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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 3 of 3. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Rocket_Boy on February 19, 2002, at 13:14:56
Ok, I just ran across this message board the other
day and was hoping maybe someone could give me some
opinions. Ya'll saved me from trying reboxetine. I
ordered adrafanil instead, still waiting on it.My problem seems to be with low ephenephrine. I
have tried WB and didnt help much. My problem is I
dont feel happy, or have the motivation or energy.
I'm just sort of flat. The other day I tried Effexor-xr.
I made me sooo sleepy so after some reading I
thought I would add back the WB. After 3 days I
stopped the Effexor since it made me worse, more tired
etc., and kept taking the WB. Well then I did a good
weightlifting workout one night and I couldnt
sleep for 3 days, which was great! And I actually
felt happy!So my theory is that the last thing I need is
serotonin, and seem to need an NE inhibitor or
something like adrafinil? I am trying dl-phenylalanine
and tyrosine and selegiline but not really getting
that happy feeling back. Selegiline never did anything
for me in the past anyways.Does anyone have any insight or ideas for me?
Thanks very much!
Posted by JohnX2 on February 19, 2002, at 17:54:37
In reply to Need advice on medications - newbie, posted by Rocket_Boy on February 19, 2002, at 13:14:56
Hi Rocket Boy,Well, its clear that medications
that directly reuptake serotonin do have an
indirect impact on other monamines such as
norepinephrine. For example, a lot of people
may assume that effexor is a better AD than
Zoloft because effexor increases norepinephrine,
but you may be surprised to know that Zoloft in
general is more activating, causes more insomnia,
etc. The brain is quite mysterious in this way.
There are studies that show that serotonin reuptake
inhibitors indirectly increase other brain chemicals.Some medicines are known to be good for anergic
type depressions as you described. Wellbutrin
was a good place to start. But I would not count
out at least one trial of an SSRI like Zoloft.As far as amino acid loading goes. Generally the
body is already saturating an enzyme called
"tyrosine hyroxylase" that is actually the bottleneck
in producing the brain chemicals (nor)epinephrine
and dopamine. The diet almost always supplies
enough phenylalanine which is converted to tyrosine
to saturate this "tyrosine hydroxylase" enzyme, this is why
adding more amino acid may have spotty results.I hope this information helps. One thing to note
is that you really need to stick out an antidepressant
trial for at least 3-4+ weeks to make an honest
assessment as to the effectiveness of the AD. A lot
of time an AD can have a crummy side effect like
drowsiness in week one that completely subsides by
week 3. It unfortunate that one must deal with the
side effects up front before feeling the benefit.Hope this info is helpful and good luck with your
medicines.-John
> Ok, I just ran across this message board the other
> day and was hoping maybe someone could give me some
> opinions. Ya'll saved me from trying reboxetine. I
> ordered adrafanil instead, still waiting on it.
>
> My problem seems to be with low ephenephrine. I
> have tried WB and didnt help much. My problem is I
> dont feel happy, or have the motivation or energy.
> I'm just sort of flat. The other day I tried Effexor-xr.
> I made me sooo sleepy so after some reading I
> thought I would add back the WB. After 3 days I
> stopped the Effexor since it made me worse, more tired
> etc., and kept taking the WB. Well then I did a good
> weightlifting workout one night and I couldnt
> sleep for 3 days, which was great! And I actually
> felt happy!
>
> So my theory is that the last thing I need is
> serotonin, and seem to need an NE inhibitor or
> something like adrafinil? I am trying dl-phenylalanine
> and tyrosine and selegiline but not really getting
> that happy feeling back. Selegiline never did anything
> for me in the past anyways.
>
> Does anyone have any insight or ideas for me?
>
> Thanks very much!
Posted by Rocket_Boy on February 21, 2002, at 16:23:49
In reply to Re: Need advice on medications - newbie » Rocket_Boy, posted by JohnX2 on February 19, 2002, at 17:54:37
> John,
I stopped taking the Effexor because it made me very
sleepy, does this go away fro most people after a few
weeks? I figured it would only get worse. My doctor
wanted me to ramp up to 150mg. I also heard about
the major withdrawal symptoms if you miss a day.
(my friend takes it) She got dizzy and couldnt
figure out why until she remembered she missed
taking it. I'm not majorly depressed, lack energy
and motivation mostly so didnt know if it was was
worht the side effects. It woul dbe nice to be truly happy
for once though. :)Thanks for the info, it helped alot. So what do you
think about trying adrafinil? It's on it's way.Later,
Allen> Hi Rocket Boy,
>
> Well, its clear that medications
> that directly reuptake serotonin do have an
> indirect impact on other monamines such as
> norepinephrine. For example, a lot of people
> may assume that effexor is a better AD than
> Zoloft because effexor increases norepinephrine,
> but you may be surprised to know that Zoloft in
> general is more activating, causes more insomnia,
> etc. The brain is quite mysterious in this way.
> There are studies that show that serotonin reuptake
> inhibitors indirectly increase other brain chemicals.
>
> Some medicines are known to be good for anergic
> type depressions as you described. Wellbutrin
> was a good place to start. But I would not count
> out at least one trial of an SSRI like Zoloft.
>
> As far as amino acid loading goes. Generally the
> body is already saturating an enzyme called
> "tyrosine hyroxylase" that is actually the bottleneck
> in producing the brain chemicals (nor)epinephrine
> and dopamine. The diet almost always supplies
> enough phenylalanine which is converted to tyrosine
> to saturate this "tyrosine hydroxylase" enzyme, this is why
> adding more amino acid may have spotty results.
>
> I hope this information helps. One thing to note
> is that you really need to stick out an antidepressant
> trial for at least 3-4+ weeks to make an honest
> assessment as to the effectiveness of the AD. A lot
> of time an AD can have a crummy side effect like
> drowsiness in week one that completely subsides by
> week 3. It unfortunate that one must deal with the
> side effects up front before feeling the benefit.
>
> Hope this info is helpful and good luck with your
> medicines.
>
> -John
>
>
>
> > Ok, I just ran across this message board the other
> > day and was hoping maybe someone could give me some
> > opinions. Ya'll saved me from trying reboxetine. I
> > ordered adrafanil instead, still waiting on it.
> >
> > My problem seems to be with low ephenephrine. I
> > have tried WB and didnt help much. My problem is I
> > dont feel happy, or have the motivation or energy.
> > I'm just sort of flat. The other day I tried Effexor-xr.
> > I made me sooo sleepy so after some reading I
> > thought I would add back the WB. After 3 days I
> > stopped the Effexor since it made me worse, more tired
> > etc., and kept taking the WB. Well then I did a good
> > weightlifting workout one night and I couldnt
> > sleep for 3 days, which was great! And I actually
> > felt happy!
> >
> > So my theory is that the last thing I need is
> > serotonin, and seem to need an NE inhibitor or
> > something like adrafinil? I am trying dl-phenylalanine
> > and tyrosine and selegiline but not really getting
> > that happy feeling back. Selegiline never did anything
> > for me in the past anyways.
> >
> > Does anyone have any insight or ideas for me?
> >
> > Thanks very much!
This is the end of the thread.
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