Posted by sfy on January 24, 2005, at 11:25:24
In reply to Dopamine may be overated in Social Phobia!, posted by 3 Beer Effect on January 23, 2005, at 23:17:36
> I have social phobia & I used to take ADD meds to help me study in college. In my experience the only dopaminergics that reduce social phobia are the amphetamines, especially Dextrostat (Adderall causes more anxiety because it contains l-amphetamine salts that release norepinephrine). I have a theory that this may be in part because amphetamines release some serotonin in addition to dopamine. But amphetamines are not a long term solution because eventually they cause depression from depletion of dopamine. Also, Dextrostat is not innocuous - it is a powerful drug that can send you in a socially dysfunctional spiral if you abuse it.
As always, YMMV. Dextrostat (dextroamphetamine) had absolutely no effect on my Social Phobia.
>
> It appears on paper that Selegeline at 5-10 mg per day might be the answer to social phobia. There is a dopaminergic theory of Social Phobia & since Selegeline increases dopamine you would think it would work. But I assure you this is NOT the case. It causes terrible anxiety (partially from the fact that it is metabolized to the bad l-amphetamines that release norepinephrine). It also causes the worst dry mouth ever, which makes your breath smell bad which does not help social phobia! It also causes sweating in social situations or if you are stressed at work or it is simply warm in the room. It is not good to shake people´s hands when they are all sweaty & if you are sweaty all the time, people think you are a weirdo.Again, my experience with low dose Selegiline differs. While it didn't have any noticeable positive effects, I also didn't suffer from any side effects at all while on it. (I don't know if taking it with DL-phenylalanie made any difference.)
> The only real long term cure for social phobia are the SSRIs (i´ve had success with Zoloft 100 mg or Prozac 20 mg). Also the MAOIs Nardil & Parnate are said to work even better than the SSRIs (although i´ve never tried them & most doctors are afraid of prescribing them). Either that or you could drink in social situations, which to tell the truth, alcohol is still the best social phobia medication out there. But that will eventually cause depression, among other problems, too.
>The SSRI's have done little to nothing for my social phobia. Nardi, in conjunction with Klonopin, did have a noticeable positive effect (with little reason to fear).
poster:sfy
thread:446557
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20050124/msgs/446768.html