tyler1128 t1_jbv9a78 wrote on March 12, 2023 at 12:01 AM

Reply to comment by PolyDipsoManiac in MDMA appears to confer resilience in a rodent model of chronic social defeat stress by chrisdh79

I don't disagree with the sentiment. They are not by any metric highly successful drugs nor is the side effect profile negligible. We also can't let personal experience cloud our analysis. They are not almost worthless in data. Here's a relatively modern meta-analysis: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5889788/. They are usually on the lower end of of the spectrum of the four main classifications that most anti-depressants fall into: MAOIs, tricyclics, SSRIs and SNRIs. They also are usually on the lower end of the spectrum in terms of tolerability. Tricyclics and irreversible MAOIs are generally more effective, but also more "dirty drugs" meaning a lower specificity in action. Some irreversible MAOIs are still used as drugs of last resort in treatment resistant depression, but they are fairly dangerous comparatively.

kslusherplantman t1_jbvno1s wrote on March 12, 2023 at 1:57 AM

https://www.health.harvard.edu/diseases-and-conditions/the-gut-brain-connection

I’ll just leave this for you to read. All mental stuff is far more than serotonin as we are currently learning.

Man0fGreenGables t1_jbwkfhu wrote on March 12, 2023 at 7:18 AM

Our stomachs really are our second brain. Our gut microbiome has a massive effect on our mental and physical health.

MervinWervin t1_jbya9x4 wrote on March 12, 2023 at 5:37 PM

>Some irreversible MAOIs are still used as drugs of last resort in treatment resistant depression, but they are fairly dangerous comparatively.

They're definitely more side-effect & interaction heavy but a lot of providers are unduly afraid of them. The dietary restrictions are pretty overblown unless you're chowing down on artisanal cheese or chugging soy sauce. A lot of the drug interactions aren't absolute either as long as you start very low and monitor closely when going up - I was able to safely take a low dose of adderall when plenty of providers would act like being in the same room as it while on MAOIs causes instant death.