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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 6 of 6. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Roo on August 15, 2002, at 9:05:20
DX: Cyclothymia
Situation: Have done great on just prozac for 7 years,
but it pooped out. Also did good for awhile on prozac plus
lamictal, but I couldn't sleep at all on the lamictal and that
side effect didn't fade. Have been experiencing intolerable
side effects with other stuff I've tried since then (or it just
hasn't worked) and have basically felt horrible for the past 4 months.
I feel like I can barely work or function and am starting to get scared--
like 'what's going to happen to me?' Who will take care of me if I
can't take care of myself? It's scary to me. Anyway, here's a list
of what I've tried, and maybe someone has a suggestion of something
else to try. I've only been on a mood stabilizer once, but it did seem
helpful.Drugs I've tried:
zoloft--diarreah/insomnia/sexual dysfunction
effexor--didn't help that much, if at all, depression
got worse when I went from 37 to 75 mgs.
Celexa--Insomnia, sexual dysfunction
Wellbutrin--felt angry on, didn't help depression much
Serzone--felt insane on that stuff, suicidal.
Desipramine--Doesn't work that great, still felt mildly depressed on/constipation
Prozac--worked great for 8 years and then stopped working (around the time they went generic)
Lamictal--insomniaHaven't tried:
Paxil
Luvox
Remeron
MAO's
other tricyclics besides desipramine
Posted by alii on August 15, 2002, at 9:42:34
In reply to Seeing P-doc today--any suggestions?, posted by Roo on August 15, 2002, at 9:05:20
Roo,
Knowing next to nothing of the chemical compositions of Prozac or Paxil...my gut instinct is to try Paxil next.
It was what I moved on to after prozac 'pooped out' on me back in 95. One thing that made me stop Paxil was the anorgasmia. However that might not be as much of a side effect for you.....other than that Paxil seemed 'mild' to me and worked to some degree on my depression back then when I was on single meds.
Whee. Roll them dice! Seriously Roo....wishing you the best today with pdoc and hoping you find fitting med with this next switch.
Fingers crossed in hope,
Alii
Posted by Dinah on August 15, 2002, at 9:48:06
In reply to Seeing P-doc today--any suggestions?, posted by Roo on August 15, 2002, at 9:05:20
I've also been diagnosed with cyclothymia, and for me the most helpful meds with the least side effects have been mood stabilizers.
I had some trouble with nightmares and muscle stiffness on neurontin, but that was just me, I'm sure.
Low dose Depakote is my maintenance medication.
Posted by Ritch on August 15, 2002, at 10:19:20
In reply to Seeing P-doc today--any suggestions?, posted by Roo on August 15, 2002, at 9:05:20
> DX: Cyclothymia
> Situation: Have done great on just prozac for 7 years,
> but it pooped out. Also did good for awhile on prozac plus
> lamictal, but I couldn't sleep at all on the lamictal and that
> side effect didn't fade. Have been experiencing intolerable
> side effects with other stuff I've tried since then (or it just
> hasn't worked) and have basically felt horrible for the past 4 months.
> I feel like I can barely work or function and am starting to get scared--
> like 'what's going to happen to me?' Who will take care of me if I
> can't take care of myself? It's scary to me. Anyway, here's a list
> of what I've tried, and maybe someone has a suggestion of something
> else to try. I've only been on a mood stabilizer once, but it did seem
> helpful.
>
> Drugs I've tried:
>
> zoloft--diarreah/insomnia/sexual dysfunction
> effexor--didn't help that much, if at all, depression
> got worse when I went from 37 to 75 mgs.
> Celexa--Insomnia, sexual dysfunction
> Wellbutrin--felt angry on, didn't help depression much
> Serzone--felt insane on that stuff, suicidal.
> Desipramine--Doesn't work that great, still felt mildly depressed on/constipation
> Prozac--worked great for 8 years and then stopped working (around the time they went generic)
> Lamictal--insomnia
>
> Haven't tried:
>
> Paxil
> Luvox
> Remeron
> MAO's
> other tricyclics besides desipramine
Roo,You mentioned that a mood stabilizer was helpful, but you couldn't sleep well on the Lamictal. What about a lithium trial?
Mitch
Posted by Roo on August 15, 2002, at 13:51:57
In reply to Re: Seeing P-doc today--any suggestions? » Roo, posted by Ritch on August 15, 2002, at 10:19:20
Well...she put me on prozac weekly (I guess in the hopes
that it might override whatever was missing in the generic
prozac--like I said, prozac worked great for me until they went
generic...I know it sounds paranoid, but it's true)and prescribed Topomax for a mood stabilizer.
We'll see I guess. Another ride on the med merry go 'round.
She tried topamax b/c I'm leary of the weight gainers. I was
tempted to try the remeron b/c of the lack of sexual side effects,
but scared of the weight gain. If this doesn't work, I may try it
anyway.
Posted by Ritch on August 15, 2002, at 22:25:01
In reply to Re: Seeing P-doc today--any suggestions?, posted by Roo on August 15, 2002, at 13:51:57
> Well...she put me on prozac weekly (I guess in the hopes
> that it might override whatever was missing in the generic
> prozac--like I said, prozac worked great for me until they went
> generic...I know it sounds paranoid, but it's true)
>
> and prescribed Topomax for a mood stabilizer.
>
> We'll see I guess. Another ride on the med merry go 'round.
>
> She tried topamax b/c I'm leary of the weight gainers. I was
> tempted to try the remeron b/c of the lack of sexual side effects,
> but scared of the weight gain. If this doesn't work, I may try it
> anyway.
Hi Roo,That is interesting about the Prozac weekly. I was seeing a GP a long time ago that complained about prescribing just one 20mg capsule of Prozac every week (I actually divided it into sevenths in water every day)-he thought it was stupid. I would like to talk to him now! That is the advantage of being bipolar, you don't have to burn a lot of money on antidepressants. My current pdoc gave me a bag of Celexa samples over a year ago and I still have about half of it left over. Now I am on 37.5mg of Effexor (1/3 of a capsule each day or 1/6 of a 75mg XR), and I am doing samples with that (no cost).
Topamax-let us know how it goes. I only tried the 15mg TOP caps once at bedtime, and then increased it to 25mg TOP caps twice daily (50mg a day total). Whew!, I was pretty zoned with Neurontin thrown in. It did seem to have a really strong antimanic effect though. I just felt so zonked. Well, if you are zonked or not tell us about it OK?
Mitch
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