I've only tried Ecstacy (pure MDMA, supposedly) twice and it was the closest I've been to feeling like my normal self at its best ("at its best" meaning the same as when your life and yourself are balanced out): I felt naturally in peace, sociable, calm and present, not over stimulated or anxious. My question is:



Which medication (or combo), if any, would resemble the effects or pharmacokinetics of MDMA?



FYI: My question above is about finding a medication(s) that would kick my depression and its vows in the a** :D and not about getting “high” on anything. I don’t use or ever abused any drugs (tried a few once or twice, just for the experience), taken a prescription recreationally or alcohol (1-3 drinks when I go out). I just want to feel “normal”!!! I’m only 30 and I’ve already “wasted” enough time battling this. Please help!



My background:

I've had bouts of depression (atypical, maybe?) on and off with anxiety at times, for at least 10 years and was only diagnosed in my early 20's, together w/ ADD (Inattentive type, I believe). I was originally prescribed Dexedrine, which I still take (fine for ADD, but does nothing for my depression).



I’ve had no luck with antidepressants so far, whether taken for months, years or none at all. :( First Zoloft, then Paxil, Wellbutrin, Lexapro, Prozac. To me SSRIs = not caring that I felt like crap, when and if they worked at all. Lexapro made me sleep all day from day one; I stopped taking it after 3 days.

Wellbutrin was slightly better depression wise, but nothing worth bragging about. Now I’m on Effexor 37.5mg (only my 3rd day, though), 15mg Dex 2x day and Xanax as needed.



Thank you in advance for any feedback and I am very grateful to all of you in this forum. Your shared experiences, resources and time spent helping others are priceless! ;) You rock!

MDMA is magic to everyone the first couple times they do it and then it progressively becomes less interesting. Unfortunately, we cant really replicate that effect in any legal way.

If you get up to 100mg+ with the effexor you might consider adding remeron. The effexor/remeron cocktail (usually called california rocket fuel) will yank almost anyone out of the darkest deepest depression. If that doesnt work you can simply write off serotonin being your problem neurotransmitter because theres no other SSRI/SNRI that potent.

Thanks, D.B. for your quick reply. I wish in a way I were one of these people who reacts to anything; I usually get the "b-b-n-e-t-s" ("bothersome-but-not-enough-to-stop" taking the meds side-effects: night sweats, dizziness, etc) and at its best, I'm at my "blah-est" self ever. "Darkest deepest" depression it is right now, going from "Pitch black" (darker than a moonless night) to "Black hole" (so strong that nothing can escape it - not even light):eek: . Hopefully the California Rocket Fuel will get me out of it, quick!

I need Effexor to start working ASAP; I can't afford the down time now (selling my apt., moving, etc. So far, 37.5mg has killed the little bit of motivation left in me. Do people start at 75mg? Should I add the Remeron while raising the Effexor, will they work faster together? If not, are there any other ADD meds that work better on motivation & depression than Dexedrine? Thanks again!

You probably want to wait on the remeron untill you're in some sort of stable situation. While remeron is very effective its unique anti histamine properties knock people out the first week or so. The good news is the higher the dose the less of the histamine effect you get.

The stimulating AD meds are mostly SNRIs/NRIs like effexor, cymbalta, remeron. Effexor doesnt really start reuptaking norepinephrine untill around 100mg -120mg . and thats when you start seeing more energy.

Kind of strange the dexedrine isnt helping its a pretty decent short term AD med. Ok its more than a little decent, if you pump enough dopamine into anyones brain they're going to be in a good mood. I mean amphetamine directly effects certain neurotransmitters in ways that most of these standard AD meds couldnt even dream of. But then again all of its action is in dopamine/norepinephrine and not serotonin.

Hi D.B,

I'm still taking the Effexor (now at 75mg for about 2 weeks), which seems like it might be working for depr., but it KILLED my motivation (I've barely gotten out of bed).

I've tried to double the Dex Span from 15mg 2xday to 30mg 1xday, tried taking no Dex and still no motivation. I can add Provigil or up the Dex to 45mg, but after coming accross an article on Agoraphobia, my problem might not be motivation, but avoiding panic triggering situations as described in Agoraphobia.

I saw your post "Ask an Agoraphobe" and wanted you to share your experience/meds combo that worked for Agoraphobia/Add/depr. (Let me know if you rather reply on your original than here).

Thanks again!!!