Posted by JohnL on September 8, 2001, at 14:58:07
In reply to Re: any serotonine enhancers intolerance, possible ? » adamie, posted by pellmell on September 8, 2001, at 11:29:36
Hi there Adamie,
I'm very sorry the Prozac thing hasn't worked out very well. I think at this point you can confidentally conclude the SSRI medications are not appropriate for your chemistry. Whatever the real underlying chemical problem is, it probably has nothing to do with low serotonin.But do people actually get worse on an AD instead of better? Definitely. We hear about it all the time. It happened with me on probably about 60% of the meds I tried, with Serzone or Moclobemide being the absolute worst of all. Any doctor who tells you it isn't possible should probably retire and try something else they might be better at.
It could very well be that the whole idea of increasing your neurotransmitters by way of reuptake inhibition is just the wrong way to go for you. Instead, perhaps your neurotransmitter levels are fine, but for some reason the receptors are flawed in some way, have poor binding, or whatever who knows what. With that in mind, maybe what you could do is look at drugs that instead stimulate receptors. Such drugs would include Adrafinil, Amisulpride low dose, Zyprexa low dose, Risperdal low dose, Remeron, and of course stimulants. I have been following your situation for a while now, and I am pretty convinced at this point you will find the greatest benefit in one of those drugs. They will act on turbocharging brain chemistries in different ways and in different locations in the brain than the SSRIs did. I think you may well need a drug that is going to enhance existing receptors and neurotransmitters. That would rule out any SSRI, MAOI, or tricyclic generally. It just seems logical at this point that the last thing you want to do is increase the amount of neurotransmitters. The problem more likely lies with the receptors that the neurotransmitters bind to.
So far you fit the description perfectly of someone who could respond well to Adrafinil. I hope that happens. At least you know which kind of drugs to avoid.
Anyway, just thought I would touch base and share my thoughts with you. Hope you're feeling a little better today.
John
poster:JohnL
thread:78234
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010907/msgs/78279.html