Medication -

[Jimmy1]

Hey guys and gals,

I just spent a good half hour discussing SSRI's v anti-anxiety medication with my psychiatrist.
My psychiatrist is the head of the PTSD Unit here and is pretty renowned for his knowledge on combat related PTSD.

Anyway, there is a relatively new medication out there which not only treats major depressive disorders associated with PTSD, but also helps with anxiety, and aids in sleep.
Of the people who are trialing it for him, the only side effect that has shown up so far is one person with a headache for a day or two, but we have all had those.
This drug is so new over here, that he could not just prescribe it by making a phone call to the VA, he had to actually write a letter and I have to wait a few days.

Its called Valdoxan or Agomelatine

It all sounds great to me and the best part is that because it works totally differently to the other SSRI's, It can be used in conjunction with my current antidepressant without the risk of Seratonin overdose. I will also be able to slowly remove the other antidepressant totally.

I had a liver function test today and I will also have one six weeks and then 12 weeks and then 12 months if it works. This of course is only to be cautious.

And the best news to quote my psych 'I never thought I would ever say this, but it has no real side effects'. It also has no withdrawl effects.

Just putting it out there for you guys.

 

[nomedic1]

Thanks Jimmy

 

[K-9 Al]

thanks for the info!!

 

[Jimmy1]

He also mentioned something about balancing the eating side of things and also fixing up metabolism problems that we all suffer from being on SSRI's. Well I know I have gained a little and it takes a shit load of exercise and only healthy food to make the scales budge. I am waiting for the scrip which should be here by Friday. Then they say it will take a couple of weeks for the effects to be seen.

I will keep you all updated.

Your truly

Lab Rat

 

[Jimmy1]

Here is the PDF for it and the link

http://www.valdoxan.com/

It says something about being a healthcare proffessional

 

[anthony]

Good old Aussie company doing good things... to come up with an anti-depressant without addiction issues like SSRI's, or using serotonin in the first place: http://www.servier.com.au

 

[Wagon]

This is relevant, but I am by no means encouraging people to run out and pick magic mushrooms or contact your local drug dealer.

Read in the "Economist" 2 weeks back that the restrictions on LSD and Psylocybin (active ingredient in certain mushrooms) are being relaxed for research. As people may remember Dr. Timothy Leary was a huge proponent of these drugs in the 60's. However, he royally screwed it up because he just went overboard and started some sort of strange commune. He also probably created the Pharma sales rule. "Try not to be actually on the drugs you are trying to sell, while selling them."

The short of it is that LSD and Psylocybin are both serotonin inhibitors. They both encourage the production of serotonin (masses) and also inhibit receptors. It has been used to success in "curing" severe alcoholism in conjunction with psychotherapy. I find that little tid bit quite encouraging. It has also been used to treat senile dementia.

On YouTube there is a video of a guy with MS. Normally he is just a mass of nervous twitches and can barely talk. They took him to a gymnasium administered x micro grams of LSD and........ He's walking normal, jumping around. doing summersaults, and speaking normally. Unfortunately you can't do this everyday, because the brain needs a fair bit of recovery time and tolerances increase rapidly. I think he gets to be normal every 2 months.

The drug and research items above (Anthony and Jimmy) and this research combined seems to be a more sensible route on the meds front. Addiction being the key word for it all. We don't need any more monkey's on our back. The load is heavy enough.

Wagon

 

[Jimmy1]

You have to take the good with the bad. Its like marijuana. If you harness the THC alone it a great pain killer. There are a lot of people experimenting by genetically altering marijuana and crossing it with other herbs to target specific ailments like MS, appetite supression (not the opposite munchies), and depression.
The problem with all these illicit drugs is that the majority of federal governments won't legalise it for testing.

I saw one case in Israel where a pharmacist had reduced marijuana down to a bottle of droplets. This bloke who had chronic pain from bone marrow transplant was pain free. Another lady's liver had shut down from all the medication she had taken for pain and cancer. She only has a little time to live, but uses a vapouriser with Marijuana and actually said she will die a happy lady not in pain.

So your right Wagon, you really have to weigh it up. Thats why a lot of veterans self medicate with alcohol and drugs. they are scared and think that all antidepressants and antipsychotics make you end up like a zombie when they dont.

 

[Wagon]

Yup, this article said that they are using yeast strains now to produce Psylocybin, which is less poisonous and allows for extremely small doses.

I can attest to the positive effects of hallucinogenics as my interest was a bit more than academical in university. I should also say there are people who should just never do it, they can't handle it, just like marijuana, some people no effect, some people freak out after one puff. Only the hallucinogens don't go away so fast. You are stuck for a good 8 to 12 hours....... a long ride.

Cutting to the chase, it was a perfect drug about 2 weeks prior to exams. You have your trip (very controlled environment, only with one or 2 friends) and about the next week or so after you felt more sane, level headed, and able to cope with whatever life had to throw at you than ever before. Or perhaps for myself it was chasing away all the PTSD critters for awhile. But other people have reported similar effects.

Great stuff and I can see how psychoanalysis combined with serotonin inhibitors can lead to permanent mental "wellness" if you will. It is the chemical vehicle by which we think, so therefore if directed properly, it should lead to a permanent "healthy" wiring, so to speak.

I think I'm beginning to get the sense in meds.

Great stuff folks!!!

 

[Ned]

Sticking with that analogy, I think it does help lead to healthier wiring. Before being put on something that calmed me down, I don't think I was even holding the diagram the right way up, let alone understanding all the components.
With the benefit of medication, the noise and revs dropped to a level where I could start looking at myself and working out how to go about repairs. And I think that's a very important part of it. Yes, the professional help (med, therapy, counselling) is essential, but an equally essential part is what we do ourselves.
Being able to understand what I was looking at it then took the best part of a year (and being shown this site) before I was able to start making really positive steps. And like Jimmy says, the med didn't turn me into a zombie, fact is I was doing that all on my own before I started the treatment.
I think the medication was a really useful help in clearing away the huge pile of crap and helping me see what was needing fixing.

 

[Jimmy1]

Well right now I am on the maximum dose of the antidepressant I was prescribed, and its not working at the moment.

I have the have some of the typical depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms which are really pissing me off for someone so far along in my treatment.

The usual, not wanting to get out of bed, not seeing anything positive with life, not looking forward to the future, wanting to drown myself in alcohol, tightness in my chest, grinding my teeth, wanting to start a fight with anyone who looks at me sideways, pacing up and down, not being able to concentrate, etc, etc.

The other thing to consider which I learned on the course, was the onion rings of pain. Basically the different levels.
Depression adds to pain that would not normally be there. What I mean is that sometimes pain is all in the head and we know that. My back has been giving me grief these last few days. I am almost on no pain meds at the moment and refuse to go back on them, as I know its probably just me feeling down and depressed. f*ck I hate self awareness.

Mindless rambling again, best go try and do something rather than sitting here winding myself up.

Bye for now

 

[Sarg]

Depression doesn't hurt me but it could kill me. I just keep going deeper and deeper until I start to think, "why do this shit?". "Why?" Luckily, I've been able to somehow drag out a reason, embellish it and climb out of the hole. But both times I was at a point where I just didn't value my own life at all. That's way too far out of my comfort zone and it has sobered me some. Thanks to the encouragement from Jimmy, I've started to do research and see what the hell I've got to do to stop that crap.

Anxiety does hurt. At my age, 64, I'm lesser able to get up and about to burn off the anxiety. Muscles ache because they "push or pull" against each other similtaneously. I find myself holding something harder than necessary. Tension, all the time. Put another way, it's like tensing up waiting for a firecracker to go off and it never does.

Of, course, I have to factor in that I'm just only recently began treatment outside of the VA and one has to start from scratch, drag out the beast for the therapist to see, build professional relationships and trust. So, one has to expect a stretch of rocky road for a while. I believe I'm in good hands. My counselor is very good at helping me connect the dots and I usually leave feeling better. I've only met with my shrink a couple of times but she is willing to give me meds that are known to work.

I soon will have to face the loss of my dog. I can either choose not to continue or embark on a whole new chapter of my life.

Now if a beautiful, slender slinky blond with lotz of money suddenly fell in love with me, I think I would go with the starting a new chapter deal.

Sarg