Is there a chance zoloft is keeping me in remission?

Well the lab I work in specializes in studying the role of serotonin and its role in IBD and I can tell you that the answer is almost definitely no.

In 2009 we showed that by decreasing the amount of 5-HT in the gut, colitis was decreased, so an increase in 5-HT will cause the opposite. If you want the studies I have access to pretty much all of the ones ever published on the subject : p

EDIT:

Actually, to be fair, the one and only human study testing 5-HT levels in humans with IBD showed that people with IBD had lower levels of 5-HT, so it is possible that increasing the dose could be beneficial, but there havent been any studies to show whether or not such a correlation exists.

There's a bazillion "in human" studies on IBD showing elevated 5-HT. Same with IBS.

Luminal and Blood Side comes into play.

Also there's a few others on here that have gone into remission taking antidepressants. So it's quite possible. Taking 5-HT on it's own however should cause an increase in symptoms.

Post Edited (Canada Mark) : 6/12/2014 7:04:24 PM (GMT-6)

Welbutrin is one mentioned on here a few times as the driving drug inducing remission in a few people on the board here. You could search that on here.

@teddy this sort of applies to your question:
Here is an interesting "in Human" or really "from Human!" :) study on wonky seratonin uptake in patients with Crohn's disease displaying IBS symptoms while in remission.

Serotonin Synthesis and Uptake in Symptomatic Patients With Crohn’s Disease in Remission
www.cghjournal.org/article/S1542-3565(07)00184-X/fulltext#bib1_internalLink


Here's a decent paper on Seratonin in General:
Serotonin is a sword and a shield of the bowel: serotonin plays offense and defense.
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23303993 - this one being mouse.

In general it's well established now that Seratonin effects inflammation and plays a regulatory role in the humoral immune response as well as the innate immune response. Most immune cells express 5HT and Dopamine receptors for this purpose. It's been proposed that both Seratonin and Dopamine function as the "Master Regulators" but has yet to be proven though the evidence of just such is pretty substantial.

Search Seratonin and IBS and that'll keep you busy for days! There less on the IBD side, but those that exist have some pretty intriguing results.

@Teddy - Absolutely! Id be happy to answer any questions you may have about getting involved in research!

As for the main point of the thread, once I get internet back on my computer (rather than just on my phone) I'll post a short little summary of the main effects serotonin has on IBD and some of the research my lab has produced. Its more for interest sake, but its pretty neat stuff