Posted by anne on April 9, 1999, at 22:24:58
In reply to Dysthymia/Treatment Resistant Depressions, posted by JohnB. on April 8, 1999, at 23:24:43
Unquestionably DA has mood altering affects. While I suffer from depression, I have a concomitant neurologic disorder, multifocal dystonia. One of the treatments tried for my dystonia was Sinemet (a form of DA which crosses the blood/brain barrier). When the first dose would *hit* in the morning I felt wonderful like I never had in my life. Unfortunately, it only lasted a few hours as Sinemet has a short half-life and subsequent doses during the day were never as mood-altering. While my neuologist recognized my depression before I started the Sinemet, it wasn't until I stopped taking Sinemet 4 months later I recognized how badly I really felt. The contrast was striking without the Sinemet. I am not advocating this particular drug for depression, the side-effects are hard to live with and the short half-life makes it a roller coaster ride. I think the dopamine theory has merit for some types of depression and welcome further research in this area. I'm a little confused about Nick's remarks lumping Effexor and Paxil into the neuroleptic category and would appreciate clarification here. I thought the action of neuroleptics was to decrease DA in the brain.
poster:anne
thread:4588
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/19990501/msgs/4629.html