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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 4 of 4. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by gibber on October 15, 2006, at 13:23:12
Hi Everyone,
I haven't been to this site in maybe 4-5 months and that is a long time for me. I wanted to check back in because I know it is good to hear good news. Essentially I want to tell you that I'm managing pretty well. I'm very busy with work and my music career and I'm going back to school in January. There was a period of time about a year ago where I thought I was on the brink of non-functioning. I still get stress out and anxious and feel slowed down cognitively on occasion but it is not consuming. I often think about things I want to do instead of thinking about how depressed I am. Peter Kramer talked about people who get blasted out of depression from a medication, but that has not been my experience and I don't think it is very common. My current therapist seems to agree. It's been a long slow process...about 3 years of going down hill and 3 long years coming out. I feel quite a bit more stable now and it doesn't feel unnatural or fleeting. I went on the patch about 5 or 6 months ago and noticed some modest improvement. We increased the dose (doubled) but I got incredibly tired and every time a stood up I got light headed and would almost faint. I'm back to the 20mg/6mg a day patch. I feel like the most significant improvement has come from the lamictal. I'm at 100mg now and my increase that. Since starting the lamictal I noticed my hair thinning quite rapidly, I don't know if the two are connected though.
Finally CBT has been very good for me thanks to an excellent doctor. When I started it I was extremely doubtful it would help. I had already been through years of traditional psychotherapy and thought my problem could only improve though meds. I could probably write a book about all this, I'd talk about all my theories as to where this disease comes from, how it affected me, and how to get out of it. I wish everyone the best! Feel free to send me questions.
Regan
Posted by jealibeanz on October 15, 2006, at 15:42:24
In reply to Lamictal, EMSAM, and CBT - Doing pretty well, posted by gibber on October 15, 2006, at 13:23:12
Cool! haha:)
It's always good to hear another success story, of any type. I'm glad your doing well. What's your diagnosis? Have you noticed any side effects from EMSAM (weight gain, insomnia, anxiety)? Sorry, I know I ask this constantly, but they are concerns of mine. I know we can't trust what companies say, especially at this point. It's good to hear first hand experiences. Take care!
Posted by Phillipa on October 15, 2006, at 15:42:46
In reply to Lamictal, EMSAM, and CBT - Doing pretty well, posted by gibber on October 15, 2006, at 13:23:12
Great gibber!!!! First question. Was CBT what helped the most? And it sounds like lamictal is better than EMSAM. And I forgot your diagnosis . Would you mind repeating it? Thanks Love Phillipa
Posted by gibber on October 15, 2006, at 19:59:43
In reply to Re: Lamictal, EMSAM, and CBT - Doing pretty well, posted by jealibeanz on October 15, 2006, at 15:42:24
I'll try and answer the questions above. My diagnosis is probably dysthmia/moderate depression. Years ago I had some bad social anxiety. Surprisingly I have had absolutely no side effects from either EMSAM or Lamictal. Like I said in my first post, the higher dose of EMSAM made me feel faint when I stood up and made me tired. I get free doctors visits and meds from a local hospital so I don't pay for lamitcal and I get samples of the patch from my doctor. As far as I can tell lamitcal is outrageously expensive. The pharmacy doesn't give me a reciept, but I peeked over the counter and I thought I saw $3500 for a months supply @ 100mg a day. Unf&*%ing believable!!! It's hard to say what is contributing the most to my health. I know much of it is from lamictal, there could be synergistic effect of the patch and lamictal. The CBT has just made me very aware of how I interpret stimuli around me. I realized through CBT that I was creating all these squewed perceptions of myself and other people because of a 'core belief' of inadequacy. It's made me realize that not everything I think is actually real and I stop negative thinking sooner. I can't say that one therapy really helped...all I can say is DO EVERYTHING! By the way I had tried about dozen medications before this regime, not to mention all the alternative stuff. cheers,
Regan> Cool! haha:)
>
> It's always good to hear another success story, of any type. I'm glad your doing well. What's your diagnosis? Have you noticed any side effects from EMSAM (weight gain, insomnia, anxiety)? Sorry, I know I ask this constantly, but they are concerns of mine. I know we can't trust what companies say, especially at this point. It's good to hear first hand experiences. Take care!
This is the end of the thread.
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