linus2000 Posted August 30, 2017 Share Posted August 30, 2017 From here: http://www.crazyboards.org/forums/index.php?/topic/86693-my-antidepressant-stop-working-after-12-years/ I'm really bad now, my doctor added anafranil (clomipramine) 112.5mg to 40mg of catalopram I already took. Every time I raise the dose of the anafranil (25 -> 50 -> 75 -> 112.5) I have taken this dosage for 5 days now and I feel worse very agitated, How long should the anafranil effect be effective ? (I know that the instructions have been written for two to eight weeks) If it does not work my doctor would like to add Abilify, but I'm very scared. Can not you just change antidepressant? Can I simply move from citalopram to anafranil maybe to higher dosage? I think citalopram is no longer working and anafranil is too low to work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Savannah Posted August 30, 2017 Share Posted August 30, 2017 Anafrinil works very good for me. I don't know how long it took as it was about 20 years ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyRedhead Posted August 30, 2017 Share Posted August 30, 2017 (edited) 2 hours ago, linus2000 said: Can I simply move from citalopram to anafranil maybe to higher dosage? Yes, that would be one option, but your doc would have to agree to it first. Edited August 30, 2017 by CrazyRedhead Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linus2000 Posted August 30, 2017 Author Share Posted August 30, 2017 2 hours ago, CrazyRedhead said: Yes, that would be one option, but your doc would have to agree to it first. Yes of course, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt07 Posted August 31, 2017 Share Posted August 31, 2017 What are you trying to treat? OCD or depression? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linus2000 Posted August 31, 2017 Author Share Posted August 31, 2017 4 minutes ago, jt07 said: What are you trying to treat? OCD or depression? I suffer from anxiety / panic and OCD, not depression. At this time I do not panic, but I'm only afraid / anxious all day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt07 Posted August 31, 2017 Share Posted August 31, 2017 Then I agree with you that Abilify might not be the best med because it has a tendency to cause a lot of anxiety at the lower doses, and I'm not sure how good it is for OCD. It's the bomb for depression though. A better AAP for OCD is low-dose risperidone, and it won't increase anxiety. I don't know what to advise about the Anafranil. I took it for a while, but like all tricyclics, it left me feeling sleepy and spacey. It used to be considered the gold standard for treating OCD though. Now I think Luvox and other SSRIs (at higher doses) are used more frequently. If the citalopram isn't working, tell your pdoc that. Have a discussion about what works and what doesn't work and try to come up with a treatment plan agreeable to both of you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linus2000 Posted August 31, 2017 Author Share Posted August 31, 2017 6 hours ago, jt07 said: Then I agree with you that Abilify might not be the best med because it has a tendency to cause a lot of anxiety at the lower doses, and I'm not sure how good it is for OCD. It's the bomb for depression though. A better AAP for OCD is low-dose risperidone, and it won't increase anxiety. I don't know what to advise about the Anafranil. I took it for a while, but like all tricyclics, it left me feeling sleepy and spacey. It used to be considered the gold standard for treating OCD though. Now I think Luvox and other SSRIs (at higher doses) are used more frequently. If the citalopram isn't working, tell your pdoc that. Have a discussion about what works and what doesn't work and try to come up with a treatment plan agreeable to both of you. I would like to propose lifting the anapfranil and lowering citalopram because I'm already taking it, and I have no great side effects, and I read that it is indicated for OCD and anxiety / panic. If citalopram does not work anymore, I believe another antidepressant can help me. I would like to avoid antipsychotics because of Side effects Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt07 Posted August 31, 2017 Share Posted August 31, 2017 What you would like to do sounds reasonable. Have you talked to your pdoc about it and given your ideas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linus2000 Posted September 6, 2017 Author Share Posted September 6, 2017 On 31/08/2017 at 3:07 PM, jt07 said: What you would like to do sounds reasonable. Have you talked to your pdoc about it and given your ideas? my doctor lowered to 30 citalopram and raised anafranil to 150, 5 days, I feel much worse, anxiety greatly increased, I can not sleep and my hands tremble.I'm really scared now, I feel bad, really bad.Risperidone is not for sale in my country, I do not know why.I do not know what to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linus2000 Posted September 8, 2017 Author Share Posted September 8, 2017 my psychiatrist wants to add valprophic acid (depakote) 500mg and Abilify 5mg. I do not know what to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt07 Posted September 8, 2017 Share Posted September 8, 2017 Depakote? Are you absolutely sure that you pdoc doesn't think you have bipolar disorder? Because I can't see Depakote being used to treat primarily OCD and anxiety Honestly, if it were me, I'd seek a second opinion,. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linus2000 Posted September 8, 2017 Author Share Posted September 8, 2017 (edited) 4 hours ago, jt07 said: Depakote? Are you absolutely sure that you pdoc doesn't think you have bipolar disorder? Because I can't see Depakote being used to treat primarily OCD and anxiety Honestly, if it were me, I'd seek a second opinion,. I do not suffer from bipolar disorder, but my anxiety seems to be cyclical, that is, I'm not always bad, or always fine, some days I'm ok, other days I'm anxious. He said that the depakote help to stabilize me. I want to be fine, but I do not want to be over medicated, even considering the side effects of these drugs. What do you tell me about the Abilify (5mg) can it worsening my anxiety problem? Edited September 8, 2017 by linus2000 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt07 Posted September 8, 2017 Share Posted September 8, 2017 For me, low dose Abilify increased my anxiety tremendously. I almost gave up on Abilify because the anxiety was that bad. Once I got to 10 mg, the anxiety got much better and I was able to tolerate the Abilify, and at 15 mg the Abilify relieved my depression and gave me bliss. Depakote comes with some pretty heavy side effects. It's a good med for those who absolutely need it, but it should not be taken lightly. It made me more depressed and caused my appetite to increase without bounds. If your problem is cycllical anxiety, there are better mood stabilizers than Depakote. I take Tegretol and don't have half the side effects I had on Depakote. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
browri Posted September 12, 2017 Share Posted September 12, 2017 I found that my anxiety is really well-treated with oxcarbazepine (along with loxapine, but if you're avoiding antipsychotics...). It makes me feel less jittery and anxious but helps most with the physical symptoms of anxiety. I'm taking the Oxtellar XR extended release form. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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