If There Is One Side Effect Of Anti-Serotonin Drugs, Than It Is

[Mufasa]

If there is one side effect of anti-serotonin drugs, than it is that they make me smile for nothing all the time.

I'm amazed how backwards things can be, but if I take lysine in high dosages, or something like theanine, I smile so much. And just the little things in life, like walking in the morning sun, I just find this morning light so beautiful and it makes me smile. Or smelling the wet grass. Or seeing birds playing around.

It's just so crazy that people think that serotonin will make you happy. I have never seen anyone on SSRI that is able to enjoy those little beautiful moments in life.

Edit: Oh the title must be "anti-serotonin drugs", but I can't edit it anymore.

 

[member 2106]

I think there's a lot of doubt about whether SSRIs increase serotonin at all. That's just how they're marketed, because it's a nice simple formula to understand.

But yeah, the notion that serotonin is responsible for happiness is incredibly pervasive. Having said that, when you Google "serotonin" it doesn't take long to find articles casting doubt on this conception.

Lysine is a really interesting one. I've not really tried using it for improving mood, but its positive effect on oral herpes is really astonishing. How often do you take it and at what dosage? I see this post was from a few months back.

 

[TubZy]

SSRI actually increase allopregnenolone, which I pretty much guarantee the positive mental effects are coming from - not the increase in serotonin.

 

[member 2106]

SSRI actually increase allopregnenolone, which I pretty much guarantee the positive mental effects are coming from - not the increase in serotonin.

I saw that mentioned somewhere before - extremely interesting. Does that mean supplementing pregnenolone should mimic the effects to an extent?

 

[Sucrates]

SSRIs (prozac anyway) probably decrease "serotonin transmission" after a number of weeks, perhaps a compensatory mechanism from the initial increase. Effects on allopregnanolone may be significant too.

 

[DaveFoster]

I saw that mentioned somewhere before - extremely interesting. Does that mean supplementing pregnenolone should mimic the effects to an extent?

Yes; Peat emphasizes the roles of allopregnenolone and especially progesterone for neuronal health. Also caffeine can protect nerve cells form excitotoxicity in a similar manner.

People who take SSRI's (anti-depressants) often take mood-stabilizers as well (lithium, benzodiazepines, etc.), which compensate for some of the SSRI's negative effects.

 

[haidut]

Yes; Peat emphasizes the roles of allopregnenolone and especially progesterone for neuronal health. Also caffeine can protect nerve cells form excitotoxicity in a similar manner.

People who take SSRI's (anti-depressants) often take mood-stabilizers as well (lithium, benzodiazepines, etc.), which compensate for some of the SSRI's negative effects.

That SSRIs like fluoxetine raise allpregnanolone levels was known back in the 1990s. It was just not well understood and commercially "sexy" as serotonin. Not that serotonin is well understood by the medical priests, then or now. Here is an article from 1999 discussing that effect.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/1999/11/991110061714.htm

The SSRI drugs are still heavily serotonergic and as such cause a lot of harm, even if they end up working for the depression. The success rate for SSRIs is barely 2% above placebo and even that figure has been disproved lately. The serotonergic effects are nothing to laugh at and include fibrosis (and thus cancer) in pretty much any organ/tissue. The serotonin receptor 5-HT2B is required for the development of both cancer and fibrosis, and given that cancer is just advanced fibrosis this is not surprising at all.
The Serotonin Receptor 5-HT2B Is Required For Cancer; Can Be Blocked

I hope everybody understands the significance of the above study. Activating the 5-HT2B receptor is required for developing cancer. Serotonin (obviously) activates the 5-HT2B receptor. Full blocking of this receptor = no cancer. Very low levels of serotonin = no cancer. It does not get any simpler than this to understand just how right Peat has been all these years.


Finally, Prozac (fluoxetine) is probably the SSRI with the "best" (or actually the least worst) track record and it is unique among SSRI drugs as it is also an antagonist at receptor 5-HT2C. So, that is probably the primary reason for any benefit Prozac has had for anybody.
Blockage of 5HT2C serotonin receptors by fluoxetine (Prozac)

So, the flagship SSRI is actually a partial serotonin antagonist and this, combined with allopregnanolone increase, is the only reason for its success. Prozac, and all other SSRI, are still heavily serotonergic and thus disease provoking in the long run as the studies with lifespan posted earlier in the thread show. When something shortens the lifespan of a higher mammal by 60% it is probably not a good idea to take it or to do other things that stimulate the serotonergic pathways.

 

[encerent]

The one side effect of anti-serotonin drugs is they make you poop less.

 

[Sativa]

The one side effect of anti-serotonin drugs is they make you poop less.

L-Lysine acts like a partial serotonin receptor 4 antagonist and inhibits serotonin-mediated intestinal pathologies and anxiety in rats PNAS 100: 15370-15375. 2003."The purpose of this investigation was to determine whether a nutritionally essential amino acid, L-lysine, acts like a serotonin receptor 4 (5-HT4) antagonist... Orally applied L-lysine (1 g/kg of body weight) inhibited (P < 0.12) diarrhea triggered by coadministration of restraint stress and 5-hydroxytryptophane (10 mg/kg of body weight), and significantly blocked anxiety induced by the 5-HT4 receptor agonist (3.0 mmol/liter) in rats in vivo. ...An increase in nutritional load of L-lysine might be a useful tool in treating stress-induced anxiety and 5-HT-related diarrhea-type intestinal dysfunctions."