Low dopamine - depression, negative symptoms?

Medications
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As some of you know, I suffer from depression / negative symptoms (hard to tell which). There are a lot of theories that negative symptoms come from a low level of dopamine (hypoactivity) in the prefrontal cortex of the brain. Now the head of my psych ward wants to put me on clozapine.

I have read that clozapine both reduces dopamine (and therefore reduces positive symptoms) and increases dopamine in some centers of the brain (reduce negative symptoms).

I said yes, I want to try clozapine, but what I don’t understand is why they don’t try some dopamine agonists like ADHD meds or anti parkinson meds, which are much less toxic than clozapine.

Sigh!! - I wish I had access to try the meds I think might work instead of relying on a busy psychiatrist.

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Best of luck with clozapine. I hope it works out for you :crossed_fingers:

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Thanks @everhopeful - i have read that it is very good for suicidal ideation, so it might save my life. I hope so. I’m not ready yet.

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Yes, that’s very true.

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No antipsychotics treats primary negative symptoms( negative symptoms that is part of the disease process) but only secondary negative symptoms(negative symptoms that are a result of depression sedation or eps)..

Clozapine is only approved for treating positive symptoms treatment resistance tó standard meds.

So I won’t try another antipsychotic because of negative or cognitive symptoms because those won’t get treated by other antipsychotic I will only swap antipsychotic if this doesn’t treat my psychosis positive symptoms well enoght.

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Thanks for enlighten me, i have sz but alts a comorbid depression, and i think i give clozapine a go, since there are such low data about clozapine an treatment resistant depression

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