[pooh_ac]

Cam I saw (or thought I saw) a post from you stating that if a person does not respond to medications that they may not be depressed......
I have a diagnosis of treatment resistant depression and have taken the following medicationsnot all at the same time)
Zoloft (up to 300mg day)
Effexor XR up to 275mg
Prozac up to 80mg
Celexia (do not remember the upper dose)
Elavil (up to 75mg )
Pamelor (different dosages differnt times)
Zyprexia 5mg
Seroquel
Wellbutrin
Lithium
Adderall (sp?)
Remeron
Buspar
Xanax
Dexadrine
Transene(sp)
AND have 18 ect treatment.
Also had a very unfortunate result from the above dose of Zoloft taken in combination with Ultram days in ICU with seratonin crisis)
Have been told by several different pdoc that I should NEVER take SSRI's again.
Despite my liver and kidney functions being ok per labs I tend to build up toxic levels of tricylics (telephone calls from docs telling me to go to ER to have myself checked out)
Do you think there is any hope for a medication for me?


"Show me a sane man and I will cure him for you."

Carl Gustav Jung

[pooh_ac]

Hellllllooooooo??????

"Show me a sane man and I will cure him for you."

Carl Gustav Jung

[CamW]

Pooh - Sorry it has taken so long for me to answer. I have not had access to a computer with the internet for over a week. Also, I have not been feeling well of late. Also, I did go through your drug history fairly closely to try to see what the doctor's game plan was; this took a bit of time (I'm a little rusty, not being directly involved in the psych game anymore).

There is a large number of very treatment resistant depressions out in the real world. There are many reasons for treatment resistance, most of them haven't been found, yet.

When all of the classes of antidepressant medications have been given adequate trials it is time to look for other reasons for the symptoms being experienced. I prefer to have someone who is suffering from major depression - if at all possible - take an antidepressant for at least 8 to 12 weeks before giving up on it. There have been numerous times that I have seen an antidepressant have a delayed reaction. This probably has something to do with a person's individual physiology.

Actually, I (and most pdocs nowadays) like to rule out any causal factors (eg. some medications, some illnesses, something in the environment, some problem with the immune system, and so on and so on and so on) that may mimic depression. There are several differential (alternative) diagnoses that have depression-like symptoms, but most pdocs are aware of them. Sometimes it is as simple as having an underactive thyroid, but usually it isn't .

Hang in there, and keep asking questions. I will list a number of differential diagnoses, but remember, in the majority of cases of treatment-resistant depression the actual biochemical breakdown/abnormality cannot be found.

Unfortunately, one has to fumble through treatment after treatment (as you know) until you find something that partially works; then you add on something else that also complements the first medication, and see if you can achieve anymore relief; and so on.

I see that you haven't tried any of the anticonvulsant mood stabilizers (eg. Epival™/Depakote [divalproex], lithium carbonate, carbamazepine [Tegretol™], etc.). Ask your doc about these and see if he thinks that a trial for you is appropriate. The medication that Darkeyes is currently taking (Lamictal™ [lamotrigine]) has shown fairly decent results in treating depresion associated with bipolar disorder.

I know that this is not much, but I hope that this is of some help. - Cam



To fully understand a concept is to be unable to convey it's intricacies verbally; only when one can sense it emotionally, does one understand.

[pooh_ac]

Cam,
I have taken all of those medications for at least 2 months b4 my doc(s) would change them. Also have taken lithium, my thyroid gets checked about once a year because I keep thinking it has to be part of the problem. My docs talked about depakote and or tegretol but felt due to my history of "becoming toxic" that any med that builds a level may not be safe for me to take even with regular labs. I would take a MOAI but they have the same feeling about that. I have even tried a light box it is just so hard to live in limbo and see others with depression get better, good for them, hard on me.
sigh

"Show me a sane man and I will cure him for you."

Carl Gustav Jung

[darkeyes]

I would go beyond "fairly decent" in y case, it is terrific, I mean if I am still "standing, and even managing to laugh" after these 4 rough years practically all stacked up like planes on the tarmack, then I feel Lamictal to be more than "fairly decent", ha!ha!

Just don't give up, winners never lose and losers never win

In giving advice seek to help, not please your friend
SOLON

[CamW]

DE - Yeah, finding the proper "fix" can (and usually is) a long and frustrating journey. - Cam

To fully understand a concept is to be unable to convey it's intricacies verbally; only when one can sense it emotionally, does one understand.