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From: dyer@spdcc.COM (Steve Dyer)
Newsgroups: sci.med,sci.psychology
Subject: Re: Medication for Obsessive-Compulsive disorders?
Message-ID: <770@spdcc.COM>
Date: 3 Apr 88 03:58:34 GMT
References: <2425@saturn.ucsc.edu> <3909@bloom-beacon.MIT.EDU> <1684@uhccux.UUCP> <1105@sbcs.sunysb.edu>
Organization: S.P. Dyer Computer Consulting, Cambridge MA
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In article <1105@sbcs.sunysb.edu>, hadj@sbcs.sunysb.edu (Michael Hadjimichael) writes:
> Does anyone know if tricyclics (Desipramine/ Norpramine) have any other
> effects on the nervous system, such as trembling (hands) ?? Also, if 
> tricyclics are prescribed for ~6 months, what are the chances that a 
> patient will need to take the medication again later in life ?

There have been occasional reports of tremor in people taking tricyclic
antidepressants, but it is not a hallmark side-effect of this class of drugs.
A fine tremor is more frequently reported in patients taking lithium.

When prescribing an antidepressant agent for the first time, one common schedule
is to choose a drug, and if it is effective, to maintain the patient on it for
approximately 6 months, at which time the dose is slowly reduced, keeping an
eye out for relapses.  I don't have hard numbers at hand on the percentage of
patients who relapse; I do know that treatment for less than 4 months is
associated with higher rates of relapse than longer periods.  Long-term
drug therapy (at the lowest effective dose) is fairly common.  A lot of this
depends on the person, his family history, etc.
-- 
Steve Dyer
dyer@harvard.harvard.edu
dyer@spdcc.COM aka {ihnp4,harvard,husc6,linus,ima,bbn,m2c}!spdcc!dyer