Serotonin vs. Dopamine

I have done search after search about this and I can't find the answers I'm looking for.  I'm just wondering how is it determined which chemical your brain needs for depression/anxiety?  What if you are taking the dopamine/neopenephrine meds and not the serotonin med but your brain needs the serotonin? Does anybody understand how they determine which med to give you?  Has anybody ever questioned their doctor about this before?

Medicine is more a science than it is an art, but it's not all the way there yet. If you read the research on drugs like ibuprofen and some others that have been around forever, it'll say right there in the literature that they have no idea how or why they work. We were probably born just a little too soon. In a hundred years or so they'll probably know a lot more about what they're doing.

I've never heard of any antidepressants that actually target dopamine - I believe they only target serotonin, norepinephrine, or both. The only reason dopamine is involved is because of the biochemistry that goes on in your brain... its believed that serotonin actually "hijacks" dopamine transporters, and the more serotonin you have in your brain's pathways, the more this takes place. Serotonin has always been looked at at kind of the "moderator" of all other neurotransmitters, and its interaction with dopamine in people who take SSRI's is just an example of that. Its a slow process though, which is theorized to explain why it takes weeks for any anti-anxiety effects to be seen.
So basically, if you are taking a med for your anxiety, you ARE getting a med that will alter the levels of serotonin. All SSRI's, MAOI's and TCA's (the most common forms of antidepressants) do this.
Hope I helped! I was a biopsychology major in college :)

Thanks, everyone. I'm still not sure I understand. My research shows that the SSRI's are the serotonin reuptake inhibitors and the Wellbutrin, Effexor type meds are the dopamine/neopeneprine type meds. I was taken off of Lexapro because of "serotonin syndrome" I take Immitrex for migraine which is a serotonin antagonist. My understanding is that if the body gets too much serotonin it can shut down and be fatal. I don't want to scare anybody here. This is a triptan & SSRI thing. I'm just worried that Wellbutrin alone is not going to get me out of my depression - I slipped into depression again once I went off of the Lexapro. That's why I'm wondering if my brain needs the serotonin. I think that the docs prescribe trial and error. That's why they call it "the ART of medicine."

You are right - I forgot about good ol bupoprion (Wellbutrin, or Zyban). This drug is also a dopamine reuptake inhibitor, in addition to the serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibition. Effexor is mostly a serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor, and a weak inhibitor of dopamine reuptake. Anyways, the brain absoultely needs serotonin - besides its supposed role in regulating of all the other neurotransmitters, it also affects vital bodily functions like hunger, sleep, thermoregulation, etc.....

Did your doctor ever talk to you about your diet? Sometimes altering your diet to limit food containing serotonin precursors can make a difference (i.e. turkey - it contains tons of tryptophan!!). I might also ask your doctor about the dosage amounts of the two drugs... I feel like you could probably have an effective dose of both without overloading your synapses with serotonin. But you are getting serotonin reuptake inhibition with the Wellbutrin as well, so don't count it out as being able to help :)