Posted by FredPotter on March 19, 2007, at 20:41:15
In reply to Re: Current theories must be wrong, posted by linkadge on March 19, 2007, at 19:47:30
Thanks Linkadge that makes a lot of sense. Another theory I read, was that you have to eat a lot of SSRI before, crossing the blood-brain- barrier very reluctantly, it accumulates enough to start doing its stuff as an effective reuptake inhibitor. Unfortunately I don't know if the passage across the B-B-B *is* slow.
This theory would however explain withdrawal symptoms, and why Effexor, the patron saint of withdrawal sympom producers, does this part of the process so well. It will function somewhat at lower levels, but if you stop completely, like me, then wath out! Added to this the Effexor (I took XR) breaks down and gets washed away very quickly, thus pointing up that this theory may be the right one. I think it has a half-life of about 7 hours, as against Prozac which is weeks (is it 5?). Prozac is therefore not noted for withdrawal effects (I don't know this I'm just guessing if this theory is true).
IF this is all true, then a better AD would be one that gets in there quick, but one which can be turned off with another drug so a second candidate can be used if the first one doesn't work. Then we could at least zoom through 'em all, like a wallpaper sampler, till we get one we like. Then there's the MAOIs. They also take up to 6 weeks to work. So is it the drug that is slow to cross the BBB and get to an effective dose, or is it serotonin, norepinephrine, dopamine etc that are slow to build up?
Another . . . is it a race between getting the stuff in, inhibiting reuptake of monoamines and outdoing those pesky receptors that down-regulate on the receiving neuron, because there appears to be a high concentration of neuroreceptors about. The brain, or at least, the relevant bits were happy all along it seems with us in a dangerously depressed/anxious state.
Just some thoughts. More like hot air I expect.
Fred
poster:FredPotter
thread:742253
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20070314/msgs/742290.html