Brintellix experience

[Sarah Sharp]

Hello everyone. I have bounced back and forth now with the antidepressants for almost 20 years now. my first ever antidepressant has been Elavil and after that I have been put on Prozac, I have been put on it back in the time when it still was a new drug and it has been considered to be a “miracle cure for depression” before of this newest medication that I am currently taking now. I have taken a combination of that Prozac medication along with the Wellbutrin and this combo has been doing a pretty good job for me. my psych later wanted to check it out and see if I could improve at least a little bit and so she has taken me off from Prozac and has added this medication called Brintellix instead of it and she has also lowered the Wellbutrin dosage to 100 mg.

 

She has given me some Brintellix samples in order to try them out. I need to say here that this is damn such a different antidepressant from absolutely anything else that I have ever tried before it. it is surely very and very differently working compared to Prozac as well as it is more different than Wellbutrin than I had anticipated. I really can’t understand what’s the reason of why I was thinking like that, but I thought that they would be quite similar. I guess the main reason was because they are antidepressants so I thought all of them work quite the same. Doubtless I was wrong, very wrong as they are very different and it is quite hard for me to explain how. But I am sure about is that this drug gives me a clear headed feeling that I really like it! generally, if there’s anybody who is interested in trying out this medication and asks for my opinion on it then I can tell you that overall – I am pleased with Brintellix. If you are thinking about what kind of experience I have had while I was on it I can tell you this: if I could grade it from on a scale from 1 to 10 (while 1 is when taking this drug absolutely nothing has changed and 10 means that it is an absolutely life changing medication for better) then so far I would say that it is anywhere between 7 and 8. Let’s say that it is 7.5. I have tried to do a bit of research on this medication and from as much as I have seen, it does take a few weeks until it fully kicks in the system. But not sure, that’s only what I’ve read.

 

So well, I can tell you what it was feeling like when taking this medication day by day, hoping this would help. so well, the first few days while I have been on it I was feeling a little bit jittery and yet foggy. I do realize that it has been only the adjustment period and I thought about this those days and that’s why I decided to still take it even though I was having those effects. glad that I did because by the third day I was already feeling quite good and the jittery and the foggy feeling went away. In the third day energy has been leveling out and I was feeling pretty clear headed. But then the next day, which means the 4th day I remember that I woke up and I have already been feeling pretty damn well! the next 5th day I have been feeling even better, though only a bit. my energy level was decent (I was not jittery or foggy at all, generally well being feeling). In fact, I have started to have some hope toward the future, however not manic. It was just good, I was feeling well. my focus has been quite good either, and I could focus well. the sixth day has been pretty much the same as the previous one. after one week of being on it I have cleaned up my house while I have been listening to music. I listened to music the entire day. I can dare to say that I was feeling great! Day 8 has been about the same as the previous day, I was capable of focusing, I was clear headed and depression was not consuming me at all. I was quite well by this moment! The next day I have invited a friend to lunch with me (that’s a really big success for me). I have started to notice that I am caring more about music once again and that I have started to care enough about my appearance and started to search carefully what to wear. That day my friend (who, by the way, had not had any ideas at all that I have switched to another medication) has told me: oh wow, you are looking so much better. you really look great and what’s even more important you look so happy now! well, I guess she told me this because I really was happier. Next day which means the 10th day (this was yesterday) I have finally went out for a walk and I was happy doing so. I have again started to listen to my iPod once again which made me even more happier (and yeah, I guess you’ve noticed that I have mentioned music a lot of times, it is because I really love music, it is a really big love of mine), however, when the huge depression has hit me so hard I have suddenly stopped to play my guitar anymore and not only playing my guitar, but I stopped from listening to music altogether. Not listening to music is a huge sign for me that something’s wrong with me. and now, today it is the 11th day and I am great, I am feeling great and I am ready to face life once again. I have even decided, as you can see, to post this, trying to help others as well. I am feeling so much more lighter right now!

 

But yeah, one sure thing is that depression is the devil and it can completely ruin a person’s life. it is extremely hard to tell how much it is pushing us down until we are getting out from under it finally. We are not able to realize how much it ruins our lives until we get out from it. so I only wanted to help other people, because I do know how hard it is. I only wanted to give anybody an update here who may have heard of that new medication and have been curious about it and about giving it a try. In fact, it is not such a new medication anymore, but I still couldn’t find anything about this medication on the site so I thought I should be the one who says at least some words about it. and yeah, I do know and it is obvious that everybody is different. That’s true. but you should try it firstly. I one did tried it as you can see and I am really happy that I did. I really hope a lot that this may have helped somebody a little bit.

 

Each one of you should feel free to ask me anything regarding this medication, I would try my best to give you best answers, that’s in case I have failed to cover something about it. again, I am not an expert, but I do have experience with the drug and I hope that this would be helpful. if any of you doesn’t want to talk about it publicly you can feel free to write me privately either. I wish you all my best regards to all of you and hoping for the best

 

[Suffes]

Hey there Sarah, thank you very and very much for sharing your experience with us! To be honest, I have had to search up for this drug in my micro medex because I have never heard about it which I find quite strange. I can say that it is absolutely a fascinating medication that is having some rather unusual properties. I’ve got to say that I am really glad that it does helps you out and I also hope that it would help other people to benefit from it either. I would say that this is by far and away the most important thing, no doubts!

 

[Sarah Sharp]

Suffes thank you so so much for your really kind words! I appreciate it a lot! I’ve got to say that I do understand you and why you’ve never heard of it, I have never heard about it either until my shrink doled out a couple of samples of it. I am not so sure if you are also suffering from depression or not (but I truly hope and pray that you are not), however if you do then I guess you do know very well this “I am ready to do anything at all in order to make it stop phase” that I have been in during that time. honestly talking about it, I can tell you that I have taken my very first pill of it while I was expecting that it won’t make absolutely any changes. I need to say that I was pleasantly surprised when I’ve seen that it does work! In fact I can tell you that joining once again the land of the living people is not all that bad if you ask me, LOL. I am just really glad that we have this forum where we can share here. lots of people can benefit by writing up their story (like I did) and other people can benefit from reading them (like I hope other people would from reading it). generally, I can say that this forum has been a lifesaver for me which I am really thankful to the admin for this!

 

[DanyEL]

Hey Sarah, honestly, I have never ever heard about this medication in the past up until this moment. But new treatments for the depression, which most likely are more effective than they used to be until this moment, are, of course, always welcome! Thank you very much for posting that. from your post I have started to search a bit of info about this med and I have just read a few of the experiments that has been done on this medicine and those experiments are saying that this medicine could have some beneficial effects on the cognition by increasing the activity of the frontal cortex, unlike those drugs like for example escitalopram or duloxetine and quite similarly to the modafinil. This is the information that I have found out only form a quick research but I guess this drug is worth searching and learning more about it. generally, I one find it to be all very interesting and a very interesting drug. I am going to be searching some more about it hoping to learn and find out something more. thank you once again Sarah for posting this thread and letting us know about a new anti depressant out there!

 

[Sarah Sharp]

Hello DanyEL and thank you for posting back. Now that you have already mentioned it, I need to tell you that Provigil it is the closest medication that I have ever used in my life that even slightly is resembling this one, this Brintellix. You shouldn’t understand me wrong. it is still different from it, however in comparison to other drugs out there this one is still the closest from them all! as you can see I have been on it for only a few days but as much as you’ve seen described in my post, the changes in my life has been really a lot! now that a few days have passed more I would say that the scale improved from 7.5 to 9 or so. I am feeling a lot much more better with this medication and I am completely forgetting that I have depression! oh yeah, I guess that it is quite important to mention the fact that I have also kicked approximately a 600 mg of oxy per day habit right before I have started to take this medication. this is very important to mention, IMO! My doctor has put me on this as a part of my treatment plan either, but as me, he didn’t expected to have such good results! they were too good!

 

And so, stopping that excess of the Oxy I did not really need to pain any longer, is most likely contributing to the very dramatic changes that I have experienced lately with this medication. this being said, I am glad to report that I am not hiding anymore out in my bed all day long like I am used to do in the past before using this medication and I am now able to join the living once again. as I have said it earlier, joining the land of living isn’t that bad. Besides, it is not only the depression alone because I have always been more of a bookworm than a social butterfly, however for me personally doing some things with my family or/and suggesting some occasional coffee with a friend has been, trust me, a major improvement. By going out socializing, drinking coffee with friends and what’s even more important WANTING to do so it is most important I think.

 

Coming off from the pain killing medication surely has something to do with all of it, I can feel it. I am attributing staying off from them and working once again very much to the Brintellix. Socializing, getting out of bed and wanting to do things. all of this has changed as soon as I started to take it. my doctor does have me using it with 150 mg of wellbutrin as well, and yeah, I do think that wellbutrin plays an role here either, maybe it enhances the effects of Brintellix not sure. But wellbutrin isn’t the key because as I have already said it, I was taking it with other antidepressants and I definitely didn’t had so good effects, even better than expected. that’s rarely happening. This combination, frankly, has scared me initially because as I have said, for the first few days while my body was getting used to it, I wasn’t feeling all that good, however then it has proved to be a real miracle medication for me. in fact, I can tell you that I wasn’t a believer in a miracle medication thinking that there is no such a pill that can help you so much, this medication prove that I am wrong. my depression has been really bad, I was not going and not planning to harm myself, however it has been bad enough that I was at a point in my life where only ceasing to exist did not sound all that bad for me. it was very bad… I have also had some constant and unstoppable intrusive thoughts coming and an extreme sense of impending doom as well. I was kind of fixated and focused on the worry that there is something tragic that was going to happen to a loved person of mine.

 

Now, those thoughts are all gone by 99%, they have all went away from my head and I don’t get them anymore. the rest of 1% is still here IMO because we’re all humans and we’re always worried nothing to happen to our loved ones. but I am feeling a lot much more better with no intrusive thoughts. Whatever is keeping them at bay I have to say that I am really grateful for this! whatever makes me feel like this – I am grateful to. and I doubt that there’s something else than Brintellix because I started to feel so as soon as I started to take it. once again, this is only my experience and maybe other people experience other things, however I really hope that this is going to help someone out there at least a little bit. or this maybe would give someone that impulse that she/he needs in order to try it out and then it turns out to work exactly the same as it did for me. I really wish that everybody else could benefit from this drug as much as I did. To get rid of the depression by using this medication. that would be truly amazing.

 

Anyway, sorry for getting to ramble here   thanks all for reading and stay safe.

 

[Grapply]

It seems that I am the only one here who has ever heard about Brintellix besides OP. anyway. I only wanted to mention the fact that I have started to take 10 mg of this medication and I am currently having some mixed feelings that I am not sure about. I am also having pain issues that really seem to be aggravating a lot my depression and I have also noticed that this medication seems to be causing all over muscle tension and headaches as well. have you had anything like this? did you had any muscle tension and headaches? you said that the first days were the worst. Have you had anything like this the first days? if yes then I assume that they simply disappeared later yeah? but if you haven’t then I don’t know what to expect. As you OP, I have also noticed that I have got some more energy. Is there anybody who also experiences this with this medication? if there’s someone who also uses it then please share your story. I also need to say that I have tried every SSRI out there in the book and I have no responded well to absolutely any of them so I need help. thanks in advance and thanks OP for posting this.

 

[ThintOZ7]

“Coming off from the pain killing medication surely has something to do with all of it, I can feel it. I am attributing staying off from them and working once again very much to the Brintellix.”

 

Hey there Sarah, the experience that you have it is an extremely good example of the value of the antidepressants as helpful adjuncts when discontinuing the usage of the opioid drugs. One of the indeed many reasons that I have always recommend to consult with a physician during this process rather than to unnecessarily attempt to do it all by yourself and in the end still realizing that you need to go to one.

 

[Symone]

Thank you so so much for this very detailed review about this medication, I am quite sure that we would benefit from this medication either. that’s especially because I have never ever heard about that drug in the past, however it does seem to be really promising so I guess I am going to try it. or I would try to. but the description that you had about you coming out of the depressive phase really seems to be so so familiar to me. I understand it perfectly what does it feels like. It is one sure thing that you don’t know how deep is that hole where you are until you start to get out of it and the higher you have gotten the better you realize how deep it was, isn’t it? and once you’ve fully got out of it you realize that you were really very deep in it. something you can’t realize while you’re still there. I am surely going to talk about this drug with my psych because as I have already said, it does seem to be very promising! Maybe he would accept to give me at least some samples of it and see how it works. So far, thank you very much for posting this all! 

 

[DanyEL]

I would really need to ask you as I need to know whether is this drug also exciting as well as antidepressant or not and I would also need to know if it may increase the anxiety level as a side effect as this might be an issue for me. any information regarding this? thanks in advance for everything!

 

[Sarah Sharp]

DanyEL hi again I am also taking Ritalin (which is prescribed by the same doctor by the way). I have skipped appointment and I have lost my refill. Gotta say that I have been feeling like I was completely losing my mind. I have slept way way too much that time. they may have had a stimulant effect had I not been on a stimulant, however having it removed from my usual diet of medications has not been a good thing for me. I am by myself an anxious person, an anxious person by the nature and those medications are a quite good and fine balancing act that I shouldn’t disrupt.

 

[Carol]

Hello Sarah Sharp, I’ve just been thinking about making a new thread regarding Brintellix and then I have seen your post. The truth is that I was planning to post not so good things about it as you said. as you, I have also been given a sample to try it out and I didn’t liked it from the first days, especially taking in consideration that the first 2 days I have been vomiting all day long. I couldn’t do anything because I was… vomiting. But I was still trying to get over this and as you I also thought that it is only the adjustment period, however I am currently on this for the second week and I honestly do not see very much of a change. Before I was put on Brintellix I have been on the combination made of Prozac and wellbutrin. I am not so sure but I was thinking that maybe I need to add back the wellbutrin to it as you did and then I would have better effects? maybe Brintellix is indeed amazing but only in combination with wellbutrin? I am thinking about asking this my doctor.

 

And yeah, I wanted to ask you… have you filled a script so far? what it is the cost for one? thanks again for all!

 

[AmeliaLove]

Hey there Sarah Sharp, thank you very much for sharing here with us your experience with the Brintellix medication! I appreciate it a lot. but I also wanted to ask you something… for how long have you been on the Prozac and wellbutrin combo and I also would really like to know how much better are you feeling on the brintellix and wellubutrin combo compared to how you have been used to feel on the previous combo of wellbutrin and Prozac? Thanks again for sharing your story here and I hope that I am going to get an answer to my question!

 

[Carol]

Hey there Amelia, I am going to be trying this combination as Sarah Sharp has recommended to try, however, to be honest, I am not seeing absolutely any improvement while I am on the Brintellex alone and I am not very sure if adding wellbutrin is going to make a really big change. As I said, I am already on this medication for  a while so if it would have any effects then they should already have appeared by now… I need to mention here that I have been on several different single medications for a lot of years. and I have also done the combo of Prozac and Abilify, however this one did not helped me. Brintellex alone did not helped me either, doubt that in the combination it would do a big change, but there’s nothing else left for me to do than hope that it will.. I really hope this would help you somehow.

 

[Sarah Sharp]

Amelia Love, I need to tell you that I have been on the Prozac medication on and off it for the most of my adult life. I have started to take it when I was 19 (the first time when I took it I was 19). Prozac has always been my got to and has always worked for me which I am really thankful for. however it has never been as effective as it was for the first time when I took it though… but anyway it was still something and I am glad about it. It was name brand only back then Eli Lilly. It is obvious that back then I had absolutely no experience with the medications and so I was paying $ 5.00 in order to get them from my college clinic.

 

I remember it all very well because that was the beginning, something you cannot forget, I remember it so well like it just have happened yesterday. I was just standing at the door and I was waiting for the clinic to finally open. It is obvious that I was having no ideas what would happen from there. I have told the nurse in a calm way: I am thinking that I feel like I am suicidal” and this has happened way before the internet. I was really having no clue at all if I would go to jail for saying it, worse that my parents could have been called. Since all of this has been before the internet and people had no ideas about drugs/ medicines etc. etc. the only thing that I have heard about Prozac back then was that it has been given to “crazy” people. it was much much different from today. nowadays it is different. Back then I could not “research” on absolutely any medications and symptoms. I could only hear some rumors from god knows whom. Like for example every information I could gather back then has been only from the 18 and 19 years olds that was living with me in my dorms and they had the exact same knowledge as I did back then on the meds. I can tell you that it has been very and very hard for me to fathom having absolutely no feedback at all only except for those who were physically around me back then during that time and those who were physically around had no ideas on this either. what a time to live in

 

We have got past all of the initial stuff and I have started to take 20 mg of it every single morning, on approximately the 4th day or so (it can take up some weeks in order to be effective) I have finally went back to class. That’s a really huge deal if you can understand what I am talking about because I had not been in weeks!! I didn’t not even tell my family about it. once again it all has happened before the internet. I really did not know that I have been in the near fatal depression, I was non lectured at all. so well, I have went back to class and for the next couple of years I have been taking 20 mg of it and I have been doing what all of the 20 years old people were doing until the mid 20s. continuing to take 20 mg of it made me act like a completely normal person back then. And I think that it might have lasted more like that, however the birth of my first child has changed all these things. I had been on absolutely no medications at all for a couple of years back then and it seemed that I was doing quite well. however everything changes when that exact same feeling that I have had in college had me hit hard approximately one week or 2 after my first children has been born. It got me really bad. It got me so bad this time that obviously, I had to go back on meds and obviously I started to take 20 mg again of it, however this time around it didn’t do anything for me. doubled the dosage and started to take 40 mg… surprisingly for me but not even the 40 mg helped me. what else I could do? it is obvious… to up the dosage… so I went it up to 60 mg and this dosage really seemed to finally do the job fine. starting from here my life went on into the late 20s. but then Prozac has stopped from working for me. I did have realized that I had been getting the generic version. By this time the internet has been alive and well by that time, however it still was not even anything close to how it is internet today. it is obvious that we cannot compare the internet from nowadays to the internet then… now it is extremely helpful! you can find anything. I have finally read somewhere that after using it for some long periods of time then the medication (Prozac) can start losing from its effectiveness which would require more of a dosage to start working. this is what has happened to me either. at that time I have finally seen the first article that was entitled “Prozac Poop Out” other people experienced it just losing its motor so to talk about it…

 

Then later the doctor has added the wellbutrin to it and it did a good job. It is obvious that it still wasn’t anything like the first try of Prozac, nothing life altering like the first Prozac dosage was. I wasn’t really having any joy out of it, but it was quite manageable which was enough… though I was wishing for more, that’s why I was on and off playing around with the doses of Prozac and wellbutrin trying to find a “perfect” one or something.

 

I have also had an ordeal where I have been on opiates for a really long time either. it is possible to be culprit, I am not very sure about it however I do know and I think that there is a probability.

 

So very well, let me now go straight on to the Brintellex and tell you more about this. I can tell you that this, personally for me, doubtlessly is working better than wellbutrin. It is working completely different than Prozac and it is very hard for me to explain why or in which way it works so differently, but I can just can feel that it works so different. I seriously have absolutely no idea why or how to explain it… really… but I just know that it is different and I am quite sure that anybody who would use both of them would see the difference. this one (Brintellex) is making my head clear, like I have said in my first post. And since then I am still on it and I am quite sure that I would continue taking it for a looong time. and I need to say that I am only one this one except for the anxiety/sleep medications that I also use as needed. I have weened off from Prozac now. the generic has not been working for me anymore and so I have been left with no other option than to stick with the brand but the brand has been extremely extremely expensive, at least too expensive for me to afford it. I did have tried to do so, I have bit the bullet for a while and for that while I have been paying for the brand… it is now Dista. I am quite sure that it is the same, however to me it is just not feeling the same and here I am not sure why but whatever.

 

This medication is making me feel more “normal” (and whatever does this means) I am most likely more happier with my life now due to the fact that this medication is keeping me from feeling like my feet are stuck in the cement, as I said, it makes me feel free. I did not realized that I have felt like this, but this is a really perfect description of what I am trying to say. It makes me feel better overall. Not sure how to explain. I say that it is different from other medications because even when those other ones worked – I was still having that heaviness in there somewhere, but I am not getting this heaviness with this one. this medication really makes me feel like it clears all of that. it felt like it has uncluttered by brain and it has neatened up the wires. I have felt a little bit strange for quite a good wile due to the fact that I am so unused to this medication, but then as soon as I got feeling well on it – I was feeling WELL! I was feeling really good. and I am feeling that way still now. I am not manic, and I am not high. I am just feeling free and I feel like myself. I am just feeling really good. it feels like I was in chains all that time but then this drug simply opened up the chains and the rest is in my control.

 

I really hope that this information is going to help some of you… I am sorry that I have written such a long post again, I wasn’t expecting it to be that long, but I only wanted to give you a detailed, accurate and clear imagine of what I am talking about. best wishes!

 

[AmeliaLove]

Hello Sarah once again, the experience that you have had with those anti depressants really does seem to be very and very much like my experience I had with them. my depression and my anxiety have both started out when I have been 17 years old and since then I have been constantly visiting and going to the doctors while I was thinking that I was seriously ill or something. I have went on like that while I was feeling very low most of the time but everything changed at the age of 24 when the thing suddenly started to get even worse than that. the doctor then has prescribed be an old tricyclic antidepressant that I personally did not really wanted to take it due to the fact that I wasn’t thinking that I was depressed, however I was thinking that I am only physically ill or something. thinking that I have something that doctors cannot find out. anyway, I still wanted to listen to my doctor so I have resorted to take the antidepressant as he told me to and it has worked just amazing in approximately 24 hours after taking the first dosage. I was shocked how well and how fast it worked. So quickly. And I knew that there is no way that it has been a placebo effect because I wasn’t believing that it would work. That antidepressant worked so well for me that I do not think that I have ever felt so so good as I did then, I was not feeling high but I was just feeling good. very good feeling.

 

No need to mention that I have started to take them and I was on them, on the antidepressants for years until I have been approximately 30 or 31 or so and after that I came off from them. it seemed that I was doing well without them as for the next 5 years or so I have been quite fine, however then later the depression returned back and it was even worse as this time it was with suicidal thoughts (but I have never had any suicidal thoughts in the past). I have tried all of the drugs that I had ever tried in the past (which, by the way, had worked quite well at even 20 mg) but this time they didn’t helped me at all but they even made me feel even more suicidal… I have then noticed that the only thing that was able to give me at least a little bit of relief has been 10 mg of Zyprexa now and then. The rest were not working. then finally approximately 2 years later, my doctor has decided to put me straight on the high dose of 40 mg of Seroxat (no building up to that dosage) and in approximately 3 days of taking this I have started to feel better, finally.

 

Generally, I need to tell you all that I have been on a lot of medications since then (and I am currently 48 years old) and that’s why I think and I hope that I can be of help here. But I do know very well that there are other people who’ve been using lots of drugs either, but not all of them access these forum sites. Also, exactly as for a lot of people, there are some of them that stopped from working but as a general rule, I can tell you that I have never felt so good as I have been feeling in my 20s. to be honest I am quite interested in your personal experience with that certain drug, reading what you said + a 5 minutes research on google really made it seem a very promising drug, but anyway, in the end… we are all different here and I do know that I shouldn’t expect too much. whatever the case, I would really like to try it out, however I am a little bit scared… I am scared because I do know that I have to stop taking my seroxat in order to take it but seroxat is the medication that keeps me going so not sure what to do. if I wouldn’t be taking anything I am sure that I should have tried it because I always said that it is worth at least trying.

 

Anyway, I think that I am going to continue doing some more research on it and after that to decide which one to take. But anyway, I really hope that you are going to do well on this drug and I also want to thank you very much for bringing this up and for letting us know about new opportunity.

 

But lately… I wanted to add this… hello Carol. I am truly sorry for you, for the fact that you do not see any improvement while taking it… this makes me understand once again and even more that not all people are the same and drugs do not work the same for everyone. but anyway, I guess you already thought about this and most likely I won’t say anything new here but anyway… maybe you just need a higher dose of this Brintellix? I am just saying this because I know that there are some times when a smaller dose of a drug can make you feel even worse than without it but if you are going up higher on the dosage of the drug it makes you feel a lot more better. I do know this seems strange and maybe even hard to believe, but still I do know that this can happen, I know because this is my experience that I have had with Seroxat that I have felt totally terrible while taking 20 mg, however then, when I have upped the dose to 40 mg of it I have felt much more better after only a few days. I definitely recommend you to do so if you haven’t so far. can you tell us on what dosage of Brintelix you are currently on? also I would need to ask you if there are any medications that have ever worked for you? if yes what are they? What other medications have not worked? Taking all of this in consideration might give you (or your doctor) an answer. and yeah, have you ever tried Zyprexa? Not trying to say anything but I guess it might be worth a try. Just to try and see how you would react to it.

 

[Carol]

Hi Amelia again and thank you very much for answering. I appreciate it a lot! I am now on a combination of 10 mg of Brintellix and on 150 mg of wellbutrin, twice per day. unfortunately, even with this combination that I was hoping would help me… I am still not able to see any difference at all. Regarding what other drugs I have taken… well, I guess I have taken everything… I mean, of course not everything but a lot of them! I remember that I had an allergic reaction to Cymbalta if this helps anything… I have also tried Effexor, Prozac, Lexapro, Elavil and much more that I can even remember with none of them mentioned here working for me. I am not sure what’s wrong with my body or my body chemistry or whatever its in there that it does not accept anything. And regarding Zyprexa… I said that I have taken a lot of drugs, it seems I took everything else besides Zyprexa LOL. I am not sure… you said that it is worth it... but I don’t have much hope now. I am going to talk with my doctor about it and see what she’ll tell me about it. thanks again for your answer.

 

[AmeliaLove]

hi Carol. That’s strange that none of those drugs worked… I mean… none of them worked at all? that’s really strange. I would also need to know… do you suffer from much anxiety??? I’ve got to say that I still think that maybe you need to give Zyprexa a try. I think that you need to try out 10 mg of Zyprexa taken once a week, it might help you a little bit I think… that’s because it has always seemed to help me when I have been feeling really really bad, why wouldn’t it work for you too? wish you all the best!

 

[Nestand]

Hello Sarah Sharp, I have only been wondering how you are doing with that drug? I mean, some more days have passed and I am really interested in finding out how you are getting with the Brintellix? is it still working for you? does it help? the reason why I ask this is that my psychiatrist has prescribed me this Brintellix with a stimulant that it is called Vyvanse, however it really does not seem to do very much, maybe only besides the fact that it only makes me feel a little bit jittery, however that’s all! I mean, it doesn’t help, only the jittery feeling is definitely not enough for me to make me feel fine

 

I just think that you have said that this Brintellix felt a little bit like the Provigil and this is why I can only guess that it is having a stimulating effect? Or I am wrong? anything regarding this would be very much appreciated!

 

[Rociefoldn]

hello there Nestand, I only have to say some words regarding your last post and your questions… I really hope that what I would tell is going to help you or maybe somebody else at least a bit… so, the thing is that I have been using Prozac for the last 24 or so years now, less than a few brief months drug vacation to participate in a double blind study on paroxetine (paxil), I personally believe that I can recall being told that I have been indeed on the paroxetine and that’s a good indicator of that I have been that I couldn’t go poo poo… nr. 2, dookie for at least a few weeks.  Ew… only thinking about it now and I am still able to taste all of the orange Metamucil that I have had to drink.

 

Well, the very first drug that we have tried augmenting the Prozac with after been on it for approximately 3 or maybe 4 years, only in order to try to get an additional boost, it has been clomipramine. I do remember very well how that combo really does seem to put a really big damper on my OCD symptoms. I am not very sure but I am thinking that it has been the highly sedating effects that have ultimately forced me to eliminate that clomipramine drug. it was really very sedating and I couldn’t deal with it anymore.

 

now, the only other psycho pharmaceutical that I have used in order to augment my Prozac medication and it is still the one that I am using up to this day, it is clonazepam. I started to use it after I have got it as a suggestion from a very good doctor during our first time ever consultation and it occurred only because I flew up to the NYC in order to visit that certain doctor. It has been around in 1995 (or maybe in 1994, cannot remember very well) when I flew in order to see him, and it has been most likely about 10 years later before I have firstly asked my PCP in order to prescribe it for me. Then that PCP doctor has moved on somewhere in another state and the new one that came has gotten sketchy about continuing to prescribe clonazepam and that’s even though he has written the prescription for a few years hen. So well, it is obvious that because of this I have had to find a new psychiatrist so later I found one and I am happy that I did because I had one visit with and frankly, I am very impressed and happy with him. he’s a really good professional!

 

I need to confess on the fact that I have been under a lot of stress for the last couple of years now. one main thing that made me go through all of that stress has been the fact that my father has been diagnosed with non Hodgins Leukemia (Sezary Syndrome) a few years ago and since the diagnose has been put I have been at his close side the entire way through all of it. unfortunately, as expected, nothing helped… so we lost him this last December…. It has been a really hard hit for me… although since he has gotten his diagnose we already knew what it is going to end, but still when it happened it wasn’t as expected. I mean, I wasn’t prepared… even now I am not prepared… it has been and it is still a very hard time for me. I can barely deal with this situation, without him… that’s because he has been my life teacher, he has been my superman, he has been my best friend, my business partner and, obviously… my father. as I said, dealing with the fact that we lost him is a lot much difficult than I could even think about… but it is one obvious thing since we had worked in the same office (same room) of our family hardware store almost every single day for the last 23 years… he has been more than my father and it is obvious that I miss him a lot!

 

In addition to all of that, I have put on me a lot of stress and hard work by trying to double up my daily workload by trying to take on me his usual business tasks but trust me… even though he has been 85 years old he was still doing his job very well (or maybe even better) as people half his age and I tried to take it all on me. Even when his health was at the lowest level he continued to come and work in the store up until about 2 weeks before his death when he physically couldn’t take it anymore.

 

Another thing that’s even more important (my priority over the family business) has been my promise to him that I am going to take care and I would look after my 82 years old mother as well as after my older sister who is suffering from bi polar disorder. So besides working twice as much while I saw that my father’s condition was getting worse, I’ve been trying to take care of both my mother and sister and I tell you… it has been truly challenging, much more challenging than I thought it can be. I would say that it has been much challenging with my sister. I have to beg her to search for another psychiatrist due to the fact that the one that she is visiting is what my daughter has termed a drive thru psychiatrist in and out in only 15 minutes so she could see 4 patients in only an hour. I already made an much bigger post than I thought I will so I am not going to go into details here with my sisters treatments and medications, but I only want to say that my wife and I have had to avoid any contact with her (even though she’s my sister) as of the last few months due to the fact that she has become… totally different than how we knew her… she has started to be very mean and derogatory towards both my wife and my daughter, something I couldn’t accept at a point in time.

 

Oh well.. I am sorry… I have teared up while I have been reading those couple of paragraphs out there… sorry.. Anyway, this entire lot of stress and emotional turmoil has cased my dysthymic depression and anxiety to get up and be very bad… I am now starting to think whether am I having Prozac poop out or not… I need to confess on the fact that I fear pretty much of the fact to come off the Prozac and this is because I give all the credits to it for not only not having any superimposed MDD, however also for helping me to remain strong throughout my days when my father has been ill and I had to stay with him.

 

So well, now… I’ve got to say that I am in the research mode in search of knowledge in order to help to improve myself, to make myself… better. and this is how I have found this site and this is why I am now here. but anyway, I guess that before I need to discontinue with the Fluoxetine (Prozac), I can guess that it might be worth to try some of the other various augmentation strategies and I am talking about… wellbutrin. Do you think it is so? I am not very sure but I think that most likely it is my body that might need some more help to regulate the dopamine or the norepinephrine neurotransmitters… what do you think? does is sound worth to research more?? but anyway, regarding this specific drug and why I am here, it has been mentioned to me by a friend of mine, who happens to be a pharmaceutical rep, that this Brintellix medication that you guys are discussing here to really show promise and that in future it has good chances to be much more popular because it is really good.

 

Anyway… just want to say a really big thank you all for letting me rant and sorry if I said something wrong or if this post shouldn’t be here altogether… I wish you all the best everybody and I also hope a lot that each one of you, each one of us would find their perfect helping medication!