Dopamine: who tried dopamine agonists/l-dopa/antiparkinson(ism) meds?

[TalkingAntColony]

I first noticed increased motivation and better orgasms in the first 6 weeks on it. I started at 0.25mg/d and went up to 0.5mg/d after a month.

Then I stopped for a month (due to surgery), effects slowly wore off.

I've now been back on it for 2 months. I continue to have good orgasms, mildly increased motivation, reduced anhedonia, and euphoria from music. I think it took 4-6 weeks for full onset of effects.

I have been taking multiple things during this time so I cannot be 100% sure of the effects causation. But this is my best guess as to how rasagiline has effected me.

I would like to stop taking it at some point and see where I'm at. It is not something I think is safe to take for life for non-parkinsons. Long term, it could in theory cause downregulation of dopamine production and/or receptors (though this may eventually return to normal on cessation). However I have yet to find any case of long term adverse effects along those lines. Some people are into taking selegiline once or twice a week for anti-aging purposes, so there does not seem to be much concern of long term effects in non-parkinsons. Selegiline and Rasagiline may also upregulate GDNF, which could possibly strengthen dopaminergic circuits, causing lasting effects after cessation.

If anyone is interested in trying selegiline or rasagiline, I think the key is to start really low dose and work your way up. Ex, start with selegiline 2.5mg or rasagiline 0.25mg every other day (AM). Wait 2-3 weeks for MAO-B levels to reach a steady state inhibition. If still no effects, increase dosing to every day, wait a few weeks, etc. If you get bad side effects, take a week off and resume at a lower dose. Don't go above selegiline 5mg/day or rasagiline 1mg/d. If you decide to stop, taper off slowly. Note that it takes a month or two for the brain to build back up MAO-B enzymes, so it could take that long to return to normal after stopping.

Also of interest is reversible MAO-B inhibitors, but they are newer and not very available yet.

[Jaxx]

I first noticed increased motivation and better orgasms in the first 6 weeks on it. I started at 0.25mg/d and went up to 0.5mg/d after a month.

Then I stopped for a month (due to surgery), effects slowly wore off.

I've now been back on it for 2 months. I continue to have good orgasms, mildly increased motivation, reduced anhedonia, and euphoria from music. I think it took 4-6 weeks for full onset of effects.

I have been taking multiple things during this time so I cannot be 100% sure of the effects causation. But this is my best guess as to how rasagiline has effected me.

I would like to stop taking it at some point and see where I'm at. It is not something I think is safe to take for life for non-parkinsons. Long term, it could in theory cause downregulation of dopamine production and/or receptors (though this may eventually return to normal on cessation). However I have yet to find any case of long term adverse effects along those lines. Some people are into taking selegiline once or twice a week for anti-aging purposes, so there does not seem to be much concern of long term effects in non-parkinsons. Selegiline and Rasagiline may also upregulate GDNF, which could possibly strengthen dopaminergic circuits, causing lasting effects after cessation.

If anyone is interested in trying selegiline or rasagiline, I think the key is to start really low dose and work your way up. Ex, start with selegiline 2.5mg or rasagiline 0.25mg every other day (AM). Wait 2-3 weeks for MAO-B levels to reach a steady state inhibition. If still no effects, increase dosing to every day, wait a few weeks, etc. If you get bad side effects, take a week off and resume at a lower dose. Don't go above selegiline 5mg/day or rasagiline 1mg/d. If you decide to stop, taper off slowly. Note that it takes a month or two for the brain to build back up MAO-B enzymes, so it could take that long to return to normal after stopping.

Also of interest is reversible MAO-B inhibitors, but they are newer and not very available yet.

What other things are you taking? (Eg nac?)
I have similar experiences, but without any real impact on orgasm.
Did you try stimulants in the past? Im considering dextroamphetamine.

[TalkingAntColony]

See my log thread for full details (will post update soon) but I am currently on rasagiline, l-citrulline, zinc, magnesium, boron, vitamin D, B1, and B2.
I have not tried stimulants since PSSD and probably won't because I am sensitive to insomnia side effects.