Posted by ethel basset on January 7, 2004, at 0:00:24
In reply to Re: Meridia as anti-depressant, posted by zeugma on January 5, 2004, at 3:09:03
By the way, zeugma
I forgot to thank you for the reference to the article on Meridia. I just read it and it is excellent. It contains some very enlightening information about Meridia
Thanks!
Ethel
> Hi everybody;
>
> I will try to make a long story short. I have been taking Meridia for weight loss. It does not have an anorexic or stimulant effect on me, but rather an anti-depressant effect. I have not lost weight nor has my appetite abated. But I feel so much better when I am taking it. I feel normal and not depressed or weepy as I feel when I don't take an anti-depressant (or even when I do take an anti-depressant).
> I know that Meridia was originally developed as an anti-depressant, but supposedly was only effective as an anti-obesity drug. The Pharmaceutical company obtained approval and started marketing it as an anti-obesity drug.
> Well, guess what, it acts as an anti-depressant for me. It doesn't make me feel hyped up or drugged or sleepy, just normal and light hearted.
> I have been able to quit taking the Celexa.
> Okay, the question is, is there another anti-depressant that is comparable to Meridia?
> My insurance company considers Meridia to be a weight control drug and does not pay for it, therefore it costs big bucks to fill a prescription (over $60.00 with a discount coupon that my doctor obtained for me). Besides the fact that it is expensive, I would like to take a drug for what it is designed to do. I don't know the mode of operation of Meridia if there are any other drugs that work similarly. BTW, Wellbutrin does not agree with me, so I hope that isn't the drug that has similar action.
> Thanks for listening and thanks in advance to anyone who has any information on this subject.
>
>
> Here's some info on Meridia that you might find interesting:
> http://www.psychotropical.com/notes/850.html
>
> I know that a company is trying to develop a metabolite of Meridia that is a triple reuptake inhibitor: dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine. Logically that would be a VERY powerful antidepressant.
>
> There are other anomalies within the AD field, like the fact that LUvox is only approved for OCD in the US, when logically if serotinin reuptake inhibition is resposible for AD effect it should be just as good for depression as Prozac; or Strattera, which is similar in pharmacology to desipramine, one of the most widely-studied and attested antidepressant drugs, but which supposedly failed when tested as an AD over a decade ago. Again, this is a paradox if norepinephrine reuptake inhibition is truly desipramine's mechanism of action. Personally, I find Strattera to have a strong antidepressant effect, regardless of its official indication.
>
>
poster:ethel basset
thread:296485
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040105/msgs/297468.html