An Antidepressant Drug For 50+ Dad, Need Quick Help

[TreasureVibe]

Hi there. I need quick suggestions for anti-depressant measures in the form of drugs and supplements for my slightly overweight dad. He took olanzepine before prescribed by his psychiatrist and nearly died in the hospital due to a thromboembolism induced by the olanzepine. Now he is taking it again!

He most likely has psychiatric illness, borderline and narcissistic, antisocial and histrionic personality disorder. (He floats in between these, cluster B personality disorders)

Quick suggestions are highly appreciated, and the best would be a drug and/or supplement that poses no thrombotic risk!

Thanks!

 

[Dhair]

Pregnenolone

 

[tara]

Remember I'm no expert, just ideas.

Include in diet fruits/juice/vegetables, sufficient protein, calories, etc.
A little B-vits. Maybe magnesium or other minerals or vitamins, depending on what's missing.
Sunshine daily.
Outdoor movement - eg walks daily.
Buteyko method - starting with chin strap at night if mouth breathing.

Monitor body temps. See if thyroid lab tests have been done, and look at the numbers. If these indicate low thyroid, consider cautious small thyroid supp (and only very slow titration).
Maybe a little pregnenolone, as above.

Maybe coffee.

Any chance you can get him involved with you in some beneficial , enjoyable project, without risking him creating more difficulties for yourself and other people with his personality habits?

Medicines - maybe look into and consider, starting in small doses:
- SSREs (E = Enhancer, not to be confused with I= Inhibitor)

 

[Blossom]

Tianeptine - Wikipedia
This is an example of an SSRE. You can read about forum members experiences using the the search function for "tianeptine"

 

[TreasureVibe]

Maybe coffee.

Any chance you can get him involved with you in some beneficial , enjoyable project, without risking him creating more difficulties for yourself and other people with his personality habits?

He drinks coffee daily! And what seems to benefit him alot (making his moods way more stable) is lithium orotate, but he doesn't always wants to take it sadly. Maybe that sparks a light on his neuro specifics? Thank you!

He is mostly bed ridden throughout the day and only comes downstairs to eat or smoke a cigarette in the backyard. Also highly addicted to his mobile phone sitting on Facebook and whatsapp all day.. He has a friend who takes him out to do activities but other than that he's mostly "tired" and just likes to chat on his mobile phone with other people he knows, far away... Like a teenager! Lol.

Thanks for the suggestions so far people! I will definitely look into them. I might add, he's highly addicted to smoking cigarettes, and he does it daily. What could be suggested with this type of person/personality (addiction prone personality?), perhaps a certain neurotype that could use certain drugs and/or supplements more? And perhaps suggestions to get him to quit the cigs would be appreciated too!

Once again thanks everyone!!!

 

[Stilgar]

The lithium would be good if you can encourage him to take it.

How’s his gut? Does he complain of any gut related ailments? The cigarettes made me think of that. It stimulates the intestines and provides some relief, at least in my experience.

Carrot salad might help. Or a course of safe antibiotics like penicillin or erythromycin might help. It might lift his mood. I have known many people of all ages with depressive symptoms and almost all of them have had simultaneous gut issues like bad breath, irritable bowel or constipation etc.

 

[TreasureVibe]

The lithium would be good if you can encourage him to take it.

How’s his gut? Does he complain of any gut related ailments? The cigarettes made me think of that. It stimulates the intestines and provides some relief, at least in my experience.

Carrot salad might help. Or a course of safe antibiotics like penicillin or erythromycin might help. It might lift his mood. I have known many people of all ages with depressive symptoms and almost all of them have had simultaneous gut issues like bad breath, irritable bowel or constipation etc.

He doesn't necessarily complain about any gut related issues. I think the cigs are really a part of his sensitivity to addiction.

He has a bad breath though! So penicillin or erythromycin could help his mood you think? We will try the carrot salad! Thanks!

 

[TreasureVibe]

Tianeptine - Wikipedia
This is an example of an SSRE. You can read about forum members experiences using the the search function for "tianeptine"

Thanks!! Are there any other kind of drugs that are good antidepressants? Asking this because sadly tianeptine is not available in pharmacies in my country yet, but it is in other EU countries.

 

[TreasureVibe]

Pregnenolone

At what doses and what product? (Bio-identical?)

 

[x-ray peat]

I dont think this is something a pill will cure. IMO he needs counseling to get him moving again. There almost always is a behavioral issue that needs to be addressed.

 

[TreasureVibe]

I dont think this is something a pill will cure. IMO he needs counseling to get him moving again. There almost always is a behavioral issue that needs to be addressed.

That is what I thought! But without lithium orotate, he is explosive in his behavior. He will undergo more studying but I am already convinced it is a mixture of all cluster B personality disorders that he suffers from, with at it's core borderline. He always makes himself to be the victim of everything, while at the same time burning everyone in his surrounding to the ground on random moments. The psychiatrist is incompetent in my opinion but my mother insists that he will undergo getting examined by a different caretaker (not sure wether psychiatrist, psychologist etc) through this psychiatrist's referral right now and then get a proper diagnosis. The last time this exact thing happened, but he simply refused to go to the follow-up exam. I can only hope! Thanks for caring though! I appreciate it!

 

[x-ray peat]

That is what I thought! But without lithium orotate, he is explosive in his behavior. He will undergo more studying but I am already convinced it is a mixture of all cluster B personality disorders that he suffers from, with at it's core borderline. He always makes himself to be the victim of everything, while at the same time burning everyone in his surrounding to the ground on random moments. The psychiatrist is incompetent in my opinion but my mother insists that he will undergo getting examined by a different caretaker (not sure wether psychiatrist, psychologist etc) through this psychiatrist's referral right now and then get a proper diagnosis. The last time this exact thing happened, but he simply refused to go to the follow-up exam. I can only hope! Thanks for caring though! I appreciate it!

sounds like bipolar given the outbursts and responsiveness to lithium and maybe some of the other issues you mentioned. Hopefully he can get a good therapist.

 

[TreasureVibe]

sounds like bipolar given the outbursts and responsiveness to lithium and maybe some of the other issues you mentioned. Hopefully he can get a good therapist.

What would be the distinction between bipolar and borderline?

 

[x-ray peat]

What would be the distinction between bipolar and borderline?

Bipolar is cycling from depressed to manic but I dont think you necessarily get a lot of the antisocial aspects associated with borderline. Of course he could have both.

 

[saene]

Theanine may help for anxiety symptoms. Otherwise mirtazipine may be an option for an antidepressant.

 

[Stilgar]

He doesn't necessarily complain about any gut related issues. I think the cigs are really a part of his sensitivity to addiction.

He has a bad breath though! So penicillin or erythromycin could help his mood you think? We will try the carrot salad! Thanks!

It is worth a shot! Sometimes the gut stress can just add to the psychological issues. The gut is certainly the main source of serotonin and high serotonin is associated with aggression, trauma, victim type mentality and general fatigue.

Has he ever checked his thyroid?

 

[TreasureVibe]

Bipolar is cycling from depressed to manic but I dont think you necessarily get a lot of the antisocial aspects associated with borderline. Of course he could have both.

My dad definitely has the antisocial aspects of borderline..

Theanine may help for anxiety symptoms. Otherwise mirtazipine may be an option for an antidepressant.

I think I remember he actually used L-theanine a couple of years ago, and the next day he would be extremely agitated. Then I googled and saw that some people reported agitation the day after having used L-theanine so we quit it. Will keep Mirtazapine in mind, is it a superior antidepressant compared to the usual stuff you get? In my country for antidepressants they almost exclusively prescribe SSRIs by default..

It is worth a shot! Sometimes the gut stress can just add to the psychological issues. The gut is certainly the main source of serotonin and high serotonin is associated with aggression, trauma, victim type mentality and general fatigue.

Has he ever checked his thyroid?

I will try and see if we can get him on a penicillin or erythromycin cycle, sounds like a good plan. His thyroid was never checked I think! Do you recommend getting it checked out?

Thanks everyone!

 

[Insaneacinamide]

Probably good to do a lot of blood tests on HTPAG type hormones, minerals, lipids etc. He could have low testosterone or some other hormones.

Worth looking into tyrosine or dl-phenylalanine, or glycine/gaba, or pregnenolone/dhea. Of course vitamin D, magnesium and b complex. Also, eating good foods.

 

[alywest]

My mom has a lot of the personality issues that you described and seroquel has seemingly worked wonders for her. She only takes, like, 50 mg at night for sleep so not the dosage for someone who is manic. But it has really mellowed her out. I used to not even be able to hold a conversation with her because she would be so intense and talk over me. She also takes a lot of wellbutrin, and I think that was actually making her more manic although it did help her get out of her funk of severe depression where she slept all the time and was pretty suicidal and angry all the time. But alone the wellbutrin is not good because of the upper effect.

 

[Stilgar]

My mom has a lot of the personality issues that you described and seroquel has seemingly worked wonders for her. She only takes, like, 50 mg at night for sleep so not the dosage for someone who is manic. But it has really mellowed her out. I used to not even be able to hold a conversation with her because she would be so intense and talk over me. She also takes a lot of wellbutrin, and I think that was actually making her more manic although it did help her get out of her funk of severe depression where she slept all the time and was pretty suicidal and angry all the time. But alone the wellbutrin is not good because of the upper effect.

Interesting, because it is not the worst drug of its kind. It is an antagonist to some serotonin and adrenergic receptors and has some antihistamine effects.