Posted by King Vultan on March 23, 2004, at 17:14:03
In reply to Re: prozac and lack of motivation » King Vultan, posted by harryp on March 23, 2004, at 11:30:13
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> > This is a common side effect of SSRIs in my experience and one of the biggest reasons that I started trying other classes of drugs. My thought is that the norepinephrine and/or dopamine system becomes atrophied under long term SSRI use.
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> > Todd
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> I find that idea fascinating, Todd. Do you have any journal articles about this possibility?
>There may be some articles out there on this, but it is known that serotonin does reduce dopamine by stimulating 5-HT2A receptors (atypical psychotics blockade these receptors to counteract dopamine depletion in certain areas of the brain). As far as norepinephrine, there is a school of thought that a person is likelier to have greater long term success using a drug that blockades both serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake rather than just working on serotonin.
My own experience being on alternately Zoloft and low dosages of Effexor (which isn't a great deal different from an SSRI at lower dosages) for years was that norepinephrine...just seemed to get left behind. It seemed like there just was not enough stimulation of that particular neurotransmitter system, and I think that had something to do with the emotional numbing I experienced after being on these drugs for extended periods. This was also why I dropped each of them twice, as I got tired of not being able to feel anything. Unfortunately, I found that I ran into problems functioning without taking some kind of antidepressant. I'm hoping my current trial on the MAOI Nardil works out somewhat better, as this works on all three of the major neurotransmitter systems involved with mood. If the Nardil winds up not being effective, I plan on going to the other MAOI (Parnate)
Todd
poster:King Vultan
thread:327202
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040319/msgs/327476.html