Posted by Chris O on March 4, 2005, at 13:21:56
In reply to Re: Here's what I noticed » Chris O, posted by gadman on March 4, 2005, at 8:03:24
Gadster:
I'm not certain if I am the best person to advise you. Let me just tell you what I've taken so far in terms of antidepressants and my experiences with them:
* Celexa (20mg)/Wellbutrin (150mg) combo for 6 months: Seemed to work okay as far as memory serves. Added Wellbutrin to combat fatigue from Celexa alone. Did nothing for anorgasmia sexual side effect. Had twitching, weird dreams, disturbed sleep, but held down a high school teaching job while on this combo. Oh, but I think I gained about 10 pounds on this combo too.
* Prozac (20mg)/Wellbutrin (150mg) combo for 6 months: Ditto for side effects on this combo as with the Celexa/Wellbutrin combo. Psychiatrist wanted to up me to 40 or 60mg Prozac because I wasn't getting enough anxiety relief. Being the drug paranoid that I am, I just decided to quit taking the drugs all together. Then went on to a a couple year experiment with....
* SAM-e: Took it one and off at various doses for over a year (800mg-1600mg). Just not powerful enough for me. Provided the very mildest of anxiety relief. That's it.
* St. John's wort: Never has done much of anything for me. Of course, I have never taken that Perika extract used in the recent study (comparing St. John's to Paxil). But again, only the very mildest of relief for me with St. John's.
* Fish oil: I just got off another experiment with this stuff. Taken in high doses, it does affect my mood, but not all in a good way. It both reduces and increases my anxiety, hard to explain, but...I think it might be better for people with bipolar, not those with GAD, OCD and panic, which I have.
* Lexparo (30-40mg) solo for 8 months: I just gave Lexapro a trial. Overall, while it had few side effects beyond weight gain (about 10 pounds over 8 months), I just did not get a good enough benefit from it. Yes, it decreased my anxiety, but not completely and...I guess I just felt fatigued all the time on it.
* Luvox (20mg) solo for one month: Took during my Celexa/Wellbutrin time. Probably did not take long enough to know how it differed from Celexa or Prozac. Worked much like those two drugs with similar side effects.
* Effexor (37.5mg) solo for one month: Yeah, it gave me a nice "boost" twenty minutes after taking it. But also, as I mentioned before, all the horrible side effects--nasty headaches, seriously distrubed sleep, and nausea. Plus, the withdrawals were not pleasant.
* Every other "natural supplement" known to humanity for several years: I think I've tried everything out there. Nothing has been as strong or as effective as the pharmaceuticals (despite their side effects) for me. I wish that weren't te case, but it is.So, as you can see, I don't have much experience with all the SSRIs, SSNRIs, or other pharmaceutical options. I wish you luck. Perhaps others with more expertise in pharmaceuticals can share their experiences with you if you keep posting.
Chris
poster:Chris O
thread:466044
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20050304/msgs/466483.html