Steroid alternative

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oldestmember

New Member
Hello again. Since this is the most intelligent board on the net I have an interesting question to pose to you. I have noticed that when I put my patients on certain antidepressants they tend to gain weight. When asked they say that they haven´t changed their eating habits. It seems as if the body is working more efficiently in taking up nutrients. I don´t know if it is fat or muscle or both they put on. My question is: Is there some mechanism at work here that could be used to put on muscle? The drug I am thinking about is Mianserin. It´s interesting to note that the mechanism through which Mianserin works is not really known. It works so we use it - much like HST. Remember where youn saw this first.
 
Most antidepressants cause weight gain through an increase in appetite, increased carb craving (NPY?), and some by the subconscious interpretation of "dry mouth" as appetite by some patients. Many tend to drink soft drinks or other beverages other than water to reduce the dry mouth.
What's the chemical name? It doesn't appear to be a drug sold in the US by that name.

At any rate, it would be great if antidrpessants caused an increase in muscle mass, unfortunately the weight gain is likely due to increased intake of food, whether the patient is cognizant of it or not.
 
Given that most overweight people underestimate their caloric intake, I'd say there's a pretty good chance they ARE consuming more and just don't realize it.
 
No, no, no. I am not stupid. Of course I have thought of food intake and things like that. I know that some research has been done on the effect of various antidepressants on metabolism. Some drugs like the SSRI´s have been shown to block an enzyme somewhere in the human metabolism- I forget where , but I could look it up (yawn). Since mianserin hydrochloride (it´s proper name) has a lot of effect on various receptors in the body mediated via presynaptic alpha2receptor inhibition, why couldn´t it have an effect on ezymes in the metabolic pathways? By the way, mianserin is not an SSRI and why it works is still a bit of a mystery. Of course it´s a prescription drug.
 
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