Posted by Karen Moore on January 28, 2004, at 1:37:14
In reply to Re: Do anti-psychotics act on dopamine the same as, posted by scott-d-o on January 28, 2004, at 1:00:41
Excellent, thanks for your thought provoking response, Scott.
I dropped Effexor ages ago and found out quickly with other trials that SSRIs make me absolutely miserable. ADD is the least of my problems, I was taking it for agitated depression, but now I find myself fitting into the bipolar spectrum. Stimulants make me a little hypomanic if I'm not careful, but it's the pleasant sort rather than the dysphoric flavor. As for sleep drugs, I've tried benzos, trazadone, sonata, anti-convulsants, all nada, my brain just doesn't want to ever shut down. And if I don't sleep I get downright manic. I just finished putting together a summary sheet to see a psych. researcher tomorrow (s.dubovsky) and counted 31 prescription drug trials in the last 2 and half years! And that doesn't count some of the other unsanctioned pharmacology experiments I've put myself through...
OK. There's my whine for the evening.
Thanks again,
KM
P.S. Have you ever heard of anyone having LOW blood pressure problems on stimulants? And I don't mean orthostatic hypotension... My only theory so far is cortisol, but that hasn't proven to be the problem (yet).
> >
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> hey karen,
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> the fact that seroquel alleviated your effexor-induced mania does not suprise me, since it is a alpha-1 adrenergic antagonist. mania is usually caused by an excess of norepinephrine, of which effexor blocks it's reuptake into presynaptic neurons. central alpha-1 adrenergic receptors are postsynaptic and central alpha-2 adrenergic receptors are presynaptic. therefore, the alpha-1 antagonism of seroquel blunted your brains response to the increase norepinephrine from effexor.
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> I agree the effects of seroquel on your dopaminergic system at that dose cannot be helpful. Surely there is another drug out there that will help you sleep. I assume you've already tried benzos, ambien, sonata?
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> If your insomnia does not respond to gaba potentiating meds then what about trazodone? It acts solely via serotonin receptors.
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> If seroquel is the only thing that keeps you sane while on effexor, than perhaps you should not be on effexor. Are you taking the effexor for ADD? Do you have the same manic reaction to stimulants?
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> scott
>
poster:Karen Moore
thread:306217
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040127/msgs/306305.html