Posted by SLS on October 2, 2012, at 7:55:26
In reply to is lithium a dopamine antiagonist, posted by Lifelover on October 2, 2012, at 1:34:37
> Hey guys just wondering online some say yes others say no. All in all it works good for me as an anti depressant and keeps my mood stable and somewhat good. I have something else that concerns me though. I struggle with social phobia and the nardil helps that tremendously should i worry about the lith potentially dampening some of the effects ?
How much lithium are you taking?
Lithium does not bind to the dopamine receptor and does not block it.
Lithium shouldn't affect the antidepressant and pro-social effects of Nardil. I would expect, at worst, some degree of passivity, apathy, or reduction in creative energies. If these things haven't occurred already, I wouldn't expect them to emerge at this point. These side effects seem to be dosage-dependent, though.
Adding lithium to Parnate has had an antidepressant effect for me. This was a favorite combination treatment of doctors before the SSRIs came out. I haven't tried lithium with Nardil.
Lithium can act as an antimanic and antidepressant at the same time.
Lithium does lots of different things. It might act as a dampener to dopamine overactivity by inhibiting protein kinase-C (PKC) and thus limiting the function of G-protein coupled receptors and downstream second messenger events. The net effect of this inhibition is to reduce the rate of propagation of neuronal action potentials (nerve firing). PKC activity is significantly increased in mania. Lithium may exert its antimanic effects by reducing it. However, lithium also promotes serotonin release. This effect may be responsible for increased dopamine activity in the PFC and thus produce an antidepressant response. Lithium stimulates the production of bcl-2, BDNF while inhibiting some of the actions of NGF. These actions help to produce neuroprotective (prevents neural damage and death) and neurotrophic (promotes neural growth) effects.
All of this goes to show how complex the brain is and how varied are the many effects of lithium. I can therefore state with absolute certainty that I am uncertain as to how you as an individual would react to lithium in combination with Nardil. You may have no better choice than to just try it. It is possible that lithium may not protect you from Nardil-induced mania should that occur. If lithium is problematic or ineffective, you can always try a mood stabilizer like Depakote or Trileptal, or an atypical antipsychotic like Zyprexa, Abilify, or Latuda. There are others.
- Scott
Some see things as they are and ask why.
I dream of things that never were and ask why not.- George Bernard Shaw
poster:SLS
thread:1027272
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20121001/msgs/1027285.html