I am taking SJW and have noticed that my muscle growth/definition post-gym seems to have lagged. Other strictly SSRI AD's seemed to have the inverse effect. Does SJW decrease muscle tone/growth due to serotonin agonist activity? How does serotonin affect muscle growth in general? Are there things that can enhance it?
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N&PD Moderators: Skorpio
How do antidepressants affect muscle tone/growth?
- Thread starter Kudos
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Cotcha Yankinov
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I suppose there's a possibility that St John's wort increasing peripheral serotonin concentrations leads to vascular effects (vasoconstriction?) and there is fallout from that.
I would think the main effects would be seen from these drugs effects on sleep, where most growth hormone is released. Or effects on appetite and metabolism. 5-HT2C antagonism leads to insulin release and anabolic effects, so it might be that whilst SSRIs mostly increase serotonin concentrations centrally, increased serotonin plasma with sjw leads to less insulin release by binding to 5-HT2C in the pancreas.
Cotcha Yankinov
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Some 5-HT2C blockade in the form of mirtazapine could probably help but it's mostly an anti histamine at low doses and then at high doses it can cause insomnia for some. You might see if 15-30mg is a sweet spot for you.
You might also look into growth hormone secretatogues, especially MK-677. Normally there is concern of insulin resistance with prolonged use (like 6 months plus) because of increases in IGF-1 but in your case it may not be as bad, especially if you're in good shape and watch what you eat. If I recall correctly one study used MK 677 in the elderly every day for 6 months, so I assume the insulin resistance can't be horrible. Used for a few cycles of 3 weeks or so it should be fine.