BrianOCD Posted November 4, 2018 Share Posted November 4, 2018 (edited) I can still move up to 120mg on Cymbalta, but I don't like it so far. I've had a lot of nasty side effects, and generally just well sickly. I need an AD that works just as well as Effexor or at least similarly ? Does anyone have any ideas....anyone stop taking Effexor and find they did well on another Antidepressant? I'm gonna go see my PDoc here this week... Tried Lexapro, Luvox, Wellbutrin, Cymbalta Edited November 4, 2018 by BrianOCD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
looking for answers Posted November 4, 2018 Share Posted November 4, 2018 12 minutes ago, BrianOCD said: I can still move up to 120mg on Cymbalta, but I don't like it so far. I've had a lot of nasty side effects, and generally just well sickly. I need an AD that works just as well as Effexor or at least similarly ? Does anyone have any ideas....anyone stop taking Effexor and find they did well on another Antidepressant? I'm gonna go see my PDoc here this week... well sounds like ur in the SNRI class i think the only other ones besides effexor or cymbalta are pristiq and fetzima unless u wanna try an SSRI or something different Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianOCD Posted November 4, 2018 Author Share Posted November 4, 2018 37 minutes ago, looking for answers said: well sounds like ur in the SNRI class i think the only other ones besides effexor or cymbalta are pristiq and fetzima unless u wanna try an SSRI or something different I think my problem is more serotonin. Cymbalta didn't hit the serotonin part of me like I had hoped, and not at all like Effexor did.... Another question I'm pondering is, is there hope after Effexor? I know Effexor is quite a powerful Serotonin drug... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
looking for answers Posted November 4, 2018 Share Posted November 4, 2018 56 minutes ago, BrianOCD said: I think my problem is more serotonin. Cymbalta didn't hit the serotonin part of me like I had hoped, and not at all like Effexor did.... Another question I'm pondering is, is there hope after Effexor? I know Effexor is quite a powerful Serotonin drug... theres many options out there.........not all have to be an AD. again, for me, it too lithium to pull me from the depths of hell........ and theres still so many drugs out there, and drug combinations out there.........theres some SSRI's that just blast serotonin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianOCD Posted November 4, 2018 Author Share Posted November 4, 2018 1 hour ago, looking for answers said: theres many options out there.........not all have to be an AD. again, for me, it too lithium to pull me from the depths of hell........ and theres still so many drugs out there, and drug combinations out there.........theres some SSRI's that just blast serotonin I feel like that's what I need, although I've been up and down all year, so it's hard to know where I am anymore... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
looking for answers Posted November 4, 2018 Share Posted November 4, 2018 2 minutes ago, BrianOCD said: I feel like that's what I need, although I've been up and down all year, so it's hard to know where I am anymore... ever consider a mood stabilizer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianOCD Posted November 4, 2018 Author Share Posted November 4, 2018 1 minute ago, looking for answers said: ever consider a mood stabilizer Of course I'm on Seroquel much of the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
looking for answers Posted November 4, 2018 Share Posted November 4, 2018 (edited) about about lithium or lamictal? what are you on the seroquel for, anxiety? Edited November 4, 2018 by looking for answers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianOCD Posted November 4, 2018 Author Share Posted November 4, 2018 Ya anxiety and sleep. Never tried Lithium before, what's it do? Just evens you out? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
looking for answers Posted November 4, 2018 Share Posted November 4, 2018 2 minutes ago, BrianOCD said: Ya anxiety and sleep. Never tried Lithium before, what's it do? Just evens you out? well both level it out a bit, but its not like you think. Bot those two haev strong anti=depressant properties, may geed to augment an AD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt07 Posted November 4, 2018 Share Posted November 4, 2018 What are you trying to treat with the AD? Depression or OCD? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianOCD Posted November 4, 2018 Author Share Posted November 4, 2018 Both, but my depression is really the issue now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt07 Posted November 4, 2018 Share Posted November 4, 2018 How was the Lexapro? If it worked well for you, you might want to give Celexa (citalopram) a try. Theoretically, it should be the same as Lexapro, but I found them to be different. Celexa works for me much better than Lexapro. YMMV on that though. It looks like you haven't tried Zoloft yet. It's another SSRI. A newer SSRI is Vibryd. Then thee are the tricyclics. Also, Remeron below 30 mg affects mainly serotonin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blahblah Posted November 4, 2018 Share Posted November 4, 2018 I liked Effexor the most too - have never tried Pristiq or Fetzima, which are also SNRIs & the most similar (but people say SNRIs are more activating & I thought they hit more nor-adrenaline / dopamine versus Serotonin?) Citalopram hits Serotonin mainly, and if you have anxiety, it's a good choice, low side effect profile (for most). The main issue I had with it, was a bit too much lethargy / apathy / low energy. It really killed the deep depression / sadness though! Prozac (often given for OCD) is similar to Citalopram also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gb84 Posted November 5, 2018 Share Posted November 5, 2018 I wish I could give Pristiq a thumbs up, but it hasn't helped me a bit, even at max dose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianOCD Posted November 5, 2018 Author Share Posted November 5, 2018 I have a feeling I'm going to end up on the older tricyclics, I'd like one of the newer ones to work, but I feel like they've been lacking for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butterflykisses Posted November 5, 2018 Share Posted November 5, 2018 I really like Paxil ER. I take a very small dose. I find it really helps me with depression, motivation, and anxiety. That being said, I still have issues with my OCD, a higher dose might help that but I don't want to risk mania. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
l'appel du vide Posted November 5, 2018 Share Posted November 5, 2018 (edited) Pristiq is basically the same as Effexor, it's just venlafaxine's major metabolite. I say give that a go if serotonergic + noradrenergic ADs have worked for you in the past. If that doesn't work, there is Fetzima, if you have decent insurance. Though I have read Fetzima hits norepinephrine more so than serotonin. Have you considered possibly augmenting your antidepressant with an atypical antipsychotic such as Abilify or Rexulti? I trust those two more than other AAPs as they are more modern and unique in mechanism compared to the other AAPs. You could also try combing two antidepressants; I have been on Prozac for 4 years and I needed a little boost that I did not get from a dose increase, and adding a low dose of Wellbutrin XL has helped tremendously. May I ask why you don't just go back on Effexor? I would really recommend Prozac + Wellbutrin XL. Don't be afraid to augment with Abilify or Rexulti either. There are so many options out there, if I were you I would go back to Effexor since you did have success with it, and add on Wellbutrin XL, Abilify, or Rexulti if it isn't helping as much as you need. Edited November 5, 2018 by icygrave 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wonderful.Cheese Posted November 5, 2018 Share Posted November 5, 2018 (edited) @BrianOCD Viibryd, Zoloft, trintellix, celexa, Prozac, lamictal (maybe even? It is generally a mood stabilizer good for bipolar depression), fetzima, pristiq, Remeron, latuda (also used for bipolar depression), a stimulant, lithium (another mood stabilizer used off label for depression at times), abilify, rexulti, symbyax, etc . Those are some ones I looked up or thought of off the top of my head. And yes, there are also the tricyclic antidepressants and MAOI’s too. But my old pdoc steered clear of those older ones because of the higher side effect profile. Ymmv of course. I’m not knocking those classes of meds at all. Just relaying info from a pdoc I had. Personally, I’ve only tried lamictal, latuda, stimulants, abilify, and zyprexa (minus the Prozac, which makes it symbyax....so technically I’ve never tried symbyax). I want to try trintellix but my current pdoc won’t let me touch anything that could spark mania. I’m pretty prone to manic reactions. But if you have any questions about the ones I’ve been on or am on please ask away! Edited November 5, 2018 by Wonderful.Cheese Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wonderful.Cheese Posted November 5, 2018 Share Posted November 5, 2018 @BrianOCD Oh I feel your frustration even though our situations differ. I got manic and they blamed the Effexor that I’d been on for years and they yanked that away from me cold turkey. Not fun. Brain zaps, dizziness, the works. Now I can’t have any AD at all. It doesn’t make any sense to me. They then told me to try the light therapy box. (Which also made me zippy). Ymmv. But I was thinking if you haven’t tried one yet, a non med option is a light therapy box. Not saying that you don’t need a new AD. Because you do need a new AD. But this light therapy could supplement your new AD if your pdoc allows it. I can’t seem to find the one that I have. I was going to give you the link. Must be an older model. It was a Verilux though. I think I paid $80 or so? Now mine sits in our closet rotting away because it makes me hypomanic crazy I can’t use it. I’m pretty mad about that. I even have an extra light bulb and extra screen. My old pdoc swore by them. He never warned me about a possible hypomanic reaction. But then again I was using it longer than prescribed. I felt so good! Ugh. Anyway, ymmv again. Good luck with whatever you decide! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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