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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 11 of 11. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by wishingstar on February 16, 2007, at 18:20:55
Anyone ever heard of this?
Called my pdoc today wanting to admit myself to the psych unit. I'm having a VERY hard time. He told me it probably wasnt needed and that he'd leave me a perscription to pick up on Monday for adderall. I havent been on any meds for about six weeks because I couldnt tolerate the last one he gave me (cymbalta) and then got ill (unrelated) and couldnt get in to see him. My appt is the 28th.
I've been on the following, all with no success: zoloft, prozac, effexor, wellbutrin, celexa, lexapro, lithium, and lamictal (made me worse). Tried wellbutrin and effexor together, as well as lithium and lamictal together.
Adderall just feels like an odd choice. I understand its supposed to have some energy-boosting effects, which I do need, but my biggest problem really is this deep depression I cant get out of.
Any thoughts? Anyone tried this or heard anything?
Posted by dbc on February 16, 2007, at 18:27:48
In reply to adderall for depression, posted by wishingstar on February 16, 2007, at 18:20:55
Amphetamines are good for depression thats for sure. I doubt he's going to keep you on it for long though.
Posted by wishingstar on February 16, 2007, at 18:50:12
In reply to Re: adderall for depression, posted by dbc on February 16, 2007, at 18:27:48
We'd talked about it before and he mentioned it as though it'd be a maintenance drug... something I took just like prozac or anything else you take daily. I've done some reading online and that concers me a bit. I'll talk to him about it at my next appt of course. Thanks.
Posted by med_empowered on February 16, 2007, at 19:47:21
In reply to Re: adderall for depression » dbc, posted by wishingstar on February 16, 2007, at 18:50:12
amphetamines are surprisingly effective for a lot of people with depression, both over the short- and long-term. I say give it a whirl.
As a bonus, amphetamines have been around for 60+ years, so there aren't many surprises that pop up...antidepressants, on the other hand, are largely uncharted territory.
Posted by dbc on February 16, 2007, at 19:51:34
In reply to Re: adderall for depression, posted by med_empowered on February 16, 2007, at 19:47:21
60? Try 100 years.
Dexedrine is my amphetamine of choice but everyone is different.
Posted by rjlockhart on February 16, 2007, at 20:29:17
In reply to adderall for depression, posted by wishingstar on February 16, 2007, at 18:20:55
Amphetamine used to be the treatment for depression back in the 1950's.
It does have mood elevating effects definelty, but today it is not used for depression because it can actually flucate it by you going "up" then going down.
Posted by Phillipa on February 16, 2007, at 21:30:30
In reply to Re: adderall for depression, posted by rjlockhart on February 16, 2007, at 20:29:17
Does he think you may be ADD? or ADHD? Just asking. Love Phillipa
Posted by wishingstar on February 16, 2007, at 23:38:06
In reply to Re: adderall for depression, posted by Phillipa on February 16, 2007, at 21:30:30
thanks everyone. we'll see what happens.
No phillipa, no ADD/ADHD at all. In fact, concentration is one thing I dont have a terribly hard time with even during mild/moderate depression.. only when the depression gets really bad.
Posted by laima on February 17, 2007, at 8:44:57
In reply to adderall for depression, posted by wishingstar on February 16, 2007, at 18:20:55
I understand amphetamines are still considered useful for tough depressions, and when they work, it's pretty instant and dramatic. I speculate their abuse appeal is related to this fact that they can brighten mood so instantly and dramatically- while typically improving competence right along at the same time. They used to BE the antidepressents, but one reason they fell out of favor was high levels of abuse by both patients and non-patients. (We've heard the phrase, "better than well"- I think that is a definate possibility with some stimulants.) To top it off, if someone takes more of some stims than they should, the potential crash could be worse- starting a real cycle. I'm sure this could be a real risk to well being for some patients.
I've found the brand name adderall to be an AMAZING help for me for both mood and ADD. It doesn't feel at all "druggy" to me, and perhaps for that reason there really isn't any temptation to abuse it. Abusing it seems to have as much appeal and makes about as much sense to me as abusing, say, Emsam. Anyway, I read somewhere once that it was specifically designed to not result in a mood crash, and to be "even". I don't use it late in the day, and it seems to flush out well enough that I don't have sleep difficulties from it. For whatever mysterious reason, I didn't have the same good luck with generic adderall, and it actually left me feeling emotionally volitile when it wore off.
I think your doctor may be on to something.
> Anyone ever heard of this?
>
> Called my pdoc today wanting to admit myself to the psych unit. I'm having a VERY hard time. He told me it probably wasnt needed and that he'd leave me a perscription to pick up on Monday for adderall. I havent been on any meds for about six weeks because I couldnt tolerate the last one he gave me (cymbalta) and then got ill (unrelated) and couldnt get in to see him. My appt is the 28th.
>
> I've been on the following, all with no success: zoloft, prozac, effexor, wellbutrin, celexa, lexapro, lithium, and lamictal (made me worse). Tried wellbutrin and effexor together, as well as lithium and lamictal together.
>
> Adderall just feels like an odd choice. I understand its supposed to have some energy-boosting effects, which I do need, but my biggest problem really is this deep depression I cant get out of.
>
> Any thoughts? Anyone tried this or heard anything?
Posted by wishingstar on February 17, 2007, at 14:19:08
In reply to Re: adderall for depression » wishingstar, posted by laima on February 17, 2007, at 8:44:57
Thanks laima for sharing your experiences. I'm excited to try it.. it sounds like it could be promising. But from what many people have said, it sounds like it isnt something I should plan to take every day for... forever, right? I'm a bit concerned because I do tend to have an addictive personality and get hooked on things easily. Knowing in advance about this potential should help though, and I will talk about it with my pdoc. I'm planning to talk to him about trying a non-SSRI AD, as I've never been on any of those. Maybe the adderall will at least get me through the inbetween while I'm searching for a better AD. We'll see.
Thanks!
Posted by laima on February 17, 2007, at 23:56:28
In reply to Re: adderall for depression » laima, posted by wishingstar on February 17, 2007, at 14:19:08
I think if it works, why not leave it open ended? You can decide as you go along, after all. You'll know for yourself if you start craving extra unnecessary medication... if you run out early...that sort of thing. I had a craving problem with ritalin, but not with adderall. Seems to me I craved to take extra ritalin as each dose wore off- but again, that really doesn't seem to be an issue with the brand name adderall, because the wearing off seems nearly undetectable. It's supposedly a highly designed drug, specifically intened to be smooth acting, without spikes or crashes- and I'm feeling impressed by how well they did. As for addiction- I imagine there would be a withdrawal if the adderall disappeared suddenly, but most accounts say it's only a day or two. Antidepressents, benzos- many or most known to come with potential for much worse withdrawals. As for the every day part- there are actually a number of reports on remedyfind from people who have been taking adderall, even other stimulants, daily for years for depression with success. I was very concerned with starting adderall myself, because "amphetamine" sounds so severe, somehow. Well, I'm sure there are people who would debate this, but my doctor maintains that indeed loads of people take adderall for years without a glitch. He says if the last dose is early enough in the day, it flushes out of the body each night, and the brain gets a chance to recover. Per his view, antidepressents and benzos with much longer half-lives are the drugs most associated with tolerance and poop out, because the brain never gets a break from them. I hope he's right- I do feel good at least to know he's quite well repected in his field, to an extent his opinion isn't easily dismissable. Really, I feel that considering how well this med is working out for me, and if it continues to do so, and if I am spared tolerance and poop out to boot- wow. I'm using it along with Emsam, and this is probably the most effective combo I've ever had, fingers crossed it holds up. (Again though- this is one med where there seems to be a humungous difference between brand and generic.) But wow, if you haven't tried any of the non-ssri antidepressants yet, you've got loads of options in front of you. Your prospects sound quite promising. Good luck!
> Thanks laima for sharing your experiences. I'm excited to try it.. it sounds like it could be promising. But from what many people have said, it sounds like it isnt something I should plan to take every day for... forever, right? I'm a bit concerned because I do tend to have an addictive personality and get hooked on things easily. Knowing in advance about this potential should help though, and I will talk about it with my pdoc. I'm planning to talk to him about trying a non-SSRI AD, as I've never been on any of those. Maybe the adderall will at least get me through the inbetween while I'm searching for a better AD. We'll see.
>
> Thanks!
This is the end of the thread.
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