Posted by scott-d-o on January 28, 2004, at 1:31:25
In reply to Re: Do anti-psychotics act on dopamine the same as » scott-d-o, posted by jerrympls on January 27, 2004, at 22:32:43
> Thanks for the info. Yeah I understand. I used to know all this stuff - however all these meds have my brain in a fog. I certainly believe that my dopamingeric system is wy out of whack. Amphetamines help - but after a while it seems as if they cause the opposite reaction - as described by the negative feedback system you explain above. So I'm wondering about Ritalin/Concerta because it blocks reuptake of dopamine as well as release it - from what I understand. THEN I'm thinking about augmenting with Mirapex - about which I have heard some extraordinarily postive stories from others on this board - saying that it renewed their creativity, pleasure, motivation, etc.
actually, you have ritalin and amphetamines backwards. yes, ritalin is a monoamine reuptake blocker with a high affinity for dopamine.however, it is the amphetamines that bind to the dopamine transporter and actually reverse its action, not only blocking reuptake but causing a release of dopamine into the synapse, as opposed to transporting dopamine back into the presynaptic neuron like it's supposed to do. cocaine and methylphenidate merely block the transporter causing it to do jack sh*t.
augmenting your adderall with mirapex doesn't sound like a great idea to me if you are non-responsive to stimulants due to supersensitive dopamine autoreceptors. if this is the case, the mirapex will most likely cause these receptors to activate and decrease dopamine release. NMDA antagonists can help with stimulant tolerance. magnesium supplementation (300% of the RDA of a highly bioavailable compound) is the natural way to go about this; memantine is a med that has this direct action on these receptors.
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> My depression is rescurrent/refractory/resistant - you name it - and SSRI's just dull me. SNRI's aren't much different from SSRI's for me. Opiates work very well.
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> I don't want to add an anti-psychotic to be honest. I'm already on 200mg of Seroquel for insomnia. My doc said that Geodon or Abilify may help - but all I can imagine is brain dulling and sleepiness and/or akathesia.
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> So, we agreed to start Adderall XR 10mg. I've been on Adderall before at this dose and it had a MUCH MUCH more powerful effect the first time I was on it (about 3 years ago). Now it's like I'm taking nothing. My receptors are all screwed up.
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> What to do? What to try? ugh....
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> But thanks for your help....I greatly appreciate it.
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> Jerry
an antipsychotic could help you at low-dose; I haven't tried abilify but I had a terrible experience with geodon. it is definitly not dopaminergic even at it's lowest dose of 20mg. I didn't try splitting the capsules for a lower dose. sulpiride or amisulpride are the two antipsychotics that are the most selective for dopamine autoreceptors. at low doses they can increase dopamine release without disturbing DA transmission too badly. unforunately, they are not approved in the usa; you could get a script and order from overseas thou. if you want to stick w/fda-approved meds the closest thing is stelazine (trifluoperazine). start at only 1mg don't go over 2mg.hope this helps,
scott
poster:scott-d-o
thread:306217
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040127/msgs/306304.html