![[dr. bob]](/dr-bob-sm.gif)
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
[email protected]Shown: posts 1 to 4 of 4. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by zzz7 on December 6, 2008, at 3:26:07
From 1997 to 2006 I was on large amounts of SRI drugs. At various points, I was on 400mg clomipramine with 100mg Luvox, 110mg Prozac, 100mg Prozac and 400mg ProVigil, and the like.
in 2006 I entered a deep depression after a sporting injury that caused me to go from a high level of physical activity to none at all for several months. To get out of it, I pushed serotonin levels even higher than I had before. I assumed that drugs were pooping out on me. I even added small amounts of 5HTP. All of this seemed to make things even worse. I backed way off when I developed signs of serotonin syndrome. As I backed off, I felt better. The lower I went, the better I felt. I went down to 1mg Lexapro for a while. I felt better, but still slightly depressed. Then, all the way down to two sand-sized grains of Lexapro. Finally relief. I experimented some more by going off SRIs altogether (in this case Lexapro). The depression came back. So, apparently I'm hyper-sensitive to serotonin (and the same turns out to be case for DA; I found this out by decreasing doses of amatadine to lower serotonin levels when I had taken too much of the SRI).
The problem is that something like exercising will increase DA levels such that I get depressed. One grain too much on Lexapro, I get depressed. I sit on this knife's edge between DA and 5HT, and it's tough not to fall off one side.
Advice?
Posted by sowhysosad on April 3, 2009, at 2:23:07
In reply to Strange shift in 5HT tolerances, posted by zzz7 on December 6, 2008, at 3:26:07
I was reading up on how exercise effects neurotransmitters earlier this week, and one theory says that moderate exercise stimulates serotonin and dopamine whereas intensive exercise mostly boosts norepinephrine and doesn't do much for dopamine. Maybe do a bit of research and try some different types of exercise?
Also, have you thought about trading your Lex in for something like Prozac liquid, which would make it easier to measure small doses?
Posted by zzzz7 on April 3, 2009, at 3:26:09
In reply to Re: Strange shift in 5HT tolerances » zzz7, posted by sowhysosad on April 3, 2009, at 2:23:07
Long-term intense exercise will boost dopamine as well, though you're right, the effect isn't as great.
I'm totally off SSRIs now; it's just amantadine and other stuff to boost DA and lower serotonin.
Thank you.
Posted by zzzz7 on June 22, 2009, at 5:11:00
In reply to Re: Strange shift in 5HT tolerances, posted by zzzz7 on April 3, 2009, at 3:26:09
I'm now at the point where .1 mg of Wellbutrin/amantadine too much, and I get depressed. .1mg of Lexapro too much, I get depressed. If I take slightly too much Lexapro, I can take Wellbutrin/amantadine and feel better. Same goes with taking too much Wellbutrin/amatadine.
It's this teeter-totter that's nearly impossible to balance.
I wish I knew what to do.
This is the end of the thread.
Psycho-Babble Neurotransmitters | Extras | FAQ
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
[email protected]
Script revised: February 4, 2008
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/cgi-bin/pb/mget.pl
Copyright 2006-17 Robert Hsiung.
Owned and operated by Dr. Bob LLC and not the University of Chicago.