Quote:
Originally Posted by valiente
I suffer from treatment resistant depression. I currently take 20 mg. of Prozac on Monday, Wednesday and Friday (none on weekends), Zyprexa, 5 mg. and Xanax, 1 mg., for severe morning anxiety and 1 mg. at bedtime. Recently my doctor determined that I also have ADD. He prescribed Ritalin for the ADD and says that it is also helpful for depression. I take 10 mg. in the morning and 10 mg. at noon. Has anyone been prescribed Ritalin for depression and if so, has it helped?
He also said that next time I have an appointment he wants to add a small dose (200 mg) of Lithium. I wasn't clear on what this would do. Any ideas? 
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Lithium is primarily for Bipolar Disorders, and only rarely prescribed for Major Depressive Disorder alone. I wonder why he prescribed that? I would never take anything that I didn't know what it was indicated for or how it was expected to affect me. I find it odd that you only take the Prozac certain days of the week.

I take a Ritalin type drug (Ritalin is from the stimulant class) for ADHD. Stimulants are also used in treatment-resistant depressive disorders, and I hear they can be effective when used in moderation. The dose you were prescribed is a low dose but will probably be helpful. If not, it is usually safe to incrementally increase the stimulant without side effects. However, if you have Bipolar Disorder, stimulants can really exacerbate the illness, so if a Bipolar patient is given stimulants they are usually closely monitored.
Are you seeing a psychiatrist for these medications? Your Pdoc/doc keeps adding more and more drugs to the regimen, because obviously the drugs are not working to eliminate the anxiety or depression. I do believe drugs can be helpful, but not in the long-term without therapy, anxiety in particular.
Have you considered seeing a psychologist for weekly therapy to deal with your anxiety and depression? You would be more likely to have a better outcome that if you used medication alone, and you might even be able to eventually reduce or eliminate one or more drugs that you have to deal with.