Posted by 4WD on June 16, 2005, at 22:55:15
In reply to Re: Trileptal or Lamictal for unipolar depression?, posted by Emily Elizabeth on June 16, 2005, at 20:38:45
> > Would either Trileptal or Lamictal be helpful for MDD with anxiety? I mainly have a problem with low motivation and anhedonia (I'm on Celexa but feel I need something more).
>
> I tried Lamictal for my unipolar depression, but it didn't seem to help at all. It is weight neutral though. It may have made me a little tired. I have hard to treat depression with a lot of anxiety.
>
> Desipramine (a tricyclic antidepressant) was particularly helpful with anxiety. Some people gain weight on it, but I didn't. No sleep probs either--although I may have already been taking my sleeping med at that point--I'm not sure. My pdoc added this in before we tried the Lamictal, so perhaps there was a reason for that. Perhaps it is more likely to help than Lamictal is? You might ask your pdoc.
>
> Dexedrine helped me with motivation, but it is a stimulant and some docs are reluctant to rx it. Doesn't cause weight gain, but may cause insomnia (I can't take it later than 3pm).
>
> None of these has proved to be the perfect solution for me though. I take : lexapro, desipramine, dexedrine, ambien, and neurontin. We just keep adding on to what I'm taking and hoping that something will take me to being not depressed any more.
>
> Hope some of this is helpful!
>
> EEThanks, EE. I have the same MDD with a lot of anxiety. I was hoping to find something to perk up the Celexa without causing insomnia or weight gain. Ideally it would also help with anxiety. I tried Desipramine as a monotherapy many years ago and I remember having really bad restless legs while on it. Seems like imipramine worked better for me. I kind of hate to add a tricyclic since I tend to get really bad anticholinergic side effects.
Which of the things you're on is helpful for your anxiety? I didn't find Lexapro very helpful nor Celexa either. I take a small amount of Klonopin, usually .25mg day (which isn't enough to get rid of the anxiety but I'm scared to take more because I was once addicted to Ativan.)
Hope you hit on the right combo eventually.
Marsha
poster:4WD
thread:513499
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20050611/msgs/514086.html