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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 8 of 8. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Ilene on November 6, 2003, at 14:10:08
I am about to re-start desipramine (I think the trade name is Norpramin), which was the first AD I ever took, about 15 years ago. I stopped taking it when I was trying for my 2nd kid, and it stopped working when I started taking it again.
Is there any chance it will work after giving it a 13-yr rest? It had unpleasant side effects, but it worked as well as anything else.
The plan is to augment it with an anti-psychotic, probably risperidone (Risperdal), if necessary, to stop the intense circular ruminations.
The other plan is to wait until duloxetine (Cymbalta) is on the market or try venlaxafine (Effexor) again. I *hated* Effexor, but I was taking it with a handful of other drugs, including bupropion (Wellbutrin), which might have added to the twitchiness and all-around unpleasantness.
The pdoc thinks I need an SNRI. I'm not going to argue with her. At this point it's all hit or miss.
Any experiences here?
BTW, I've been trying tiagabine (Gabatril), and it keeps me awake at night! The pdoc was thought it was going to be the best thing since sliced bread. Back to neurontin. I need my sleep.
Ilene
Posted by ace on November 9, 2003, at 21:06:02
In reply to Has anyone had luck restarting pooped out AD?, posted by Ilene on November 6, 2003, at 14:10:08
> I am about to re-start desipramine (I think the trade name is Norpramin), which was the first AD I ever took, about 15 years ago. I stopped taking it when I was trying for my 2nd kid, and it stopped working when I started taking it again.
>
> Is there any chance it will work after giving it a 13-yr rest?Yeah!...TCA poop-out is very rare- I don't believe I've seen it happen before.
It had unpleasant side effects, but it worked as well as anything else.
>
> The plan is to augment it with an anti-psychotic, probably risperidone (Risperdal), if necessary, to stop the intense circular ruminations.How about Amisulpride or Olanzapine?
>
> The other plan is to wait until duloxetine (Cymbalta) is on the market or try venlaxafine (Effexor) again. I *hated* Effexor, but I was taking it with a handful of other drugs, including bupropion (Wellbutrin), which might have added to the twitchiness and all-around unpleasantness.
>
> The pdoc thinks I need an SNRI. I'm not going to argue with her. At this point it's all hit or miss.
>
> Any experiences here?
>
> BTW, I've been trying tiagabine (Gabatril), and it keeps me awake at night! The pdoc was thought it was going to be the best thing since sliced bread. Back to neurontin. I need my sleep.
>
> Ilene
Posted by Ilene on November 11, 2003, at 16:29:05
In reply to Re: Has anyone had luck restarting pooped out AD?, posted by ace on November 9, 2003, at 21:06:02
> Yeah!...TCA poop-out is very rare- I don't believe I've seen it happen before.
>I think any AD can poop out.
>
> > The plan is to augment it with an anti-psychotic, probably risperidone (Risperdal), if necessary, to stop the intense circular ruminations.
>
> How about Amisulpride or Olanzapine?
>
I don't know.This pdoc is very conservative with meds, but she's also my therapist and has provided moral support when I needed it. She's also the only doc who *listens* to me and accepts the info. I pull off the internet.
Interesting that you should reply, Ace, because I wanted to give MAOIs a try. I've read they are best for people w/ atypical depression.
Ilene
Posted by Flipsactown on November 13, 2003, at 7:37:58
In reply to Has anyone had luck restarting pooped out AD?, posted by Ilene on November 6, 2003, at 14:10:08
Hello Ilene,
I also had dramatic results with desipramine, only I took it with prozac. It is suppose to increase the effects of prozac. This combo worked for 7 years for me and then pooped out. I had alternated between prozac and zoloft with the desipramine. If you are suffering from unipolar depression, then you need to look into taking lamictal which I am currently taking with prozac and in 6 weeks I had the dramatic results that I had before with the prozac. Desipramine was not added until the prozac pooped out after 2 years. Go to this link and it has good information about treatment resistant depression, www.bipolarworld.net/Phelps/ph_2003/ph1016.htm
Good Luck,
Flipsactown> I am about to re-start desipramine (I think the trade name is Norpramin), which was the first AD I ever took, about 15 years ago. I stopped taking it when I was trying for my 2nd kid, and it stopped working when I started taking it again.
>
> Is there any chance it will work after giving it a 13-yr rest? It had unpleasant side effects, but it worked as well as anything else.
>
> The plan is to augment it with an anti-psychotic, probably risperidone (Risperdal), if necessary, to stop the intense circular ruminations.
>
> The other plan is to wait until duloxetine (Cymbalta) is on the market or try venlaxafine (Effexor) again. I *hated* Effexor, but I was taking it with a handful of other drugs, including bupropion (Wellbutrin), which might have added to the twitchiness and all-around unpleasantness.
>
> The pdoc thinks I need an SNRI. I'm not going to argue with her. At this point it's all hit or miss.
>
> Any experiences here?
>
> BTW, I've been trying tiagabine (Gabatril), and it keeps me awake at night! The pdoc was thought it was going to be the best thing since sliced bread. Back to neurontin. I need my sleep.
>
> Ilene
Posted by Ilene on November 13, 2003, at 17:04:49
In reply to Re: Has anyone had luck restarting pooped out AD? » Ilene, posted by Flipsactown on November 13, 2003, at 7:37:58
> Hello Ilene,
>
> I also had dramatic results with desipramine, only I took it with prozac. It is suppose to increase the effects of prozac. This combo worked for 7 years for me and then pooped out. I had alternated between prozac and zoloft with the desipramine. If you are suffering from unipolar depression, then you need to look into taking lamictal which I am currently taking with prozac and in 6 weeks I had the dramatic results that I had before with the prozac. Desipramine was not added until the prozac pooped out after 2 years. Go to this link and it has good information about treatment resistant depression, www.bipolarworld.net/Phelps/ph_2003/ph1016.htm
>
> Good Luck,
> Flipsactown
>I took Lamictal for about 8 months--I used info I got from Phelp's own site
http://www.psycheducation.org/
to convince my pdoc to try a mood stabilizer. I was taking 3 or 4 other meds at the same time, including Wellbutrin. Didn't do anything for me.I've felt pretty good (relatively) with the desipramine so far. It could be a coincidence that I started feeling more energized within hours of starting it.
Do you have atypical depression? Anxiety? PTSD? Any other conditions? Any sexual SEs?
Ilene
Posted by Flipsactown on November 13, 2003, at 17:42:56
In reply to Re: Has anyone had luck restarting pooped out AD? » Flipsactown, posted by Ilene on November 13, 2003, at 17:04:49
I am unipolar, no mania. How high a dose did you go with the lamictal and with what other meds did you take it with? With desipramine, I became very energetic because it also acted as a pain killer. I did have some insomnia in the beginning. As far as side effects, with zoloft and prozac, initially, had a decrease libido,headache and dry mouth, then I guess my body adjusted to it. Wellbutrin really did not do anything for me, along with effexor, paxil, celexa, elavil. Remeron helped my insomnia more than my depression. That is why I am weaning off of it. Currently, I am taking prozac, remeron along with the lamictal. I take oxycontin for my chronic back pain which caused my depression, so my pdoc say. Later.
Flipsactown
> > Hello Ilene,
> >
> > I also had dramatic results with desipramine, only I took it with prozac. It is suppose to increase the effects of prozac. This combo worked for 7 years for me and then pooped out. I had alternated between prozac and zoloft with the desipramine. If you are suffering from unipolar depression, then you need to look into taking lamictal which I am currently taking with prozac and in 6 weeks I had the dramatic results that I had before with the prozac. Desipramine was not added until the prozac pooped out after 2 years. Go to this link and it has good information about treatment resistant depression, www.bipolarworld.net/Phelps/ph_2003/ph1016.htm
> >
> > Good Luck,
> > Flipsactown
> >
>
> I took Lamictal for about 8 months--I used info I got from Phelp's own site
> http://www.psycheducation.org/
> to convince my pdoc to try a mood stabilizer. I was taking 3 or 4 other meds at the same time, including Wellbutrin. Didn't do anything for me.
>
> I've felt pretty good (relatively) with the desipramine so far. It could be a coincidence that I started feeling more energized within hours of starting it.
>
> Do you have atypical depression? Anxiety? PTSD? Any other conditions? Any sexual SEs?
>
> Ilene
Posted by Ilene on November 13, 2003, at 21:40:53
In reply to Re: Has anyone had luck restarting pooped out AD? » Ilene, posted by Flipsactown on November 13, 2003, at 17:42:56
> I am unipolar, no mania. How high a dose did you go with the lamictal and with what other meds did you take it with? With desipramine, I became very energetic because it also acted as a pain killer. I did have some insomnia in the beginning. As far as side effects, with zoloft and prozac, initially, had a decrease libido,headache and dry mouth, then I guess my body adjusted to it. Wellbutrin really did not do anything for me, along with effexor, paxil, celexa, elavil. Remeron helped my insomnia more than my depression. That is why I am weaning off of it. Currently, I am taking prozac, remeron along with the lamictal. I take oxycontin for my chronic back pain which caused my depression, so my pdoc say. Later.
>
> Flipsactown> >
I think I got up to 225 mg/day of Lamictal. I was taking Provigil, Wellbutrin, Neurontin, and Elavil at the same time.
I have semi-chronic pain from chronic fatigue syndrome that is becoming more and more like fibromyalgia--whole-body pain, but no tender points. The cfs is recurrent, but it is recurring more often. I hope the desipramine will have some effect on it.
I have some Ultracet that I take occasionally for the the pain. I've been taking only 1/2-doses because narcotics make me very woozy. Unfortunately, a 1/2 dose isn't very effective, but it's better than Advil.
I can see how pain could make a person depressed, but I don't see how it could cause the disease of depression. Pain is often a symptom of depression. Maybe saying "it comes with pain" is more descriptive. In some ways they are the same thing.
Insomnia is a big problem for me, because it triggers the cfs, which makes me non-functional. Desipramine doesn't make it worse, though.
Ilene
Posted by vanessa33 on November 15, 2003, at 16:09:46
In reply to Re: Has anyone had luck restarting pooped out AD? » ace, posted by Ilene on November 11, 2003, at 16:29:05
> > > The plan is to augment it with an anti-psychotic, probably risperidone (Risperdal), if necessary, to stop the intense circular ruminations.
--------This is just one amateur opinion, but I would never let someone prescribe me an antipsychotic unless I was actually psychotic.
Someone tried that on me once, many years ago, prescribing an antipsychotic for a reason other than psychosis (since I don't have that). And I will actually never forgive that doctor. It "messed with my mind" in a way that no mood supplement like antidepressants ever has. And I felt we should have had MUCH MORE of a conversation about what antipsychotics really are and really do before he just went handing me one like, "Here - try this. Even though you don't have psychosis, it might help with the anxiety etc." If I'd known how serious a drug this was, I would have said NO.
That's just one person's experience! But to me, the antipsychotic was a WHOLE DIFFERENT BALLGAME from the antidepressants. It messed with me in a way that was completely unacceptable to me. I would never let someone give me something like that again. It still makes me mad.
I'm not saying people who suffer from psychosis shouldn't take them. Not at all! I think people should use what's out there, that can help. But prescribing them to non-psychotics for "other reasons"? .....all I can say is that for me, that was unforgivable thing to do. It was a SERIOUS drug and I was not well-informed about how serious it was.
What that doctor tried giving me was NOT the same drug you just mentioned - it was just in the same family. And I don't want to say what you should do! But as a total amateur with one bad experience, I would recommend taking more caution and expressing more concern over an antipsychotic than with simply a new antidepressant or anxiety medication.
This is the end of the thread.
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