Is Anybody Being Prescribed Scopolamine For Depression (Page 2)

is anyone being prescribed scopolamine off-label for depression? the NIMH is doing clinical trials for same and apparently it works, however my p-doc won't prescribe it for me.

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Here are some links on studies:
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20074703 (most recent--2010)

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20736989

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17015814


It's also mentioned on this link to a news story that aired in January on National Public Radio:
npr.org/blogs/health/2012/01/31/146096540/i-wanted-to-live-new-depression-drugs-offer-hope-for-toughest-cases

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Stevens pharmacy and compounding center in Costa Mesa, Ca does prepare compounded scopolamine capsules. The commercial drug Scopace is not being made anymore and was available as a 0.4mg tablet- call them at 800-352-3784

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I've had major depression for 20+ years, on/off various meds. Been on Pristiq 50mg for a while...it hasn't been helping. Talked to my Dr about Scop...she RXd me the patch to try. I did seem to help some, but irritated my skin and made me even more tired than normal. Got her to switch me to pills - Scopace 0.4mg (wondering why I was able to get it when others said they no longer make it). Anyways, I'm about ready to try it this eve.

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let us know! please!

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I ordered the transdermal patch from a Canadian pharmacy - expensive but no prescription needed. Am going to try tonight for the first time. Will let you all know what my experience is over the next few days. If it is positive, will talk to my doctor about getting a prescription. As with other comments, not sure of the dosing requirements for a therapeutic effect but figured a low dose patch is a good place to start.

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This is slightly off topic, but I did mention it in my earlier post and some of the articles linked to this thread also reference ketamine treatment which also works on the glutamate receptor system similar to scopolamine.

I had the ketamine treatment last week at UCLA. There is a doctor there, who will take referrals from your doctor if you have been through a number of SSRIs and MAOIs and have not had significant breakthroughs in mood. The ketamine treatment is off label and very expensive ($1250.00 per treatment) and more than likely your insurance will not pay for it.

I actually scraped together the funds and had the treatment last week and I have seen a marked improvement in my mood. Everything is not always sunshine and flowers, but things are certainly not dark all the time. Things are just sort of... I dunno "normal" I guess. I used to ruminate on many things including the future and the death of my sister and within the past week, I haven't seen that happening hardly at all. So, now I have to see how long this single treatment is going to last.

My doctor and I met this morning and I since I have responded positively to the ketamine, we are going to also put me on the transdermal Scopolamine patch and see it that prolongs the punch of the ketamine treatment. I can't afford to pay for monthly ketamine treatments but since it seems likely that since both drugs target the glutamate receptors, perhaps the scopolamine might also work...

Dunno how it is all going to work out, but I can tell you from personal experience that the ketamine DID work for me. Time will tell what the future holds. Will stay in touch on this board and let you all know how it goes.

And feel free to ask any questions. I will be happy to help you through my experience if I can ;-)

Best,

Michael

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Michael...by all means, please keep us informed as regards your experience with the Ketamine treatment.

Thanks to all who have contributed to this thread....realize you may be helping to save a life - major depression is devastatingly debilitating and a wicked killer which few who haven't experienced it can even begin to understand.

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Just an update...the Scopace 0.4mg tablets did nothing for me and caused constipation, so I won't bother with them anymore. Even though the patches bothered my skin, I'm considering getting some more to get me through the rough spots.

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what canadian pharmacy was there no Rx needed? when i was searching online they all needed Rx, so I gave up. :(

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You can search for Alive Plus Pharmacy. I've used this pharmacy before. Lowest price I found on them as well:

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Search for Alive Plus Pharmacy. Best price on the patches I've seen and I've gotten things from them before. I tried to post the link but it went into review, so maybe that's not allowed.

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Hi all. I have been trying the patch under my doctor's watch. The first time I tried it I left it on for two days and I think that may have been a little much. It definitely had an effect on my mood. I felt like I had more energy. Along with that came a bit of restlessness and agitation.I was knocked off kilter pretty bad for the next few days. And when I took it off I think I may have had a bit of withdrawalas I was a bit lightheaded for a few days. However the day I woke up after putting it on I thought to my self, wow is this how people are supposed to feel. It sure did lift some of my depression.

I have since worn another patch with much less problems. This time I wore it for only nine hours since I woke up. I read in a research paper that the peak level of concentration happens at about 8 hours after you apply the patch. By dinner time the patch was off. The only side effects this time was a dry throat. And there was no lingering loopy feeling. I could also feel my mood being boosted. So much so in fact that I am very slowly and cautiously lowering my dose of celexa.

As I type this I have another patch on. This will be my third time. I am planning to have it off by dinner time as well. I am still sceptical about this theripy but at this point I am cautiously optimistic.

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thank you! I just placed an order, I'm excited to try something different and see if I actually feel alive.

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Hi Craig,

Thanks for asking about my experience with both the Ketamine as well as the scopolamine. I’d be happy to share what I can.

I did indeed have the Ketamine treatment. My shrink is a pretty open minded doctor but truth be told, we only came to trying off label treatments after reviewing the list of SSRis that I had either tried through my previous doctors as well as the several new ones that others that I have tried with him. And I did try a lot (seven or eight SSRis) including many of the newer and supposedly "better" ones with no real reduction in my depression and anxiety. I also did an MAOi patch as well as Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (both very expensive and the Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation was not paid for by my health insurance) and the next step seemed to be electroshock.

FYI, this depression and bout of anxiety was set off by the death of my perfectly normal and healthy non-drug using sister who died after dated a man who introduced her to methamphetamine and within four months after meeting him she had a methamphetamine psychosis and killed herself. The stress and the pain of her death was almost unbearable and had set me in a rut of depression and anxiety that I had never experienced before. According to my doctors, my brain chemistry, which had been prone to depression during times of stress at different times in my life was perhaps chemically remapped to an intractable depression by the shock and pain that I endured after my sister's death and it's aftermath.

Well, to cut to the chase, my doctor contacted Dr. Randall Espinoza, MD, MPH at UCLA medical center where he has been working with people like me with seemingly intractable depression that has not responded five or more different "normal" treatment strategies and have failed to have any relief with any of them.

I was interviewed by Dr. Espinoza and met the criteria for the treatment.

Within a week of my interview with him, a date was set and I was driven by a friend to UCLA medical center and was given a very low dose of Ketamine delivered over about a half an hour. The closest thing that I could compare the experience to was laughing gas that you could get at your dentist. You are never fully "under" and are questioned frequently by the doctor and nursing staff to make sure that you are articulate enough. I felt a bit shaky about speaking out loud too complex of thoughts or sentences but according to the medical staff everything I said made sense and the Ketamine itself was not unpleasant either during or after the treatment.

I was driven home by my friend and tried to take a nap but it was fitful and sort of like those semi-sleepless nights when you have a cold and have peculiar waking dreams. The rest of the day I was judging my mood and I didn't detect any change in my depression or anxiety, but later that night I was able to go to sleep and have a full night's rest.

But here’s the kicker. Over the next day or so I did notice a profound change in my mood. I am nowhere near as depressed, my anxiety has gone down considerably and I do not ruminate anywhere near as much about the death of my sister. I no longer feel doomed... And that is how I felt. Doomed to be depressed and anxious and "broken" for the rest of my life. And according to Dr. Espinoza, this is normal. Most folks don’t feel too much different for a day or two. But my mood has changed and has stayed pretty upbeat since the treatment about a month and a half ago.

I am not "perfect" (and really, who is?) I do not feel broken or doomed. I have thoughts when I wake up that it will be a good day, that I have things to look forward to. This is a remarkable change from feeling like a crap sandwich for over 3 years. And the weird thing about it is that you start to feel that feeling pretty good is normal and it is what you expect to feel like, whereas before "normal" was feeling horrible, broken, doomed and that was what I was going to feel like forever.

My doctor was willing to prescribe the scopolamine patches which I did try wearing for a week or so after the ketamine treatment, but we both decided that it didn't make any sense, at least at this point, to medicate with both when it was evident that the ketamine was the thing that worked for me. I refilled my patch script and then gave them to another friend who has tried almost everything (including ECT) and has had little relief. He is also without medical insurance and would not have had any chance of being prescribed an off label treatment like scopolamine from any of the free clinics he could potentially go to. He's trying the patches now and will get back to me to let me know how he is doing.

So, the upshot is that the ketamine worked for me. And it worked remarkably well. It has been a month and a half since the treatment and I still feel pretty darn good. If you read up on people who have received benefit from Ketamine, some need to be treated regularly (perhaps monthly) and some have had a single treatment and the effects have stayed with them for a while. I hope I fall into the second category as the treatment was quite expensive ($1,250.00) and my medical insurance would not pay for it. But if I have to, I will find a way to pay for the treatment even if I need them monthly since it actually did work! And that is worth all the money in the world to me.

Anyhow, that is where I am at right now. If I can answer any questions I would be happy to.

And by the way, I want to give all of my best to everyone out there who is struggling. I can not say that my path is the path for you for your own wellness, but it worked for me. I encourage you all to take the steps you need to for your wellbeing. You deserve happiness and health is a basic human right. Try what you need to and see if these treatments (scopolamine and ketamine) might work for you. I have had some success. I hope you do too ;-)

Michael

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Hi guys! This is really interesting stuff. I want to share my exp with u as I go thru it. I have severe depression & have been off & on ssris, antipsychotics, & benzos for 11 years. Right now I'm having a really bad time so my doc prescribed .8mg. scopolamine. I start my first dose tonight. I have to take a dose every 3 days until I've taken 4 total doses. I will keep u all posted on how this trial run goes. Peace to u all!

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Thanks , Skye - will look forward to hearing how it goes for you. All the best!

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Thanks Michael.....means a lot to many of us - best of luck.

Craig

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Hi Skye...

Indeed, please do let us know how it goes for you.

Craig

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So I took my first dose last night around 630. Scopolamine .8mg. Aside from cottonmouth & a headache, there were no side effects. So far I don't notice a difference in mood, but its early & I have 3 more doses to do. Sorry I can't say I'm cured, yet.

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Hi Jon Walker,
I also fought the war against a severe major depression. From 16 to 40 I could't find relief no matter what I tried. It was relentless. The only difference between us is I did finally gain significant relief; although I still consider myself to suffer from mild depression and anxiety issues. I am still exploring treatment options. I don't know if I could be of any help but I'm willing to lend you an ear if you even get this

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