What would be the pros and cons of taking cyproheptadine to lower serotonin without having any major health problems?

[peatyzilian]

So i have some behaviors that i think it's related to high serotonin like no motivation or focus, tiredness, brain fog, apathy, fearful behavior, learned helplessness, etc.
I also was on SSRI's beetween 2018-2020.
Take cypro would help me to lower serotonin and have a more calm, confident and dopaminergic mood? What are the risks envolved?

 

[Regina]

So i have some behaviors that i think it's related to high serotonin like no motivation or focus, tiredness, brain fog, apathy, fearful behavior, learned helplessness, etc.
I also was on SSRI's beetween 2018-2020.
Take cypro would help me to lower serotonin and have a more calm, confident and dopaminergic mood? What are the risks envolved?

And take some pregnenolone too.
The cyproheptadine would make you sleep better and help with the learned helplessness.
The only down side I can think of you may want to sleep in the next morning until you get used to how cypro will knock you out.

 

[Peatness]

Cypro is great for sleep but not everyone does well on it. It's worth trying it to see how you get on. 0.5 is usually what Peat suggests and 2mg for cancer (he said this in an interview). Some people take higher doses but I've never heard Peat recommend higher doses.

There are other options too

“The amino acid theanine, found in tea, has been reported to decrease the amount of serotonin in the brain, probably by decreasing its synthesis and increasing its degradation. This seems to be the opposite of the processes in hibernation. Progesterone, thyroid, and niacinamide (not nicotinic acid or inositol hexanicotinate) are other safe substances that help to reduce serotonin formation, and/or accelerate its elimination. (Niacinamide seems to increase serotonin uptake.)”

Source: Ray Peat, PhD Quotes on Therapeutic Effects of Niacinamide – Functional Performance Systems (FPS)

I guess pregnenolone can be added to that list too.

 

[peatyzilian]

Cypro is great for sleep but not everyone does well on it. It's worth trying it to see how you get on. 0.5 is usually what Peat suggests and 2mg for cancer (he said this in an interview). Some people take higher doses but I've never heard Peat recommend higher doses.

There are other options too

“The amino acid theanine, found in tea, has been reported to decrease the amount of serotonin in the brain, probably by decreasing its synthesis and increasing its degradation. This seems to be the opposite of the processes in hibernation. Progesterone, thyroid, and niacinamide (not nicotinic acid or inositol hexanicotinate) are other safe substances that help to reduce serotonin formation, and/or accelerate its elimination. (Niacinamide seems to increase serotonin uptake.)”

Source: Ray Peat, PhD Quotes on Therapeutic Effects of Niacinamide – Functional Performance Systems (FPS)

I guess pregnenolone can be added to that list too.

All teas contain theanine?
I'm afraid to take progesterone being a man so i think pregnenolone will be my way to go.

 

[peatyzilian]

And take some pregnenolone too.
The cyproheptadine would make you sleep better and help with the learned helplessness.
The only down side I can think of you may want to sleep in the next morning until you get used to how cypro will knock you out.

My sleep is already very good so i don't think i will notice much difference.
Thank's for the advice of pregnenolone.

 

[tankasnowgod]

The only down side I can think of you may want to sleep in the next morning until you get used to how cypro will knock you out.

It's been my experience that you can minimize that morning "zombieness" type feeling by taking a higher "loading dose," say 4mg or so (maybe even up to 8). I've seen others here say similar things.

When I tried doing cypro at 1mg, that zombie feeling lasted for several weeks, and didn't go away until I quit it. When I tried going with 4mg, that feeling cleared up within a week (and wasn't as severe during that week). Higher doses did NOT cause more drowsiness, and in fact, as I got up to 8mg, I noticed it could keep me up in the evening, if I took it too close to bedtime.

I think it can be scaled back to 1mg or 0.5mg after the zombie feeling in the morning fades, but when I've used it longer term, it's always been at 4-8mg.

 

[Regina]

It's been my experience that you can minimize that morning "zombieness" type feeling by taking a higher "loading dose," say 4mg or so (maybe even up to 8). I've seen others here say similar things.

When I tried doing cypro at 1mg, that zombie feeling lasted for several weeks, and didn't go away until I quit it. When I tried going with 4mg, that feeling cleared up within a week (and wasn't as severe during that week). Higher doses did NOT cause more drowsiness, and in fact, as I got up to 8mg, I noticed it could keep me up in the evening, if I took it too close to bedtime.

I think it can be scaled back to 1mg or 0.5mg after the zombie feeling in the morning fades, but when I've used it longer term, it's always been at 4-8mg.

Cool. Thx.

 

[Peatness]

All teas contain theanine?
I'm afraid to take progesterone being a man so i think pregnenolone will be my way to go.

Not all teas.

A quote from Dr Peat about progesterone use. Reading this makes me think that men under 35 may not need it.

After the age of 35 or 40, many men experience a decline in their resistance to stress, corresponding to the decline in protective substances such as DHEA and progesterone. Often a small amount of progesterone, 5 or 6 mg (for example, a drop of Progest-E the size of an unpopped kernel of popcorn) can make a difference, sometimes lasting for a few days or more. Paying close attention, the effects are usually noticeable within about half an hour. At a certain level, progesterone can antagonize the effects of testosterone; in younger men, 2 or 3 drops can have that effect. That effect passes within a day of stopping the progesterone. If a younger man uses progesterone topically, for example for sunburn, a little olive oil should be applied to the skin first to make it spread easily; if it’s used on a large area, the same anti- testosterone effect is likely to be noticed.