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Which ad-on med for depression?

Evey

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Evey

Evey

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Hi everyone,

I'm diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder and I had to stop taking Lamictal because of side effects. I'm at that point again where I need to find something that works with the other meds. Right now I'm on Paxil, Seroquel XR, and Klonopin. Two weeks ago I changed from being on regular Seroquel to the XR version and I'm having side effects that I can't deal with. The plan is to go back to just take the regular Seroquel at the dose I was at when I was on Lamictal. I had upped the Seroquel when I got off Lamictal to try and replace it, but its not working. I've been on Risperdal, Abilify, Zyprexa. What is a good med for depression. Lamictal worked great for the three years I was on it and Seroquel XR was working good, but the blood sugar thing is making me have to stop. Thank you for any help. Sorry if this isn't written well. I'm very anxious at the moment.

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Evey

Evey

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I likes my buspirone, but be warned, it's a small gun.

And you can expect to take it for a good three weeks to a month before seeing any bennies.

Thank you for the suggestion. I've tried buspirone. Wasn't for me ;) I should put all my past meds in my sig :)

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Evey

Evey

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Dropping the Paxil in favor of Cymbalta, Effexor or Remeron would all be logical things to try.

The reason I don't get rid of the Paxil is because its been the only pill that has helped my Panic Disorder. I've tried Remeron.

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Evey

Evey

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Is your Dx MDD or recurrent depression? Have you just had one episode of depression or have you had go into remission a few times and then come back?

Aren't they the same thing? I will go a bit into remission when meds work, but its never truly gone.

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Velvet Elvis

Velvet Elvis

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Recurrent depression is a different diagnosis than Major Depressive Disorder. If you have 3(?) or more major depressive episodes over the course of a lifetime it's generally classified as recurrent depression. In the later case the addition of a mood stabilizer may be helpful.

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Guest Vapourware

Guest Vapourware

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In terms of mood stabilisers, I've heard lithium works well with lifting people out of depression.

Sounds like you have double depression? MDD + dysthymia?

Pristiq worked for me - it's an upgraded version of Effexor. Depending on where you live, Effexor might be a cheaper option.

I guess there's the MAOIs to try as well, but AFAIK they're probably tried as a last-resort med and I don't know if you're at that stage yet.

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Velvet Elvis

Velvet Elvis

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In terms of mood stabilisers, I've heard lithium works well with lifting people out of depression.

Sounds like you have double depression? MDD + dysthymia?

Pristiq worked for me - it's an upgraded version of Effexor. Depending on where you live, Effexor might be a cheaper option.

I guess there's the MAOIs to try as well, but AFAIK they're probably tried as a last-resort med and I don't know if you're at that stage yet.

Any of that would require coming off Paxil which S/he has expressed a reluctance to do. You can only be on one serotonic drug at a time.

Desipramine maybe?

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Evey

Evey

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In terms of mood stabilisers, I've heard lithium works well with lifting people out of depression.

Sounds like you have double depression? MDD + dysthymia?

Pristiq worked for me - it's an upgraded version of Effexor. Depending on where you live, Effexor might be a cheaper option.

I guess there's the MAOIs to try as well, but AFAIK they're probably tried as a last-resort med and I don't know if you're at that stage yet.

I know my depression is chronic and seems to like to be drug-resistant.

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  • 2 weeks later...
sirwriter

sirwriter

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Hi everyone,

I'm diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder and I had to stop taking Lamictal because of side effects. I'm at that point again where I need to find something that works with the other meds. Right now I'm on Paxil, Seroquel XR, and Klonopin. Two weeks ago I changed from being on regular Seroquel to the XR version and I'm having side effects that I can't deal with. The plan is to go back to just take the regular Seroquel at the dose I was at when I was on Lamictal. I had upped the Seroquel when I got off Lamictal to try and replace it, but its not working. I've been on Risperdal, Abilify, Zyprexa. What is a good med for depression. Lamictal worked great for the three years I was on it and Seroquel XR was working good, but the blood sugar thing is making me have to stop. Thank you for any help. Sorry if this isn't written well. I'm very anxious at the moment.

Hi Evey,

I was right where you are. Lamictal worked quite well for me for some years then one day just stopped, like I quit taking it. I tried everything in the book and finally my p-doc switched me to Trileptal, working up to 600 mg 3xdaily and upped my Klonopin until the Trileptal really began to work. One thing - Trileptal doesn't work overnight, but when it did (for me, at least) it was better than Lamictal. I was able to cut the Klonopin back down to 1mg 3x daily, although I take 2mg when I wake up, and the other 1mg at night. I also take Wellbutrin XL, has to be the brand name for me, and before Trileptal I was at 450 mg daily. After the Trileptal started to work I dropped slowly to 1mg of Wellbutrin XL daily. For me, it's a very good cocktail. I've been on it several years now.

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  • 1 month later...
Moil

Moil

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In terms of mood stabilisers, I've heard lithium works well with lifting people out of depression.

Sounds like you have double depression? MDD + dysthymia?

Pristiq worked for me - it's an upgraded version of Effexor. Depending on where you live, Effexor might be a cheaper option.

I guess there's the MAOIs to try as well, but AFAIK they're probably tried as a last-resort med and I don't know if you're at that stage yet.

I know my depression is chronic and seems to like to be drug-resistant.

I'm presently a fan of lithium, though I may be biased since it makes me not want to die so much...

Lithium often really helps those who have drug resistant depression.  It's list of side effects also happen to be less scary than MAOIs...Atypicals like Abilify are also often used with ADs

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Guest Burman

Guest Burman

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Lamictal (Lamotrigine) works good for some people. I'm on 300mg daily and I still suffer from mild depression, but nothing like before.

Some people develop the rash, but so far so good.

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etkearne

etkearne

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My psychiatrist calls the combination of Effexor and Remeron "rocket fuel." Lithium at a low dose is also helpful for many people. Also, have you tried something with a stimulant effect like Wellbutrin? Even low dose methylphenidate is not out of the question, but your doctor would try the other things I mentioned first, before that. Some people, like me, end up taking a large dose of Effexor, a medium dose of Lithium, AND a medium dose of Adderall (methylphenidate's cousin).

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  • 2 months later...
coffeeisntbreakfast

coffeeisntbreakfast

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Hi everyone,

I'm diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder and I had to stop taking Lamictal because of side effects. I'm at that point again where I need to find something that works with the other meds. Right now I'm on Paxil, Seroquel XR, and Klonopin. Two weeks ago I changed from being on regular Seroquel to the XR version and I'm having side effects that I can't deal with. The plan is to go back to just take the regular Seroquel at the dose I was at when I was on Lamictal. I had upped the Seroquel when I got off Lamictal to try and replace it, but its not working. I've been on Risperdal, Abilify, Zyprexa. What is a good med for depression. Lamictal worked great for the three years I was on it and Seroquel XR was working good, but the blood sugar thing is making me have to stop. Thank you for any help. Sorry if this isn't written well. I'm very anxious at the moment.

Concerta and Abilify were added to my depression meds, Prozac, Lamictal, Klonopin (anxiety). I think the Abilify really helped although it makes me hungry and I think the Concerta has helped a bit.

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