Posted by TriedEveryDrug on June 5, 2009, at 11:38:11
I'm trying to figure out why desipramine works for my ADD-inattentive symptoms. Other common treatments (stims, atomoxetine) do not work for me. On desipramine I go from a spacey, uncomprehending dolt to a sharp, aware, comprehending non-dolt that can solve even difficult mathematical problems. It also makes me an anxious, depressed, social-avoidant irritable basket case
I've read places that some authorities speculate ADD-I is an entirely different affliction than ADD-H or ADD-combined. I somewhat agree with this - I think my problems have something to do with short-term memory. My memory has always been terrible, and recently an MRI found a lesion (possibly from a fetal stroke) in a portion of my brain (forgot where exactly).
Anyway. There is a nice little chart on wikipedia showing the Kd values for desipramine (and other TCAs)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tricyclic_antidepressant#ComparisonYes, desipramine blocks the reuptake of NE transport quite a bit, but I'm questioning whether this is why it works for me (since atomoxetine didn't work at all), or maybe this is only part of the story.
I've dug around but I can't find much more info on desipramine. Are there other receptors that it blocks or is an agonist for?
(digging around I see desipramine is an agonist for sigma 1&2 - not sure if this means anything)
Or am I over-thinking this and desipramine's effects are entirely from its NET inhibition?
Thanks.
poster:TriedEveryDrug
thread:899532
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/neuro/20090129/msgs/899532.html