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Post by Amtram on Apr 19, 2014 13:41:37 GMT -5
Sertraline was not cutting it for me. I started this yesterday for my depression. Obviously, too early to tell, but it's an interesting medication. It hits almost the entire gamut of serotonin receptors with no measurable affinity for dopamine or norepinephrine. Since SSNRIs gave me anxiety post-surgery, I'm hoping this will be nice and smooth and I can start back up on my Adderall again. Oh, Adderall, my dozen or so simultaneous trains of thought miss you so much. . .
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Post by Amtram on May 12, 2014 20:26:42 GMT -5
After nearly a week of panic attacks brought on partly by suddenly having to leave home and care for my father with dementia while my mother was in the hospital for a pulmonary embolism and papaya-sized lymphomas that she didn't want to trouble me with, I started to feel it. Still needed a little boost of klonopin when the daughters came home and dumped their dorm rooms into the center of the living room, but honestly, I'm feeling some benefit and few side effects. So far, so good.
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Post by Amtram on Jun 18, 2014 13:20:13 GMT -5
OK, I've now been on this for long enough to know if it's working. It's working. Dayum, it's working. Depression is gone, but I'm not emotionally numb. Well, a bit, but significantly less than anything I've ever taken (besides 120 mg/day of Cymbalta, but that is not such a good regimen for many reasons.) I think because it's so specifically aimed at serotonin receptors, it's not as good at alleviating anxiety as some other a/ds, but not being depressed helps a lot with that. Still negotiating that regimen with the NP who thinks all benzos are bad, M'kay? A man or a premenopausal woman would be better at telling whether the sexual side effects are better or worse. I can't give a good answer on that, sorry.
I think the nicest thing is that I feel emotionally normal. My normal is not what a neurotypical person would consider ideal, but it's tremendously better than depressed or robotic.
Besides still needing to work on sleep/anxiety (gimme back my xanax!) I have to see if I can learn to function on generic adderall. I'm willing to give it a chance for a month, but if it still sucks, I'll have to fight with the insurance company. Brintellix has fewer drug interactions than most of the antidepressants I've taken, so I have a little more flexibility as far as stimulants go, but I'm pretty certain that my tolerance of one over another is probably still the same.
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Post by tigger on Jun 18, 2014 13:36:39 GMT -5
Don't bet on the tolerance thing. As I've gotten older and further past menopause, I find that my med sensitivity has changed too.
Something that I discovered by accident is that not all generics are created equal. See if a different manufacturer is available for generic drugs that don't quite do it for you. I had negative reactions to Teva when I was taking Adderall. It was better with Sandoz. It was much better on Ritalin.
Glad that the depression is behind you. Managing ADHD is easier when you don't have to fight depression.
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Post by Amtram on Jun 18, 2014 14:25:44 GMT -5
Oh, yeah, I have altogether too much experience with generics being different - from both brand and each other. But so much has changed since brain surgery, I'm still testing the waters to see what works and what doesn't.
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Post by Amtram on Jul 5, 2014 9:44:25 GMT -5
I'm noticing that the tinnitus in my left ear has become louder and taken on a higher pitch. It seems to change character with each different antidepressant I try. I'm not sure how annoying it is.
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