serotonin overshoot?

[bonberi]

I'm reading Amanda's "Rebuild from Depression" manuscript and "The Mood Cure" concurrently. I started taking magnesium and zinc, and my B vitamins I'm pretty sure are being boosted by my kombucha intake. I'm still on my SSRI (Zoloft), but today I'm feeling my old symptoms coming back, and I'm thinking that perhaps I've got too much serotonin running around my noggin? I read in "The Mood Cure" that this can happen, that with supplementation while remaining on an SSRI, the exact symptoms can recur due to too much of a good thing.

Maybe my deficiencies were just in the vitamin/mineral realm and I was okay in the base aminos (my GP is ordering the test for me, so I don't know for sure yet)? I was planning on tapering off of the SSRI after I had the aminos tested, but the way I feel today I may not wait. I will be contacting my GP about this, obviously, but I was just wondering if anyone else had BTDT.

[Eli's_mommy]

I wouldn't quit your ssri cold turkey... It can make you very ill. I am all for you tapering it off and seeing if the vitamins take care of the issue, but I wouldn't want you to have symptoms from coming off of your medication. Good luck btw!

[Gale Force]

Terri,

It's great that you have a GP who will work with you on this. Definitely give the doc a call.

We all go through peaks and valleys and the key is that at some point the low times are less bad and less often. This may be one bad day, it's hard to say. It sounds like you are taking some sort of amino acid blend already and might take a custom blend. If you do feel that you are slipping and that it might be because of too much supplementation, I would tend to cut the aminos and keep in the SSRIs. You will not have any side-effects by stopping the amino blend. Then get your amino test and work with the doc on a plan to replace one with the other if that is your intent. Alternatively, you guys can work out a plan now to reduce the SSRI. But don't do that by yourself.

And in case this bad day is the beginning of a bad cycle, try to shore everything up as much as possible -- good food, solid sleep, etc.

Amanda

[bonberi]

Thanks, Amanda! I think it was just a bad couple of days- too little sleep and too much on my plate. I haven't started any aminos yet- I thought I'd wait until after the testing. I do feel better since I've started mag, zinc/copper, and evening primrose oil (in addition to my regular CLO and kombucha).

I really had no idea about the challenges involved with going off of SSRIs. I will chart out a 'weaning schedule' with my doc once we get the amino information.

Thank you, you are a great resource!

Terri