Hey all, this is my first post so apologies if this is the wrong forum. I've been lurking here for a while and this seems to be one of the most intelligent, down-to-earth forums around so I thought I'd post my question here. Although it's sort-of a medical issue, I am a frequent user of various drugs and have a serious interest in drug reduction, and I'll contribute as best I can to other discussions whilst I'm here 
So, here goes:
I have had some psychopharmacological difficulties for a while, which seem to get various diagnoses depending on the doctor I speak to, these include anxiety/depression, ADHD, and emotional-affective personality disorder (ie. they aren't consistent in the slightest. None of the treatments I have tried over several years have alleviated my symptoms. I have a few ideas, but I have a few pharmacology-related gaps in my understanding that I was hoping some anons would be able to help with.
My three main problems are 1) energy levels, 2) ability to concentrate, and 3) on-and-off social anxiety. These do not seem to coincide necessarily with any other symptoms, and from my limited understanding of pharmacology it may be possible to target these symptoms specifically and individually, instead of going with the medical view of "diagosis of specific disorder according to combination of symptoms ---> treatment according to specific disorder".
My idea is this: energy levels and ability to concentrate both seem to respond well to methylphenidate, which I can be prescribed easily due to my ADHD diagnosis. So 1) and 2) can be dealt with.
The social anxiety, however, is different - the only thing I have ever done, including non-drug based therapy (and I have tried various treatments for years), which alleviated this was MDMA. My hypothesis, based on subjective experience and reading, is that this effect is due to MDMA's effects on 5-HT1A receptors *specifically*, that is, the other effects of MDMA are undesirable and a 5-HT1A agonist may be the best way forward. Buspirone seems to be the only candidate for this, as it is the only selective 5-HT1A agonist I can find that is widely available, clinically tested and of guaranteed quality (I can get it prescribed as an anxiolytic). However Buspirone is also a moderate D2 antagonist which may cause problems with the dopamine-related effects of the methylphenidate.
So, after that possibly-TMI background info, here are my questions. General thoughts would also be greatly appreciated.
1) Do you think specifically targeting symptoms one-by-one is better, in some cases, than attempting a generalised diagnosis?
2) What can I expect, in terms of effects, from the D2 antagonism caused by buspirone, in relation to the action of methylphenidate?
3) Is this combination of drugs a good way to try and alleviate the 3 symptoms described, and can anybody think of any other options?
4) What harm reduction-related issues might come up with this combination, or even the use of either of the two drugs independently, and what recreational drugs if any should be avoided, if they could cause harm, or a reduction in effects?
5) What other neurological processes and neurotransmitters relate to those symptoms, besides the "big three" of dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine?
6) Is it possible to have any idea what I'm doing with this without literally studying pharmacology from the ground upwards? I have no background in Biology whatsoever, not even at highschool level, let alone pharmacology. All I've learned is basically through reading shit on the internet related to drugs.
So, here goes:I have had some psychopharmacological difficulties for a while, which seem to get various diagnoses depending on the doctor I speak to, these include anxiety/depression, ADHD, and emotional-affective personality disorder (ie. they aren't consistent in the slightest. None of the treatments I have tried over several years have alleviated my symptoms. I have a few ideas, but I have a few pharmacology-related gaps in my understanding that I was hoping some anons would be able to help with.
My three main problems are 1) energy levels, 2) ability to concentrate, and 3) on-and-off social anxiety. These do not seem to coincide necessarily with any other symptoms, and from my limited understanding of pharmacology it may be possible to target these symptoms specifically and individually, instead of going with the medical view of "diagosis of specific disorder according to combination of symptoms ---> treatment according to specific disorder".
My idea is this: energy levels and ability to concentrate both seem to respond well to methylphenidate, which I can be prescribed easily due to my ADHD diagnosis. So 1) and 2) can be dealt with.
The social anxiety, however, is different - the only thing I have ever done, including non-drug based therapy (and I have tried various treatments for years), which alleviated this was MDMA. My hypothesis, based on subjective experience and reading, is that this effect is due to MDMA's effects on 5-HT1A receptors *specifically*, that is, the other effects of MDMA are undesirable and a 5-HT1A agonist may be the best way forward. Buspirone seems to be the only candidate for this, as it is the only selective 5-HT1A agonist I can find that is widely available, clinically tested and of guaranteed quality (I can get it prescribed as an anxiolytic). However Buspirone is also a moderate D2 antagonist which may cause problems with the dopamine-related effects of the methylphenidate.
So, after that possibly-TMI background info, here are my questions. General thoughts would also be greatly appreciated.
1) Do you think specifically targeting symptoms one-by-one is better, in some cases, than attempting a generalised diagnosis?
2) What can I expect, in terms of effects, from the D2 antagonism caused by buspirone, in relation to the action of methylphenidate?
3) Is this combination of drugs a good way to try and alleviate the 3 symptoms described, and can anybody think of any other options?
4) What harm reduction-related issues might come up with this combination, or even the use of either of the two drugs independently, and what recreational drugs if any should be avoided, if they could cause harm, or a reduction in effects?
5) What other neurological processes and neurotransmitters relate to those symptoms, besides the "big three" of dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine?
6) Is it possible to have any idea what I'm doing with this without literally studying pharmacology from the ground upwards? I have no background in Biology whatsoever, not even at highschool level, let alone pharmacology. All I've learned is basically through reading shit on the internet related to drugs.
), and maybe the mods could move this to ADD, i don't know, but i'm sure the answer you're searching, has a lot of parameters that should've been considered...Anyway, welcome to BL, and again congrats about your post, man..