Over the counter antidepressants

[MotoXracer]

Does any one know of some over the counter antidepressants?(not drugs or alcohol)

[tonytone]

SAM-e..OTC here, but Rx in europe..dont really know if it's as effective as they CLAIM it is..

[tonytone]

as far as the basic of it go...
SAMe is produced naturally in the body, and is involved in methylation, which is adding a methyl group to another molecule..an essential process throughout the body
some think it works better than most Rx, because it regulate many neurotransmitters like serotonin

[Kärnfysikern]

besides helping sleep I have heard melatonin is suposed to reduce anxiety and stuff like that. Might help.

St John's wort it suposed to help a bit

[Kärnfysikern]

Are we talking about a diagnosed depression or just a temporary thing?

[-JaH-]

5-htp increases seratonin which causes happiness

[bor]

DHEA....

St. Johns wort and valerians root don't help at all let me tell ya....

But IMO, if anything, they help as a plecebo, but I don't think any otc anti depressants can have a medical impact....

[Mizfit]

5-htp increase serotonin level.

Over the counter stuff works sometimes, but speak to your docotor first - some of them have side effects and some of thme interact with other meds

[Bojangles69]

everything listed above is crap imo. the best i have found because i study ethnobotanicals (among other things) are the following, took a few years to gather all this information, but im always reading about one thing or another:

Sceletium tortuosum- an unscheduled plant leaf that contains mesembrine, a short lasting active ssri (selective serotonin uptake inhibitor) has to be taken WITHOUT food. First time i took i thought i felt F**king fantastic. But a slight tolerance does develop and dosage needs to be raised. The problem now becomes money. Go read about it.

Kava Kava, Piper methysticum- A dosages of 2-4 grams cause an almost complete loss of anxiety, increase in mood, increased social ability (or need to speak, great for public speaches) ive tried it, compared to 99% of LEGAL things on the market this is def up on top.

Kratom Tea- Read about it, this stuff is hard core, illegal in thailand. (get life i heard for possession, legal in US (check your countries laws) ive tried it, not as easy to prepare, but leaves you in a relaxed semi-opiate state buzz.

What else..
More common things:

L-theanine- i love this shit, i swear by it. when i found out tea had small amounts naturally i became a tea drinker. check out Source Naturals "theanine serene" with Gaba. Psychotropin is prob the leading theanine manufacturer but ive found theanine serene to be just a slight bit weaker however for some reason my tolerance doesnt develop as quickly to it, possisibly the specific active ingredients.

the first 3 are ethnobotanicals that can be purchased from shaman suppliers. ethnobotanicals are no joke, do not buy something you havent researched thoroughly. some things legal in this country will have you on the floor seeing leperacans wishing you were dead if not taken the right way.

this is the site for the ethno's, in indonesia, outcompete and outprice anyone else. orders over 50 bucks are free shipping, excellent business:

http://www.psychoactiveherbs.com/catalog/index.php

other things supposively help increase levels of this and that, maybe they do, maybe its proven. but when your serotonin increases by one microliter (or w/e the measurement) compared to milimeter, theres a huge difference between what is speculated and what is truley felt. (and i know 1 ml of seretonin is prob a million times more than anyoone actually produces, it was just to explain my point)

but go research.. or just buy and try. your choice, but i def vouch for the 4 above.

[Kärnfysikern]

I have heard(but never looked into it myself) that kava kava can be harsh on the liver. Any truth to that?

[Bojangles69]

I have heard(but never looked into it myself) that kava kava can be harsh on the liver. Any truth to that?

yeh some studies indicate "potential" i believe, however i also have spoken with MANY people who have taken high doses of Kava for many many years and claim no adverse effects, than a smaller few who actually undergoe rountine examinations by a qualified professional and have had no problems with thier liver or anything.
Only thing i can say is i dont know one person who has had liver problems directly associated with Kava. If anything i would say if we did discover something in the near future about kava, the effects wouldnt be much worse than acetimophen (compared to what ive seen so far)

[Doc.Sust]

5-htp increase serotonin level.

Over the counter stuff works sometimes, but speak to your docotor first - some of them have side effects and some of thme interact with other meds

agree completely. also the st johns wort is a good choice form what i have seen.

the best of the best is the anti pshycotics and the psychotropic drugs, but that is opening pandoras box IMO, you are best off trying to resolve the issues yourself, than relying on "mothers little helper' ot a "magic pill" to fix things. remeber, you have control how you feel, make the changes necessary to not be depressed

[cfiler]

I've had decent success with St.Johns Wort. Nowhere near the level of prescription meds, but better than nothing imo.

[MotoXracer]

Well, I went to talk to a doctor a while back and she told me since I wasn't loosing sleep(or sleeping all the time) and because I still eat normally, that there is nothing for her to prescribe because there is nothing to treat. But I still feel like crap/depressed and I can't seem to get motivated or excited about things I used to. It's coming up on a year now that i've been like this and I've tried everything from seeing a doctor, to talking it over all the time with my best friend, to drinking all the time, to trying to just go to the gym all the time and nothing seems to be working. I first thought that it was just because I was coming off a cycle(Depression from coming off a cycle?) but even after PCT i was still in a funk.

I would go see a doctor again but unfortunatly I don't have health insurance anymore so I was hoping I could try to do something about it myself. I wish I could just snap out of it, but it's just not that easy for me.

[lil'Taylor]

yea.. the herbal stuff is pretty common and easy to find.. like the previously mentioned st. john's wort..

best things is to talk to the doc. tho..

[Mizfit]

agree completely. also the st johns wort is a good choice form what i have seen.

the best of the best is the anti pshycotics and the psychotropic drugs, but that is opening pandoras box IMO, you are best off trying to resolve the issues yourself, than relying on "mothers little helper' ot a "magic pill" to fix things. remeber, you have control how you feel, make the changes necessary to not be depressed

Anti psychiotics - Can be deadly if not truly needed by the patient.

Seen the results of that.

[Mizfit]

But seriously..a lot of herbal stuff has side effects and may interact with other medication you may be taking.

[lil'Taylor]

But seriously..a lot of herbal stuff has side effects and may interact with other medication you may be taking.

good point..

most ppl don't realize that either

[Kärnfysikern]

To be honest I can no understand why anyone would want to go on a prescription SSRI. I was on remeron myself a few months during a very long and heavy depression and that shit just made it worse. It zapped my ability to feel any kind of joy completely. Whats scary is that I didnt notice it until I went of it.

I know alot of people that are on SSRI's aswell and I se the same thing in almost all of them(regardless of what brand it is). But none of them notice it themself until they get of that shit.

Its exactly like doc sust say. You controll how you feel. Not any magic pill or anyone else. Its all there in your mind and you have the power to change it.

[Mizfit]

good point..

most ppl don't realize that either

I do.. i take ritalin (not depression meds, it's for ADHD) and their are some things i have to be cautious of.

I think St john's wart interfers with BC too doesn't it - for example...

[Joey2ness]

Dopaminergic stimulants are quite possibly the most powerful and fast acting antidepressants available.

Phenylalanine and Tyrosine (amino acids) increase dopamine levels
Testosterone increases dopamine levels

A very common and natural cause of elevated dopamine levels is the normally high levels of testosterone . There is considerable correlation between testosterone levels and dopamine levels, elevated testosterone levels tend to result in elevated dopamine levels.

People who suffer from depression often have decreased sex drive. Dopamine can improve sex drive. serotonin decreases it.

Im currently taking wellbutrin xl 300mg/day for depression and the side effect I notice is extremely horniness,

[BARLOW]

st johns wart

[Bojangles69]

yeh i was on 50 mg paxil for 2 years, came off it, withdrew heaving my brains out, was dizzy for 2 weeks.
took zyprexa for 3 weeks, was feeling like a zombie, did some research and found out people with schizophrenia are treated with it.. never saw my doc again.

and motoracer.. well i dont even want to get into it because im studying to be psychotherapist. but all i will say is therapy is a long term solution, meds are a temporary shield. a good therapist is hard to find, but if you have insurance get out there and give it a shot. and you dont have to have a disorder to seek therapy, ive seen some of the most successful/stable patients start therapy just to improve thier overall quality of life and thier relations with people. go check it out..

[Bojangles69]

To be honest I can no understand why anyone would want to go on a prescription SSRI. I was on remeron myself a few months during a very long and heavy depression and that shit just made it worse. It zapped my ability to feel any kind of joy completely. Whats scary is that I didnt notice it until I went of it.

I know alot of people that are on SSRI's aswell and I se the same thing in almost all of them(regardless of what brand it is). But none of them notice it themself until they get of that shit.

Its exactly like doc sust say. You controll how you feel. Not any magic pill or anyone else. Its all there in your mind and you have the power to change it.

this is the simplest truest thing in the world. people dont understand how believing you have the power IS the power. but a lot of people dont understand how beliefs work, they think acting or thinking a certain way is the way to believe. a belief itself is the most powerful thing in the world, its NOT easy to aquire, but once you do, nothing can stop you.

[Mizfit]

.

Its exactly like doc sust say. You controll how you feel. Not any magic pill or anyone else. Its all there in your mind and you have the power to change it.

I would love to agree with this statement, but i can't.

I think for the most part anti-depresants are over prescribed and are given to people needlessly, but sadly there are some people who do need them to get through things.

It's about quality of life. Sometimes drugs this improve the quality of life of a person - which can make the world of difference.

I think we should take as little medication as possible, but i can say that i assume these drugs have made the world of diference for some people, or they stil wouldnt be prescribe in the numbers they are.

[Kärnfysikern]

I would love to agree with this statement, but i can't.

I think for the most part anti-depresants are over prescribed and are given to people needlessly, but sadly there are some people who do need them to get through things.

It's about quality of life. Sometimes drugs this improve the quality of life of a person - which can make the world of difference.

I think we should take as little medication as possible, but i can say that i assume these drugs have made the world of diference for some people, or they stil wouldnt be prescribe in the numbers they are.

Maby some people have a true chemical inbalance. But I have yet to hear of one single person that realy became better by using a ssri. Some think they got better but when they get of they realise they realy didnt. That I think is the big danger with ssri. A person doesnt realise how much it effects them before they get off an look back.


But everyone I know that has been on ssri's has not become better from them. Instead they get dragged into a endles consumption of prescription drugs. They start with one ssri. Then the get higher dosage, then they get another ssri ontop of the first, then they get anxiety meds like benzos and so on. After a few years they take more drugs than a junkie.
Offcourse this is mostly because the swedish mental healtcare system is screwed up. So the meds that are suposed to be the temporary solution instead is expected to be a permanent solution.

I think it has been shown also(Bojangles maby you know more about this) that the way you think has a very big effect on the chemical makeup of the brain. So a chemical imbalance can be caused by a long term depression(not the other way around) and can be cured by changing thinking patters.

[Mizfit]

Maby some people have a true chemical inbalance. But I have yet to hear of one single person that realy became better by using a ssri. Some think they got better but when they get of they realise they realy didnt. That I think is the big danger with ssri. A person doesnt realise how much it effects them before they get off an look back.


But everyone I know that has been on ssri's has not become better from them. Instead they get dragged into a endles consumption of prescription drugs. They start with one ssri. Then the get higher dosage, then they get another ssri ontop of the first, then they get anxiety meds like benzos and so on. After a few years they take more drugs than a junkie.
Offcourse this is mostly because the swedish mental healtcare system is screwed up. So the meds that are suposed to be the temporary solution instead is expected to be a permanent solution.

I think it has been shown also(Bojangles maby you know more about this) that the way you think has a very big effect on the chemical makeup of the brain. So a chemical imbalance can be caused by a long term depression(not the other way around) and can be cured by changing thinking patters.

I am trying to be the devils advocate - i am against anti depressants because i had a bad experiences with some in the past.

But i guess because i take ritalin (obviously for ADHd) I speak from that. My life has changed tremendously because of it - for the better, and i can only assume some people feel the benefits of anti depressants as well.

[Hitman]

I would love to agree with this statement, but i can't.

I think for the most part anti-depresants are over prescribed and are given to people needlessly, but sadly there are some people who do need them to get through things.

It's about quality of life. Sometimes drugs this improve the quality of life of a person - which can make the world of difference.

I think we should take as little medication as possible, but i can say that i assume these drugs have made the world of diference for some people, or they stil wouldnt be prescribe in the numbers they are.

Im going to dissagree on your over prescription theory on A-D meds.I think that for the most part the world is a changeing and an ever demanding place that certain individuals just simple cannot keep up with .And the fact you think they might be over subscribed might be due to the fact that professionls have made major break throughs in phsychological behaviour that warrants the use of A-D meds as a precautionary measure rather than a last resort? Just my thoughts.

[Mizfit]

Im going to dissagree on your over prescription theory on A-D meds.I think that for the most part the world is a changeing and an ever demanding place that certain individuals just simple cannot keep up with .And the fact you think they might be over subscribed might be due to the fact that professionls have made major break throughs in phsychological behaviour that warrants the use of A-D meds as a precautionary measure rather than a last resort? Just my thoughts.

I know ritalin is hard to get for some people - i was talking about antidepresants...

And for the record - ritalin has a different effect on someone with ADD than it does with someone who doesn't have it. Which is why i said might hold true for depression meds as well.

[Kärnfysikern]

I am trying to be the devils advocate - i am against anti depressants because i had a bad experiences with some in the past.

But i guess because i take ritalin (obviously for ADHd) I speak from that. My life has changed tremendously because of it - for the better, and i can only assume some people feel the benefits of anti depressants as well.

Yeah I guess some must benifit from it.

I just think its disgusting how easily its prescribed. the med companies are plenty satisfied I bet.