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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 7 of 7. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Shelley on September 5, 2001, at 14:17:16
Does anyone know if SSRIs lower dopamine brain levels after several years of use? I heard something like that and feel symptoms of Parkinsonism after five years on Luvox.
By the way, is there anything that can be taken as an attempt to prevent Parkinson's Disease in someone with many risk factors?
Thanks.
Posted by SalArmy4me on September 5, 2001, at 14:45:33
In reply to SSRIs and dopamine, posted by Shelley on September 5, 2001, at 14:17:16
http://www.dr-bob.org/tips/split/Patients-who-lose-response.html
You might need some bromocriptine or pramipexole now for the Parkinson's. Those have been proven to help in depression too
> Does anyone know if SSRIs lower dopamine brain levels after several years of use? I heard something like that and feel symptoms of Parkinsonism after five years on Luvox.
> By the way, is there anything that can be taken as an attempt to prevent Parkinson's Disease in someone with many risk factors?
> Thanks.
Posted by Mitch on September 6, 2001, at 0:03:00
In reply to Re: SSRIs and dopamine » Shelley, posted by SalArmy4me on September 5, 2001, at 14:45:33
> http://www.dr-bob.org/tips/split/Patients-who-lose-response.html
>
> You might need some bromocriptine or pramipexole now for the Parkinson's. Those have been proven to help in depression too
>
> > Does anyone know if SSRIs lower dopamine brain levels after several years of use? I heard something like that and feel symptoms of Parkinsonism after five years on Luvox.
> > By the way, is there anything that can be taken as an attempt to prevent Parkinson's Disease in someone with many risk factors?
> > Thanks.Sal,
I think the more pressing issue that is in the background and not very explicit is the question: Should I continue to take SSRI meds even if they can only be attributed to mild pseudo-parkinson symptoms that I am now experiencing, whether or not I take something which can temporarily reverse the current side-effects??
Mitch
Posted by SalArmy4me on September 6, 2001, at 0:11:21
In reply to Re: SSRIs and dopamine » SalArmy4me, posted by Mitch on September 6, 2001, at 0:03:00
I would say no, don't take SSRI's. There are so many other good choices. For instance, bromocriptine:
I started taking Bromocriptine (an old Parkinson's Drug) two weeks ago to add "drive" to my 50% improvement with non- Parkinsons' unipolar depression on Moclobemide. I am now able to accomplish much more with the Bromocriptine than I was ever able to on the Moclobemide alone. Indeed, it brings me to 110%, better than I felt before the depression. I found that there are a surprising amount of data which confirm Bromocriptine's potential for treatment of depression. Here are excerpts from just a few of the studies, which I can e-mail you: Study #1 below compared bromocriptine to the tricylcic antidepressant imipramine; Study #2 uses it to treat cognitive dysfunction and mood in Parkinson's; Study #3 mentions it in the context of Treatment-Resistant Depressions.
Bromocriptine in depression.
Current Medical Research & Opinion. 8(3):150-3, 1982:"A double-blind trial was carried out in 9 patients with endogenous depression to compare the effectiveness of bromocriptine (15 mg per day, 4 patients) with that of imipramine (75 mg per day, 5 patients) over a period of 10 weeks. The results of assessments using the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression showed that both drugs produced comparable reduction in mean scores and there was no significant difference between the two treatment groups. Fewer patients han anticholinergic type side-effects on bromocriptine..."
A double-blind cross-over placebo-controlled trial of the effects of bromocriptine on psychomotor function, cognition, and mood in de novo patients with Parkinson's disease.
Behavioural Pharmacology. 6(1):81-91, 1995 January.
Department of Surgical Neurology and Clinical Neuropsychology, Morriston Hospital Swansea:"A review of the literature suggested that decreased emotional distress may have arisen through bromocriptine's action on neural circuits modulating mood. Some clinical implications of bromocriptine's effect on mood are mentioned...."
Department of Psychiatry, Hokkaido University School of Medicine. [Survey and treatment strategy of antidepressant-resistant depression].
Seishin Shinkeigaku Zasshi - Psychiatria et Neurologia Japonica. 98(5):329-42, 1996:"The addition of lithium, _bromocriptine_ or levothyroxine treatment were effective in the treatment of ARD (antidepressant-resistant depression). Levothyroxine were more effective in the treatment of the bipolar patients than the unipolar patients...."
Posted by Zo on September 6, 2001, at 15:39:53
In reply to Re: SSRIs and dopamine » SalArmy4me, posted by Mitch on September 6, 2001, at 0:03:00
Mitch. .
What's the upside, with SSRIs, for you? Anything worth those side effects/risks?
MPB: (my personal bias). . .
I hate the little forkers, but then, I never was that fond of coma.Zo
Posted by Mitch on September 7, 2001, at 1:28:53
In reply to Re: SSRIs and dopamine, posted by Zo on September 6, 2001, at 15:39:53
> Mitch. .
>
> What's the upside, with SSRIs, for you? Anything worth those side effects/risks?
>
> MPB: (my personal bias). . .
> I hate the little forkers, but then, I never was that fond of coma.
>
> ZoHi Zo!,
Haven't talked to you in awhile. The darn things do wonders for *stress*, GAD-type stuff. To me they are like benzos without as much attentional wipeout and depression. I have never been able to tolerate a standard dose of any of them unfortunately. The only one that came close was Celexa at 10mg/day. I have some type of dopamine dysfunction, no doubt about it. The ADHD dx is still there (per latest visit). But I get panic + worsened SP when I get off a serotonin med! The bottom line is I need to improve *both* serotonin AND dopamine functioning, and that is not something easy to accomplish.
Posted by kregpark@yahoo.com on September 9, 2001, at 5:14:02
In reply to SSRIs and dopamine, posted by Shelley on September 5, 2001, at 14:17:16
Generally yes they do lower dopamine, which
is responsible for much of the SSRI related
sexual problems.Sometimes SSRI's can cause Parkison's like
side effects like tremor etc.Have you tried Parnate?
I think you should talk to doctor about it asap
just in case.kregpark
> Does anyone know if SSRIs lower dopamine brain levels after several years of use? I heard something like that and feel symptoms of Parkinsonism after five years on Luvox.
> By the way, is there anything that can be taken as an attempt to prevent Parkinson's Disease in someone with many risk factors?
> Thanks.
This is the end of the thread.
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