"Anne Rogers" wrote in message
I am now on Remeron, which I absolutely love. However, they advised
against BF'ing on this particular drug because of the lack of studies. I
continue to feed Emily my milk though, because I am taking half of the
lowest dose possible. I am taking half of a 15mg tablet in the evening
and it is working great now. I'd rather have her on my breast milk for
as long as possible.

don't know anything about this drug, is it an SSRI?

Anne


Remeron is a "tetracyclic". (Most antidepressants are SSRIs or
"tricyclics".) SSRIs block the reuptake of serotonin, but Remeron blocks
the receptors that inhibit the release of serotonin and norepinephrin. So,
it sort of takes the brakes off the release of serotonin, resulting in more
serotonin in the synapses. SSRIs don't affect the release of serotonin, but
instead stop it from being "reabsorbed", which also results in higher levels
in the synapses. Two different ways of getting the same result, but each
works better for different people. It's been around awhile, but can have
more side effects than SSRIs so it's not used as much. IIRC it tends to
make people more drowsy than SSRIs.
Tricyclics work much the same way as SSRIs except that they also effect
norepinephrine, so if your depression is related to low norepinephrine
levels as well as serotonin, either Remeron or a tricyclic is probably going
to work better than an SSRI. Problem is, we don't have ways of measuring
which neurotransmitter you need more of, so the only way to tell is by which
medication works for you. Everybody gets to be their own guinea pig!
HTH,
Amy