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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 5 of 5. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by PeterMartin on June 4, 2022, at 22:06:53
Has anyone here tried Riluzole (ALS medication) off label for depression, anxiety, or OCD?
I only learned about it today while reading a paper on experimental medications for depression. Is it something that could be combined w/ other medications like an SSRI or in my particular case an MAOI?
Thanks for any discussion.
Posted by undopaminergic on June 6, 2022, at 10:45:52
In reply to Any experiences w/ Riluzole for depression?, posted by PeterMartin on June 4, 2022, at 22:06:53
> Has anyone here tried Riluzole (ALS medication) off label for depression, anxiety, or OCD?
>
> I only learned about it today while reading a paper on experimental medications for depression. Is it something that could be combined w/ other medications like an SSRI or in my particular case an MAOI?
>
> Thanks for any discussion.I've never used it or read much about it, but it is apparently an antiglutamatergic agent, with both pre- and post-synaptic mechanisms of action. It may possibly complement drugs from other classes (such as SSRIs and MAOIs). I don't know about risks or efficacy, but there is almost certainly individual variation, as with other drugs, and to know how it will affect you, there is no alternative to trying it.
-undopaminergic
Posted by Christ_empowered on June 12, 2022, at 8:36:21
In reply to Re: Any experiences w/ Riluzole for depression?, posted by undopaminergic on June 6, 2022, at 10:45:52
As you pursue this, could you please keep us all posted? my own interest is in a drug I think is maybe, perhaps, somewhat (?) similar, mirapex. I asked my former prescriber (clinic...underpaid, come and go...) about it for low mood and inertia, and she...
recommended more Prozac. ugh. clinics...what fun.
But, she did tell me that some "educators" (I'm guessing compensated people?) had come to impart their wisdom to people at the clinic. turns out...
mirapex is useful in chronic fatigue and...blah blah blah. Honestly, to me, it sounded a lot like people who'd been thru their "treatments" ended up on mirapex to give them a little energy, vim and vigor, etc.
please keep us posted. oh, a quick consult with Dr.Google yielded this: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31958711/
it seems the severity of depressive states is sometimes reduced in some people, when combined with citalopram. blah. psychiatry :-(
ok.
Posted by Jay2112 on June 12, 2022, at 15:59:16
In reply to Re: Any experiences w/ Riluzole for depression?, posted by Christ_empowered on June 12, 2022, at 8:36:21
>
>
> As you pursue this, could you please keep us all posted? my own interest is in a drug I think is maybe, perhaps, somewhat (?) similar, mirapex. I asked my former prescriber (clinic...underpaid, come and go...) about it for low mood and inertia, and she...
>
> recommended more Prozac. ugh. clinics...what fun.
>
> But, she did tell me that some "educators" (I'm guessing compensated people?) had come to impart their wisdom to people at the clinic. turns out...
>
> mirapex is useful in chronic fatigue and...blah blah blah. Honestly, to me, it sounded a lot like people who'd been thru their "treatments" ended up on mirapex to give them a little energy, vim and vigor, etc.
>
> please keep us posted. oh, a quick consult with Dr.Google yielded this: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31958711/
>
> it seems the severity of depressive states is sometimes reduced in some people, when combined with citalopram. blah. psychiatry :-(
>
> ok.Hi C_e,
Mirapex is a bit of a different drug. It's a dopamine agonist. It is used off-label for depression, but usually combined with an SRI/SNRI, or an MAOI.
Personally, as dulling as some of the SRI's are..citalopram and escitalopram I found to be the worse of...I don't mean to sound like this is a perfect drug (it is not) but Viibryd, in a very low dose especially, feels nowhere near as intense as most of the other SRI's. 5-10mg's (40 is the maximum)of Viibryd seems to be very well tolerated.(From my experience, but also from the over 150 reviews I read on drugs.com). It also has a bit of a different feature from the other SRI's, in that it is a partial 5ht1 receptor agonist.
It also seems like a half-decent price deal, with a months supply, at 1x a day, regardless of the strength (all strengths are the same price), for around 100 dollars U.S.
I expected the typical, lazy SRI feeling, at most, but I am up doing things, like 20 x more than the previous month when I first started it. Plus, I have some levity (lightness of being). Having a bit of serotonin action seems to be required with almost any antidepressant (exceptions being SNRI's, NRI/NDRI's, but the jury say's that NRI/NDRI's are not as effective, singularly, in most types of depression, and are usually combined with serotonin drugs).
In my experience, Mirapex worked good with Prozac, but on it's own, not much of a mood change, or activity level change.
Seriously, I think it might be a half-decent try with you. You are still on Abilify, correct? SRI's are reported to work well with Abilify.(As you know from the same old suggestions you got for Prozac and citalopram.) You will also have that 5ht2 receptor blockade, and that is usually the one that causes irritability from SRI's. And the bonus is also that Mirapex might be a good complementary drug.
My meds are:
Viibryd 10mgs day
Desipramine 25mgs a day (for the norepinephrine boost)
Risperdal 3mg's at bedtime (5ht2 blockade in particular..but tones the Dopamine 2 receptor action)
Clonazepam 1mg as per neededSo, take what you will from it, all experiences and chemistry's are different.
Just my thoughts..
Best,
Jay
Posted by Christ_empowered on June 12, 2022, at 20:04:16
In reply to Re: Any experiences w/ Riluzole for depression? » Christ_empowered, posted by Jay2112 on June 12, 2022, at 15:59:16
hi. thanks for the input and thoughtful reply.
I'm no longer on any antidepressant. I dropped the Prozac and the lamictal was bumped a bit. Truth? I think...I just didn't do well with the ssri drugs. wellbutrin wasn't amazingly effective at actually improving my mood, to the core, but...
no weight gain. improvements in concentration. a tad more energy. no major problems with rapid discontinuation. I kind of still see it as a very mild stimulant, maybe there's some kind of genuine "antidepressant" action in there, I dunno.
previous prescriber wanted me to try Vraylar. to me, it sounded like a D2 partial agonist version of Haldol...
more intense dopamine blockade, more EPS, on and on. so I declined.
current prescriber thinks maybe rexulti, possibly. I get a sense of...unease, not akathisia, but definite unease...even after years and years on Abilify. what to do? low dose olanzapine caused -true- akathisia, even while on prescribed klonopin. couldn't deal with seroquel. risperidone isn't that much different from abilify to me, just...sedation, more cognitive issues, I think I was more -obviously- medicated.
I do a DIY Orthomolecular protocol. Dr.Abraham Hoffer was apparently a big fan of anafranil for the (often deeply depressed) "Schizophrenics" he treated. I use the " " because he really, truly seemed to have used a very 50-70s diagnostic approach, which resulted in all sorts of "Schizophrenias" (note the plural), not so many with Bipolar I or psychotic depression, etc. does that...matter? -shrug- I dunno.
any info on caplyta? random, I suppose, but..the built in action on glutamergic centers strikes me as...novel, potentially beneficial. aybe I could drop lamictal?
thanks. :-)
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