# Agomelatine Brand name Valdoxan



## angus (Dec 18, 2010)

Hi, If you are using or if you have used this drug could you please describe the experiance.

Thanx.


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## crayzyMed (Nov 2, 2006)

You can find several experiences on the psycho babble site, not many people here tried it


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## Vilazodone (Mar 22, 2010)

Agomelatine is more for depression associated with insomnia than it is for anxiety imo. 

It is a good drug. Been off and on it past few years. Favorite drug so far. I go bonkers without it.


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## popeet (Dec 8, 2005)

I have just been prescribed agomelatine... will report back on it.


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## Vilazodone (Mar 22, 2010)

Good luck with it. Be patient with any speedbumps you experience during the first 3 weeks. Its also one of those drugs that can be difficult to notice the benefit of until you go off it and realize how much it was actually helping. Strange but decent drug imo.. I'm prob on it for life or until something similar but improved comes along to replace it (I dont see that any time in the decade though)


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## popeet (Dec 8, 2005)

Ok I'll remember that, thanks


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## popeet (Dec 8, 2005)

Ok so I just started Valdoxan last night and broke one 25 mg tablet in half to 12.5 and felt a little anxiety after 1-1.5 hours-- but I'm absolutely completely anxious and panicky about meds, and I handled it. If I can handle it, anyone can. 

I went to sleep around 9pm. Then I woke up at 4am as usual. So on my first night/day, I have no objections to the speed bumps and intend to continue on 12.5 for a week, then try 25 for several weeks. After that I should be able to adequately report back on how I am doing. 

One important note, though- I felt no anxiolytic effect from my first dose, and am taking Lyrica to blunt my anxiety. I think it will be easier to get through the first month because I have something to fall back on. Then if the anxiolytic effects of agomelatine start kicking in, I can report that also.

From what I read, after the first month, agomelatine either works for people or it doesn't. It seems to be one or the other. Då ska vi se!


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## bben (Oct 24, 2009)

i tried it, sucks bad.


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## metamorphosis (Dec 18, 2008)

bben said:


> i tried it, sucks bad.


How so?


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## broflovski (Feb 1, 2011)

Below is my post from another thread. It's just theoretical considerations.
Agomelatine (Valdoxan) is an interesting option indeed. But its affinity for 5HT2c receptor is nearly twice lower as fluoxetine's (as I rememder). Melatoninergic action ( agonism at M1 and M2) is a disputable mechanism itself, and may be promoted mainly to claim for "novelty" of the drug.
We have widely sold anxiolytic "afobazole" there I am, that acts as _antagonist _at M1 and M3 receptors (though it is not its primary mode of action and goes along with GABA-benzodiazepine positive allosteric modulation, sigma1-agonism and reversable MAO-A inhibition).


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## csrpj (Feb 24, 2010)

broflovski said:


> Below is my post from another thread. It's just theoretical considerations.
> Agomelatine (Valdoxan) is an interesting option indeed. But its affinity for 5HT2c receptor is nearly twice lower as fluoxetine's (as I rememder). Melatoninergic action ( agonism at M1 and M2) is a disputable mechanism itself, and may be promoted mainly to claim for "novelty" of the drug.
> We have widely sold anxiolytic "afobazole" there I am, that acts as _antagonist _at M1 and M3 receptors (though it is not its primary mode of action and goes along with GABA-benzodiazepine positive allosteric modulation, sigma1-agonism and reversable MAO-A inhibition).


broflovski, do you know how afabazole is for people who try it? i'm guessing you haven't tried it?


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## broflovski (Feb 1, 2011)

csrpj said:


> broflovski, do you know how afabazole is for people who try it? i'm guessing you haven't tried it?


I tried afobazole, but never tried agomelatine, so i can't compare. I don't think that (anti)melatoninergic component is significant in both cases. I had some effect with afobazole, not very prominent however, and actually I'm going to buy it today again to include in my current cocktail. Its sigma-agonism may be useful along with SSRI, as fluvoxamine is claimed to have some additional action due to this affect. 
And I don't pose afobazole as the alternative to agomelatine, i just note that these two anxiolytics has opposite effects on melatonine receptors, that _may_ question the whole "melatoninergic" theory.


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## crayzyMed (Nov 2, 2006)

Ive tried it too, didnt really notice much except it was quite good at partionally reversing the side effects of sleep deprivation.


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## jim_morrison (Aug 17, 2008)

I think that it's half-life is too short.


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## bben (Oct 24, 2009)

metamorphosis said:


> How so?


it hits the melatonin receptor = boring unless you enjoy being marginally more tired

5 ht2c antagonism= marginally more dopamine release

^^ the specs on this med are laughable


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## broflovski (Feb 1, 2011)

jim_morrison said:


> I think that it's half-life is too short.


Half-life 1-2 h for agomelatine. Too short, but in regular regimen it may be sufficient to downregulate 5HT2c in some degree. Guess it's the major affect of it.


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## popeet (Dec 8, 2005)

broflovski said:


> Half-life 1-2 h for agomelatine. Too short, but in regular regimen it may be sufficient to downregulate 5HT2c in some degree. Guess it's the major affect of it.


So the major affect being that it downregulates a receptor associated with anxiety, over a period of time, means that I should keep taking it long enough for it to sufficiently do so?

I am on my second night and am feel mentally more anxious and paranoid, if mildly. But I went on meds to get rid of the anxious thoughts and paranoia, so it's barely tolerable. I'm guessing these are speedbumps... and that agomelatine may actually be valuable once it has time to downregulate 5HT2c receptors?

It also hasn't done so much for my sleep yet. Still on a very small dose though.


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## broflovski (Feb 1, 2011)

I had an idea of taking agomelatine along with some SSRI (fluoxetine), once a day, before sleep (as recommended) in order to avoid 5HT2c overstimulation with increased serotonin. But in this aspect agomelatine is not the best option because 1) fluoxetine itself is much more potent as 5HT2c blocker 2) half-life of agomelatine is too short, so it does not actually and continuously prevent receptor from activation, but tends to downregulate it marginally.
As for its unique melatoninergic action, it's still poorly understood (it is not even known if M-receptors must be blocked or antagonised), and almost certainly effective for a narrow range of depressive states, mostly agitated perhaps.


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## jim_morrison (Aug 17, 2008)

bben said:


> it hits the melatonin receptor = boring unless you enjoy being marginally more tired


Is it as weak as standard Melatonin, or is it somehow stronger than your average melatonin supplement/med in regards to sleep induction?


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## upndownboi (Oct 7, 2010)

I read somewhere its supposed to help re/synchronise ur internal body clock


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## metamorphosis (Dec 18, 2008)

Here are some studies showing efficacy of agomelatine for anxiety disorders:

- [ Efficacy of agomelatine in generalized anxiety disorder: a randomized,
double-blind, placebo-controlled study.

Stein DJ, Ahokas AA, de Bodinat C.

Department of Psychiatry, University of Cape Town, South Africa.
[email protected]

Comment in:
Evid Based Ment Health. 2009 May;12(2):54.

BACKGROUND: Agomelatine is a novel agent that acts on melatonergic (MT(1), MT(2))
receptors and serotonergic (5-HT(2C)) receptors. Preclinical data and data from
clinical trials in major depression suggest that agomelatine may have anxiolytic 
properties. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was designed to 
assess the efficacy of agomelatine in generalized anxiety disorder (GAD).
METHODS: One hundred twenty-one patients with Diagnostic and Statistical Manual
of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition GAD and no comorbid disorders were randomized
to agomelatine (25-50 mg/d) or placebo for 12 weeks. The primary outcome measure 
was the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale, whereas secondary outcome measures
included the Clinical Global Impression scales, the Leeds Sleep Evaluation
Questionnaire, and the Sheehan Disability Scale. Safety measures included
assessment of spontaneously reported adverse events, laboratory monitoring, and
the Discontinuation Emergent Signs and Symptoms Scale to evaluate discontinuation
symptoms.
RESULTS: Analysis of covariance of change in the last Hamilton Anxiety Rating
Scale total score from baseline demonstrated significant superiority of
agomelatine 25 to 50 mg as compared with placebo (E [SE] = -3.28 [1.58]; 95%
confidence interval = -6.41 to -0.15; P = 0.040). Data on secondary outcome
measures, including clinical response, symptoms of insomnia, and improvement in
associated disability, were consistent with the efficacy of agomelatine. Safety
analysis indicated that agomelatine was tolerated as well as placebo and was
devoid of discontinuation emergent symptoms.
CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that agomelatine is effective in the treatment
of GAD and is well tolerated. Additional trials, using an active comparator and
extending over a longer period, are needed to delineate the place of agomelatine 
in the contemporary pharmacotherapy for anxiety disorders.]

-[ Efficacy of the novel antidepressant agomelatine on the circadian rest-activity
cycle and depressive and anxiety symptoms in patients with major depressive
disorder: a randomized, double-blind comparison with sertraline.

Kasper S, Hajak G, Wulff K, Hoogendijk WJ, Montejo AL, Smeraldi E, Rybakowski JK,
Quera-Salva MA, Wirz-Justice AM, Picarel-Blanchot F, Baylé FJ.

Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical University Vienna, MUV, AKH, 
Währinger Gürtel 18-20, A-1090 Wien, Austria. [email protected]

OBJECTIVE: This study evaluates the efficacy of agomelatine, the first
antidepressant to be an agonist at MT(1)/MT(2) receptors and an antagonist at
5-HT(2C) receptors, versus sertraline with regard to the amplitude of the
circadian rest-activity cycle and depressive and anxiety symptoms in patients
with major depressive disorder (MDD).
METHOD: Outpatients with DSM-IV-TR-defined MDD received either agomelatine 25 to 
50 mg (n = 154) or sertraline 50 to 100 mg (n = 159) during a 6-week, randomized,
double-blind treatment period. The study was conducted from 2005 to 2006. The
main outcome measure was the relative amplitude of the individual rest-activity
cycles, expressed as change from baseline to week 6 and collected from continuous
records using wrist actigraphy and sleep logs. Secondary outcome measures were
sleep efficiency and sleep latency, both derived from actigraphy, and efficacy on
depression symptoms (17-Item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale total score and
Clinical Global Impressions scale scores) and anxiety symptoms (Hamilton Anxiety 
Rating Scale total score and subscores).
RESULTS: A significant difference in favor of agomelatine compared to sertraline 
on the relative amplitude of the circadian rest-activity cycle was observed at
the end of the first week (P = .01). In parallel, a significant improvement of
sleep latency (P <.001) and sleep efficiency (P <.001) from week 1 to week 6 was 
observed with agomelatine as compared to sertraline. Over the 6-week treatment
period, depressive symptoms improved significantly more with agomelatine than
with sertraline (P <.05), as did anxiety symptoms (P <.05).
CONCLUSIONS: The favorable effect of agomelatine on the relative amplitude of the
circadian rest-activity/sleep-wake cycle in depressed patients at week 1 reflects
early improvement in sleep and daytime functioning. Higher efficacy results were 
observed with agomelatine as compared to sertraline on both depressive and
anxiety symptoms over the 6-week treatment period, together with a good
tolerability profile. These findings indicate that agomelatine offers promising
benefits for MDD patients.
PMID: 20193645 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]


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## zendog78 (Jan 27, 2010)

I have been on argomeletine for a month or so. I was on Nardil before that and I was able to switch str8 over with no washout period. I had been trying to get off the last tablet of nardil per day for over a month and each time I tried I became dangerously depressed.
Ago had an instant effect, and for a while I felt quite good (lost a stack of nardil weight too) but after a couple of weeks I went up to 50mg per day.

Its a weird drug, it is helping me, my social anxiety is better...not as good as nardil but ok as is my depression. What I find though is that I am getting lots of little panic attacks that pass as soon as I have them. 

I was feeling very strange on the 50mg so I dropped back to 25mg and so far I am coping. 
It doesn't make me feel like an alian like ssri's do but there is still some kind of drugged feeling that reminds me of being on an ssri that I can't quite put my finger on....like a disconnect between me and my emotions maybe...I don't know but I do know that it is ok and tollerable.
No weight gain (actually some weight loss) sexual side effects are giving me a wet dream in the first week (in my 30's now and can't ever remember having one as a teenager!) but I basically have zero labido, I think that may be more me than the drug.
Can get away with less sleep and sleep better and get to sleep easier.

I think it could work well in combo with another antidepressant, in any case I am going to keep going with it


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## popeet (Dec 8, 2005)

So it's been almost one week, and I'm so depressed. I'm not so anxious, instead I'm debilitatingly depressed, I can't study/think/do my work, I feel hopeless, etc. I don't really want to cook or eat, either. Which is so unlike me, I love food. I'm not sleeping any better, either. But I do feel less paranoid. I will keep going for a month, if my life doesn't fall apart first.


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## popeet (Dec 8, 2005)

Omigosh I cancelled everything today. I feel like I have no hope. I can't concentrate. This ago had better be worth it.


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## popeet (Dec 8, 2005)

This med is has its foot on my face and I hate it but also mysteriously love it. I'm so depressed that I feel like this is just reality. I'm going to give it another week. But my life has all but fallen apart.


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## Thorsten (Apr 6, 2010)

Yeah you got to keep taking it for the effects to build. I usually notice the first positve signs after a week or so. 

After 2/3 weeks or so it really kicks in, well it does for me. 

Not everyone responds to it very well though.

The drug becomes quite stimulating to me after a while. It doesn't concern me how weak it is at the 5HT2-C receptor. It works, this is all the convincing that I need! Maybe some crazy *** placebo going on. Never has placebo felt this good. I must have some real good belief in this stuff!

As for the mechanism, I suppose it's like being in a long drawn out fight. One jab, hitting the receptor each night. After a while the drug begins to get the upper hand. The further the receptor is antagonized, the further it downregulates which is a good ****!
You could take some fluoxetine or some mirtazapine with more robust profiles, but they come with other properties (severe agitation, drowsiness) which diffuse the apparant beneficial effects of 5HT2-C antagonism. 
Ago is benign, but I gave it a chance to build in effect, and it works for what I need. There are others out there who have been pleased with it. It's a good lil' drug.


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## Spaniard (Mar 15, 2011)

Hi. This is my first message. I'm from Spain and I've been suffering from insomnia and depression for quite a long time (6 years or so).

Over the years I've tried practically every single AD but I haven't found one whose effect lasted long. The AD I've been more time on is Cymbalta (until it stopped working and I felt like I was deprived of my feelings, a very creepy and sad feeling). My insomnia is right now my main concern since it has affected my life in every field. :|

*Agomelatine*

There is something really strange about this AD.

I've been able to feel its positive effects and it was simply amazing:

I could slept greatly, I got energy all day long, I felt braver and more confident. I felt like doing things all the time. I started to listen to music again and resumed my forgotten hobbies. The drug I had all been all my life looking for. It started working from the first day. :boogie

I have to point out that I only felt this effect when switching from fluoxetine (Prozac) to Agomelatine.

So I thought that maybe Fluoxetine + Prozac was the right combination for me and started taking both. But... It just didn't work. I couldn't feel those amazing positive effects. :blank

Then I tried to take agomelatine alone but i didn't feel any positive effects (maybe it needed more time to work)

Last week I changed from Prozac to Agomelatine and I felt again those wondrous effects but it didn't last long, just three days.

Kind of strange, isn't it?

Right now I'm trying to feel that way again by taking only Agomelatine. I've been 1 week taking half pill and yesterday I started taking the whole 25mg pill. I will keep you informed if it kicks in again...

Edit1: I felt terrible yesterday. I had been not able to sleep well during the last 2 weeks so I quit ago and... last night I slept much better. It seems that ago was worsening my insomnia. Right now I'm just taking alprazolam to sleep.


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## popeet (Dec 8, 2005)

Thanks Thorsten. I 'liked' your post for that brief golden moment a couple of days ago that SAS had a 'like' feature.

I agree that this is a strange med. It's been a super rough takeoff... think it's starting to work now. Or not. I can't tell. But something is different. And so I'm wondering if a low dose of fluvoxamine (Luvox) will help. It might be way too agitating, though. 

Why would it work great while one is coming off of an SSRI?


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## Thorsten (Apr 6, 2010)

popeet said:


> Thanks Thorsten. I 'liked' your post for that brief golden moment a couple of days ago that SAS had a 'like' feature.
> 
> I agree that this is a strange med. It's been a super rough takeoff... think it's starting to work now. Or not. I can't tell. But something is different. And so I'm wondering if a low dose of fluvoxamine (Luvox) will help. It might be way too agitating, though.
> 
> Why would it work great while one is coming off of an SSRI?


Well, this is just my opinion, but I wouldn't recommend it at all for somebody coming off an SSRI. It's mechanism is completely unrelated to the SSRI's. It's so unrelated it can even be used as an adjacent to SSRI's and there wouldn't likely be any complications at all (obviously speak to a doctor before doing such a thing).
As a drug I don't even think it's that great really. It is good for anhedonia and is pretty crazy for libido (turns me hypersexual but not sure how this would effect a female's libido) but this aspect of it can actually be detrimental. It kinda feels like an unnatural sort of stimulation. Unfortunately other than Wellbutrin I've never found anything that would compare to it. Ago, for me, is great for GAD, libido, mood, depression and doesn't effect my cognition whatsoever (probably increases it if anything due to the fact that it can help me focus on stuff). As I say, you have to take it pretty chronically to notice these effects. Other than that I'm happy to keep taking it for the time being.


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## jim_morrison (Aug 17, 2008)

Thorsten said:


> As a drug I don't even think it's that great really. It is good for anhedonia and is pretty crazy for libido (turns me hypersexual but not sure how this would effect a female's libido) but this aspect of it can actually be detrimental. It kinda feels like an unnatural sort of stimulation. Unfortunately other than Wellbutrin I've never found anything that would compare to it. Ago, for me, is great for GAD, libido, mood, depression and doesn't effect my cognition whatsoever (probably increases it if anything due to the fact that it can help me focus on stuff). As I say, you have to take it pretty chronically to notice these effects. Other than that I'm happy to keep taking it for the time being.


Hmm if that's your response to it then perhaps you should take it in the morning, or maybe twice a day if you take 50 mg (morning and evening) since it has such a short half life.

I've been trialling 25 mg/day for the last 2 weeks, I haven't noticed much so far either positive or negative, but it doesn't seem to be sedating at all, so morning dosing shouldn't be a problem IMO.


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## Thorsten (Apr 6, 2010)

jim_morrison said:


> Hmm if that's your response to it then perhaps you should take it in the morning, or maybe twice a day if you take 50 mg (morning and evening) since it has such a short half life.
> 
> I've been trialling 25 mg/day for the last 2 weeks, I haven't noticed much so far either positive or negative, but it doesn't seem to be sedating at all, so morning dosing shouldn't be a problem IMO.


i don't think that would work due to its melatonergic profile.. It would screw around with your circadian rythym dude? Your melatonin recpetors being agonized first thing in the morning wouldn't work imo


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## jim_morrison (Aug 17, 2008)

Yeah that's a good point, I guess I was thinking more of it's effect on 5HT2-C which may be slightly stimulating.

Interestingly, when I took it along with some cyproheptadine for allergies one night (another 5HT2-C antagonist) it seemed to enhance the stimulating effects of Ago quite a bit.


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## popeet (Dec 8, 2005)

Thorsten said:


> Well, this is just my opinion, but I wouldn't recommend it at all for somebody coming off an SSRI. It's mechanism is completely unrelated to the SSRI's. It's so unrelated it can even be used as an adjacent to SSRI's and there wouldn't likely be any complications at all (obviously speak to a doctor before doing such a thing).
> As a drug I don't even think it's that great really. It is good for anhedonia and is pretty crazy for libido (turns me hypersexual but not sure how this would effect a female's libido) but this aspect of it can actually be detrimental. It kinda feels like an unnatural sort of stimulation. Unfortunately other than Wellbutrin I've never found anything that would compare to it. Ago, for me, is great for GAD, libido, mood, depression and doesn't effect my cognition whatsoever (probably increases it if anything due to the fact that it can help me focus on stuff). As I say, you have to take it pretty chronically to notice these effects. Other than that I'm happy to keep taking it for the time being.


Yeah re the libido thing, my husband seems happier. And I don't mind that part being artificially stimulating as sex is one of those things I think essential to my mental health.


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## popeet (Dec 8, 2005)

Ok I'm coming off of this now. It was only three weeks but made me waaay too depressed. I couldn't function at all.


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## popeet (Dec 8, 2005)

I haven't taken agomelatine for two nights, and I'm feeling a bit better than I did _before_ I took the agomelatine. In three weeks, could it have downregulated some 5HT2-c receptors?

I can understand why I wouldn't feel good _on_ the ago because it hits those receptors mildly.

I don't know the first thing about melatonin systems (and I'm kind ADD right now so anything more than bullet points will make my eyes glaze) so I can't say if it's melatonergic.

If this is the case, feeling this well is enough for me to go back on ago periodically in spite of the intense depression, in order to reap the benefits I'm feeling now.


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## broflovski (Feb 1, 2011)

popeet said:


> In three weeks, could it have downregulated some 5HT2-c receptors?


I suspect it could, and moreover, it is the main mechanism of its therapeutic action. I'm in some degree sceptical about its melatoninergic novelty. In your case direct agonism of M-receptors might be pro-depressive (that sometimes happens with taking melatonin), and masked beneficial 5HT2c antagonism. 
After quitting, you have down-regulated 5HT2c (via antagonism) as well as no more stimulated and down-regulated (via previous agonism) melatonin receptors, that may explain positive change.


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## popeet (Dec 8, 2005)

Thank you, this is the sort of answer I was hoping for.


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## upndownboi (Oct 7, 2010)

my pdoc wanted me to try this but its a very expensive medicine to buy and I would have felt a bit of a human ginea pig in that it felt like he wanted me to try it in order to build his clinical experience with the drug


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## jim_morrison (Aug 17, 2008)

Pretty sure I'm gonna give up on this med soon, it's doesn't seem to be doing much of anything.


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## Goober99 (Oct 25, 2011)

*Its different for everybody*

The first time I was diagnosed with an anxiety based clinical depression and went on Zoloft I immediately turned to the web and started to research which drugs work well and which don't. Doing this left me confused. For any antidepressant there were so many different opinions. Often the people for whom a drug hadn't worked were the most vocal! It put me off drugs in a big way.

Over time and trying out different meds I learned a few things that have helped me to better deal with this reality.

1. Drugs work differently for everybody

I've tried Zoloft, Prozac, Cilift, Molypaxin, Remeron, Faverin and Prothiaden during the course of looking for a solution. Some didn't agree with me for one reason or another, some had certain side effects like dermographia or decreased libido or irritability. Eventually I found that Prothiaden, an older drug worked really well without any hectic side effects. Point is everyone's neural chemistry seems to be slightly different. Psychiatrists experiment with different drugs because the results are not always predictable. Don't give up or lose hope because one drug doesn't work. Keep trying.

2. All the drugs I have tried have had weird side effects in the beginning.

In general I try to give a drug one month to settle in before judging whether it is working or not. Sometimes this isn't possible. Remeron I only took for two days because I had such a terrible reaction to it. But usually drugs take time to settle in and may cause nausea, irritability or depression for the first period of use. Its tough to deal with this reality - but it seems to be the way things work. I'm about to try Valdoxan because I am interested to see whether it improves my libido and perhaps causes me to lose a little weight. But I am aware that this may lead to a month of weird side effects. So I just prepare myself for that and know I can always go back to the Prothiaden if necessary.

3. Trying to judge the value of a drug for you based on people's comments on the internet is not necessarily a great idea.

Different drugs work for different people. People making posts on a forum may be more likely to make posts when going though crises with their own meds. And let's remember of course the commenters all have some kind of psychiatric issues. This is not necessarily the best sample group to use to make an objective evaluation of the efficacy of a drug.

I'm not disparaging forum posters - just noting something that has worked for me. Listen to your psychiatrist and try to find credible studies rather than relying too much on personal anecdotes.

Cheers!


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## abodedwind (Nov 19, 2013)

*Valdoxan works perfectly for me!*

I just wanted to share my experience with Valdoxan. This was one of the threads I read before I started.

Summary: I can't believe how great an effect it has! I am so happy and surprised with how well it is working. 

I had actually sworn to never try antidepressants again - when I had major depression previously I tried escitalopram (did nothing), Effexor (gave me crazy anxiety, hour-long yawning fits, dizziness, sexual side effects, no noticeable benefits for months), and Avanza mirtazipine (made me gain weight, sexual side effects, dizziness, no noticeable benefits for months). I gave up on antidepressants and recovered very slowly through the removal of stressors from my life, better self-awareness, time and a lot of patience and looking after myself.

Although I now no longer consider myself as having depression, I regularly feel it creeping back for no apparent reason (real difficulty in waking up in the morning, foggy head, impaired spatial awareness etc.). I was also feeling very wound up / anxious due to feeling on the edge of depression. So my doctor convinced me to try Valdoxan (agomelatine) based on the fact it was different from all the others. I was sceptical but thought I'd give it a shot.

And wow! Nothing much on the first or second days, but I felt GREAT by the third! I know this was not placebo effect as I would hardly have been able to wake up normally, but this day I felt like a cheerful, energetic morning person (something I haven't felt any morning for the last 2 years now), I was noticeable more social, relaxed etc. I even felt buzzed during the middle of the day, like I was super alert - definitely not a 'normal' feeling. This extremely stimulated effect lessened the next day and has not reoccured since then, but suffice to say it is still stimulating enough for me to feel like a normal person again, every day. If I am tired, I am just tired - not a zombie. I feel capable and in control of things again. I am more social and more relaxed. I can only put it down to the fact my sleep wasn't 'good' before, or I needed more dopamine-receptor-stuff, and the Valdoxan is what has changed it radically for the better.

The only side effects I have had are disrupted sleep the first 2 nights; a very mild headache everyday for the first 2.5 weeks; and possibly being more emotional than normal (i.e. getting a little more upset than normal). Definitely no sexual side effects (I am female). I have an inflammed stomach lining already, but Valdoxan didn't make it any worse at all (which surprised me, based on the amount of people complaining about stomach pain while on it). I haven't got my liver function test results back but I've no reason to think that that will be a problem.

I hope that this post encourages someone else to give Valdoxan a shot. Obviously it works differently for everyone, but I can certainly vouch for the fact it can be very effective.

P.S I have also been taking L-tyrosine every morning too. Alone, it only has a mildly stimulating effect for me (if anything). But I figure, the more dopamine available to my brain, the better, right? 

Good luck to those trying it out.


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