrafinil trial » patrick, posted by Mitch on May 28, 2001, at 16:15:30

Mitch,

Thanks for your suggestions. I've actually tried Zoloft and most other meds on the market. I'm an atypical depressant, and the only drugs that work are the benzos, the MAOIs, and to a lesser extant Wellbutrin and Neurontin.

I'm going to have to follow A's sugggestion to stop drinking "for now" and see if my problems go away and perhaps get off all the meds.

Do you think that it's possible, if a 1x/week drinker with atypical depression could get off the meds, if alcohol intake is forever eliminated. I'd love to have your honest opinion.

I've seen many pharmopsychiatrists. I asked one,if he thought that I would one day be able to live my life without meds.

He said "probably not". It hurt, but I appreciated his honesty.

Thanks again.

Pat

 

Re: Please help! latest... adrafinil trial » patrick

Posted by Mitch on May 29, 2001, at 0:50:28

In reply to Re: Please help! latest... adrafinil trial, posted by patrick on May 28, 2001, at 19:13:11

Patrick,

If you consider alcohol a med, then you are not being dishonest. People steal from their environment what they need in order to feel alive. It is just tougher now to distinguish what is truly "helpful" given all of the *profit motives* of drug companies AND *individuals*. The trouble is that "HELP IS JUST ANOTHER MARKET"-we just haven't gotten beyond this just yet. We have temporarily lost the connection with the community and help for individuals in it BY the everyday members in it.


> I've seen many pharmopsychiatrists. I asked one,if he thought that I would one day be able to live my life without meds.
>
> He said "probably not". It hurt, but I appreciated his honesty.
>
> Thanks again.
>
> Pat

 

Re: Patrick

Posted by Lorraine on May 30, 2001, at 13:31:36

In reply to Re: Please help! latest... adrafinil trial, posted by patrick on May 28, 2001, at 12:02:59

> > That's why I'm so curious about the neurotransmitter GABA.

I have tried taking GABA (you can get it in a health food store) for my anxiety attacks--but it just isn't enough. Other natural precursors to try are Insotol and Choline.
>
> Anyway, I only drink on Fridays. The next 3-4 days I'm in depression hell.

This happens to me too. I think it's just that our depression cannot handle alcohol, which is a depressant. I can only drink one glass of wine--occassionally. More and I suffer. Makes me wonder if my liver is impaired actually. I'm also very sensitive to meds. Take low doses and have lots of problems with side effects. I'm currently on Adderal, Neurontin and Selegiline.


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