Posted by AndrewB on September 13, 2000, at 11:54:27
In reply to zoloft side effects, posted by TimJim on September 13, 2000, at 1:06:44
TimJim,
You may want to augment your Zoloft with Provigil (modafinil). See the study below. If you decide to do this, please report back and let us know how it goes.
Best wishes,
AndrewB
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Modafinil augmentation of antidepressant treatment in depression.J Clin Psychiatry 2000 May;61(5):378-81 (ISSN: 0160-6689)
Menza MA; Kaufman KR; Castellanos A [Find other articles with these Authors]
Department of Psychiatry, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Piscataway 08854, USA. [email protected].BACKGROUND: Despite a relative lack of controlled data, stimulants are often used to augment antidepressant treatment in patients who have had only a partial
response to first-line therapy. Modafinil is a novel psychostimulant that has shown efficacy in, and was recently marketed for, treating excessive daytime sleepiness
associated with narcolepsy. The mechanism of action of modafinil is unknown, but, unlike other stimulants, the drug is highly selective for the central nervous
system, has little effect on dopaminergic activity in the striatum, and appears to have a lower abuse potential. METHOD: In this retrospective case series, we describe 7
patients with DSM-IV depression (4 with major depression and 3 with bipolar depression) for whom we used modafinil to augment a partial or nonresponse to an
antidepressant. The Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression was administered as part of routine clinical practice prior to treatment and at each subsequent visit.
RESULTS: At doses of 100 to 200 mg/day, all 7 patients achieved full or partial remission, generally within 1 to 2 weeks. All patients had some residual tiredness or
fatigue prior to starting modafinil, and this symptom was particularly responsive to augmentation. Side effects were minimal and did not lead to discontinuation of
the drug in any of the patients. CONCLUSION: Modafinil appears to be a drug with promise as an augmenter of antidepressants, especially in patients with residual
tiredness or fatigue. It is a particularly attractive alternative to other stimulants because of its low abuse potential and Schedule IV status.
poster:AndrewB
thread:44733
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