Posted by metafunj on September 13, 2009, at 17:43:22
In reply to Re: How did Prozac cause my permanent Anhedonia, posted by Alexanderfromdenmark on September 7, 2009, at 10:30:58
My theory is that taking prozac decreased your serotonin transporters. Stopping the drug does not restore this so you are left with lots of extra serotonin floating around.
At the same time prozac caused an increase in dopamine transporters so now any dopamine your brain is making is being removed from the synapse before you can enjoy it.
I posted an abstract about this phenomenon in two other threads about "dopamine depletion".
I found a study before, that I can't find now, which says that serotonin stays elevated even after drug cessation. Now your probably wondering why did you feel better on Prozac than off since in both cases you have increased serotonin. I think the reason you felt good on prozac is cuz prozac blocks the 5HT2C receptor and does something at the 5 HT2A receptor. This action causes increase in dopamine which makes you feel better and enjoy things.
When you came off instead of being blocked by prozac, the 5 HT2A/C receptors became flooded with serotonin, due to decreased serotonin transporters. They are now being agonized by serotonin which is decreasing dopamine in the prefrontal cortex, which probably is contributing to anhedonia as well as cognitive problems.
I haven't found anything natural that helps. You might try L Tyrosine, B-6, Ginkgo biloba(supposedly decreases serotonin release), and ginseng. Also exercise increases dopamine binding.
Basically my thought is you have TOO MUCH serotonin now. Sounds counterintuitive, but anything serotonergic just increases flatness, tiredness, and spaciness in me.
poster:metafunj
thread:914929
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/neuro/20090701/msgs/916942.html