Hi All. This is my first post here. I feel i've been trolling this website for over a year now and have just recently joined. I've been on various ADs ( lexapro, zoloft, efferor, wellbutrin, etc.) I'm now currently taking Remeron (generic) 45mg, abilify 2mg, at bedtime. While the remeron does help me sleep and helps with anxiety I don't think it has got me to where i need to be with my depression. I think it's a great drug in terms of side effects and ease of use and want to continue with it. My question is has anyone augmented this drug with something else and had positive results? The Abilify is not really doing anything for me. i think prozac my be a good choice as it's supposed to be activating but don't really know. Thanks for your help and I look forward to to your thoughts!



D_B_H

Hello Bunsen and welcome to the forums!

To answer your question I am on Remeron 30mg at night and Wellbutrin 300mg in the morning. This combo works great for me. For the first week the Rem worked like a strong sleeping pill for me but now I can take it without nodding off to la la land in minutes.

I was on WB first and was put on Rem at night a couple of months later because of depression returning. Rem took a good 2 - 3 weeks to help lift the depression.

My Psychiatrist loves Zoloft but I cant live with the sexual side effects any longer. What I l LOVE about Remeron is the calming effect it has on me. I all of a sudden realized I have been a very - panicked- person my entire life, now I can easily cope with pressure when it happens in my personal and work live.

You did not say how high your Rem dosage was, maybe you can have that adjusted.

Keep us posted on your progress, there are a lot of great people around these forums.

Hey there, I used to take Remeron 45mg but changed to high dose Effexor apparently its ment to be good at treating depression that hasent responded to other AD's well so my pdoc says! The only problem being is high dose Effexor can cause sleep problems! Maybe a low dose of Effexor with you Remeron could work? I have tried 375mg Effexor and 15mg of Remeron but I couldnt coap with the side effects! Lithium could be an option maybe, I find it works well! Has your Pdoc suggested anything?

James

Wow Thanks for the quick responses! I have used welbutrin in the past and probably had the best results with it, unfortunately, as soon as I experienced relief with it i had an allergic re-action. It was a total bummer. i tried the generic, as i was on the name brand stuff, and just didn't have the same response. Effexor would be a good candidate. I have read many success stories when effexor is combined with remeron (affectionately known as "California rocket fuel"). I have also read many horror stories about the discontinuation syndrome associated with it. This worries me but maybe i just need to suck it up and give it a shot. My p-doc gave me a sample of 2mg Abilify stating she had given it to someone who was on effexor with great results. I have not seen great results from this med and would prefer to be off it. i've been seeing her for years now and we usally discuss which option to try next. I do alot of research online about these meds ( as I'm sure we all do )so when I go in I usally have a pretty good idea what direction I would like to go in. Im just running out of ideas and thought i would look for a few suggestions. I'm not sure if she would be willing to prescibe lithium but i will bring it up in our next meeting. I will keep you posted. Thanks again for taking the time to help.

B. Honeydew

This post has been edited by Bunsen_Honeydew: Jul 6 2008, 10:17 PM

Your welcome, let us know how your getting on hope you feel better soon!

Hi Bunsen burner :)

I was on California rocket fuel for two months with great success. Unfortunately I just couldn't handle the ongoing side-effects of the Remeron. I stopped the Remeron cold (and began something else the day after, sorry can't remember what), and then tapered off the Efexor over about a month without any problems.

If you look in the Cymbalta forum in the 7-page topic about Cymbalta withdrawal not being pretty, grapeape describes a method of a very slow withdrawal - I used the same method, although not as slow.

So I wouldn't worry about withdrawals already - get better first :)

Edit: typo hell...

This post has been edited by moonlightress: Jul 7 2008, 04:52 AM

Hey. My doctor told me that a study showed that adding remeron to my ssri can work alot better than either drugs alone. Im currently on zoloft 50mg and remeron 30mg and I notice the benefit around one week. Talk to your doctor about it to see what's best for you. Good luck!