Posted by MB on September 2, 2003, at 16:59:47
I had a doctor tell me that the more an antidepressant affects norepinephrine, the better it is at alleviating anxiety. He told me that because Lexapro is so selective for seratonin reuptake pumps, that it wouldn't be as effective an anxiolytic as an antidepressant that blocked reuptake of norepinephrine to some extent (I guess even some of the SSRIs bind to NE transporters to some degree). Has anyone heard of this Norepinephrine-antianxiety connection. In a beginner's psychology class, we learned that too much NE released from the Locus Coeruleus causes anxiety, so I was really surprised when he told me this. He mentioned Effexor, but I've already had a nightmarish experience with *that* drug. He keeps mentioning Remeron. It's my understanding that Remeron sedation/anxiolysis is due to its antihistamine properties, and it seems that when people with anxiety issues reach that magical 45mg dose (where the noradrenergic properties kick in) their anxiety is exacerbated. So am I being too arrogant to think that maybe this doctor is wrong about the increased NE=decreased anxiety. It is a bad pattern of mine to think that I'm smarter than the doctors, and it has alienated me from quite a few. Any input?
MB
poster:MB
thread:256394
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030902/msgs/256394.html