[smartiesparty]

Hello fellow PCers,

I've been wanting to have answers to this for a long time now.
2 years ago I took an SSRI for my depression. My serotonin level in my blood was low before treatment. (blood test)
After my treatment, it was close to 0, even lower than before. (blood got tested again)
what could that have meant ? and it could that have something to do with my severe digestive problems ?

SSRI's - selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors - inhibit the reuptake of serotonin, a neurotransmitter, so that more serotonin is available in the synaptic cleft. It doesn't sound weird that less serotonin is in the blood as more is in the synaptic cleft.

[Aracnae]

I have a similar level of serotonin, and the last time I had a doc who was willing to test the level they told me it didn't look like I was producing any. When you have none to work with, ssri's don't do a thing for you. They have the same amount of efficacy as tick tacks for me. It can be a cause of digestive, sleep, and pain issues, or it can be caused by chronic issues too. They go hand in hand. I hope you can get that stuff figured out with your doc. I know it sucks.

[-jimi-]

I must have missed something, but there is a blood test for depression?

[Aracnae]

Originally Posted by -jimi-

I must have missed something, but there is a blood test for depression?

There is for serotonin levels, yes. Not having low serotonin doesn't necessarily mean you don't have depression, though.

[Rose76]

Like jimi, I am not aware that anything can be learned about one's mental state by measuring seotonin levels in the blood. Not that I know everything, but I've been treated for depression for decades and am always reading up on what doctors look at in treating this condition. I'ld be very interested to know what a doctor is hoping to discover by ordering tests of blood serotonin.

Serotonin does a lot of things throughout the body. I have read that it plays a role doing something in the digestive tract.

What has your doctor given as a reason for doing this test, and what are the results supposed to mean?

I'm not sure that changes in blood levels of serotonin correlates with changes in serotonin availability within the synaptic clefts between nerves, where serotonin levels are theorized to affect mood.

[smartiesparty]

Originally Posted by Rose76

Like jimi, I am not aware that anything can be learned about one's mental state by measuring seotonin levels in the blood. Not that I know everything, but I've been treated for depression for decades and am always reading up on what doctors look at in treating this condition. I'ld be very interested to know what a doctor is hoping to discover by ordering tests of blood serotonin.

Serotonin does a lot of things throughout the body. I have read that it plays a role doing something in the digestive tract.

What has your doctor given as a reason for doing this test, and what are the results supposed to mean?

I'm not sure that changes in blood levels of serotonin correlates with changes in serotonin availability within the synaptic clefts between nerves, where serotonin levels are theorized to affect mood.

Serotonin plays a part in the digestive tract, regulating the peristaltic movement of the intestines for instance. That's why they sometimes give SSRI's to people with irritable bowel syndrome.

Doctor simply said she wanted to see if I have a low level of serotonin in my blood, as this could indicate that the level of serotonin in my brain is also low. It's not a guarantee, but an indicator I guess.

A very weird thing is that I got severe irritable bowel syndrome from the SSRI I took. It was a low dose, yet had devastating effects on me. It didn't help me at all, only gave me all the bad side effects that exist on the notice.

I wonder if having serotonin levels close to 0 means I'll never become healthy again ? It scares me.

[Aracnae]

It doesn't mean you wont ever be healthy again. It may be that you need to explore other treatment options with your doctor, and sometimes changing up your diet a bit can help. I, for example, am vegan because everything from animals just destroys my digestive tract. I'm sure you probably already have tried cutting out things that mess with your stomach, but maybe some experimentation with food will help at least some. I'm not saying you have to be vegan or anything.

[bipolar angel]

I do not know of a test for depression but my pdoc does do labs to check vit d levels-she feels low vit d contributes ti depression. She also wants me have some other tests-because I am sooooo sensitive to med doses and changes. She wants me yry the new genesight test-basivally,I believe it checks DNA and they use some markers to see which classes of psych meds might be more effective for me/fewer side effects. I do not think it is used for all the meds out there- just certain groups. She says I can check but many mainstream ins plans cover part medicare is covering it etc. I am also complex because of several gi issues,so whn my tract slows down/Been tested it can take me 18-20 hrs to digest what takes you 2 hrs...so meds can hang around for longer time periods/I suddenly get the effect but it's tripled....anyway..