Guest guest Posted August 7, 2012 Report Share Posted August 7, 2012 > Message: 5 > Date: Mon, 4 May 1998 18:50:07 -0400 > > Subject: Re: Appropriate Antidepressant > > , > Thanks for your response (see below) to the issue of antidepressants for > pain management. How true that our response to medication is a matter of > how our body and our minds react to it. Guess that is one reason why we > have so many new meds coming on line all the time. My wife, a doctor, gave > me a new med for migraines recently. I took one pill and the side effects > were far worse than the migraine I wanted to get rid of. Four hours later > when the medication wore off, I still had the migraine...but luckily the > side-effects were gone. Took my old standby migraine medication and the > headache was gone in half-an-hour. It was a lesson for me! New isn't > necessarily better! At least I know to stay away from one particular > medication and its clones. > > Personally, having had to deal with chronic pain for more than 23 years now, > I hesitate to take any medication, especially pain medications, most > especially anything falling into the " controlled medication " list. I don't > like the feeling of being " drunk " and refuse to give up control of my body > and mind to escape from the pain. I'd rather be in pain and in control than > the other way. I've got a life to live and I have to have a clear mind to > do all that I do. But, if others find they can function better with such > medications, then I'm all for them having it. It is definitely a matter of > individual reactions and preferences. > Ray in Virginia > Re: Appropriate Antidepressant > > > > > > >Moderator's note-- > > > > While message traffic on our list is a little laid back today, subscribers > >are still coming on at a rapid pace. I would especially like to recognize > >the considerable response we are getting from international subscribers, > >welcome you & mention that if there is anything we can do to facilitate > >international subscriptions, let me know at chronic_pain@.... > >Although this list originates in the USA, there are no geographical > >restrictions intended. In fact, I expect to learn more from participants > >abroad, since you get access to many drugs & treatments that seem to get > >buried in our federal drug agency bureaucracy. > > > > We have two posts on meds today-- one on amitrytriptaline (elavil) & one > >on zoloft. As you will eventually all be reminded many times, I am what is > >termed a classic non-responder: Enough medication to kill an elephant may > >do nothing for me except side-effects. It took a lot of weeding out even to > >find a pain-killer that works for me. I spent years on elavil with > >horrendous side-effects, & as I later realized, no gain at all. Likewise > >for zoloft. Now the chemistry lesson: These drugs, as do many others, > >attempt to increase the blood level in your body of Seratonin, a drug that > >makes us feel good & happy if its there in the right amount. The way they > >do this however, is not to create the Seratonin, but cut down the body > >re-absorbing it out of the bloodstream unnecessarily (thus the name anti > >Seratonin re-uptake inhibitor). This is not exactly the case for > >amitryptaline, but it is for most of the recent, sexy antidepressants. > > > > I've been involved in research myself, & learned never to take anything at > >face value. I am not aware of studies that confirm all of us actually make > >an effective form of Seratonin for our own bodies. This is a little > >speculative, but if our own Seratonin is not too effective in our own > >bodies, capturing more of it may not be the answer for non-responders like > me. > > > > Interestingly, natural remedies seem to be out-stripping developments in > >medicine in this area. First we rediscovered St's wart, which provides > >the body with a natural material that gets turned into useful Seratonin if > >you are lucky. This is a more simple approach than trying to improve the > >body's efficiency in using what it has learned to discard. Beyond this, a > >more direct substance called5-hydroxytryptophan occurring naturally in an > >African seed & also easily cheaply made in the lab, appears *identical* to > >the body's own Seratonin production chemistry. It is cheap and possibly > >more direct & better than the Prozac/Stjohn's wort route. Curiously, my > >body responds very well to this. Doesn't stop pain, but sure makes it a > >happier experience. > > > > It has been suggested to me that this chemical (5HTP for short) works > >where others don't because I may have a genetic anomaly affecting my > >Seratonin cycle (my body makes lousy Seratonin). I have not seen this > >addressed at all in med lit, and it may be a significant factor for quite a > >few others. There is a new book coming out by an MD who has studied 5HTP > >extensively, and a summary chapter is up on the net at > >http://www.raysahelian.com/5-htp.html . > > > > A basic point I wanted to make here is that we vary very widely in > >response to all medications, and one person's 'cure' can be quite literally > >another's 'poison' > > > > Ken Turbin > >At 04:43 PM 5/3/98 +0000, you wrote: > >> > >> > >>Dear new friends, > >> > >>Amitryptyline (Elavil) has long been known for its pain management > ability. > >>It is an older antidepressant and relatively cheap to purchase. It can > help > >>manage many problems. > >>I use it with my Reiters Syndrome to: > >> > >>l. Helps to manage pain from my disease (arthritic). It is not a pain > >>reliever but seems to enhance the ability of the body to produce its own > >>pain reducing chemicals. For me, this means less pain relievers like > >>aspirin, NSAIDS, and tylenol. > >>2. Reduces the frequency and urgency feelings related to the inflamation > of > >>my urinary tract, another part of my syndrome. Honestly, I don't know > what > >>I'd do without it when I'm having urinary tract inflamation. I haven't > >>found anything else that works as well for this problem. Negative side > >>effect: reduced sex drive and ability to function sexually. > >>3. Normalizes sleep pattern. One of the biggest problems for those of us > >>with chronic pain is getting a good night's sleep. Though it seems to > work > >>fairly well by itself, Amitryptyline combined with a sleeping pill like > >>Ambien (the astronaunts' sleeping pill) has really assisted me during > >>flare-up periods when I could not get sleep any other way. Neither of > these > >>seems to be addicting for me. I can take them when I need them or stop > >>taking them without any problem. Check with your doc, for further > >>information. > >>Ray in Virginia > >> > >> > >>-------------------------------------------------------------------------- > --- > >>Help ONElist keep this service free, while generating interest in your > >>product or service. ONElist has a variety of advertising packages. > >>Visit http://www.onelist.com/advert.html for more information. > >>-------------------------------------------------------------------------- > --- > >> > > > > > >--------------------------------------------------------------------------- > -- > >Help ONElist keep this service free, while generating interest in your > >product or service. ONElist has a variety of advertising packages. > >Visit http://www.onelist.com/advert.html for more information. > >--------------------------------------------------------------------------- > -- > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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