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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 7 of 7. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by sillygrrl on July 18, 2001, at 17:32:48
Hi folks,
Here's what's up with my silly brain. Any suggestions?
One shrink said I had ADD. Another said I had ADD not otherwise specified. One said I had Anxiety Disorder not otherwise specified. One said I had Dysthymic Disorder with recurrent Major Depressive Disorders.
I think that about covers it. Poor concentration, can't pay attention, hard to focus, depressed, and anxious. When the depression goes away, the ADD symptoms do not, so I do think they are two separate things. The anxiety is always there, but never becomes panic.
So what lovely little drug will help me?
Prozac - my emotions were blunted. no orgasms. felt like I hadn't slept even when I did.
Paxil - barely felt a thing. stopped taking it because I hated the shrink who prescribed it.
Ritalin - suddenly became very OCD. Things out of place bothered me. Felt speedy. Lower doses only work if I've decided what I'm going to focus on *first*. Otherwise, I'm just jumpy.
Zoloft - Absolutely great for killing depression. Cuts my sex drive in half, though. Orgasms harder to find. and I feel jittery sometimes. Much, much harder to focus on a task until completion. ADD is this way is much worse, though the mistakes I make from ADD are less likely to make me depressed and frustrated.
Okay - any suggestions? Effexor? Adderal? Wellbutrin? My current doc is silly. Keeps giving me this, "Well, what do you want to try?" line. Um, hello...I thought that was his job. Anyway.
silly
Posted by Else on July 18, 2001, at 19:33:46
In reply to ADD, Anxiety and Depression, posted by sillygrrl on July 18, 2001, at 17:32:48
Perhaps Wellbutrin (good for depression and ADD), Norpramin, Parnate (great but tricky) and Klonopin for anxiety. SSRIs are like sacharine or low fat dressing if you ask me. They'll never leave you 100% satisfied. I personnaly don't suggest Effexor. My symptoms are very much like yours and if you think Prozac screws up sleep just wait for Effexor. I used to sleep 1 out of 3 nights and doctors tend to prescribe higher doses for ADD. Adderal or Dexedrine might do the same as Ritalin.
Look, I'm obviously not a doctor but are you sure you have ADD. I used to think I did but when I started taking anti-anxiety medication I realised the nervousness was making me space out, not some neurological anomaly. I once had OCD symptoms on Ritalin (cleaning, which is not my usual cup of tea) and my doc said that might be a sign ADD is not the problem. Everything I've tried for ADD has made my anxiety and irritability worse.
Your doctor doesn't seem too impressive. You might consider as new one. And I think maybe you should give tranquilizers a try just to see if they help you concentrate better. Maybe it's GAD. Who knows. I'm just rambling here.
> Hi folks,
>
> Here's what's up with my silly brain. Any suggestions?
>
> One shrink said I had ADD. Another said I had ADD not otherwise specified. One said I had Anxiety Disorder not otherwise specified. One said I had Dysthymic Disorder with recurrent Major Depressive Disorders.
>
> I think that about covers it. Poor concentration, can't pay attention, hard to focus, depressed, and anxious. When the depression goes away, the ADD symptoms do not, so I do think they are two separate things. The anxiety is always there, but never becomes panic.
>
> So what lovely little drug will help me?
>
> Prozac - my emotions were blunted. no orgasms. felt like I hadn't slept even when I did.
>
> Paxil - barely felt a thing. stopped taking it because I hated the shrink who prescribed it.
>
> Ritalin - suddenly became very OCD. Things out of place bothered me. Felt speedy. Lower doses only work if I've decided what I'm going to focus on *first*. Otherwise, I'm just jumpy.
>
> Zoloft - Absolutely great for killing depression. Cuts my sex drive in half, though. Orgasms harder to find. and I feel jittery sometimes. Much, much harder to focus on a task until completion. ADD is this way is much worse, though the mistakes I make from ADD are less likely to make me depressed and frustrated.
>
> Okay - any suggestions? Effexor? Adderal? Wellbutrin? My current doc is silly. Keeps giving me this, "Well, what do you want to try?" line. Um, hello...I thought that was his job. Anyway.
>
> silly
Posted by Cass on July 18, 2001, at 20:48:39
In reply to ADD, Anxiety and Depression, posted by sillygrrl on July 18, 2001, at 17:32:48
I have ADD, deppression and anxiety too. Have you tried Celexa? I feel it has been calming to me but not sedating. I feel I deal with stress more effectively. However, I recently started taking Ritalin on a regular basis, and I found myself getting a little agitated. My pdoc suggested reducing the Celexa because it can cause anxiety. I'm not sure if it's the solution for me since I never found it anxiety producing, but I know the different cocktails need to be experimented with. The bad news is that Celexa really has reduced my sex drive, but I've grown used to that with ADDs. Good luck.
Cass
Posted by Mitch on July 18, 2001, at 23:41:57
In reply to ADD, Anxiety and Depression, posted by sillygrrl on July 18, 2001, at 17:32:48
I would give nortriptyline a shot. It is the only antidepressant that I have taken that helps with attention and reduces anxiety (and reduces depression).
Mitch
> Hi folks,
>
> Here's what's up with my silly brain. Any suggestions?
>
> One shrink said I had ADD. Another said I had ADD not otherwise specified. One said I had Anxiety Disorder not otherwise specified. One said I had Dysthymic Disorder with recurrent Major Depressive Disorders.
>
> I think that about covers it. Poor concentration, can't pay attention, hard to focus, depressed, and anxious. When the depression goes away, the ADD symptoms do not, so I do think they are two separate things. The anxiety is always there, but never becomes panic.
>
> So what lovely little drug will help me?
>
> Prozac - my emotions were blunted. no orgasms. felt like I hadn't slept even when I did.
>
> Paxil - barely felt a thing. stopped taking it because I hated the shrink who prescribed it.
>
> Ritalin - suddenly became very OCD. Things out of place bothered me. Felt speedy. Lower doses only work if I've decided what I'm going to focus on *first*. Otherwise, I'm just jumpy.
>
> Zoloft - Absolutely great for killing depression. Cuts my sex drive in half, though. Orgasms harder to find. and I feel jittery sometimes. Much, much harder to focus on a task until completion. ADD is this way is much worse, though the mistakes I make from ADD are less likely to make me depressed and frustrated.
>
> Okay - any suggestions? Effexor? Adderal? Wellbutrin? My current doc is silly. Keeps giving me this, "Well, what do you want to try?" line. Um, hello...I thought that was his job. Anyway.
>
> silly
Posted by SalArmy4me on July 19, 2001, at 0:29:21
In reply to ADD, Anxiety and Depression, posted by sillygrrl on July 18, 2001, at 17:32:48
Go ahead and try Effexor, for that's what it says on the Harvard Depression Algorithm: http://mhc.com/Algorithms/Depression/
Posted by v on July 19, 2001, at 6:09:55
In reply to ADD, Anxiety and Depression, posted by sillygrrl on July 18, 2001, at 17:32:48
i recently switched from ritalin sr to concerta and found it to be much smoother... i hardly noticed it...no buzz, no crash
just something to consider...
good luck
v> Hi folks,
>
> Here's what's up with my silly brain. Any suggestions?
>
> One shrink said I had ADD. Another said I had ADD not otherwise specified. One said I had Anxiety Disorder not otherwise specified. One said I had Dysthymic Disorder with recurrent Major Depressive Disorders.
>
> I think that about covers it. Poor concentration, can't pay attention, hard to focus, depressed, and anxious. When the depression goes away, the ADD symptoms do not, so I do think they are two separate things. The anxiety is always there, but never becomes panic.
>
> So what lovely little drug will help me?
>
> Prozac - my emotions were blunted. no orgasms. felt like I hadn't slept even when I did.
>
> Paxil - barely felt a thing. stopped taking it because I hated the shrink who prescribed it.
>
> Ritalin - suddenly became very OCD. Things out of place bothered me. Felt speedy. Lower doses only work if I've decided what I'm going to focus on *first*. Otherwise, I'm just jumpy.
>
> Zoloft - Absolutely great for killing depression. Cuts my sex drive in half, though. Orgasms harder to find. and I feel jittery sometimes. Much, much harder to focus on a task until completion. ADD is this way is much worse, though the mistakes I make from ADD are less likely to make me depressed and frustrated.
>
> Okay - any suggestions? Effexor? Adderal? Wellbutrin? My current doc is silly. Keeps giving me this, "Well, what do you want to try?" line. Um, hello...I thought that was his job. Anyway.
>
> silly
Posted by sl on July 19, 2001, at 7:30:17
In reply to Re: ADD, Anxiety and Depression » sillygrrl, posted by Mitch on July 18, 2001, at 23:41:57
YEEP. But it also can cause drowsiness, memory problems, word-finding problems...it made me stupid. I'm not saying everyone has those, but be careful.
sl
> I would give nortriptyline a shot. It is the only antidepressant that I have taken that helps with attention and reduces anxiety (and reduces depression).
>
> Mitch
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