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  • BDD Moderators: Keif’ Richards

How does an SSRI affect a healthy person?

E

Evert

Greenlighter
Joined
Oct 1, 2011
Messages
21
Of course if you push your brain to do things that are hugely out of the ordinary (e.g. by taking mdma) it will have a negative effect in the long run.
However, if you stimulate the brain to do things that are just subtly different (e.g. by taking a racetam and/or a low dose of amphetamine) it can actually be very useful, even in the long run.

MDMA is very brute force and drains a lot of serotonin and also causes a lot of down-regulation of the receptors.
However, a (low dose of an) SSRI is more subtle. It doesn't drain your serotonin resources and if you keep the dose low enough it won't cause much down-regulation I think. So there will just be a slight increase of serotonin in the synapses.

What I'm asking is: could it be useful to add a low dose of a mild SSRI to a nootropic-stack?
It might not enhance your cognitive performance (even though serotonin is involved with memory I believe) but maybe it will improve your social skills and empathy skills.

What do you guys think?
(Do not overlook the fact that I'm specifically talking about low dosages and/or mild SSRIs, I have not intention of taking more than could be useful)
 
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I dont know if youve ever tried ssris but they make you feel more depressed for about 5 or 6 weeks before you see any improvement. They cause a depletion in serotonin before
there is less uptake.

I wouldnt have thought that ssris could be used recreationally at all.

:)
 
Oh really? Damn, that's weird... and stupid. Well that about answers my question. Thanks! :-)
 
SSRIs do not benefit people who aren't depressed as far as I know.. they take about 4 weeks to kick in too so not realy something you can pop from time to time. I don't think it's that they necessarily make you more depressed, I think it's just that you can naturally become more depressed while waiting for them to start working..

Polkadots, do they cause a depletion in serotonin? That is not how I understood they worked at all.. in time they do downregulate your serotonin receptors, but this is a long term effect and is counteracted by increasing levels of serotonin at the synaptic cleft. As far as I know. Do you have any sources I could peruse? :)
 
No worries, take your time! I understand not being in a sciency mood! I wasn't criticising in any way, hope you know that, am just interested in the subject and always want to learn more about it :) <3
 
As said above, SSRI's are not something you can pop every so often to get the desired effect. It takes at least a week or two to start feeling better. A lot of people claim it takes up to 3 to 4 weeks, but I felt a difference with the very first pill of Zoloft. Really though, I think SSRI's are shit. They are just temporary solutions to a permanent problem. Like all other drugs, you need to keep upping the dose to get the desired effect due to tolerance. In my eyes, while they helped in the short term, they did nothing for me in the long term. In fact, I think they have effected me sexually, though it could of course all be in my head.
 
Found this sounds like it explains the effect wuite clearly even for me ;)

Well here's the thing, along with the releasing serotonin, and reabsorbing it, nerve cells also have parts that detect an increase in serotonin level and tell the nerve cell to stop producing anymore serotonin until the level drops. These are called autoreceptors.

Autoreceptors are the reason you feel like shit, so when you feel like crap blame them.

As I've said taking an SSRI will increase the amount of serotonin in your brain, or more specifically increases the amount in the synapses between nerve cells. Unfortunately the autoreceptors of the nerve cell pick up on this increase and tell the nerve cell to stop producing serotonin.

The result of this is that when you first start taking an SSRI your serotonin levels DROP.

How do they go up again??


Eventually with continuous use of SSRIs the autoreceptors become desensitised, that is to say they've continually told the nerve cell to stop producing serotonin but yet serotonin is still there. In short they simply give up. They stop telling the nerve cell to stop producing serotonin and your serotonin levels start to increase.

This desensitisation takes time, it doesn't happen over night and it won't even begin to happen until the SSRI levels have stabilised (which we already know takes 5-7 days anyway).

This is why you feel so bad, it's why your mood drops and your anxiety increases (fueld by the fear of not knowing whats going on).

No source just a post elsewhere on tinterweb but sounds logical
 
From my personal experience with a handful of SSRI's and even a Tricyclic, well, they are all garbage. They target one area, which may be fine for some people, but to others who are suffering from more, and SNRI is the way to go. Dealing with serotonin as well as norepinephrine is the double whammy in this case, leading to better controlled depressive symptoms, and in higher dosages, very diminished anxiety. Zoloft, paxil, Wellbutron(not ssri or snri I know).effexor and the gruesome nortyptaline all left me feeling like crap, or feeling very detached. Wasn't until I got put on Cymbalta, a prime SNRI, that things began to get better. So far, depressive moods are transparent or nonexistent, focus is up, and I have a general snese of well being. This has been my miracle drug so far, and Vyvanse is next in line.
 
SSRI's are all shit IMO, as is any anti-depressant that acts on serotonin. The only one that ever did what it promised was wellbutrin, which increased my energy levels, thus making me feel less depressed.
 
SSRI's are a mood blunter. They will make everyone who takes them more detached from their emotions. That is how they cause and stop the crippling aspects of depression.

You recognize this when you feel like a cold shell of yourself when you are taking them for a long time. You just can't be "lively" on them.

Emotionally numb just enough to stop your suffering. Which has it's drawbacks on literally every scenario in life...

You also can't love people from the heart the same way while on them.
 
atm23 said:
Found this sounds like it explains the effect wuite clearly even for me ;)

Well here's the thing, along with the releasing serotonin, and reabsorbing it, nerve cells also have parts that detect an increase in serotonin level and tell the nerve cell to stop producing anymore serotonin until the level drops. These are called autoreceptors.

Autoreceptors are the reason you feel like shit, so when you feel like crap blame them.

As I've said taking an SSRI will increase the amount of serotonin in your brain, or more specifically increases the amount in the synapses between nerve cells. Unfortunately the autoreceptors of the nerve cell pick up on this increase and tell the nerve cell to stop producing serotonin.

The result of this is that when you first start taking an SSRI your serotonin levels DROP.

How do they go up again??

Eventually with continuous use of SSRIs the autoreceptors become desensitised, that is to say they've continually told the nerve cell to stop producing serotonin but yet serotonin is still there. In short they simply give up. They stop telling the nerve cell to stop producing serotonin and your serotonin levels start to increase.

This desensitisation takes time, it doesn't happen over night and it won't even begin to happen until the SSRI levels have stabilised (which we already know takes 5-7 days anyway).

This is why you feel so bad, it's why your mood drops and your anxiety increases (fueld by the fear of not knowing whats going on).

No source just a post elsewhere on tinterweb but sounds logical
Click to expand...

Ah yeah, I knew about that, but autoregulation usually doesn't overcompensate - so I would expect serotonin levels to stay the same rather than actually dropping. If they dropped, the autoreceptors would detect that and start producing more serotonin to compensate, surely? That is generally how autoreglation works throughout the body. There may be some quirk that means serotonin levels do drop though, I would be interested in reading any sources that people have :)

To everyone who says SSRIs are shit - that is your personal experience and your opinion, and you are definitely entitled to that. A lot of people don't get on with SSRIs at all. However, they worked well for me, my boyfriend and many of my friends. Individual response varies a lot (this may have something to do with them being inappropriately prescribed). They certainly don't tackle the whole problem of depression - I am a believer in the bio-psycho-social model, and they only tackle the "bio" bit. The other areas need addressing too - either by the person themselves when they are feeling a bit less demotivated and slowed down, or by counselling, CBT, psychotherapy and by a team approach to addressing any social problems that are contributing to the depression. For some people, antidepressants lift them up enough to allow them to tackle the psychosocial aspects; for others, they need some help doing that. This is the ideal model for treating mental illness, in my eyes :)

Anyway. Sorry, Evert. I keep derailing threads today, am in one of those moods.. Sorry! I really don't think SSRIs would work in the way you hope they would, because they take so long to elevate serotonin levels...
 
I agree. My whole thing on SSRI's is that most do not recognize that is is not meant to lift you up. They are meant to numb your emotion enough to quell mental anguish.

There is nothing uplifting about SSRI's. Serotonin itself is rather sedating if I might add. They also cover up the physical manifestations of depression. (Aches and pain.)

SSRI's are also very ineffective for depression and anxiety. (Not to offend people, but placebo is a bitch.)

SSRI's are a mood blunter not mood lifters

SSRI's are technically Thymoanesthetics

Therefore not improving but erasing moods. Which is the reason for Long-Term dependance of depressed people.
 
Psychedelic Jay said:
SSRI's are a mood blunter. They will make everyone who takes them more detached from their emotions. That is how they cause and stop the crippling aspects of depression.

You recognize this when you feel like a cold shell of yourself when you are taking them for a long time. You just can't be "lively" on them.

Emotionally numb just enough to stop your suffering. Which has it's drawbacks on literally every scenario in life...

You also can't love people from the heart the same way while on them.
Click to expand...
I get what your're saying Jay, hard to love from the heart, but to me that a sacrifice I have to make if I want to love at all. My depression untreated is that bad. SSRI's leave you numb and detached, whilst SNRI's leave you calm, collected, and only slightly out of the loop, though that can be augmented. I know I'd rather feel somewhat detached, than not at all.
 
Oh, and o add to that, after taking 5+ SSRI plus welbutrin, I finally found the wonder that is cymbalta. Serotonin and Norephinephrine re-uptake inhibitor. Do some googling, see which you'd rather have.
 
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