Posted by Rudiger on November 24, 2001, at 1:01:55
In reply to Re: Update- My experience with ECT Rudiger , posted by PhoenixGirl on November 23, 2001, at 15:34:02
Thanks for answering my questions, PhoenixGirl.
Atypical depression is characterized by a combination of mood reactivity (i.e., the ability to experience at least a small lift in mood in response to favorable events), a strong craving for sugary foods, oversleeping, chronic exhaustion and a severe heaviness in the limbs/body, and a chronic oversensitivity to interpersonal rejection. Despite its name, people with atypical depression represent the largest subgroup of depressives. People with melancholic depression are usually not able to experience any lift in mood, have a great deal of difficulty getting any sleep, don't have any desire to eat and also experience chronic exhaustion.
How many hours of sleep did you average before having ECT and how many do you get now? Which subtype of depression do you think fits you better?
The reason this is important to me is that there seems to be a rumor that people with atypical depression (which is what I have) don't respond very well to ECT (although I've never found any hard data on this). On the other hand, people with atypical depression supposedly don't respond very well at all to tricylics. Since I've responded to both desipramine and nortriptyline, maybe I do have some chance of responding to ECT.
It always gives me a little hope when one of us manages to make it out of this abyss. I hope your recovery stays strong.
> Well, I don't really know what the difference is between atypical and melancholic. Can you please explain? Throughout my depression, I've had incredibly bad fatigue and a sense of heaviness, but have not overeaten. Depression reduces my appetite. No meds have worked well for me, but they have kept me alive. Right now I'm taking desipramine, which works better than the others I've tried. I've tried imipramine, zoloft, serzone, effexor, clomipramine, wellbutrin, trazadone, celexa, remeron, and desipramine. I've tried some combinations of these and have tried adding lithium, thyroid, and stimulants. Right now I'm on desipramine, wellbutrin, and synthroid. Every med I've ever tried has had intolerable side effects, but the totally untreated depression is even worse than the side effects.
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poster:Rudiger
thread:84785
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20011123/msgs/85028.html