On Thu, 29 Jul 2004, R wrote:
> when AD's begin changing a person's body chemistry and mood, relief of
> symptoms is the usual result. yet, as you can imagine as a result of
> anything that changes your body chemistry (including coffee or alcohol)
> will bring changes to the way a person sees life, particularly when it's in
> the form of a psychiatric medication one takes daily in order for it to
> work. sometimes these are uniformly beneficial.
Just to clarify: SSRIs like Prozac and Zoloft specifically influence neurotransmitter metabolism in the brain (not "body chemistry" in general). SSRIs increase the frequency with which serotonin (a neurotransmitter that helps regulate mood and arousal) binds on receptor sites on the dendrites of neurons in the brain.
--Yeah, most people with depression benefit (at least temporarily) from the use of SSRIs. There are also notable side effects, as people in this thread have reported (the suicidal ideation that John T. pointed out is a documented side effect of Prozac).
Miles