[onlyrain]

Hello, I recently posted this question on the general Q&A part of the site. Someone suggested that I post it here as well:

My therapist recently suggested I perhaps see a psychiatrist & discuss the possibility of taking anti-depressants.

I have dysthymia, so I typically don't really feel very emotional @ all. I like to call it "emotional-flatlining." Now, some of what I have read actually says that anti-depressants can make people feel like this (not experience emotions intensly, feel like a zombie, etc). But I'm wondering if the opposite can happen. I know that your personality is pretty much settled by the time you are 5, but can an anti-depressant help bring you back closer to the personality you should have had before you got depressed (mind you I don't even know what my personality before then should have been)?

For example, I have taken the Five Factor personality test, & score high on conscientiousness, but I am low on agreeableness & extroversion. Can an anti-depressant help make you more extroverted or agreeable, etc? For instance, if depression is part of what makes me more introverted & disagreeable, can an anti-depressant help?

I read this article about Paxil (I can't put the link to it in here because this is my first post & apparently there are restrictions), but the article was titled "Anti-Depressants, Can They Change Your Personality" & it was on a website called "fyiliving." The article seems to suggest that anti-depressants can change your personality a bit.

I'm just wondering if anyone has actually noticed certain positive personality changes from being on anti-depressants/or if something like what the article suggests can happen?

[mrsD]

This is a complex question. I'll have to do some work on it and get back to you.

Typically drugs work differently in everyone. And as time has passed post marketing things come to light. Not all are positive.

I also think reading Change your Brain, Change your Life, by Dr. Daniel Amen MD... is very useful for explaining the various organic structures in the brain that might be out of balance. He goes into this in a very detailed, medical way. And a clue may be there for you. He touches on this subject on his PBS lectures, but the book goes into far more detail. I found this book in our library.

So as a starting point it might be useful to check this out. He does mention where the various drug interventions would work.

[onlyrain]

I will have to write the name of that book down. Also, I have been looking @ different natural remedies for depression. Could 5-HTP or SAM-e have almost the same benefits as an SSRI? Does anyone know of anywhere that I could read up on actual studies of these drugs, their side effects etc? I seem to be finding mostly 2nd hand information about them. Do psychiatrists generally tend to acknowledge natural remedies, or do they just put you on SSRI's or other anti-depressants?

[Chemar]

Hi onlyrain
glad you made it over here

mrsD may have more pertinent info for you but here is some on
5HTP http://healthlibrary.epnet.com/GetCo...chunkiid=21399

and
samE http://healthlibrary.epnet.com/GetCo...chunkiid=21460

My son has used both, at different times, to boost serotonin, in his case to help OCD, and they did provide benefit.

IMO, most conventional psychiatrists do not recognize the validity of alternative treatments and tend to only provide prescriptions for psychiatric drugs

[mrsD]

At this point, I think you should learn about the neurotransmitters and what they do. Dr. Amen's Book is based on his 63,000 Spect scans on brains and how people behave so he can correlate the two.

In general there are two types of people... based on arousal.
There are the serotonin people, who do not like fast risk taking tasks or jobs. They are conscientious, methodical and careful.
They tend to have anxiety issues.

Then there are the dopamine people. These people are more confident, have higher dopamine levels, and seek out activities that are exciting to do and risky.

When you take SAMe you are feeding whatever system you have. Everyone's brain is wired differently based on genetics.
SAMe is a methyl donor, and does this all over the body. The liver, joints and ligaments, and the brain. It will just feed everything based on how your body needs that methyl group.

5-HTP is a precursor to serotonin only. For people LOW in serotonin, it helps speed up conversion to serotonin.

There are two basic families of antidepressants. 1) the serotonin reuptake type which increase serotonin in the synapse and 2) the dopamine type (Wellbutrin).
There is a 3rd type, the norepi reuptake type, and this is mixed usually with an SSRI action. The combined effect is on two systems instead of one.

Our brains also have histamine and glutamate as neurotransmitters too. Acetylcholine as well. So you see it gets complicated.

In Dr. Amen's book, he has scans of brains with overdeveloped areas that are using certain neurotransmitters more than others.
Here is the website:
http://www.amenclinics.com/

I did not memorize the book, so I don't want to quote something that I recall inaccurately.
But I do remember that Dr. Amen has made tests you take on paper to reflect his scan data. So he can help people who don't want to take the scan or can't afford it. On these tests he says on the TV lectures he can tell what your personality is and how to balance it.

If you choose to not do this bit of homework, and just go to a psychiatrist, you will then most likely become a trial and error patient. What they do is just try things out on people, to see what works best. It can take a while, and result in negative side effects.

Antidepressants are complicated. In fact, the SSRI family, now is thought to work a totally different way than by affecting serotonin! Did you know SSRI drugs kill brain cells? And some patients after 6months or more develop movement disorders of the face, neck and tongue? In fact some new studies are indicating that antidepressants don't even work!
http://health.msn.com/health-topics/...son-or-placebo

Antidepressants can make people edgy, restless, manic and desperate. So from a shy, introverted person, one may seem more active and connected if this manic inducing effect results on that person. But there is no guarantee that will happen.

Changing a personality is a big challenge in my opinion. A trait like conscientiousness is valuable in our society which has complex tasks that need to be done. In my career conscientiousness is VERY valuable to take care of all the people I saw daily, and do it correctly with no errors. But it may not be so valuable to a salesperson, who needs to be confident and glib. A conscientious person would not feel comfortable talking someone into a product just to sell it and make money...they would want to make sure that person could use it well and safely too. (not all sales people are at fault but many are just interested in making a sale and that is it) I do not think drugs change a person enough to change a whole personality.

I think therapy with a good therapist is important as well, to help with cognitive behavior changes.
Some people think dysthymia is a mild depressive state. That would be something to discuss with your doctor. But low moods are reflected in the brain too. Dr. Amen's book discusses that.
Also I think the amygdala is implicated in low mood:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12724175

So choosing a doctor is going to be important. Some of them do use nutrients and diet as well as drugs. Dr. Amen does for example. But others do not. So interview some to see if you feel comfortable with what they do.