Dopamine

[Peachandcream]

Hello all. I know that this has been a difficult time for us all. I have been researching the benefits of taking dopamine, to help moods, depression and to give a boost on how to cope with difficult situations. But the more I read, the more confused I become. There are many tablets that can be taken, supposedly to help giving a natural boost to the brain. I would like some advice on what to do. Thank you. Take care.

[humanbean]

Just out of curiosity, how would you take dopamine? Which product?

[kayjay1010]

Hello - I am prescribed Bupronion as an antidepressant. In my previous country it was called Wellbutrin but in the UK it is called Zyban. I had tried many different antidepressants over the years but this one was considered because it also support innattentive adhd

[Yeswithasmile]

Hi.

I think that these are anti depressants that alter how your brain works with dopamine. I don’t think they recreate it so to speak.

I had heard of zyban years ago for smoking cessation so it’s obviously been about for sometime. Therefore I presume it’s fairly successful as a mood enhancer.

I am pretty sure there are natural ways to help your dopamine which I hasten to add is involved with many aspects of life. Not simply mood.

I imagine this whole subject can be a bit of a mine field. Especially as I notice you have been diagnosed with diabetes too which I have read doesn’t help with mood. I hope you get lots of helpful replies but I would Google natural ways to help with your dopamine levels as there is a lot of information x.

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK]

Dopamine (the precursor which is actually used is often referred to as L-Dopa or levodopa) is not something that is viable to take as a medicine in the way you describe. L-Dopa has been tried, for example, in Awakenings:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Awake...

And is used for Parkinson's disease:

nhs.uk/conditions/parkinson...

[humanbean]

I would be very, very wary about doing anything that alters dopamine directly. There are lots of things that are affected by dopamine level, and trying to alter the level could backfire tremendously.

For some symptoms and effects of high dopamine - and they aren't all desirable :

mentalhealthdaily.com/2015/...

I haven't seen a mention of you having tested any of the vitamins and minerals that get mentioned on this forum. Improving and optimising nutrients makes a big (positive) difference to mood, and reduces anxiety and depression in people with thyroid disease. In your shoes I'd start with that before thinking about dopamine.

You might find this article of some interest :

medlicker.com/789-low-dopam...

Good luck.

[Peachandcream in reply to humanbean]

I appreciate your feed back. I take multi vitamin daily. I suffer with anxiety, which I take propranolol for, doesn’t always work.Really feel a need a lift. I’m struggling to be natural. Everything is a task.

So fed up with myself. ????

[Yeswithasmile]

Helvella is correct in that Levodopa is a drug used to treat certain illnesses. My husband has Parkinson’s and there are a lot of possible side effects from taking Synthetic Levodopa or even the mucuna puriens (it’s more natural form). People that have the ability to make their dopamine would be ill advised to attempt to take it.

However Zyban for instance is different and from what I have read it doesn’t appear to interfere with your supply just possibly from how your brain utilises it. X.

[radd]

Peachandcream,

The limbic systems circuitry (emotional brain) is all richly connected by neural pathways to process love, joy, pleasure, pain, anger and fear. Dopamine pathways are a part of this and represent our natural incentive-motivation system.

You have to make your own dopamine. Going for a walk on a sunny day releases endorphins (opioid system) that stimulates dopamine activity. The more frequently practiced the more dopamine will enable happiness to become more easily attainable, whereas consistently elevated levels of stress, etc will eventually reduce nerve endings that release dopamine and the receptors to which dopamine needs to bind to. This reduces our resilience and makes us vulnerable to depression and sickness.

Brain and minds aren’t born but built upon experiences. For healthy brain & mind development and maintenance we need our biological, emotional and thinking/learning needs all met. Every day try for a DOSE of:

Dopamine

Oxytocin

Serotonin

Endorphin

[Peachandcream in reply to radd]

Many thanks for your response. I think I’m feeling tired and drained at the moment. I suppose I was hoping for a quick lift, but I realise I must stay focused on the all the positive aspects of my life. It’s sooo nice to share worries and feelings. I appreciate your input. Hope all is well with you.

[Josephineinamachine]

Hi I was thinking about dopamine the other day...I know that I get dopamine from ‘achievement’ (even something as mundane as cleaning the bathroom!). I know the dopamine loop is way more complicated than that, but wondered if being unable to do/achieve the things I could previously do has a negative impact on dopamine generally?

[Peachandcream in reply to Josephineinamachine]

You are so right, I used to feel so much better when my house was clean and tidy. Just lately I have done the very basic cleaning. I know I need to lift myself out of this negative mood. So I will endeavour to push myself and hopefully get back to feeling in control. Thanks for your help and support.Hope all is well with you.

[humanbean]

There's a reference in this thread to Zyban. This is what the British National Formulary has to say about it :

bnf.nice.org.uk/drug/buprop...