Dammit, I must have skimmed over the part where the studies show a reduction in rats. I thought it was more theory than fact. Plus, if it happens in rats it has to be caused by the surgery and not depression. I really didn't want to believe that my brain's reward system has been partially destroyed. Great... we get all the downsides of being addicted to coke without actually doing the drug, here are some symptoms of cocaine withdrawal. Sound familiar? Coke addicts suffer from low dopamine.

Agitation
Depression
Severe fatigue
Anxiety
Episodes of anger
Unmotivated
Nausea/vomiting
Shaking
Muscle pain
Sleep disturbance

I may go back on tyrosine. Phenylalanine, in large amounts, interferes with the production of serotonin. Phenylalanine converts to tyrosine in the body, so tyrosine may have a more potent effect on this.

Below is are quotes from this wiki article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyrosine

"The effect on mood is more noticeable in humans subjected to stressful conditions"
"reductions in stress hormones"

This makes it seem that tyrosine may effective in reducing/replacing serotonin with catecholamines.

Hopefully we can find a way to restore some balance. Tyrosine works, I know this because I've taken it, but the effect dulls out after a while. It's safe too, unlike anti-depressants. It's natural and your body controls how it's processed. If we could find another supplement that raises catecholamines through a different pathway we may be able to cycle them to acheive constant results.