Posted by Tony P on January 24, 2008, at 11:34:13
In reply to Dopamine, useful and whos tried it?, posted by Mikez on January 20, 2008, at 6:48:33
> DA agonists..good/bad?
>
> I may ask my doc for mirapex tomorrow as an augmenter. I have major depression with some ocd.
>
> Basically to summarize ...
> 1. I respond very bad to noradrenaline, which is why i cancelled my tricyclic experiment..however i noticed i had a normal sex drive which im assuming is the dopamine.
>
> Im a serotonin guy through and through however I never get the full remission and ability to 'feel' emotions. Im thinking dopamine agonist may be the missing piece of the puzzle..however..im confused abit about the side effects. Im almost sure it will normalize my libido however, will it.. decrease appetite? (do not want this as im a guy), and act as a 'stimulant' (cause trouble sleeping..do not want this)
>
> I have read alot of reviews and found people actually said it made them sleepy on askapatient so that is why im a bit confused.
>
> Can anyone shed some light on dopamine?
> THANX
>
I am also convinced that dopamine is essential to balanced A/D effect, at least for me. I'm also hypersensitive to NorAd enhancers. I take Requip (ropinirole) 1.5 mg/day in addition to Remeron. There was a Can. J. Psych. pilot project article a couple of years back (I can dig out the ref. if anyone wants it) with a _very_ small sample using Requip with several diffrent ADs, and most people experienced improvement.I experienced slight drowsiness with .75 mg for the first couple of months, but .5 mg per dose during the day was OK enough that I felt safe driving. No problem at all with drowsiness now.
I am confused because I too thought dopamine was a stimulant (the "pleasure" transmitter, the one invoked by cocaine and amphetamines and all those dangerous things -- I suspect this "bad company" may be part of the reason it's downplayed in depression management), but most of the meds which are a direct dopamine agonist seem to have drowsiness as a side effect. I should go on the new Neurotransmitters board and see if anyone can explain this paradox.
Meanwhile, coffee is also a mild dopamine enhancer, and oh, that espresso tastes g-o-o-od!!
Tony
poster:Tony P
thread:807882
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20080124/msgs/808720.html