Posted by Peter on September 11, 2003, at 10:58:02
In reply to Re: stimulants-equivalent doses » Peter , posted by Ame Sans Vie on September 10, 2003, at 13:23:52
> No problem -- be sure to keep me updated on the Concerta! I've had bad responses to Ritalin IR in the past, but if Concerta is more smooth-acting, I just may give it a shot. No reason for me to settle on my current DextroStat without examining all the options. :-)
>> Well, today has been my first day on Concerta 36mg. Yes, it is more even/consistent/sustained in its action, but its action sucks! This might sound wierd, but I feel like I'm on a high dose of depakote - complete emotional blunting, apathy, no energy, and some annoying, sporadic peripheral effects - nausea, shortness of breath, some subtle anxiety waves. It's like that wet-blanket feeling you get on high doses of AC mood-stabilizers.
Great, now I don't know what to do. The adderall at least gave me some more alertness and sociability 1-2 hours proceeding each dose - but then it usually threw me into a low, zombie-like state. I've also tried dexedrine SR, but only for a short time; but the few days I tried it, it just seemed to space me out a lot. What else is there in terms of stims?! If only that initial 1 or 2 hour period of gregariousness and mood lift that I get from each adderall dose could be sustained without dropping me into all those peaks and valleys and eventually leaving me like a zombie by evening! I've tried adderall XR, but it just feels like what it is - 2 doses of adderall released 4 hours apart. It didn't feel even or sustained.
I also take 3mg klonopin; 1mg divided into 2 doses during the daytime and then a single 2mg dose at bedtime. Maybe the klonopin's synergy with the stims is creating these problems?
Meanwhile, it's day 6 on lexapro 5mg. I have no idea if it's working yet or not; I'm taking it for anticipatory anxiety and depressive episodes. SSRI's always posed problems for me in the long-run, as they usually end up making me apathetic and emotionally numb, which in turn causes me to seek stimulus in alcohol and drugs. The only thing that seemed to counteract this numbness in the past was when I combined an SSRI with a stim, as me and my pdoc planned to do again this time. I guess the need for stimulus when taking SSRI's might be some sort of SSRI-induced dopamine deficiency that the stims usually took care of.
But now it's all very frustrating. I don't know what stim to take, if any, because they seem to be affecting me more negatively than positively; and I don't know how the lexapro will do.
Peter
poster:Peter
thread:258703
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030907/msgs/259042.html