Serotonin

About Parkinson's and health Treatments and therapies
1

i have been on seratonin reuptake inhibators for 4 weeks. 

as well as being more cheerful and energetic big grin i have also noticed the disappearance of peripheral hallucinations , better eye movement eye roll, focusing eekand spatial judgement arrow . has anyone else experienced this? the only side-effect has been an increase in emoticons red face

cheers

2

I am intrigued turnip,  .......tell me more about this serotonin how does it work, why have you been put on it , it sounds really good ....is it a new treatment?

3

serotonin is another of the major four neurotransmitters like dopamine. the drug i take stops seratonin from being reabsorbed by the firing neuron so more seratonin is available for the receiving neuron.

all neurotransmitters are used for various purposes but a lack of seratonin can cause depression. i was given the drug 4 weeks ago as i was depressed following the death of my wife 18 months ago.  it takes about 3 or 4 weeks to start working and cant be taken with selegiline.

however parkies may also generally have a shortage of seratonin. and so it may be part of some symptoms. i am sure i am driving with much more confidence. depression is also common with pd.

sunshine can increase seratoniin - i feel better as soon as i go outside (i live in a VERY sunny place and i sit by a window at work. i also have natural light lamps.)

ALSO seratonin lack affects digestion - my appetite has returned and motility seems better

BUT WAIT THERES MORE seratonin prevents compulsive disorders, my hyper-sexuality has gone, thank God, and is replaced with a more normal libido.

 

if your doctor suggest an SRI i would definitely recommend giving it a try.

Did cause sleepiness so i moved it to nightime. can cause vivid dreams. 

4

Hi Turnip,

             Oh the coincidence.It takes someone as worthy as yourself to create movement.I have been periodically shouting from the rooftops about this for the last couple of years.Nobody listened.Yet this very day,just now,i have replied to a message asking for my opinion from my post ages ago concerning this.Is it any wonder i feel like giving up.

                                Titan

5

A pleasure to join you on the rooftop Titan. Though I dont like heights


'SEROTONIN!'

6

Been driving around NSW playing 'born to be wild' very loud on the car stereo with Owen. Perhaps too much Serotonin?

hard to be a proper hoon in a Rav4 though.

7

Please give me this drug now!

 I must have had my head in the sand because I have not heard of this before , I will certainly ask my neurologist to try it ... Thank you turnip and am glad it is helping 

 Would be interested to hear if anyone else is taking serotonin and the effects they are experiencing 

8

an old SRI was Prozac. I am on Citalopam. its not necessarily the right thing for everyone.

9

SSRIs have been around for years and are used for anxiety and depression. They do work well although, like everything, they have their own side-effects and you might have to try a few to find one that works for you.

I was on Citalopram last year and it worked well, but it gave me the worst cough ever! It took me six months to work out the connection. My GP then gave me Seroxat which made my PD symptoms much worse. I've kind of given up on them now.

10

Hi all

just to say my anxiety peaked this summer to the extent that I didn t go out of the house for several weeks. I had previously tried Citalopram and Mirtazapine but, at the time, wasn t prepared to tolerate the side effects. In retrospect I should have persevered but felt I could fight the anxiety. How wrong I was. I now realise you can t fight the lack of a brain chemical.

I was put on Sertraline, an SSRI, in June and it took a couple of months to work. I have been relieved of the constant fear of everything and of freezing which increases the risk of falling. I know the anxiety still lurks in the wings but, for now, it is being held well at bay. Taking the Sertraline with food prevented nausea but it can cause intestinal rumblings!

In my humble opinion Don t ignore the benefits these drugs can bring even if only temporarily

with all best wishes

 

samdog

 

11

There's​ definitely something to this guys. The evidence seems to point in that direction - see below​

Regards

12

Thanks for posting that link to the Horizon programme about Tim Lawrence. I saw it back in 2001, but it was really interesting watching it again from a different perspective.

13

Hi was really interesting.

Thanks xxx

14

I'm back on the SSRIs. My consultant put me on Fluoxetine (Prozac) for anxiety. It doesn't help the anxiety but it's really helped my PD symptoms - the best way I can describe it is it's turned down the volume of them. I'm in a lot less pain and can move much better. I can even go for several hours without thinking about PD!

I mentioned it to my GP and she told me Prozac is often prescribed for Fibromyalgia, which causes a lot of unexplained pain.

15

Very interesting.

I get the impression that serotonin and SSRI effects on PD symtoms is not an area where many (if any) neurologists have much knowledge.

My own experience is that when I last took ecstacy before I was diagnosed (over 8 years ago) was that it made my bladder symptoms much worse the next day, ie when the serotonin is depleted from the brain.

Although my neurologist has refused to believe that my bladder problems are linked to my PD.