Posted by Christ_empowered on February 14, 2012, at 14:42:28
In reply to Re: best med for endogenous depression, posted by SLS on February 14, 2012, at 13:45:11
I've tried Tofranil (old school TCA) plus Adderall (amphetamine), and it worked nicely. I became a bit angry, but whatever--I guess that means its working, right?
Anyway, TCAs are supposedly good for more severe, endogenous depressions when other drugs have failed. Stimulants help put "pep in your step" and can counteract some of the weight gain and sedation from many TCAs (I only gained 5lbs on full dose Tofranil-PM, for instance). The downside is that TCA drugs can increase speed concentrations in your brain, which can be good or bad, depending on your situation and how well calibrated the doses of both drugs are.
I imagine there'd be some cardio concerns, too. Stimulants are still used "off-label" for depression, fatigue, etc. I don't know if its easy or hard to get a doc to go for it. I think if you can outline a rational argument and you're not a drug seeker and you don't have a personality disorder, it wouldn't be that big a deal. Then again..I'm not a doctor.
I just think-- based on my experience, not medical training of any sort--that you can only get so far with reuptake inhibitors. I mean, AD plus AD plus antipsychotics plus anticonvulsants. It gets ridiculous after a while. At least stimulants make you feel better and work quickly to get you out of bed.
Of course, I don't need all that anymore. Maybe its brain damage, maybe its the Abilify, maybe its God...I do reasonably well on Abilify, sometimes with an antidepressant or lamictal in the mix.
poster:Christ_empowered
thread:1010121
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20120212/msgs/1010233.html