Can SSRIs help someone who is depressed

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limitless77

limitless77

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Yes, they work. And pretty good. But they are too risky, I wouldn't take them. Have you investigated tianeptine?
what's tianeptine and how its used ? and what do you mean by too risky when refering to the SSRIs?
 
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limitless77

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ive forgot to mention that I never get good deep sleep as suggested by my smart watch (I don't know if its accurate or not)
 

redsun

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I've been following raypeat ideas for some time now and I know that he is against serotonin, but I'm desperate and I've did some research about SSRIs and from my understanding they don't raise the production of serotonin in the body like tryptophan and 5-htp do, but they keep the serotonin between neurons in the brain . I'm in a really good physical shape around 12% BF at 175cm 72kg , and I eat a lot, more than 3000 calories per day a lot of carbs(white bread ,starch and some sugar) and fats mostly saturated and some olive oil and I try to reach 100g of protein daily so I think I have a healthy metabolism because I'm staying lean and not gaining fat.
but I'm struggling with mental issues depression , social anxiety and ADHD(I've been taking concerts 18mg Wich is an extended release methylphenidate for like 4 days now but I'm not feeling any better) , I used to be really smart but now I struggle to speak fluently and I keep struggling over my words and I don't even have the will to talk , and when I do talk I feel like a retard and I struggle to find words and can't keep a long chain of thoughts when I'm talking about something or trying to prove a point . I can't look people in the eyes ,can't make friends ,have low motivation and self esteem . Currently doing nothing in life , dragging my self to the gym few times a week when there is not a lot of people and walking around town( sometimes after lifting weights or walking I feel motivated and happy for a few minutes) .
Im desperate to try anything that can help me ,I've seen some videos on YouTube on a channel named Leo and longevity where he made a comprehensive series about serotonin and why he takes it eventho he does not have depression or anxiety but he takes SSRIs for cognitive enhancement . So after watching his videos and being desperate about my case I'm thinking about taking an SSRIs to see if it can help me get through this time and hopefully getting rid of my depression and SAD and change my life .
Im thinking about using it just as a bandaid to get my life together , get through university and have a better social life and friends and maybe that can resolve my depression and anxiety.
Any advice or alternatives would be helpful .

Speech, socializing problems, motivation, loss of intelligence, etc sounds like low acetylcholine problem. You probably need to increase cholinergic activity. B-complex, zinc, choline rich foods, also look into alpha-GPC (choline source) for more choline in the diet. This is why methylphenidate isnt helping much, since it doesnt increase cholinergic activity, which you clearly lack.
 
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limitless77

limitless77

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Speech, socializing problems, motivation, loss of intelligence, etc sounds like low acetylcholine problem. You probably need to increase cholinergic activity. B-complex, zinc, choline rich foods, also look into alpha-GPC (choline source) for more choline in the diet. This is why methylphenidate isnt helping much, since it doesnt increase cholinergic activity, which you clearly lack.
is that a quick fix ?meaning if do what you said I can feel it better if that was the issue, or does it take time to resolve?
 

redsun

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is that a quick fix meaning if do what you said I can feel it better if that was the issue, or does it take time to resolve?

Yes it is decently quick. You need B-vitamins to make acetyl-CoA and need the raw material choline (alpha-GPC is a precursor but also choline from choline rich foods). Zinc also improves cholinergic function and is anti-serotonin , dopaminergic in general and increases androgens. This makes it effective for depression. Getting more eggs in the diet is cheaper then alpha-GPC and other choline supplements. Do you eat eggs? Also 100g protein is pretty low and you seem built in your photo.
 

Doc Sandoz

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Have you considered going to a ketamine infusion center? Supposed to be effective for lifting depression.
 
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limitless77

limitless77

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Yes it is decently quick. You need B-vitamins to make acetyl-CoA and need the raw material choline (alpha-GPC is a precursor but also choline from choline rich foods). Zinc also improves cholinergic function and is anti-serotonin , dopaminergic in general and increases androgens. This makes it effective for depression. Getting more eggs in the diet is cheaper then alpha-GPC and other choline supplements. Do you eat eggs? Also 100g protein is pretty low and you seem built in your photo.
I don't think that's my problem because today I ate 180grams of goat liver and 3 high quality eggs and took zinc in the morning (recommended by my doctor for acne) .
and for the protein part I used to track my macros back in the days when I was motivated to make sure to get at least 150grams but recently I feel indifferent and I don't care as much as I used to do about how many grams of protein I consume.
tbh I think that the lack of socialization and social life, spending most of my time at home without doing anything productive or earning money is a big cause of my mental state. but I need something to get me going so I can change that
 

redsun

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I don't think that's my problem because today I ate 180grams of goat liver and 3 high quality eggs and took zinc in the morning (recommended by my doctor for acne) .
and for the protein part I used to track my macros back in the days when I was motivated to make sure to get at least 150grams but recently I feel indifferent and I don't care as much as I used to do about how many grams of protein I consume.
tbh I think that the lack of socialization and social life, spending most of my time at home without doing anything productive or earning money is a big cause of my mental state. but I need something to get me going so I can change that

Poor verbal fluency and struggling to find words is low acetycholine activity. You may not need choline but lack some B-vitamins to maintain Ach activity but the liver should provide that since its pretty high in but about the liver... I dont know how long you been eating goat liver but that is filled with copper. Copper excess can lead to low androgens which affects your motivation, drive, self-confidence.

Taking methylphenidate would mean dopamine and norepinephrine should be working well and should help a lot aspects (besides verbal fluency). If its still not helping I would hazard a guess due to your high copper intake causing a copper:zinc balance your androgens are really messed which is affecting your neurotransmitters negatively.
 

Makrosky

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what's tianeptine and how its used ? and what do you mean by too risky when refering to the SSRIs?
tianeptine is an antidepressant/mood stabilizer. It is "peat friendly" since it doesn't raise serotonin. Look for info on the forum, there is plenty. I use it, it is good.

Risky : I think others like tankasnowgod have expalined you on previous posts. You can risk sexual dysfunction, excessive cortisol, long term disregulation of HPA axis, heavy withdrawal symptoms, etc. A big percentage of people don't get any of these but I see it as a russian roulette.
 

tankasnowgod

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thanks for helping , so Im gonna try this , does cyproheptadine have a lot of side effects , I've seen its mainly used for weight gain. and what dosage were you using and how long did it take you to notice change. and what about the starch ? how can starch cause depression and anxiety, any idea?

I've detailed my experiences with Cypro in this thread-


I didn't notice any weight gain, but it can increase appetite, which is probably a good thing, as many people suffering from anhedonia lose their appetite. The other issue is can be drowsiness, and also the "morning zombieness" as discussed in the thread. I found that a higher starting dose helps to "push through" that, and apparently, others have as well.
 

Saba

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I've been following raypeat ideas for some time now and I know that he is against serotonin, but I'm desperate and I've did some research about SSRIs and from my understanding they don't raise the production of serotonin in the body like tryptophan and 5-htp do, but they keep the serotonin between neurons in the brain . I'm in a really good physical shape around 12% BF at 175cm 72kg , and I eat a lot, more than 3000 calories per day a lot of carbs(white bread ,starch and some sugar) and fats mostly saturated and some olive oil and I try to reach 100g of protein daily so I think I have a healthy metabolism because I'm staying lean and not gaining fat.
but I'm struggling with mental issues depression , social anxiety and ADHD(I've been taking concerts 18mg Wich is an extended release methylphenidate for like 4 days now but I'm not feeling any better) , I used to be really smart but now I struggle to speak fluently and I keep struggling over my words and I don't even have the will to talk , and when I do talk I feel like a retard and I struggle to find words and can't keep a long chain of thoughts when I'm talking about something or trying to prove a point . I can't look people in the eyes ,can't make friends ,have low motivation and self esteem . Currently doing nothing in life , dragging my self to the gym few times a week when there is not a lot of people and walking around town( sometimes after lifting weights or walking I feel motivated and happy for a few minutes) .
Im desperate to try anything that can help me ,I've seen some videos on YouTube on a channel named Leo and longevity where he made a comprehensive series about serotonin and why he takes it eventho he does not have depression or anxiety but he takes SSRIs for cognitive enhancement . So after watching his videos and being desperate about my case I'm thinking about taking an SSRIs to see if it can help me get through this time and hopefully getting rid of my depression and SAD and change my life .
Im thinking about using it just as a bandaid to get my life together , get through university and have a better social life and friends and maybe that can resolve my depression and anxiety.
Any advice or alternatives would be helpful .
Your symptoms, particularly the slow speech, depression, low energy, sound like the classic hypothyroidism described in Broda Barnes's book Hypothyroidism: the Unsuspected Illness. It's an old book but still worth reading.

When I found the ideas of Ray Peat, I was on SSRIs. They did work to make me feel not depressed, but I did not feel normal. One brand gave me ADD, which I never had before, and another one made me apathetic and I had low energy on it. After I started desiccated thyroid plus pregnenolone twice a day, I noticed after about a month that I was feeling normal mentally, not depressed and not apathetic. I weaned myself off the SSRI I was on with no side effects. That was a few years ago, and I don't get depressed anymore. I just have to take pregnenolone and, since I'm female, progesterone in the second half of my monthly cycle. In the first half pregnenolone is enough.

I have a male friend in his 20s who takes pregnenolone to keep from being depressed, and it works for him too.

If life gets tough and I start to feel overwhelmed or anxious, acupuncture works for me to break the worst of the anxiety. I never tried it for depression, but it's supposed to help with that too.

My friend who takes pregnenolone told me meditation apps (listening to stories) help him with anxiety during stressful times in his life.

If you are having a particularly awful day, I suspect Progest-E would help. It might mess up your libido for a bit, though. Then again SSRIs mess with your libido too the entire time you are taking them. I had a boyfriend go on SSRIs while we were together. He felt better mentally, but the sexual part of our relationship went from good to disappointing. I think pregnenolone, with Progest-E on dire days if you still have them, might be worth trying if you have not tried this already.
 

Saba

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ive forgot to mention that I never get good deep sleep as suggested by my smart watch (I don't know if its accurate or not)
If you're sleeping with a smart watch that has wifi, you're exposing yourself to radiation. I would not wear a smart watch at any time during the day or night.
 

gaze

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is the white bread youre eating fortified with iron? I would try removing the wheat first. No need to cut the rice for now
 

reality

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can that be the cause of my depression? I've been eating white bread and starch all my life and have no digestive issue with them , but I'm gonna try that , I'm so desperate that I wanna try everything . Any idea for how long should it take to know if the gluten and the starch are the problem? what to replace them with? sugar, fruit and milk? and how much thiamine should I take and what's the reason for that? thanks

Starch can increase endotoxins and serotonin. You might feel fine gut wise with starch but removing it has made a significant impact on my mood, energy and general well being. Replace it with fruit and more fats if you need extra calories.

You could also try a full on elimination diet like carnivore, and then slowly add in foods back (like fruits). So many anecdotes of carnivore fixing peoples depression and other problems, and I think the biggest reason is they aren’t eating starch, but could be simply removing a food allergy/intolerance

What a general day of eating like for you?

Beside the gluten in bread (which is inflammatory in a lot of people and can cause leaky gut issues and therefore endotoxins), the fortification and other additives they add can also cause problems
 

Jayvee

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Have you had any bloods done? Prolactin, estrogen, vitamin d, TSH etc? How did depression come about? Is it psychological or has it just declined through poor lifestyle? Or drugs? And how long have you felt depressed? These, for me are the important questions for pointing yourself in the right direction.

Also SSRis can be effective when micro dosed (from what I have read) as can some herbal equivalents.
 

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