Posted by ricker on October 29, 2008, at 23:43:33
In reply to Re: augment lamictal or ssri's for ocd? » mogger, posted by Phillipa on October 29, 2008, at 21:00:25
I was on Clomipramine 150mg for 9 years.. 1989 -1997. My diagnosis is depression/anxiety with OCB.
My p/doc advises OCB is a milder form of OCD.... Behavior vs Disorder.
Clonazepam 0.5 /tid was also prescribed.Anyway, my wife often ask's why I don't go back on the same med when she first met me? That would be clomipramine.
Looking back, I was better off overall...more energy, much more social, positive thoughts. Mood was stable for the most part. Yes, I had my ups and downs, but when I think back to some of the situations I faced, well, I'm not sure I could cope with them today?
My sleep was good, now I rely on remeron for that. Zoloft is probably a bit better for my anxiety, with fewer side effects.
I did sweat more, very slight tremor and my heart rate was slightly elevated... 85/min compared to 75/min on Zoloft.
I've recently added lamictal to the zoloft and remeron. If I do not see a marked improvement in the next month or so, I will be going back on clomipramine. I also smoked back then so that may have been part of the increased heart rate?
When I started the SSRI roller-coaster, my GP was hesitent and questioned why my p/doc would consider changing my long standing A/D??? To this day, I remember him saying "don't do it, you may not have the same results if you stop".
So, 10 years and umpteen A/D trials later, I would rate clomipramine as the most successful antidepressant I've been on. I believe it took about 3 months before I began feeling the full therapeutic effect, and a lessening of the startup side effects.
New and improved is not always better, too bad the medical profession is so hell bent on pushing the latest drugs and the TCA's seem to get pushed aside due to their "horrible" side effects.
My 2 cents, for what it's worth.All the best, Rick
poster:ricker
thread:859679
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20081027/msgs/859859.html