[Edwin]

I know there are some very smart people on this board, and maybe you will be able to help me solve a puzzle.

I've always been convinced dopamine had a big role in my disorders, because apart from SAD, I also suffer from typical ADD symptoms, and have many bouts of depression.

I though Wellbutrin would help me deal with this, as it has some affinity for dopamine receptors (which inhibit reuptake). I know it's not much, but I'm on 300 mg XL a day, so I reckoned it should at least make a difference. The first few weeks, it did; although strongly agigated, I did feel a lot better. However, now that I've been on it for almost 3 months, it's the exact opposite of my initial honeymoon. I now experience worse brain fog than ever before, can hardly pronounce coherent sentences and my mind has never been this slow.

It almost feels like I have no dopamine activity left, and my mood is obviously horrible. I know there are some hypotheses that Wellbutrin will sensitize the autoreceptors, which causes lower levels of dopamine for a while. After the (re-)desensitiation however, you should start feeling therapeutic benefits. I don't seem to get to that point though.

I've recently added Zoloft 50mg to my Wellbutrin, because it also has some dopamine reuptake properties (although only a bit). This has made me very wired, and made things even worse, except for my mood.

Now here comes the real question. I have been eating some walnuts today, because I know they contain animo-acids which are precursors to the mono-amines. After eating a handful, all of a sudden, the lights turned back on. I could thing more clearly, motivation lifted, and my mood was pretty good. What happened here? Was it the tyrosine? I feel that it is. So why doesn't all this reuptake help me one bit? Is it because I'm totally depleted of dopamine, and need supplementation? I'm very curious what insights you guys might have.

Thanks!

 

[korey]

This reminded me of those Emerald Nuts commercials,

lol

Do you eat regularly throughout the day? Drops in blood sugar can mimic anxiety attacks, so eating something would probably have a noticeably positive effect due primarily to increasing your blood sugar.

 

[Edwin]

I've been taking dextrose throughout the day to keep my bloodsugar up, because I did have some problems with that. The handful of walnuts did a whole lot more though.

 

[Medline]

If you have been diagnosed with ADD can't you get Adderall prescribed? In combination with Klonopin as needed and (if necessary) a good SSRI like Lexapro SAD, ADD and depression should be pretty much gone or at least greatly reduced.

 

[LostPancake]

maybe due to manganese? we were talking about that in another thread on here - it's preferentially absorbed by the dopamine-producing neurons. "The best food sources of manganese are nuts, whole grains, seeds and fresh vegetables. Buckwheat, oats and wheat are cereals high in manganese. Hazelnuts, chestnuts, pecans, Brazil nuts and almonds rate highest among nuts. Sunflower and pumpkin seeds are manganese-rich as are watercress, peas, beans and turnip greens."

or magnesium? might be a similar story?

 

[Medline]

They don't prescribe Adderall here AFAIK. Concerta/Ritalin maybe.

Should have read location first.

 

[IllusionalFate]

Wellbutrin has a higher selectivity for NA reuptake inhibition than DA. The doses that make it an effective dopaminergic would pose a high risk for seizure so I think there's better options available.

I'd suggest trying selegiline at around 5mg/day and augment with a low dose of Ritalin PRN. This will greatly potentiate the dopaminergic effects and duration of methylphenidate while leaving the NA reuptake inhibition unaffected, resulting in what should be an awesome cocktail for AD[H]D, depression, and social phobia.

 

[Edwin]

maybe due to manganese? we were talking about that in another thread on here - it's preferentially absorbed by the dopamine-producing neurons. "The best food sources of manganese are nuts, whole grains, seeds and fresh vegetables. Buckwheat, oats and wheat are cereals high in manganese. Hazelnuts, chestnuts, pecans, Brazil nuts and almonds rate highest among nuts. Sunflower and pumpkin seeds are manganese-rich as are watercress, peas, beans and turnip greens."

or magnesium? might be a similar story?

I've read that manganese topic. I've been supplementing with Omega-3, Magnesium-taurinate, Zinc and Vitamin B complex for weeks now, so I'm pretty sure I have no deficiency there. Could be manganese, but I'm gonna try supplementing with L-Tyrosine first.