This is something I’m curious about. Like if someone who is not depressed or psychotic takes one of these meds, what happens? Is it just all side effects and no benefit? Do they get worse side effects? Do they get different weird effects? I dunno.
I’ve read a couple stories of people who accidentally took a family member’s or roommates medication and it basically just heavily sedated them, but I feel like that’s because they are taking a high dose you know? Like we start on small doses and work our way up, if you just started out with a big dose of course it would wreck you.
One person described antipsychotics for non mentally ill people as “anti-cocaine” which I found hilarious, as in it has the complete opposite effects of cocaine. It makes them feel depressed/very blah (basically anhedonia) and sluggish/sedated. (Honestly that doesn’t sound too different to what some people on here experience Makes me wonder if maybe not everyone’s psychosis is due to a dopamine imbalance, psychosis can be caused by a lot of things after all, and that’s why some people get terrible side effects on them while others don’t or get milder ones-who knows)
As for antidepressants, apparently they may induce a “hypomanic” state in a non mentally ill person, and if taken long enough can actually create an unbalance of chemicals in the brain that GIVES them depression/suicidal ideation, etc.
Summary: APs for normal people has the complete opposite effects of cocaine, gives you anhedonia & sedates
ADs for normal people can create hypomania or if taken a long time actually create depression by creating a chemical imbalance.
They would say, “hey I’m fat”. Or “hey I can’t get aroused anymore”. And they would stop taking them after a week and decide to figure ■■■■ out in there own.
One of the posts I read was by this guy who was a scientist who decided to try APs out of interest. He then reported his findings to his psychiatrist colleagues and asked if they had ever tried it to which they replied “of course not” and when he recommended they should so that they can understand what they are potentially putting their patients through they acted “shocked” and refused as though APs were a dangerous drug that would kill you after one dose.
Goes to show why many prescribers are not sympathetic towards side effects or don’t take them seriously
I read somewhere that you need about 65% + occupancy on the D2 receptors for antipsychotic efficacy, EXCEPT with Clozapine, which of course is used for people who don’t respond to other APs - which are currently all some variation of high D2 and other receptors. Clozapine does hit D2, but not at 65% occupancy. So it’s probably a reasonable theory.
Yeah I remember learning something like that in neuropsychopharm. And the original APs did like 80% blockage or something but then that was too high and gave TD so they lowered it with the newer ones.
I didn’t read much of this, but there are likely a bunch of studies out there with control groups and what not where you could infer some generalities…
other than that it is probably good grounds for PhD research… actually it seems like the psych fields are brimming with the potential for individual experiments and studies… so many factors… so many drugs…
I asked my pdoc to try my meds he prescribed me for just one week.
I was hoping he’d get to see for himself the ugly side effects that I was reporting to him was not “all in my head” like he claimed, but rather, “all in my body.”
One night recently my hubby took my amisulpride by mistake. Thought it was one of his epilepsy pills. Didn’t do anything to him lol but it was only 100mg low dose. ( I take 200mg daily)
My mother in law doesn’t think my meds make things difficult for me. Especially when outside in the hot sun carrying bags of cement mix. My father in law said things that bother me about my meds. He doesn’t think they have a profound effect on me
Makes me wonder if maybe not everyone’s psychosis is due to a dopamine imbalance, psychosis can be caused by a lot of things after all, and that’s why some people get terrible side effects on them while others don’t or get milder ones-who knows)
but it was only 100mg low dose. ( I take 200mg daily)