Hi--for anyone who's cyclothymic or knows much about cyclothymia, I have
the following somewhat long-winded question:

Is it possible that someone who is ostensibly dysthymic, or at times
suffers from "double depression," might experience a response to
medication that is more typical of someone who is cyclothymic?

In my case, I originally had an excellent but short-lived response (1
month) to Prozac; this pattern was repeated at a higher dose. Since then I
have worked with a number of psychiatrists on exploring various SSRIs,
plus augmentation with T3, lithium, tricyclics, BuSpar, etc. The typical
pattern, most recently with Luvox by itself, is an initial powerful
response (in this case, after only two weeks at the relatively low dose of
50 mg.) quickly followed by a crash to earth , i.e. a full resumption or
even intensification of depressive symptoms. I have noticed pronounced
irritability precedes the crashes.

I don't in any other way qualify as cyclothymic, but given the hypothymic
response provoked by medication but then not sustained, would it be worth
exploring either carbamazepine or valproate as an addition to an SSRI?
(Three weeks of lithium plus Prozac provoked a short-lived response but
then also became ineffective.) The potential side effects of these two
{*filter*} worry me, especially any cognitive side effects.

If you've got answers or informed opinion on the above, can you please
e-mail me as well as post?

Thanks for any info--

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{*filter*} writer,              
tech writer, ghostwriter
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