Posted by Bill LL on October 22, 2003, at 10:15:23
In reply to SSRIs vs. SNRIs, posted by HeadFogg on October 21, 2003, at 23:49:27
Ace is right when he says that it "depends on the person". People react different ways to different drugs. Scientists have a good idea of which neurotransmitters are affected by different drugs. But they do not know how these mechanisms affect anxiety and/or depression. In other words, they don't really know how these drugs work at the present time. We know that SSRI's affect at least some of the many types of serotonin in the body, but we don't know why that can alleviate depression. Same with noradrenaline.
It's like aspirin. We know many of the things aspirin does, but we don't really know how it works.
> Can anyone explain why an SNRI might work for someone who received bad results from an SSRI? I know that an SNRI works on norepinephrine as well as seratonin, but what is the big advantage? Does having more adrenaline in your system help with brain function? Could an SNRI (such as Remeron) clear up severe mental fog, when an SSRI (such as Zoloft) greatly exacerbated the problem?
>
> My doctor couldn't really explain what the advantage would be, except to say that it would make me sleep better somehow.
>
> Thankful for any info,
>
> Foggy
poster:Bill LL
thread:271695
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20031021/msgs/271835.html