If low serotonin levels cause depression, why doesn’t depression lift within hours of beginning serotonin-elevating SSRI treatment: Why do depression symptoms often initially worsen with SSR treatment. Why do stressed animals with depression symptoms have high serotonin levels?
In their fascinating 2015 review article, Paul W Andrews and colleagues propose that high serotonin levels – not – accompany melancholia, the most common form of depression. Moreover, they hypothesize that serotonin’s primary role is energy regulation, not mood regulation.
On reading the above article my thoughts went back to Mark a 37 year old professional man who visited out clinic about a month ago complaining of chronic fatigue. Ever since he was a teenager he has been plagued by low energy. He had tried thyroid medications, including Armour, adrenal support supplements and hormones, B12 shots and many other supplements all to no avail. When he mentioned to me that he has been taking Adderall and similar drugs since childhood I suspected that his fatigue was due to depletion of his neurotransmitters serotonin, dopamine, and epinephrine. What most people do not realize is that long term use of medications like Ritalin, prescription narcotics and street drugs deplete the body of these crucial neurotransmitters.
On starting Mark on D5 and Cystreplete, supplements containing a balanced of amino acids his nerve cells began to naturally produce serotonin, dopamine, and epinephrine. Within a week his energy began to return – something he had not experienced in over 20 years.
Often times fatigue, depression, and anxiety can be treated naturally using customized amino acid and vitamin supplementation along with homeopathy.