Posted by med_empowered on April 13, 2008, at 20:33:38
In reply to Re: Which Antidepressant » Fathe, posted by Phillipa on April 13, 2008, at 19:15:46
Maybe Cymbalta? Effexor withdrawals suck, but some pdocs are really skillful in managing them, so maybe if you go for the effexor again your doc will be better about managing the tapering process this time around...
A pdoc will probably select an AD (or other drug) by targeting symptoms, not just "depression." It might be helpful to make a list of specific areas that you think need improvement, like concentration, drive, energy, sleep, agitation, etc. With that info., you can have an idea of what a pdoc might do before you hit their office...you might also want to think over what you liked about effexor and what you didn't.
If Effexor worked, then I'd think (as a non-professional) that Cymbalta, Wellbutrin, or even a tricyclic might be helpful. If you have good insurace, the EMSAM patch might be an option...you might even consider a combo, like Wellbutrin and an SSRI. Thinkig about the downsides of your Effexor experience might make gettig things as perfect as possible easier this time around. Like, if Effexor was sometimes too energizing, you might need an occasional tranquilizer or BuSpar, or if you had lingering concentration probs then you might want to look for co-existing ADD/ADHD, that kind of thing.
It's also sad but true that lots of people don't get good results in round 1 with antidepressants; lots of people end up switching or they end up on additional med(s) like tranquilizers, antipsychotics, stimulants, additional antidepressants, etc. I'm not tryig to scare you, I'm just saying: medical treatment of depression can be tricksy, so do be patient.Good luck with everything.
poster:med_empowered
thread:823106
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20080412/msgs/823131.html