Posted by Mr.Scott on December 2, 2003, at 19:39:27
In reply to Re: Effexor, smoking and Dopamine depletion » Mr. Scott, posted by socialdeviantjeff on December 2, 2003, at 17:11:25
Start with 50-100mg of benadryl (diphenhydramine hydrochloride) as it is an anticholinergic you may even have at home. If not you can run to the drug store and get it real cheap. Next, I'd bring your concerns to the attention of your doctor and suggest either a dopaminergic such as amantadine or a stronger anticholinergic such as Cogentin. If that doesn't do it(particularly the Cogentin) you probably have some kind of activation be it anxiety/agitation or hypomania.
Just my thoughts, but I think you can trust them.
Scott
> Just a quick question; I'd like to try your suggestion and see what happens. Do you mean a combo of Benadryl AND cogentin OR amantadine, or just one of these?
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> > Lower doses of Effexor as well as ALL SSRI's blunt dopamine. It is supposedly mediated by stimulating one of the 5ht receptors and Serzone and remeron do just that. A whole host of side effects from reducing dopamine are attributable to ssri's and Effexor. It is a neurological state which accounts for the cognitive apathy, restlessness, drug and alcohol craving sometimes seen and yes the smoking of more cigs just like schizophrenics on the older antipsychotics. My response is much the same as yours. Now...It is also possible you are experiencing a dysphoric hypomania. The way to find out is to take either 50-100mg of Benadryl, 1-2mg of cogentin or amantadine (there are others too). If your symptoms abate than it's neurological. If your symptoms don't it might be hypomania.
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poster:Mr.Scott
thread:285689
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20031202/msgs/286064.html