SSRIs (was Re: Psychedelic singularities (was Test Scores (was C

Michael Butler (mbutler@ocv1.ocv.com)
Mon, 16 Dec 1996 10:53:00 PST


On the theory that SSRIs haven't been done to death here before my
time:
As I'm sure Romana and others know, the "serotonin re-uptake" part of
the SSRIs is most of what the SSRIs have in common. Many also tweak
one or more other neurotransmitter levels, so can have widely varied
effects.

Besides Paxil and Prozac, there are also Effexor and Wellbutrin; I've heard
of people who take one or the other of those and (in some cases) augment
with occasional doses of a meso(cortico)limbic dopamine enhancement of
one sort or another.

I don't have a whole lot of info on Deprenyl, but it apparently has
serotonin and dopamine effects. I am curious about this, but haven't
pursued it much yet.

Now, the donwsides certainly can include changes in thinking,
affect flattening, changes in sleep patterns, libido, etc. Combine
those with old (and _effective_) habits learned during the old
chemical regime, and it's clear that hillclimbing the hedonic
landscape is fraught with pitfalls. As one acquaintance put it, "Some
people call it my manic phase... I like to call it 'getting things
DONE!'". :)