Posted by linkadge on March 6, 2004, at 9:03:58
In reply to Confused about Serotonin Syndrome, posted by mattz on March 5, 2004, at 23:09:55
I do think that it strongly depends on how much serotonin is in the synapse in the first place.
There are a few receptors which when activated too much cause the symptoms of serotonin syndrome. The 5-ht2a receptor is one of them. Blockade of this receptor has been shown to ameliorate the symptoms of the syndrome.
As far as warning goes sometimes there is none at all. I have had the syndrome many times. About 5, one of which was close to life threatening.
The first time I felt euphoric, and then within one hour I felt powerfully dysphoric, and frankly psychotic. The initial symptoms for me have been an almost psychotic confusion. It really just feels like you are loosing touch with reality. No hallucinations or anything but just a "sudden change in mental status". Powerful and sudden surges of adreneline, profuse sweating, headache, constant diareah, rigid muscles, dialated puples, the works.
The worst part is that each time I have experienced it, I never though that it was what it was. I always thought It was some sort of panic attack, which would have fit some of the symptoms but not the shivering , and rigid muscles, etc.
I really cannot say what you should look for because It always seemed to happen so suddenly. In the literature this seems to be similar. I would look for sudden changes in body temperature, either freezing or boiling, almost like hot flashes or something. Every time I have had it I have had one thought pop into my head. It was like "boom" like a sudden overwhealming sense of guilt, over something small, large whatever, like all of a sudden it was judgment day. It was the worst experience I have ever had. Worse than the depths of my depression. The reason I know it was not a relapse or something was because you go from feeling perfectly normal, to hell awefull within an hour or so, and slowly perhaps 8 hours later it leaves and you feel perfectly normal again.
I think that no drug is guarenteed to cause it.
I always keep some atypical antipsychotic handy because if it happens, these drugs can quickly reverse it by blocking the 2a receptors.
Linkadge
poster:linkadge
thread:320939
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040304/msgs/321065.html