Stimulants for depression...

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I've been on ritalin for several years, but I can't say that it works all that well for my depressive symptoms. If I'm feeling sad or anxious or just weird, ritalin simply adds a bit of focus to it all. Of course, different people react to it differently. It doesn't seem to have any kind of euphoric effect on me, it just allows me to think more easily. If it did, it might make a difference. If nothing else, it will punch through any fatigue or fogginess you have, and that might make you a little happier.

There's a theory about depression called the "malaise theory" which suggests that depression is sickness behavior, much like you feel when you get a flu. For whatever reason, the body's immune system goes into this mode, and it results in fatigue, pain, and a mild temperature. If this persists, you're not only aching and weak, you're also sad. Most antidepressants are effective analgesics, which is potentially their utility.

If it produced euphoria, it would be criminalized in these united states; we have this harsh puritanical ethic that stamps out whatever would make us feel good.
So those of us with chronic pain and depression are just supposed to suffer.

If everyone was jsut a LITTLe euphoric-- not overdosed; just dosed so that they're actually HAPPY-- the world would be a better place!

My psychiatrist and psychologist both won't give me stimulants! Because I'm "not ADD", because my depression is "complicated", because I'm already too high-strung... the reason why I'm so high-strung is I'm using my remaining energy to look for more energy before I run out!

And if those with pain could get the good painkillers, ditto.

Will they give you something milder? Modafinil and Strattera are two stimulants that don't have much abuse potential. It's the abuse potential that scares them. Drugs that can be enjoyed recreationally have street value, so it's possible that people would ask for them, and then sell or abuse them. I've had people offer to buy ritalin from me when they've found out I take it. If I were unscrupulous, I could turn a $10 prescription into $400.

If SSRIs have not worked, other antidepressants might. I went through an assortment of SSRIs with no real success. At times, I kind of wonder why the doctor kept trying different ones, when a different class of drug might have worked better.

I've used a tricyclic antidepressant to try and help with insomnia lately, and it has helped some. Not with the insomnia all that much, but just in general. Far from the only cause, and certainly not the main one, but I think it has helped some. I'm not really taking it now due to the side-effects. I've woken up a couple times and felt like I was high. Same situation as always, different people, different results. I was taking 1/10 of the dose usually given for depression.

That's why I wasn't given something like Ambien.

Back on-topic... If they won't give you stimulants, see if they would be willing to consider a different type of antidepressant

Sorry to HARP on about it .... but yesterdays news included a story on how scientists had proved how listening to cheerful , uplifting music can help substantially in the fight against depression.

Zinc, you're not harping. I find that to be true with me too. Only one problem: I have no radio, no MP3 player, nothing! I sometimes walk around stores looking at the stuff I want to get and listening to the music!

Wellbutrin, is also a stimulant used for ADD. It's an off label use, but if you are also needing antidepressants it'll help you in both areas.

It helped me (depressed and ADD) as an antidepressant, but I didn't notice any stimulation. I guess it's a subtle action, just enough to wake me up a little more, and that might be a good thing for someone who describes herself as high-strung... ... rather than a stronger stimulant.

Last edited by tomart on 29 Oct 2007, 1:17 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I think you need a higher dose for ADD stuff.

I dunno.

I've thought about experimenting with recreational drugs, but that's about as far as that topic goes.

I couldn't anyway, because the Prozac mixing with it would knock me out cold.

This was my inital ADD drug, at a pretty high dosage (450mg). It was moderately effective, but it also made me kind of jittery, which detracted from my concentration. I did this for a year and a half before I was moved to ritalin, which has been much more effective, and doesn't make me feel agitated or speedy.

It bothers me to hear people who dismiss ADD and the use of ritalin as irresponsible or a pseudo diagnosis just to sell drugs. Perhaps there are people wrongly diagnosed, and perhaps some people would benefit just as well from CBT, better nutrition, etc, but it's been a remarkable benefit for me. I'm a computer programmer, and the complexity of the projects I've undertaken has gone up dramatically since being on it. The things I did years ago seem childish to me now, yet I recall struggling to finish those. I really wish I'd been diagnosed when I was in school, which I also struggled through.

Ana54:

Drugs don't usually work. It's up for a couple of minutes and then you crash (Yeah, I've had experience). If you have a psychiatrist, there is stuff on the market that just takes away the depression. It doesn't make you high....but sometimes it makes you a little sleepy.

HOWEVER. You've gotta do a job on yourself. Make a list if it hels. "I am depressed because......." And then think about how much of the stuff on your list is real.

No, I'm not making fun of you. I'm worried about you. But there are natural ways out of depression. After all, you took a natural way INTO the depression.

Please cheer up.
BTDT