Posted by Mitch on July 17, 2001, at 11:08:55
In reply to Why can SSRIs cause anxiety?, posted by Gerry S. on July 15, 2001, at 15:51:13
Gerry S.
Excessive extracellular serotonin can create a lot of autonomic activation-sweating, diarrhea, i.e., which can also manifest as insomnia, agitation and anxiety which is common with SSRI's. They also boost norephinephrine levels to some extent. For many people, this abates after a few weeks due to serotonin receptor downregulation (fewer receptors) and the serotonin levels drop to a more "normal" level. However, some people have persistent troubles with anxiety over time with SSRi's. The order of level of "activation" that SSRi's cause (according to my pdoc) is
1) Prozac (most)
2) Zoloft
3) Celexa
4) Paxil
5) Luvox (least)I have taken all of these and it seems like a fairly accurate assessment-but of course there are going to be individual differences and idiosyncracies. But I prefer the more activating ones despite the anxiety (at lower doses).
Mitch
> Does anyone know the psychopharmacological reasons why SSRI's might cause anxiety? Also, do some SSRI's tend to be more or less prone to cause anxiety?
>
> Thanks.
poster:Mitch
thread:70207
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010714/msgs/70469.html