Posted by linkadge on September 1, 2010, at 15:02:07
In reply to Re: methylphenidate augmentation of venlafaxine » bleauberry, posted by utopizen on August 31, 2010, at 23:31:17
>Moreover: the Ritalin is, I hope, needed for >your ADD, not depression. Psychostimulants all >can drive the neurons crazy when they are >depressed.
I think it depends on the type of depression. My depression transformed from typical to atypical over the years and SSRIs stopped working. I have been using ritalin at a constant dose for a while now without apparent tollerance. It seems to be the cleanest thing which blocks the feelings of extreme hopelessness.
>They can take even the slightest case of the >blues and drain, deplete+exhaust already limited >dopamine reserves until you have chronic >depression in a matter of months.
I wouldn't go so far as to say that. The cause of depression is not really known. There is more evidence that amphetamine depleats catacholamine stores. Ritalin has little / no effect on monoamine release. Besides, ritalin calms me down more than revs me up. It seems to help shut down the oversensitivity to light / sound. Perhaps this is more a sign of ADD that a stimulant actually supresses neural overactivity.
>One of the adaptive things about depression is >this: it does actually let your body know you >may have gone too far in stretching it, in not >appreciating we all have a finite amount of >energy levels each day. What stimulants do is >tell our brains otherwise, and we wind up >exhausting ourselves through sustained mental >concentration without knowing to pace ourselves.
Well, the causes of depression are not really known. Although nicotine is a "stimulant" it exerts antidepressant effects in mice at doses that are lower than needed to produce locomotor stimulation.
>It's like running on a broken leg with regular >morphine injections.
Perhaps. I wouldn't recomend ritalin for those who are recovering from a nervous breakdown. However, I simply feel that ritalin helps rests some catecholamine / cholinergic ballance. Ritalin can work for years in ADHD without really producing tollerance. Its hard to know what its doing there. In ADHD patients who respond to ritalin, there is a dramatic increase in urinary PEA levels. Perhaps the drug affects PEA metabolism in some way. I get a U shaped effect. Up to 5mg calms me down above 10mg revs me up.
Linkadge
poster:linkadge
thread:960153
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20100829/msgs/960960.html