I've rolled many times. And as anyone who has rolled knows, that there is a recovery period period. Not a recovery period like that of taking hallucinogens (which is trying get a grasp on reality again), but a recovery period of decreased serotonin levels. This can have two consequences, not necessarily mutually exclusive.
I will first explain what MDMA does. In simple terms, it 'tells' your neurons (particularly the serotonergic neurons)to release serotonin at an accelerated rate. The extent to the degree of this acceleration I am not sure is known. Neurons, however, do not have an infinite amount of serotonin to continue excreting. Also an experienced roller knows that there is a come down, you don't just drop (so to speak). This says that your neurons are not completely depleted of its stores (pre-packaged vacuoles anchored to the inner surface of the cell-membrane). Of course, during this time, serotonin is also being made. But to be made, it needs its precursors (the primary precursor to serotonin happens to be 5-Hydroxytryptophan (and actually, serotonin is the name for 5-Hydroxytryptamine). I am not going to go into the chemistry, but 5-HTryptophan is the direct precursor to 5-HTryptamine. Now you might see how 5-HTryptophan,
5-HT that everyone is raving about says helps. But they don't always help, but I will talk about that later. I want to get back to the recovery of the decreased serotonin levels.
There is a physiological response and a psychological response. The physiological response is decreased output from serotonergic neurons. This results from fewer pre-packaged vacuoles ready for release. The post-synaptic neuron (the neuron that is to receive the message once the serotonin binds to it), therefore tells the neuron that is supposed to be sending a certain amount of serotonin into the synaptic cleft, its not doing it and to send more. Then that system slowly adjusts to the new input of serotnin levels and adjusts its output accordingly (this gets a little complicated, if you want more details on this particular topic, post a question, or e-mail me personally). So, in short, your brain is working with lower serotonin levels. Serotonin is believed to be the most important neurotransmitter in stabilizing mood. That is why most mood stabilizers have their action through serotonergic pathways.
(Sort of OT, but important. In JCs case {a previous post}, I would say his doctor prescribed him Effexor XR (its trade name), Venlafaxine (its chemical name), to increase the amount of serotonin in his synaptic clefts to "repair the imbalance" and raise his serotonin levels to the 'proper'levels. Effexor (Effexor XR just stands for Effexor extended release) is a Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor (SSRI) that inhibits the action of the transport carriers that recycle the serotonin once released into the cleft. This ultimatley raises the amount of serotonin in the cleft. However, I will continue to talk to JC personally about this one, if he so chooses.)
That pretty much was the physiological aspect. The psychological apsect can have two sources.
(1)Simply coping with the decrease serotonin levels. Your mood is affected by this decrease.
(2)Having the feeling that you have just had a very fun time and now the fun is over. (That was worded poorly). I can explain this a little more through philosophy than I can through psychology. Some philosophers say that the capacity you have to feel joy or happiness, you also have the same capacity to feel depression or sadness. In mathematical terms, however far you can go in the positive direction on the x-axis (happines, joy), you can go that far negative on the x-axis (depression, sadness). Now let me try to re-iterate my previous statement, once you feel really amzaing while you're rolling, it is ultimately the effect of the MDMA and its actions. After the come down and a couple of hours later, you are moving from very positive x-axis toward the origin (0) really fast. Chances are you are going to overshoot. When you loose that feeling of goodness and peace and love and all the good things that come with rolling, you can sort of feel a little empty.
(Now why the physiological repsonse may not be mutually exclusive from the the psychological one because it is difficult to test whether the person is just coping with the idea that he is not as happy as he was or she was not as at peace as she was, or if the actual decrease in serotonin output has caused these feelings to begin with. This also gets complicated, e-mail me with questions if you have any)
I know this is quite long guys, I'm trying to wrap it up. So basically I've told you the physiological response and the psychological response. Different people respond differently to there environment (I will stretch this to say the way they feel). Meaning, some people can feel crappy because of aforementioned reasons and bounce right back. Some take a little longer to get back to feeling normal (or as I will say in this case ok. only you know if you are doing ok). Unfurtunatley, with increased use, prolonged use, and higher dosing, the system may be affected permanently, meaning you can be one of those people who use to bounce right back, now you aren't 'recovering' as quickly (The brain however is not really permamanent. Their is the concept of plasticity of the brain. But their is a point where normality (feeling ok) may not be acheivable again).
Here again, is this a question of a physiological response or a psychological one. The fact that some people can 'bounce back' while others can't. So all of these factors affect recovery period. I think the more you know about how your system is doing you gage your proper dosage for next time (assuming whatever you are doing is LEGAL)and know what to expect of the recovery phase. If you know what to expect of the recovery phase (not just what people have told you, but from what you've experienced (because no one knows you better than you)) it won't be so bad. It can still be bad, but a large portion of the psycholgical aspect is somewhat removed by the fact that you have experienced it before. Then it almost becomes completely about the physiological aspect.
Now to 5-HTryptophan. There are questions of the effects of 5-Htryptophan. There is no question as to whether it is the precursor to serotonin, but there are many steps between taking 5-Htryptophan pills and actually have the serotonin release significantly increased. The pill goes through the digestive tract. The compound enters your bloodstream and go TO the brain. It does not necessarily get in. There is a tight layer of epithelium cells surrounding the blood vessels and areteries of the brain that allow only very small molecules to pass. Anyone can understand that this is a good thing. That is why glucose is the brains primary energy source, it's a relatively small molecule. other large molecules have carriers.. but I digress...Let's continue and say some of the 5-HTryptophan entered the brain and was able to be used by neurons. The enzymes that convert 5-HTryptophan into sreotonin are saturable, meaning they can only operate so quickly. Then the serotonin has to be transported and "docked" to the inner lining of the cell membrane. And so on.
I believe that a very small percentage actually gets into the brain to increase the production AND release of serotonin significantly. Even if you increase the amount of the supplement taken orally, by the time you take enough to reach the saturable rates of the enzymes in your brain (you're taking alot because of the blood-brain barrier dreasing the amount that actually gets in), you would experience severe gastrointestinal problems because that are serotonergic neurons in the digestive system as well.
Now there is, of course, the placebo affect. And this is where the question comes in. Could the idea of someone taking 5-HTtryptophan help them to feel better. I was amazed to find that some people actually thought that 5-HTryptophan was serotonin. IT ISN'T. And even those that know it is a precursor can think it helps (not necessarily knowing how.)But in the long run, after rolling, steady and low doses of
5-Htryptophan can only help.
I think I've answered a few questions here, and raised a couple of more in your minds...I am a neuroscientist by the way. I am new to the group. Hello all. I'm tired now, I am going to bed.
.. oki bye bye oh yeah and the anger grumpyness isn't the MDMA it the speed they put in the pills anyone who's ever taken drugs 4 ADHD knows this ^_^ oki bye 
