Anti Depressant

[keiralee]

I am currently taking Trazadone for opioid induced depression. Is there another safe antidepressant available in the UK which is effective.

Thank you

[Joolsg]

Wellbutrin ( Bupropion) but some GPs refuse it as it's licensed to help stop people smoking.

[keiralee in reply to Joolsg]

Thank you Joolsg

[SueJohnson]

Wellbutrin is best but if you can't get it moclobemide

[keiralee in reply to SueJohnson]

Thank you Sue

[ziggypiggy]

Definitely try the Wellbutrin if possible. I would be surprised if your doctor would consider any of the older generation MAOI antidepressants like moclobemide. They have more side effects and often require dietary restrictions. If your RLS is well under control from the opiod you may find that it can also cover any additional RLS symptoms that may arise from current SSRI and SSNI antidepressant options. Also, vortioxetine is among the newest of antidepressants and has been tolerated well by a few here on the board.

There's only one way to know for sure and that's trial and error. The good thing about antipressants is that they will let you know rather quickly if they cause problems for RLS. If your provider has access to samples, you can test through various medications rather quickly.

If you do find one you can tolerate, that's just the first step. Whether it will actually work for your depression, who knows.

Always interested if someone finds an antipressant that works alongside RLS. So let us know if you do.

[keiralee in reply to ziggypiggy]

Thank you ziggypiggy.

[SueJohnson in reply to keiralee]

vortioxetine is on the RLS-UK not safe list

[SueJohnson in reply to ziggypiggy]

vortioxetine is on the RLS-UK not safe list

[ziggypiggy in reply to SueJohnson]

Respectfully, I don't think it's productive to be so black and and white when it comes to medications . We all have been here awhile and know real life experiences are more nuanced than that. Anecdotal reports of success or failure are invaluable to this forum. Plenty of people get relief from treatments on the naughty list. My concern is you may scare away someone who comes here and is relatively RLS naive, by labeling a medication as "not safe" or "bad", from even considering a drug that could be exactly what works for them.

[LotteM in reply to ziggypiggy]

Well said, ziggypiggy.

[SueJohnson in reply to ziggypiggy]

I just gave the fact that it was on the RLS-UK not safe list. I agree that we are all different and respond differently and what makes RLS worse for some may not make it worse for others and vice versa. And since there are so few anti-depressants that are generally considered safe for RLS that is why I mentioned moclobemide.

From now on I will say it is on the RLS-UK not safe list but some people feel it works well

[Claire_lc]

Vortioxetine works incredibly well for me at 20mg daily. I take it alongside 0.4mg Buprenorphine and have no depression or other side effects. But as others have said, different people react differently. Personally I've tried about seven antidepressants and vortioxetine has been by far the most effective and best tolerated.

[ziggypiggy in reply to Claire_lc]

Awesome to hear. Vortioxetine supposedly acts on four different neurotransmitters, which is double what most antidepressants claim, even though most of them report they don't know exactly how they work. This variety of mechanism of actions may be the reason why some find it tolerable. Who knows.

[Claire_lc in reply to ziggypiggy]

That's so interesting. I had been thinking of slowly coming off it now my RLS is under control, but maybe it's what's keeping the Buprenorphine side effects at bay. 🤷🏻‍♀️

[keiralee]

Many thanks everyone for your help