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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 4 of 4. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by fiftylager on February 1, 2006, at 15:03:33
Hi! Although I haven't been diagnosed I have an appt. next week. I have a history with depression (very severe at age 15). I am not so severe right now but go through periods where I will feel severe for a few days. I also suffer severe anxiety. I have done so much reading on the internet and I definitely believe I have atypical depression.
I sleep too much (can't go without a nap and have great difficulty getting out of bed), I overeat, I am scared of rejection and being abandoned, hate critism, suffer severe anxiety, I get so tired I feel I can't move.
Anyways, my conundrum is, the first line treatment is MAOI's. My doctor will not want to prescribe these and I don't know if I want to take them. I tried prozac as a teen and noticed no difference, except aggitation. I tried celexa and it was a horrid experience (1/2 a pill and I thought I was dying). I tried Wellbutrin which made me very light headed and spacey and slightly agitated. I couldn't function on it. Right now I'm on buspar which mildly helps the anxiety but not enough to justify the cost. Any advice out there?
Thanx,
Crissi
Posted by gibber on February 1, 2006, at 17:56:29
In reply to atypical depression - med advice..., posted by fiftylager on February 1, 2006, at 15:03:33
I have the same symptoms. I went through a bunch of SSRIs and alternative meds with no relief. I'm on Nardil now and have notice some progress. You may want to present some of the information you gathered to your doctor. Is this a new doctor? Some doctors can be put off when the patient knows a lot, but some are not. I know someone here who will bring in PubMed articles to their doctor to make a case. If you have psychomotor slowing, like me, you could read/bring in the article just posted recently on this board. It makes a case for NOT using SSRIs. I feel comfortable on MAOIs simply because I had no choice but to try them and I haven't had any hypertensive crisis yet. I wouldn't worry too much about the whole thing, it'll take a little time to find the right doctor and/or med. If you live in the Boston, MA I could help you out a little more. Some hospital websites will tell you what a particular doctors specialty is, e.g. treatment resistants, maois, etc...
Posted by Meri-Tuuli on February 2, 2006, at 7:07:58
In reply to atypical depression - med advice..., posted by fiftylager on February 1, 2006, at 15:03:33
Hey there!
Wow, you sound alot like me and my experiences with those exact same meds! Except I wasted a year of my life on celexa which turned me into a sleeping eating zombie. Prozac, same response as you as well as for wellbutrin. But anyway, glad to hear that BuSpar is working wellish. Thats one I haven't tried.Well, for me anyway, I have found some relief by taking St John's Wort. Its very gentle, so it won't aggitate you like prozac and wellbutrin did, and works similarly to a MAOI. I've been taking it, and have liked it alot. I doubt a GP would actually prescribe it through, unless you live in Germany, where it is very very popular. If taking this, then you need to get a good brand, something like Kira, as quality can become an issue.
Hmmm, but other than that, have you thought about Effexor? I was on it for half a year and it was okay. Maybe exggerates sleeping/eating (which you want to avoid!). But better than Celexa/Prozac/wellbutrin
Kind regards
Meri
Posted by PsychoPharmaFiender on February 2, 2006, at 21:03:31
In reply to atypical depression - med advice..., posted by fiftylager on February 1, 2006, at 15:03:33
Hi-
I have many of the same symptoms as you. My depression/fatigue/anxiety problems started to get bad enought to seek treatment when I was 18, I am now 27. For many years I was being treated for a diagnosis of depression and anxiety. However, it was only recently that a new doc identified my main problems a result of Post traumatic stress disorder.I had alot of stress at home and school from the ages of 11-17 which resulted in lots of fatigue and anxiety problems to emerge at 18. I never discussed the problems I experienced when younger to the attention of my previous Docs. However, for some reason I did with this doc and she says that alot of the meds I had been trying were making things worse.
I too had ALOT of problems with oversleeping and fatigue but my new doc fixed those. I had permission from my work to arrive later than everyone else cuz of the problem. My Doc prescribed adderall for me and the plan was this. Whatever time I needed to awake, I would set my alarm 2 hours before that time. When the alarm went off, I would take 20 mg of adderall immediately then go back to sleep. After an hour I would awake on my own and then read or listen to music with a bright light on. After doing this for approximately 3 months, my sleep cycle dramatically improved and I now have so much more energy.
The only symptoms I am trying to treat now are my anxiety and thought patterns/dissocative states. Take Care !
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