Ok first off please excuse my limited knowledge of chemistry and such. I'm tryin to teach myself as much as I can. Anyways...

This is my understanding so far. A neurotransmitter attaches to a receptor. Some do not and obtain a protein and begin the reuptake process. Which allows them to perform their job again attaching to a receptor. Some neurotransmitters do neither and are lost to the process. SSRI's inhibit the reuptake of serotonin.

SSRI's, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors.

Basically the mode of action is that they inhibit your natural reuptake of serotonin. Which because they are not being recycled they stick around longer so that they can be absorbed into the synapse receptor? (i hope my terminology is correct)

Some serotonin is lost during normal processes. So if the serotonin is inhibited from going through the normal process of reuptake than wouldn't it be lost as well? Isn't the point of reuptake so that you use more serotonin rather than lose?

Im trying to visualize how this works exactly. I am also trying to understand two things. Why SSRI'S, specifically Paxil, inhibit emotions. I have spoken with multiple people who have used or do use this ssri. They experience a flood of emotion upon discontinuing the drug. My theory is that SSRIs act more like Vicodin for emotional pain rather than fixing anything.

The idea is that depression is caused by some deficiency in either serotonin itself or the process it's evolved in?

Ive thought about this a lot too

im not ready to comment further yet tho

what scares me tho is the amount of suicides that happen to people prescribed these drugs, is it the people or the drugs?!

So I watched a video on YouTube that described how it works. I also watched a couple videos that showed how depression works. I am kind of upset about it because it seems like everyone is guessing that your depression is from serotonin not being absorbed properly or that you have lower levels of serotonin.

Then why are we not testing people for their levels of serotonin BEfORE prescribing them SSRI'S?!?

I guarantee that the majority of people with depression, have it from a situation they went through rather than from a biological disorder of some sort. This is DISTURBING to me. If it is from something painful that happened to you then taking SSRI's is just going to mask your pain and won't allow you to deal with it properly.

The only time you should be prescribed these meds is if a doctor has done the proper testing to determine if this is the cause. Also I don't see how this is even the correct way to go about it.

Remaining serotonin that isn't absorbed in the receptors and isn't allow to reuptake gets destroyed by mono amine oxidase. Some of it can be allowed to absorb but the longer it hangs out the more likely it is destroyed. It is suppose to reuptake so that it can be absorbed properly this is retarded.

As someone unfortunate enough to be put onto an SSRI (Effexor) I will agree that it is dumb. It masks the problem, and gets rid of certain symptoms, but replaces them with new ones. It is incredibly hard to get off of. It makes sleeping impossible.
To answer the question about suicides; I can only talk from my perspective, but it seems to be a form of dissociation and lack of feelings? The trouble sleeping doesn't help me either. I have caught myself looking at my straight razors (I use for shaving) and kind of viewing it as one does jumping from the high dive... you just have to get to the end of the board and step off, and the rest is taken care of for you.
Luckily I think I have come to realize that this is the drugs and not me. Perhaps on the same level that during an LSD trip you can say 'this is the trip, I know its not "real"'.
Hey just my 2 cents.

..SSRIs prolong the action of serotonin (& other amines with binding affinity to the 5HT receptors) by slowing the re-uptake (rate of use/disposal) ..in effect it makes the existing serotonin (5HT) 'more potent' in action..many compounds also interact with the 5HT receptors (of which there are around 12 or more sub-types) ..eg. LSD has a high binding affinity to the 5HT-2 receptor subtype (DMT to 2, and also 5HT-7)
..if someone has a less desireable amine in the system it will also be potentized..
a very dangerous (and potentially lethal) combination is Harmine with SSRIs (Prozac in particular)..
..so it won't be just serotonin the SSRIs are potentially affecting, dependent on what other foods/drugs have been consumed, and general brain chemistry..

anarchy wrote:
..at university i began to see many psych-drugs as 'mental straight jackets' rather than treatments..SSRIs to me seem to control/inhibit aspects of personality as well..they 'manage' the symptoms without addressing the root cause..an increasing awareness of Plant Based Anti-Depressants has come about from the reported negative side-effects of synthetic SSRIs, such as suicide (in teens-early 20s particularly)
..i personally recommend the linked plant anti-depressant thread for those wanting to ponder alternatives..
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From everything I have read, everything says that they inhibit the reuptake of serotonin. Not slow down the process but completely stop. Neurotransmitters that spend too much time in the synaptic cleft are vulnerable to MAO's which are there to breakdown what serotonin isn't attaching to post synapse receptors.

The reason for reuptake is so that the neurotransmitters can still be utilized and saved from mono amine oxidase. SSRIs stop them from being returned to the pre-synaptic neuron. So how does this increase the amount of serotonin that attaches to to receptors. It doesn't. If there is any evidence where they have found that more serotonin is used this way please post it cause everything I have read so far shows we don't completely know.

That's why it seems that MAOI's are actually a better way of actually achieving increased serotonin. But I have no experience with these. Isn't depression a mechanism of alarming you that something is wrong?

nen, thank you for linking that page. I hadn't come across it yet, though I have already ordered Passiflora Incarnata for the specific reason. Feeling like a zombie due to meds is horrible (I should say due to meds and medical issues). I am hoping to be off of Effexor by the end of the month, I am not sure what they plan to put me on instead. I know that this time I will be going all google on them as soon as they suggest a med. My days of saying "yes sir" and taking what the Dr. ordered are long gone. Effexor and I don't get along. We are not friends.
I will add that it's very hard to deal with that look that people get when you explain that your meds mess with you. As though you a. made it up or b. did something wrong to end up on meds in the first place. Just saying.
Unheimlich**

Unheimlich, my gf and I are dealing with a similiar situation. She has fibromyalgia and even though her doctor is aware she has depression related to an actual situation that happened to her, one which we are considering therapy, he prescribed her Paxil to "deal" with it. Apparently fibromyalgia can cause depression but my skeptical nature and understanding of what my gf goes through it seems like the depression is caused by the constant pain you go through and possibly from taking narcotic medication as well.

She was on Paxil when we first got together several years ago and she stopped taking it within weeks of us meeting. A couple months ago she got back on it but we agree that masking the emotions is not the correct method of dealing with it.

anarchy wrote:
..you are correct but it is not black and white like this..it depends on the level of SSR inhibition occuring..like MAO inhibitio it is not On/Off (not/completely) but a ratio or percentage..the increasing blocking of reuptake in effect 'slows' the rate..there-uptake is when it gets disposed of/metabolized..as far as i know..
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