Serotonin booster leads to increased functional brain connectivity

Magnesium supplements have laxative effects as long as they are not absorbed. More bioavailable forms of magnesium do not exhibit laxative effects in normal dosages.

So's Lexapro for some people.

(Me. I'm some people.)

The study dosing was 1mg/day, compared to the standard dose as a laxative of 2mg.

"In this study, we used a low dose of prucalopride (1 mg as opposed to the licenced dose of 2 mg) to reduce the risk of side effects. At this time, we currently lack information about the optimal dose of prucalopride needed for occupancy of brain 5-HT4 receptors, although data from our previous reports indicate that 1mg is sufficient to demonstrate pro-cognitive potential."

I was taking 200mg a day, about 45 mins before I'd go to sleep, with a piece of brown bread. (200mg is considered a high dose - but I hadn't done a lot of research, I was just looking for 'something' to help, and bought from the first shop I found had them.

On one hand, very little else changed for me, I started taking it in late summer so as the days were getting shorter. As my wife was quite ill we still didn't see a lot of people or socialise much.

But around when I'd finished my first box of tablets (180), my job started returning to the office - that could have helped (though at first I hated going back to the office and dreaded it), the spring time we also became more social again. Which is approx when I moved to taking it more irregularly.

Aware my example is purely anecdotal, but before I started taking these I had tried cbd and melatonin tablets to try and help my sleep - my insomnia was terrible and neither had helped noticeably. I had also tried the 'Calm' and 'Headspace' apps and various meditation and breathing exercises and none seemed to help me.

I didn't actually think I was depressed at the time, but looking back it is clear I was in a place I'd not been before. 5htp might not have helped at all, but I'd recommend trying it for someone in a similar position - as it felt so transformative for me.

I equally didn't realised how long it can take to come out of feeling so down, and how much I can now control my mood through exercise and being outdoors.

---edit---

Also to add - this wasn't a magic cure - but I feel it gave me the boost and reset to my mood that I needed to make the changes in my life.

My wife is still ill to some degree, my job is 'more stressful' in some ways, but I've taken care of myself and know what to look for.

Something in our industrial processes must be screwing with people's serotonin levels because Psychedelics and other serotenergic drugs are becoming the defacto treatment method for a whole host of ailments. I personally suffer from IBS, migraines, sleeping problems, and mood swings, if I haven't taken a dose of psychedelics in the last 6 months. Now, getting regular exercise, eating well, staying hydrated, sleeping 8 hours a night, spending time with friends, sexual and emotional fulfillment, and performing fulfilling labor, that will get you 80% or even 100% towards fixing most, if not all your problems. But I think these Serotonergic drugs give people the extra push in the right direction, and immediately fixes a lot of the underlying problems that would normally take consistent, positive environmental changes to root out.

I myself am biased towards psychedelics, but I understand they're not for everyone. But SSRIs tend to be overprescribed and because they are often taken for far longer than necessary they cause a lot of changes neurophysically that aren't necessarily positive (and the most common side-effect, the loss of sex-drive, often creates many more problems for the user in their personal life.) I honestly don't know what's best, but I think almost nobody will have a poor reaction to a <1g dose of Psilocybin mushrooms (or if we want to be more conservative, <.5g), and the benefits of even just one small dose far outweigh the risks, in my opinion.