Rx Question

[Chardonlin]

I would like to go off of Pristiq, can you suggest a homeopathic remedy instead?

[Paxiled]

I believe you mentioned homeopathy.  Keep in mind when reading the above that tiny studies done many years ago and have not passed into common usage says something.  Also, the drug you're on now directly targets norepinephrine neurotransmitters, which is what phenylalanine targets -- basically it's adrenalin, so it's going to be much stronger than taking anything that lightly stimulates it.  On the other hand, this can enhance anxiety, so it's really only for people with primary depression.  The form of phenylalanine usually used in natural medicine for depression is the DLPA form, as it doesn't tend to be as stimulating.  Now for your actual question:  homeopathy is hit or miss, and you'll have to see a homeopath to do it as it's hard to go after something as complex as depression on your own.  The homeopath would try to find a constitutional remedy that would suit you.  If your depression is chronic and bad enough that you were legitimately put on Pristiq, I wouldn't expect quick results for homeopathy and it won't be as strong -- you'll have to put work in through therapy, meditation, etc. to help it along.  So it's a gamble.  And don't quit the Pristiq quickly -- if you do decide to stop taking it, it must be done very carefully and slowly as it can cause a severe withdrawal, so play it safe and easy.  Homeopathy, and natural medicine generally, prefers people to be off medication for it to work, and this is more true with homeopathy as drugs that do similar things can antidote it.  Some homeopaths are more strict about this, others less so; it depends on how traditional their practice is.  There is a lot of natural medicine you can try other than homeopathy -- a combination of herbs such as St. John's Wort, adaptogens for the adrenals, amino acids such as 5-HTP and tyrosine (but be careful with the latter if you also suffer from anxiety), and depending on the form of natural medicine and what part of the world it comes from other remedies as well, also combined with therapy, meditation, exercise, etc.  My advice is, if the drug is working well and the side effects aren't too bad and you've been on it for an extended period of time, think long and hard before stopping the drug -- it's very hard to stop taking and you never know if what you try instead will work -- it's hard if you have serious depression to find something you can tolerate and that works and you have the motivation to do.  And don't stop therapy even if you're on medication, a change in thinking is the only known cure.  Good luck.  

[gymdandee]

Have you had a screening test for minerals?
Except in enormous quantities, rubidium is a safe mineral, found in the lithium-sodium potassium family.
In 1973, depressed patients who had not responded to any other form of treatment took rubidium chloride. After a minimum of four weeks, 70 percent of those who took rubidium had a “good to excellent” response.
Another group of researchers found that 65 percent of chronically depressed individuals responded to rubidium chloride. In fact, rubidium
chloride was found to work as well as imipramine, a major patented antidepressant.
At an Italian conference on psychiatry in 1980, researchers presented results of a double-blind study that compared the effects of rubidium chloride with a widely sold, patented antidepressant, chlorimipramine.
The researchers found that rubidium chloride’s antidepressant results were superior to the chlorimipramine.
In another study, 31 women hospitalized with depression took rubidium chloride. By the second week, 2/3 of the women had improved
significantly.
Rubidium also showed positive effects in 20 individuals with major depression who were treated with 360 to 720 milligrams of rubidium chloride. The researchers wrote: “rubidium chloride showed a marked and rapid anti depressive action.
In 1996, researchers reported that 15 individuals hospitalized with depression were treated with 540 milligrams of rubidium chloride daily. They wrote: “Speedy therapeutic efficacy has been shown, with lack of side effects.
Your nerve cells and other cells use specialized enzymes to
transform the essential amino acid phenylalanine and its derivative
tyrosine into the neurotransmitters noradrenalin, adrenalin, and
dopamine. These three neurotransmitters are part of a group
classified as catecholamines, and increasing levels of them in your
brain has a well-known, significant antidepressant effect. But without enough phenylalanine and tyrosine, your body can’t make as much of these substances, and you could become depressed .
Rubidium stimulates the enzymes that use phenylalanine and tyrosine to produce catecholamines. In addition to stimulating catecholamine build-up, rubidium also slows their breakdown and keeps them working for longer
Make sure to have your fasting essential amino acids checked. Although not every clinically depressed individual has low essential amino acids, the
majority do, so testing and treatment for these key nutrients should never be omitted. While it’s very possible that using rubidium by itself without any of these other nutrients would probably be effective, you might be overlooking deficiencies in essential amino acids as well as other essential
nutrients that rubidium alone cannot replace. So your depression
might go away, but other body functions would continue to decline, possibly permanently.
Besides, rubidium is more likely to work when your body has all the
amino acids it needs.
All this being said Please check with your doctor first before doing anything!!!!