Posted by JahL on November 5, 2001, at 10:56:40
In reply to Opinions on drug combo please, posted by pedr on November 5, 2001, at 7:45:10
> Now I've been on Surmontil [a.k.a. trimipramine] for 5 months. It's had the best effect so far out of the drugs I've tried but I still get terrible anxiety and feelings of depression most days. 3 weeks ago my shrink started me on a concurrent course of 8 mg reboxetine. It's not really helped as far as I can tell.
> I want to hear people's opinions on the drug's I've tried. I also would like to hear what people think about my current combination. Even better, some suggestions for other drugs and drug combinations to try would be brilliant. Over here in the UK, drugs are only given one at a time from what I've experienced and heard.You've heard right. It's infuriating that UK pdocs refuse to prescribe more than one med at a time & in doing so demonstrate their abject ignorance. Probably has something to with NHS edicts (re: budget constraints) as well.
Sadly, the only way I could instigate polypharmacy was by ordering from abroad & self-medicating. Once I could prove that polypharmacy, by improving my mood, was preferable, one or two pdocs came round to my way of thinking. Getting a (genuine) dx of Bipolar, where polypharmacy is the norm, also helped.
In my experience the only way to beat the system is to educate y'self as well as possible (which, by reading this board, you're obviously doing). This allows you to aggressively (but calmly!) pursue appropriate treatment options since pdocs generally feel compelled to take you more seriously.
I'm not qualified to recommend any medication, tho' if, like me, SSRIs worsen yr depression, then I imagine some would suggest the addition of a mood-stabilizer.
Surmontil was the first AD I was prescribed by my GP (helped w/ sleep but generally made me wired. That's 'wired'.). I think Trimip. is liked for its sedative qualities, which obviously helps w/ insomnia. Cheap too. It's also 'tried & trusted'; IME GPs are terrified of prescribing anything new (& therefore 'unproven').
There seems to be a fad for prescribing Reboxetine presently, probably because it's the newest AD on the block. However I'm yet to speak to a pdoc who is anything but disappointed with it. I tried 12mg and it did nothing (but neither do any of the other ADs). I didn't find the side-effects nearly so bad as others here tho' & I'm sure it works for 'some'.
By how much did the Effexor & Surmontil help?
Good luck,
J.
poster:JahL
thread:83247
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20011104/msgs/83261.html