#epinephrine

[fit-resusboy]

A personal favorite of mine, just need someone to fufill that fantasy bros ;-P

[macgyvermedical]

Could you tell us about the pharmaceutical history of epinephrine please?

There's so much about the history of epinephrine that I'm also going to refer you to the Sawbones episode about it. You can listen to it here:

EpiPen | Maximum Fun

How did a journey that began with Prince Albert hunting for jellyfish on a cruise end with one of the biggest calamities in prescription dru

[allthecanadianpolitics]

Quebec schools could soon be equipped with EpiPens as part of new allergy guidelines

Quebec schools could soon be instructed to keep epinephrine injectors, or EpiPens, on hand for emergency use. Some schools already keep Epip

Quebec schools could soon be instructed to keep epinephrine injectors, or EpiPens, on hand for emergency use. The recommendation is part of school-based care guidelines currently being developed by Quebec's education and health ministries, The Canadian Press has learned. Part of the guide will deal with distributing and administering medications, such as Epipens, in emergencies. Some schools already keep Epipens on site, but it's the legal responsibility of students with allergies to bring their own to school.

Full article

Tagging: @politicsofcanada

[er-cryptid]

Epinephrine

[thejackofalltrades42069]

How dopamine actually works.

Intro.

I’ve noticed there is a lot of misunderstood information about dopamine, a lot of people talk about dopamine and say very inaccurate information, and I've found many videos that talk about a “dopamine detox” that give good recommendations overall but fail to explain how dopamine really works. The term “dopamine detox” isn’t accurate. I’ll try to explain how dopamine works and share a video at the end that explains it better (long video, though).

I’ll talk about how dopamine works as a neuromodulator, because it also works in the body as a hormone (I won’t talk about differences or any complicated stuff). I highly suggest listening to the video I’m sharing from Andrew Huberman, top notch and easy to understand information from scientists.

Something to keep in mind is that consistency is key in order to change habits and make this information more useful in practice. Also, these are all facts that have been studied in humans and animals for a long time, this post is not based on opinions.

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Note.

*Dopamine doesn’t work alone, other neurotransmitters are released together with it (such as glutamate and epinephrine, usually known as “adrenaline”), I won’t talk about those other neurotransmitters, but I wanted to make a note that dopamine and other neurotransmitters or neuromodulators aren’t that simple and don’t just work by themselves.

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Explanation.

Dopamine is mostly related to:

-reward

-motivation

-attention

-alertness

Dopamine kinda gives us motivation and pleasure to keep it simple, it’s part of a natural “reward system” that we all have, all mammals have this reward system.

We all have a “baseline” of dopamine, some people have a higher baseline, some lower, you can think about it like there is a “normal” level of dopamine we usually have.

When we get our level or baseline of dopamine too high after engaging in many dopamine releasing activities, our baseline will drop and go really low, a lot lower than usual, and for it to go back to normal it can take from hours to days. If our dopamine level is low, we will feel less energetic and will be less motivated to do anything because our levels will be very low.

That’s the reason engaging in too many dopamine-releasing activities often is a bad idea. There are many activities that will make us release a lot of dopamine, such as, eating chocolate, eating sugar, eating junk (or delicious) food, consuming drugs, using social networks, etc. These activities will make us release a lot of dopamine. Sure, it’s fine to do them a little, but doing any of those a lot will drain out our energy and we won’t feel motivated to do anything, we won’t even have energy to pay attention to things like movies or series.

There are other addictions that make us release a lot of dopamine that should be avoided such as playing videogames for many hours daily or like watching a bunch of porn very often. Other activities that can be avoided (at least sometimes) to keep a good level of dopamine is for example, drinking an energy drink and listening to your favorite music loudly when exercising. Exercising is an activity that will make you release dopamine, if it’s done daily together with those stimulants, you’ll be increasing your levels of dopamine too much temporarily, and then they will be lower for some time (hours or days depending).

Other activities such as having sex that will increase your dopamine temporarily, but unless you’re addicted, there won’t be any problem at all. Part of the key thing here is recognizing and having a better management of addictions.

A key thing to understand dopamine, in the example of social media and casinos, what they do to keep you engaged is making you have an intermittent release of dopamine, every once in a while when you’re browsing social media, you see a post or news that make you release a bunch of dopamine, if you keep using social media for long, you’ll be exhausting yourself for this reason and you won’t feel motivated to do other activities, perhaps you’ll still have some motivation, but not as much as you could have (if you’re not a huge addict), because your baseline level of dopamine will be a lot lower than it could be. Casinos do the same, they give you a bait every once in a while that gives you a dopamine release which is addictive, but the house always wins.

Another example of this is, a person who you’re attracted to sends you text messages occasionally, but doesn’t really reply to your messages often, this will give you a big dopamine release every time that person messages you, and it will keep you hooked to that person (beware of people who do this, they’re not that interested, ha).

The recommendation here would be not to engage in too many dopamine releasing activities during the day. This will help save energy that will result in motivation to do useful things such as work, exercise, or hobbies. Things that require effort will be too hard to do if we’re for example using social networks too often.

When we’re expecting something to happen, we will be releasing dopamine and feel motivated to pursue it. But if we’ve spent all our dopamine earlier, we won’t even be motivated to pursue things we want to happen, for example, a guy who’s single and wants to have a girlfriend, if he’s spent all his day engaging in dopamine releasing activities like playing videogames and watching many porn videos, it’s likely he won’t do anything to look for a partner because he’s completely unmotivated to do it, his baseline levels of dopamine are really low and will continue to be so if he doesn’t change his habits.

It’s also a terrible idea to reward yourself every time you do an activity that requires effort, this will mess with our dopamine system and lead to zero motivation if the reward doesn’t exist (for example eating chocolate and/ or drinking alcohol every day after work). The effort and results in the work you do will release the necessary dopamine and will make you feel better overtime if dopamine releasing activities are more controlled (like putting the cellphone in a drawer in silence while working and 30 minutes before sleeping). Even if your job is boring, if you remove a lot of distractions (like social media), concentrate more on it and do it well, it will feel a lot more satisfactory and you’ll even feel more energetic for the rest of the day (you should be taking the necessary breaks during your shift, just working for hours straight like a robot will exhaust anyone).

*Cold water is good for generating dopamine overtime occasionally (like shutting down the hot water at the end of a shower or getting into a tub with cold water), not daily because you’ll get used to it and then it won’t help. It’s not really known why but getting into cold water sometimes is good for maintaining good levels of dopamine.

Caffeine in general is also a good regulator of dopamine (1-2 cups is best, too much of anything is a bad idea).

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Conclusion.

Overall, I believe we all have a big addiction to our cellphones, media, and/ or drugs (such as alcohol). The first step to work on this problem is to understand and then recognize the issue, being honest to ourselves is key because we are very contradictory beings and our beliefs often blind us to facts, and we often keep engaging in self-damaging activities. Over and out.

Here's the video I used as the main guide to this post, great stuff:

[void-galaxy-shenanigans]

Infodump/Long Post: Caffeine, Sugar, Dopamine, & ADHD

Hi. I’m Nico. I don’t usually infodump on here but Aiden did before & fellow neurodivergent people seemed to enjoy seeing nd centered content, & people gave him a lot of attention, so…

Here goes I guess. I hope y’all like it.

It’s gonna be a bit long but I found it fascinating so—

So first important thing is, this is based on research studies I found & theories I know, as well as my own observations, & may not be absolutely perfect because of that. But for the purpose of sharing information I’m going to tell you the theories & findings & build from there. Just bear in mind these aren’t set in stone & knowledge could change in the future - this is based on recent/current findings & understanding.

((& I don't want any arguing about the theories, the existence of ADHD, the addictive nature of caffeine/sugar (that's not the central topic here), or the way I formatted this in replies/reblogs please))

——

So many of you may know that ADHDers are affected differently by caffeine (coffee) than non-ADHDers (& neurotypicals). It’s actually been so consistent that I can tell if someone is ADHD or not based on their reaction to coffee - even before they’re diagnosed. It’s generally accepted that stimulants affect ADHDers differently. Coffee/caffeine usually puts ADHDers to sleep, or makes them drowsy, or makes them very focused, & it’s sometimes baffling as an ADHDer that some people can drink coffee to feel energized & jittery (it feels like a lie sometimes). That’s not to say that people who aren’t put to sleep by caffeine can’t have ADHD, but it’s very common to be put to sleep/calmed down by coffee.

Based on my personal experience with coffee, I’ve had a 20 ounce black coffee put me to sleep for four hours. I also, just yesterday, had a 20oz sugared latte & ended up hyperfocusing on this (topic of infodump), rewriting an intro template we made around a year ago, & writing stories (a special interest of mine) for around 6-8 hours total.

Now I think I might know why.

So I suspected the other day that maybe it had something to do with dopamine, & I did some research on how caffeine affects the brain. But because I also know sugared coffee (e.g. syrup-flavoured lattes, which is what I prefer) seem to have a different affect (especially depending on how much sugar you use), I looked into how sugar affects the brain too.

——

This is gonna use a few technical terms so I’ll explain them first for anyone who doesn’t know—

Adrenaline/Epinephrine: “A hormone your body can release (especially when you’re under stress) that increases blood circulation rate (quickens heart beat, strengthens force of heart’s contractions), breathing speed, & carbohydrate metabolism, & prepares your muscles to be used. It’s part of the human ‘fight or flight’ response to fear, panic, or perceived threat. An adrenaline rush can feel like anxiousness, nervousness, or pure excitement as your body & mind prepare for an event.”

Adrenaline Simplified - It gives you heightened energy, excitement, strength, & alertness, & a lot of it will make you jittery, anxious, or panicky.

Serotonin: A neurotransmitter compound which constricts the blood vessels and acts as a neurotransmitter. It’s responsible for influencing/stabilizing mood, feelings of well-being & happiness, cognition, reward, learning, memory, & numerous physiological processes (nausea & vasoconstriction (narrowing (constriction) of blood vessels by small muscles in their walls to slow blood flow)).

Serotonin Simplified - reduces depression, regulates anxiety, heals wounds, stimulates nausea, maintains bone health, helps with sleeping, eating, & digesting, & regulates happiness, well-being, & mood stability; it’s a soother & a happy chemical. A lot of it will make you extremely energetic & jittery.

Dopamine: “A neurotransmitter compound. When dopamine is released in large amounts, it creates feelings of pleasure (happiness, achievement) & reward, which motivates you to repeat specific behaviours; low levels of dopamine are linked to reduced motivation & decreased enthusiasm for things that would excite most people. It controls mental & emotional responses but also motor (physical) reactions. Known for being the “happy hormone”; responsible for the experience of happiness. The anticipation of most types of rewards typically increases the level of dopamine in the brain (anticipatory pleasure), & then you get a larger dose later when you get the reward.”

Dopamine Simplified - It’s your happiness/pleasure response to achievements, rewards, praise, etc. It functions as both motivation & reward, & when it’s functioning properly it’s what keeps you focused on tasks until they’re done.

Residual Dopamine: Dopamine that’s “floating” around in your brain, ready to be deployed as needed to motivate you & help you get through less fun tasks.

Temporary Dopamine: Dopamine that you get as a reward from things like beating a level in a video game, winning the lottery, etc. (accomplishments); is released after an accomplishment or event is over.

Note that typically, these chemicals (dopamine, serotonin, & adrenaline) are supposed to be balanced, & they’re supposed to be generally not very difficult to get. In mentally ill or some neurodivergent brains, however, these chemicals are imbalanced.

——

Now that the technical stuff is out of the way -

Caffeine lowers your serotonin levels, majorly increases dopamine, & releases adrenaline.

Sugar raises all three - serotonin, dopamine, AND adrenaline.

So sugared coffee will raise serotonin, dopamine, & adrenaline levels.

So how does that make them affect ADHDers differently?

——

This part is based on something called Low Arousal Theory (& no that’s not sexual).

Basically, the theory states that what makes an ADHDer appear inattentive or hyperactive has to do with dopamine in the brain - both how much we have & how easy it is to get it.

ADHDers, according to this theory, have lower residual dopamine. This causes an imbalance between dopamine and other neurotransmitter compounds/hormones.

Because of this, then, ADHDers have to rely on temporary hits of dopamine, both to focus & to boost their mood. There are often less ways we can get enough dopamine, since our brain doesn’t pre-produce enough & we thus need more dopamine total to be able to focus. So we end up hyperfocusing on anything that automatically gives large doses of dopamine - which usually ends up being things like TV shows (binge watching), video games (blackout hyperfocus where you play for hours & lose time), & social media (like, scroll, comment, scroll, lots of feedback/reward).

——

(Note in this case sugared coffee can mean coffee with sugar cubes/physical sugar added, coffee with sugary creamer added, coffee with milk added coffee with sugar syrup added, coffee with flavoured sugar syrup added, & coffee with any combination of those added (because those will all add at least a little sugar); & black coffee means coffee/espresso with not even milk added)

So if black coffee raises your dopamine levels, that means, for non-ADHDers, that it makes them energized, jittery, anxious, motivated and alert. Sugared coffee has a more significant/amplified, but similar, affect & this often shows up as shakiness & inattentiveness.

Non-ADHDers will get an artificial imbalance & a whole lot of dopamine, adrenaline, &/or serotonin. Since they already have enough dopamine naturally, this spike causes hyperactive/inattentiveness.

For ADHDers, however, their dopamine levels are low, so black coffee will cause an artificial imbalance but will leave the ADHDer with enough dopamine (higher levels of dopamine) to be motivated to do tasks & focus, & this usually causes focused drowsiness in small doses. Large doses (usually 20+ ounces of black coffee) will put the ADHD brain to sleep.

Sugared coffee though, for an ADHD brain, will cause an artificial balance with higher levels of dopamine, so this usually creates either blackout hyperfocus (medium dose of sugar + medium (16-20oz) coffee), calm focus (large coffee (20-32oz) + some sugar), or amplified hyperactivity (small coffee (8-16oz) + a lot of sugar or large coffee (20-32oz) + a lot of sugar; jittery, jumpiness, running around).

((Note the oz are an estimate & will vary depending on your personal tolerance for caffeine & sugar))

Essentially, sugared coffee could have a similar affect to prescription meds for ADHDers who don’t trust meds, get bad side effects from meds, or aren’t allowed meds? (I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it or say anyone should ditch their meds to try it, especially since coffee can be addictive, but I found it fascinating either way (since it explained (potentially) why black coffee could put me & other ADHDers to sleep).)

It also means being put to sleep by coffee, or suddenly able to Do The Thing™ because of coffee, is ADHD culture. (/lighthearted)

~Nico

[ask-a-vetblr]

Are atropine and epinephrine’s effect on the heart able to be compared proportionally? I know atropine can help bradycardia, and smaller amounts of epinephrine can as well.

gettingvetted here.

They are two different classes of drug. Atropine is an anticholinergic, which means that it blocks transmission of parasympathetic ("rest and digest") signals. Since parasympathetic influence causes slowed heart rate, low blood pressure, etc, removal of these influences (for example, when under anesthesia) causes a sympathetic effect ("fight or flight"), raising the heart rate and the blood pressure by generally blocking all of the opposite signals. In itself, atropine does not cause stimulation of any particular nerve - just blocks the effects of other hormones and drugs.

Meanwhile, epinephrine is an adrenergic agonist, meaning that it specifically activates sympathetic signals. Epinephrine causes elevated blood pressure by constricting blood vessels far away from the heart, while decreasing the pressure in the vessels around the heart itself. However, its main effect is to cause that elevated blood pressure by stimulating the heart to contract harder and somewhat faster. Its main effect is on blood pressure, rather than heart rate, although it does have some function there as well.

So, sure, they are comparable - atropine elevates both heart rate and blood pressure by blocking signals for low heart rate/pressure. Meanwhile, epinephrine elevates mostly blood pressure by activating signals for high blood pressure. This is why they are often used together (among other drugs) when performing CPR.

[gayacademicwriter]

PSA on epinephrine injectors

trigger warnings: allergies, allergy symptoms, anaphylaxis, mention of hospitals

allergies:

— what does "anaphylactic" mean? for that matter, why do allergies occur? — an allergy is basically the body's immune system overreacting to something that isn't actually dangerous to it. these overreactions can vary from irritating to life-threatening. — having an anaphylactic allergy is when the body overreacts to such a point that the person's throat closes up, and prevents them from breathing—so they die from anaphylaxis, or not being able to breathe.

if you know a friend who has an anaphylactic allergy:

— first and foremost: ask your friends what their allergens are. what are they allergic to? — ask your friends what their symptoms are! this is useful in recognizing if they're having an allergic reaction. — for example, if someone touches an allergen (but doesn't consume it) symptoms may include (but are not limited to): — swelling — hives — if someone ingests an allergen (actually consumes it) symptoms may include (but are not limited to): — swelling around the lips — itchiness around the lips and/or inside the mouth — vomiting — wheezing — coughing — being unable to breathe — again, neither of these are comprehensive lists, just some common examples, so ask your friends about their allergic symptoms — ask your friend where they keep their epinephrine. usually in the form of an auto-injector such as epi-pen or allerject, epinephrine will reverse the symptoms of anaphylaxis.

what to do in case of a reaction

— your friend probably carries an epinephrine auto-injector with them, either in the form of an epi-pen (long, cylindrical object that looks a little bit like a pen) or an allerject (a flat box). locate the device.

— for an epi-pen: — open the lid and remove the epi-pen from the case. keep the case so you have somewhere to put the used epi-pen afterwards. — remove the blue cap at the top of the epi-pen. — the epi-pen should be injected in the upper thigh. remove any clothing that covers the area. — inject the epi-pen (orange bottom end goes into the thigh). hold it in place for five full seconds. you should hear a click, which means the epinephrine has injected. — put the pen back into the case. — drive your friend to the hospital, or call for an ambulance. they should be monitored for at least 4-8 hours for symptoms.

— for an allerject: — an allerject will actually give you verbal instructions on how to inject it. in case that it doesn't work, follow below: — remove the allerject from the case. (pull from the top of the device.) — remove the black cap at the bottom of the allerject. — the allerject should be injected in the upper thigh. remove any clothing that covers the area. — inject the allerject, bottom end first. hold for five seconds. you should hear a click, which means the epinephrine has been injected. — put the allerject safely away. — drive your friend to the hospital. they should be monitored for symptoms for at least 4-8 hours afterwards.

stay safe out there my friends <3