Posted by Sad Panda on September 27, 2004, at 10:06:41
In reply to asthma, exercise and drug choice, posted by sabre on September 26, 2004, at 1:15:04
> I have just weaned off Lexapro - five weeks of 2.5-5mg/day. I had noticed a definite boost in energy and no asthma symptoms. I raced 6k last weekend amongst blooming trees and pollen-spitting grasses. Felt fine. Not a wheeze; no out of breath experiences; no hayfever or post exercise cough.
>
> Today after 4 days of no-Lexapro with my runs becoming tiring and breathy, I raced 5k. The weather conditions and temperatures, winds etc were very similar. This time I was out of breath from the beginning, coughing and wheezing, streamy -nosed etc. A real drag.
>
> So what is happening??? I looked up the Internet and became confused. According to one study, on Tianeptine, http://www.tianeptine.info/tianeptine/tianeptine-asthma-5-5.htm
> 'studies have shown the levels of free serotonin in plasma are increased in symptomatic patients with asthma'
>
> Some of you suggest that if you are socially anxious that you could possibly have too much serotonin? Therefore you might have a bad time with even low levels of SSRIs. (Or the levels may be crazed and unregulated, I suppose) If that is so, why would increasing the level of serotonin help asthmatic symptoms as it did in my case? Or am I being atypical?
>
> I've read that Moclobemide and Reboxetine are bronchial smooth muscle dilators which should help asthma. Maybe I'm being too simplistic but I'm trying to get my head around it all... and it just keeps spinning.
>
> Also the above article says Tianeptine helps bronchial asthma...supposedly by decreasing the level of serotonin. (Although I seemed to find the opposite.)
>
> Does anyone have any information or anecdotal evidence about whether any of the psych drugs help or hinder asthma?
>
> One more question about Tianeptine. Has anyone tried it and used it only occasionally as needed like you might with a beta blocker or does it need to build up and exert its influence over time?
>
> Thanks
> Sabre
>
>Hi Sabre,
If you have a bad time with SSRI's, then Reboxetine might be worth a try. Reboxetine is a Norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor(NRI) and I *think* that Beta-2 NE receptor agonism is responsible for the bronchial dilation. I chose to try an older NRI Nortriptyline because a pure NRI like Reboxetine will raise blood pressure somewhat. Moclobemide is an MAO-A inhibitor & raises the levels of serotonin, norepinephrine & dopamine. I would put it last on your list of AD's to try because it tends to have very poor efficacy. Finally, forget tianeptine, you can't buy it.
Cheers,
Paul.
poster:Sad Panda
thread:395163
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040927/msgs/395690.html