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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 8 of 8. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Roo on August 1, 2001, at 15:21:11
What are stimulants used for? Are they only used
for ADD? Has anyone out there added a stimulant to
their antidepressant and had a good response? If so,
tell me about your experience.
Posted by gldngodess on August 1, 2001, at 21:14:55
In reply to Stimulants, posted by Roo on August 1, 2001, at 15:21:11
> What are stimulants used for? Are they only used
> for ADD? Has anyone out there added a stimulant to
> their antidepressant and had a good response? If so,
> tell me about your experience.
Posted by SalArmy4me on August 1, 2001, at 21:58:54
In reply to Stimulants, posted by Roo on August 1, 2001, at 15:21:11
http://www.dr-bob.org/tips/split/Stimulants-for-depression.html
http://www.dr-bob.org/tips/split/SSRIs-and-apathy.html
http://www.dr-bob.org/tips/split/Dopaminergic-aug-of-antips.html
Posted by shelliR on August 1, 2001, at 22:08:08
In reply to Stimulants, posted by Roo on August 1, 2001, at 15:21:11
> What are stimulants used for? Are they only used
> for ADD? Has anyone out there added a stimulant to
> their antidepressant and had a good response? If so,
> tell me about your experience.Hi Roo.
Stimulants are often used to augment anti-depressants.They can be used either to boost
the effectiveness of an AD and they can also be added to combat the sedation of ADs.
With MAOIs, care must be taken because the combination of
MAOIs and stimulents can cause blood pressure to rise dangerously.
When I was on nardil, I tried almost every stimulent with it, had no
hypertensive effects, but they made me feel lousey and I never stayed on one long enough
to see if it would boost the nardil Since I have been off nardil , I tried concerta, a longer
lasting form of ritalin and that stimulent felt the least bumpy to me.But I not tried it with nardil yet, so I can't report any success stories.
There are, however, lots of folks on the board who are not ADD and take stimulents.
If you don't get any more answers soon, do a search on stimulents because I know
there have been threads on using stimulents for augmentation.BTW, I know you must still feel really sad, but I hope you are getting through this
period with some support from friends or therapist.Take care,
Shelli
Posted by Roo on August 2, 2001, at 7:43:00
In reply to Re: Stimulants » Roo, posted by shelliR on August 1, 2001, at 22:08:08
> > What are stimulants used for? Are they only used
> > for ADD? Has anyone out there added a stimulant to
> > their antidepressant and had a good response? If so,
> > tell me about your experience.
>
> Hi Roo.
> Stimulants are often used to augment anti-depressants.They can be used either to boost
> the effectiveness of an AD and they can also be added to combat the sedation of ADs.
> With MAOIs, care must be taken because the combination of
> MAOIs and stimulents can cause blood pressure to rise dangerously.
> When I was on nardil, I tried almost every stimulent with it, had no
> hypertensive effects, but they made me feel lousey and I never stayed on one long enough
> to see if it would boost the nardil Since I have been off nardil , I tried concerta, a longer
> lasting form of ritalin and that stimulent felt the least bumpy to me.
>
> But I not tried it with nardil yet, so I can't report any success stories.
> There are, however, lots of folks on the board who are not ADD and take stimulents.
> If you don't get any more answers soon, do a search on stimulents because I know
> there have been threads on using stimulents for augmentation.
>
> BTW, I know you must still feel really sad, but I hope you are getting through this
> period with some support from friends or therapist.
>
> Take care,
>
> Shelli
Posted by Elizabeth on August 2, 2001, at 8:12:57
In reply to Stimulants, posted by Roo on August 1, 2001, at 15:21:11
> What are stimulants used for? Are they only used
> for ADD? Has anyone out there added a stimulant to
> their antidepressant and had a good response? If so,
> tell me about your experience.Adding stimulants to ADs has been common practise for a long time; in fact, before the tricyclic and MAOI antidepressants were discovered, stimulants were often used by themselves as antidepressants. They seem to be somewhat less effective than modern ADs, possibly depending on the particular population being treated.
Stimulants are used for narcolepsy, obesity, daytime fatigue, and probably a lot of other things I'm leaving out, as well as ADHD and depression.
I tried various stimulants with Nardil and Parnate, but, in contrast to Shelli's experience, I did have significant hypertensive reactions. The one time I tried a stimulant (Cylert) by itself, I did find it helpful for alertness, concentration, and mood; it also made it easier to maintain stable sleep-wake patterns. I'm interested in trying Cylert or another psychomotor stimulant again (this time with a TCA instead of a MAOI), but that will have to wait until my pdoc comes back from the standard August vacation. (Where do they all go during that month, anyway? Is there some special resort for psychiatrists that's only open in August?)
-elizabeth
Posted by Michael K on August 2, 2001, at 20:53:13
In reply to Re: Stimulants » Roo, posted by Elizabeth on August 2, 2001, at 8:12:57
> > What are stimulants used for? Are they only used
> > for ADD? Has anyone out there added a stimulant to
> > their antidepressant and had a good response? If so,
> > tell me about your experience.
>
> Adding stimulants to ADs has been common practise for a long time; in fact, before the tricyclic and MAOI antidepressants were discovered, stimulants were often used by themselves as antidepressants. They seem to be somewhat less effective than modern ADs, possibly depending on the particular population being treated.
>
> Stimulants are used for narcolepsy, obesity, daytime fatigue, and probably a lot of other things I'm leaving out, as well as ADHD and depression.
>
> I tried various stimulants with Nardil and Parnate, but, in contrast to Shelli's experience, I did have significant hypertensive reactions. The one time I tried a stimulant (Cylert) by itself, I did find it helpful for alertness, concentration, and mood; it also made it easier to maintain stable sleep-wake patterns. I'm interested in trying Cylert or another psychomotor stimulant again (this time with a TCA instead of a MAOI), but that will have to wait until my pdoc comes back from the standard August vacation. (Where do they all go during that month, anyway? Is there some special resort for psychiatrists that's only open in August?)
>
> -elizabethI take 70 mg of Parnate daily, which hasn't quite been doing the trick lately. So during a particularly stressful time (tax season), I added 15 mg of Ritalin daily. I had some success augmenting small doses of Imipramine with Ritalin many years ago.
Anyway, the Ritalin has helped immensely. I feel much better at work and, equally important, it has improved my sex life. How long this will continue with 15 mg daily remains to be seen, but for now I'm optimistic.
If anyone has positive experiences with Parnate and other stimulants, I'd love to hear about it.
Mike
Posted by Snuffy on August 3, 2001, at 12:59:58
In reply to Re: Stimulants, posted by Michael K on August 2, 2001, at 20:53:13
My pdoc is very hesitant about stimulants. I am on effexor+seroquel+wellbutrin I felt grogy all of the time and could fall asleep anytime/ anywhere. My pdoc has finally added ritalin (20mg twice a day)about two weeks ago and I am feeling more alert and am seeing an improvment in my concentration. Even better I was able to get my insurance to approve ritalin even though I am older than 14.
This is the end of the thread.
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