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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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Suggest Possible Medication With Cymbalta For Depression

My mother is 94 and is depressed and has some very anxious moments. She is taking 60 mg of Cymbalta but appears that her symptoms continue. She has been on it for about 2 years. Is there a medication that could possibility work with the Cymbalta that can be taken?
Mon, 25 Aug 2014
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Psychiatrist,  's  Response
hi.. i have understood your concern...
cymbalta [duloxetine] is a antidepressant medication of a group SNRI..
if it is not giving the desirable response then it shud be stopped,..and she shud be given other antidepressant meds from different class..

another important thing here is to whether she is purely depressive, or she has any kind of cognitive decline..if she is having problems with memory, remembering recent events, difficulty in recognizing the family members, not oriented to surrounding etc.. if all this are present then she may have dementia and there shud be complete work up of your mother..

the alternative medication here i ll suggest is combination of:
tablet pristiq [desvenlafaxine 50 mg] at night.. can increase to 100 mg depending upon the response from the drug after 20 days...along with pristiq u shud give tablet. remeron [mirtazapine 15 mg] at night and can gradually increse the dose to 45 mg depending upon the response from the drug..mirtazapine causes sleep and also increases the appetite..

this combination of two drug is very effective in treating the depression particularly in old age...

i hope u ll find this advice helpful.. best of luck...
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Suggest Possible Medication With Cymbalta For Depression

hi.. i have understood your concern... cymbalta [duloxetine] is a antidepressant medication of a group SNRI.. if it is not giving the desirable response then it shud be stopped,..and she shud be given other antidepressant meds from different class.. another important thing here is to whether she is purely depressive, or she has any kind of cognitive decline..if she is having problems with memory, remembering recent events, difficulty in recognizing the family members, not oriented to surrounding etc.. if all this are present then she may have dementia and there shud be complete work up of your mother.. the alternative medication here i ll suggest is combination of: tablet pristiq [desvenlafaxine 50 mg] at night.. can increase to 100 mg depending upon the response from the drug after 20 days...along with pristiq u shud give tablet. remeron [mirtazapine 15 mg] at night and can gradually increse the dose to 45 mg depending upon the response from the drug..mirtazapine causes sleep and also increases the appetite.. this combination of two drug is very effective in treating the depression particularly in old age... i hope u ll find this advice helpful.. best of luck...