after trying this and that for nearly one year, we, my doctor and i, finally hit upon a helpful combination a few months ago. it happens to have been lamictal, lexapro and dexedrine. for reasons that i won't get into, after about 2-3 weeks, i had to stop this combination. it was very strange to watch the benefit diminish as the drugs (particularly the lexapro) were reduced. it was distressing but it was also understandable. here comes the bad part. about a month ago, we went back to the previously helpful combination. i fully expected that it would have the same beneficial effect. but it didn't. it didn't do anything. i am totally devestated. what is the point if medication is only a temporary solution.
have others had this problem?

It's drug tolerance. Drug tolerance is the way the brain deals with psychoactive chemicals invading it's daily functions. The brain sets up opposing neurotransmitters and shuts down the over-stimulated(by meds) ones. Some will say drug tolerance happens only in the case of addictive drugs, but any drug that the brain has to deal with changing the way it runs things can cause dependancy/tolerance/withdrawal issues.

Some people don't develop tolerance for years; others within a few months. But this is the reason people keep needing dose adjustments( raising) and switching drugs. So drugs do help, but sooner or later one may be faced with tolerance and worsening symptoms. It sounds bad, but many people have successfully recovered from this by very slow tapering methods and accepting a withdrawal/discontinuation/postwithdrawal/recovery period of time where they still have symptoms until they eventually go away.

There are distinct differences between "addiction" and physical "dependancy", so when they say a drug isn't addictive, it doesn't mean it won't create dependancy; and drugs of dependancy carry the tolerance and withdrawal syndromes.

True and I've experienced exactly what you describe in going off a med and returning to it later to find it initially ineffective or less-effective. In my case it was a dose related issue and I had to wait longer for the benefits to build - This is particularly true with SSRI's in my case. The first time I took a particular SSRI it had a strong effect immediately. upon returning to it later it took considerably longer for the effect to build.

Medication is: An ever reducing window of effectiveness.

It is sad to say but from the time you first take a medication your body starts out to neutralize or counteract its effects.

Some times the effects are subtle. In other cases the effects of this phenomenom is rapid and complete.

You may think of this when you are forced to raise the doseage of a medication to matain the level of effectiveness. The Rx has not changed....the target has changed. This is the rub

Joe http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/redface.gifut