I suffer from Major Depressive Disorder. One of the symptoms is fatigue. Twice now I’ve been on stimulants, Adderall and more recently generic Ritalin. Neither did anything for me, which was a huge disappointment. My nurse has suggested that we try again. We will talk more about this the next time I see her later this month.
My question is what other stimulants are there to try and does anyone here have experience with stimulants & depression?
Thank You
Modafinil or armodafinil. It’s less jittery than ritalin or amphetamine. Less potential for tolerance build up, withdrawal, dependence.
Keep in mind that taking the medication helps but taking the medication + meditation + exercise helps a lot more.
There’s other stuff which we can’t talk about on the board. If you’re curious, PM me.
DISCLAIMER: IANAD, but I did complete a few years of medical school before dropping out, and I live with a guy that’s about to start residency, so I am not quite a layman either.
Both Ritalin and Adderall are so-called substituted phenethylamines, which is the most commonly prescribed class of psychostimulants. Your doctor may try another drug from the same stimulant class, of which there are too many to name, or they may choose to treat you with a different class of psychostimulant. Given that you struggle with fatigue, and not (at least as far as I can read from your post) with things like attention span, this could be a eugeroic like Modafinil or Armodafinil.
However, like said, I am not a doctor, and you should trust your medical professional’s judgment with regards to what (if any) psychostimulants you try next.
I wouldn’t bother with drugs at all, stimulants especially gave me anxiety which gave me depression.
What cured it 90% for me was practicing Mindfulness Meditation - you sit and you concentrate on…nothing.
Combine that with walking every day.
If you percieve something in life is causing you to be depressed, change it.
Your personality creates your reality!
Lucky you. Trust me, doesn’t work for everyone
Foggy, do you get enough sleep? Getting sleep helped IMMENSELY with the depression, anxiety, and fatigue. They put me on Trazadone for sleep.
Ritalin didn’t do anything for me either. And I hate being on too many meds.
Either wellbutrin or modafinil could help with both the fatigue and depression.