I have taken many (over 8) different antidepressant medications (both SSRI’s & SNRI’s) to treat Major Depression Disorder with anxiety over the past 50 years. Of them all, Pristiq (desvenlafaxine) helped me for the longest period, approximately 10 years, but then stopped working. Since then, I have been taking duloxetine, which has not improved any of my symptoms, even though I am at the max dosage. My doc has just added Rexulti to that, and still I haven’t felt any improvement.
I am now researching ketamine/eketamine treatments. I was wondering if anyone had any experience with either of those for treatment of MDD?
Hi Nola,
I have taken many anti depressants over the years too. I have never taken ketamine so I am not much help.
I am currently on pristiq and it is working well. I have been on it since about 2010. I take Abilify for mood I guess and it helps me not to over think. I also take ativan for anxiety.
I hope that you find what works for you. It isn't easy with depression. If you start the treatments let us know how it goes.
Hugs, Karen...
Moderator-Depression
fibromyalgia, Chronic fatigue, depression, allergies, diabetes (type 2), breast cancer 2021
I have taken many anti depressants over the years too. I have never taken ketamine so I am not much help.
I am currently on pristiq and it is working well. I have been on it since about 2010. I take Abilify for mood I guess and it helps me not to over think. I also take ativan for anxiety.
I hope that you find what works for you. It isn't easy with depression. If you start the treatments let us know how it goes.
Hugs, Karen...
Moderator-Depression
fibromyalgia, Chronic fatigue, depression, allergies, diabetes (type 2), breast cancer 2021
Nola,
In the Google search engine under “Katamine” (and probably “Esketamine” also) I found a list of discussions for that.
Mmayoclinc.org said:
“Ketamine is a medication that's delivered through an IV in low doses. It's used for rapid relief of hard-to-treat depressive symptoms and its effects can last from days to weeks. Usually it's given in decreasing frequencies over several weeks.”
“The FDA approved an intranasal form called Esketamine that's given in a physician's office or a clinic under the supervision of a health care provider to monitor for possible serious side effects and because of the potential for abuse and misuse.”
“Esketamine is for adults who have tried at least two other antidepressant medications that did not adequately control symptoms. Ketamine and esketamine work in the brain in a different way than standard antidepressants, and each is typically used along with an oral antidepressant.”
As for those who may have experienced Esketamine, I typed into the search engine, “Esketamine personal experience” or something like that and saw a list of those topics.
For the depression side of my bipolar, my psychiatrist gives me Mirtazapine anti-depressant. (15 MG cut in half). I also take Lithium stabilizer (300 MG) which keeps the anti-depressant from throwing me into mania.
By taking such medicines, I have not been depressed or manic, or had a panic attack, for over 30 years. I had those conditions when I did not take psychic medicine. And in those same 30 years I’ve gotten a lot done. I’ve thought clearly.
However, I have also had side effects from those two medicines, with the Mirtazapine adding weight and causing some muscle spasms (my toes would twitch when I laid down to sleep 15-30 minutes after I took the medicine at bedtime.)
That side effect (toes twitching) did not start the moment I first began taking the medicine, but would perhaps start 3 or 4 weeks later when it had built up in my system, so I did not connect taking the pill with my toes twitching for 5 years.
When I did detect that, I told my psychiatrist and she cut the dosage from 1 mg. of Mirtazapine to ½ MG and the toe’s twitching pretty much stopped.
The Mirtazapine anti-depressant also increased my appetite furiously.
It made me gain weight which I didn’t notice or attribute to the Mirtazapine anti-depressant until I stepped on the scales for the first time in many months and I weighed 200 pounds for the first time in my life. I could play left guard for the Green Bay Packers.
The weight gain dropped some when my psychiatrist lowered my Mirtazapine from 1 MG at bedtime to ½ MG.
The Lithium stabilizer also has side-affects which slows me down which is not a bad thing if you’ve ever been manic or had panic attacks. The Lithium stopped the panic attacks which I had been having for perhaps a year.
As I’ve read that doctors say, the benefits psych medicine can have usually outweigh the problems that side effects can cause. If you’ve ever had a panic attack or been depressed or manic, you’ll know that.
In the Google search engine under “Katamine” (and probably “Esketamine” also) I found a list of discussions for that.
Mmayoclinc.org said:
“Ketamine is a medication that's delivered through an IV in low doses. It's used for rapid relief of hard-to-treat depressive symptoms and its effects can last from days to weeks. Usually it's given in decreasing frequencies over several weeks.”
“The FDA approved an intranasal form called Esketamine that's given in a physician's office or a clinic under the supervision of a health care provider to monitor for possible serious side effects and because of the potential for abuse and misuse.”
“Esketamine is for adults who have tried at least two other antidepressant medications that did not adequately control symptoms. Ketamine and esketamine work in the brain in a different way than standard antidepressants, and each is typically used along with an oral antidepressant.”
As for those who may have experienced Esketamine, I typed into the search engine, “Esketamine personal experience” or something like that and saw a list of those topics.
For the depression side of my bipolar, my psychiatrist gives me Mirtazapine anti-depressant. (15 MG cut in half). I also take Lithium stabilizer (300 MG) which keeps the anti-depressant from throwing me into mania.
By taking such medicines, I have not been depressed or manic, or had a panic attack, for over 30 years. I had those conditions when I did not take psychic medicine. And in those same 30 years I’ve gotten a lot done. I’ve thought clearly.
However, I have also had side effects from those two medicines, with the Mirtazapine adding weight and causing some muscle spasms (my toes would twitch when I laid down to sleep 15-30 minutes after I took the medicine at bedtime.)
That side effect (toes twitching) did not start the moment I first began taking the medicine, but would perhaps start 3 or 4 weeks later when it had built up in my system, so I did not connect taking the pill with my toes twitching for 5 years.
When I did detect that, I told my psychiatrist and she cut the dosage from 1 mg. of Mirtazapine to ½ MG and the toe’s twitching pretty much stopped.
The Mirtazapine anti-depressant also increased my appetite furiously.
It made me gain weight which I didn’t notice or attribute to the Mirtazapine anti-depressant until I stepped on the scales for the first time in many months and I weighed 200 pounds for the first time in my life. I could play left guard for the Green Bay Packers.
The weight gain dropped some when my psychiatrist lowered my Mirtazapine from 1 MG at bedtime to ½ MG.
The Lithium stabilizer also has side-affects which slows me down which is not a bad thing if you’ve ever been manic or had panic attacks. The Lithium stopped the panic attacks which I had been having for perhaps a year.
As I’ve read that doctors say, the benefits psych medicine can have usually outweigh the problems that side effects can cause. If you’ve ever had a panic attack or been depressed or manic, you’ll know that.
I wrote in the above post that the anti-depressant Mirtazapine, as one of its side effects, was that it made my toes twitch about 15-30 minutes after taking it just before bedtime.
Well, it turns out it wasn't the Mirtazapine that was making my toes which for the last 15 or more years. It was the socks that I was wearing to bed which were pulling my big toes on both feet in toward the other toes, since socks narrow at the top. The toes want to stay apart, but the socks, all right long, were pulling them together. That back and forth tension with the tendon inside the big toe was causing my big toe on my right foot to twitch.
The way I figured this out was, I'm sitting there about a week ago watching TV at night, and I feel my big toe on my right foot being pulled inside toward the other toes. To relieve this stress, I take off my slipper and my sock on my right foot. The stress is relieved because there's nothing pushing my big toe in towards the other toes.
I decide to leave the sock on my right foot off for the night when I lay down to go to bed an hour or two later. My big toe on my right foot did not twitch all night. Nor the next night, nor for the last week that I've been leaving my sock off each night. I now no longer wear socks at night, or during the day, on either foot.
For 15 or more years I have been wearing socks to bed at night and been having trouble with my big toe on my right foot twitching probably ever since then. It took me 15 years to figure that out.
So, it wsn't the anti-depressant Mirtazapine which was causing my big toe on my right foot to twitch during the night. It was the sock that I was wearing.
Yeah, it might take 15 or more years, but sometimes I can figure things out.
Well, it turns out it wasn't the Mirtazapine that was making my toes which for the last 15 or more years. It was the socks that I was wearing to bed which were pulling my big toes on both feet in toward the other toes, since socks narrow at the top. The toes want to stay apart, but the socks, all right long, were pulling them together. That back and forth tension with the tendon inside the big toe was causing my big toe on my right foot to twitch.
The way I figured this out was, I'm sitting there about a week ago watching TV at night, and I feel my big toe on my right foot being pulled inside toward the other toes. To relieve this stress, I take off my slipper and my sock on my right foot. The stress is relieved because there's nothing pushing my big toe in towards the other toes.
I decide to leave the sock on my right foot off for the night when I lay down to go to bed an hour or two later. My big toe on my right foot did not twitch all night. Nor the next night, nor for the last week that I've been leaving my sock off each night. I now no longer wear socks at night, or during the day, on either foot.
For 15 or more years I have been wearing socks to bed at night and been having trouble with my big toe on my right foot twitching probably ever since then. It took me 15 years to figure that out.
So, it wsn't the anti-depressant Mirtazapine which was causing my big toe on my right foot to twitch during the night. It was the sock that I was wearing.
Yeah, it might take 15 or more years, but sometimes I can figure things out.