5HTP???
Question:
>I’d like to hear from anyone taking 5HTP for severe long-term >depression. Why did you try it? What research did you find that made >you take the plunge? Are you taking any other meds (prescription or >other)? Did it do anything for your sleeping problems? What about for >overweight? Did you have any side effects? >How long did it take to be effective – if it was. >I am taking desipramine, dexedrine and ambien, and I am supposed to >switch to Wellbutrin in a few weeks because of bad side effects. I’m >thinking of trying 5HTP before starting on anything else, and want >some info. >Thank you for anything, positive or negative, you can give me to go >on.
5-HTP is a precursor to serotonin. In theory taking large amounts will increase your brain’s serotonin levels. However, there are a few problems with this. For a start the amount of serotonin is less than 2% of the total amount in your body. The other 98%+ is synthesised in the gut, blood, blood vessels and the skin. Most all the 5-HTP you eat will be used in these areas and excreted. Little if any will actually get into the brain. Secondly, the concept that antidepressants work because they increase the amount of serotonin in the brain is wrong. They do increase serotonin expression in the first few weeks you take them, but then the brains bio-feedback mechanism brings levels back to baseline, possibly even slightly below. I’m appending a list of studies verifying this below my sig. However, 5-HTP’s biggest drawback is that it may kill you or damage your health. Like L-Tryptophan, another serotonin precursor, most 5-HTP is contaminated with the Peak-X chemicals that killed over 30 people in the later eighties and permanently damaged the health of thousand. You can read about that at the website maintained by the survivors: http://www.nemsn.org/ The US government maintains a register of adverse reactions to OTC products reported by doctors at http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/aems.html Type 5-HTP into the search engine at the page bottom and you’ll get a list of the latest victims. Ian Stenfors C, Yu H, Ross SB. (2001) "Pharmacological characterisation of the decrease in 5-HT synthesis in the mouse brain evoked by the selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitor citalopram." Naunyn Schmiedebergs Arch Pharmacol, vol 363(2):p 222-32 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&… Cremers TI, Spoelstra EN, de Boer P, et al. (2000) "Desensitisation of 5-HT autoreceptors upon pharmacokinetically monitored chronic treatment with citalopram." Eur J Pharmacol, vol 397(2-3):p 351-7 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&… Alvarez JC, Sanceaume M, Advenier C, et al. (1999)"Differential changes in brain and platelet 5-HT concentrations after steady-state achievement and repeated administration of antidepressant drugs in mice." Eur Neuropsychopharmacol, vol 10(1):p 31-6 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&… Gur E, Dremencov E, Lerer B, Newman ME. (1999) "Venlafaxine: acute and chronic effects on 5-hydroxytryptamine levels in rat brain in vivo." Eur J Pharmacol, vol 372(1):p 17-24 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&… Zangen A, Overstreet DH, Yadid G. (1997) "High serotonin and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid levels in limbic brain regions in a rat model of depression: normalization by chronic antidepressant treatment." J Neurochem, vol 69(6):p 2477-83 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&… Fekkes D, Timmerman L, Pepplinkhuizen L. (1997) "Effects of clomipramine on plasma amino acids and serotonergic parameters in panic disorder and depression." Eur Neuropsychopharmacol, vol 7(3):p 235-9 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&… Trouvin JH, Gardier AM, Chanut E, et al. (1993) "Time course of brain serotonin metabolism after cessation of long-term fluoxetine treatment in the rat." Life Sci, vol 52(18):p PL187-92 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&… Leonard BE. (1988) "Pharmacological effects of serotonin reuptake inhibitors." J Clin Psychiatry, vol 49 Suppl:p 12-7 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&… The best indication that increasing serotonin levels isn’t the factor responsible for the therapeutic effect of antidepressants is the French drug Tianeptine, a Selective Serotonin Re-Uptake Enhancer/Accelerator. That is, it speeds up the removal of Serotonin from the synapses. Yet, it is as effective as Selective Serotonin Re-uptake Inhibitors such as Prozac, which delay serotonin removal. Loo H, Saiz-Ruiz J, Costa e Silva JACE, et al. (1999) "Efficacy and safety of tianeptine in the treatment of depressive disorders in comparison with fluoxetine. " J Affect Disord 1999, vol 56(2-3):p 109-18 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&… When Tianeptine is taken together with a SSRI they cancel each other out and become ineffective. Nowakowska E, Kus K, Chodera A, Rybakowski J. (2000) "Behavioural effects of fluoxetine and tianeptine, two antidepressants with opposite action mechanisms, in rats." Arzneimittelforschung, vol 50(1):p 5-10 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&…
Response:
I am posting this request from alt.support.anxiety-panic (ASAP). While we have been visited by a host of crossposting trolls who do that just for fun we are now also receiving some serious, *normal* messages which are crossposted, either evolving out of what used to be a troll thread or starting a new thread. We feel (and I am confident most of you will agree) that it would be best if these messages were only posted to the relevant newsgroups. I am crossposting this request because I don’t know where many of these messages originated and consequently this seemed the best way to reach as many of you as possible. I apologize for *intruding* like this and I wish each and every one of you (including myself 
) much strength and good luck in your recovery. Thank you! Philip – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – >I’d like to hear from anyone taking 5HTP for severe long-term >depression. Why did you try it? What research did you find that made >you take the plunge? Are you taking any other meds (prescription or >other)? Did it do anything for your sleeping problems? What about for >overweight? Did you have any side effects? >How long did it take to be effective – if it was. >I am taking desipramine, dexedrine and ambien, and I am supposed to >switch to Wellbutrin in a few weeks because of bad side effects. I’m >thinking of trying 5HTP before starting on anything else, and want >some info. >Thank you for anything, positive or negative, you can give me to go >on.
Response:
>I’d like to hear from anyone taking 5HTP for severe long-term >depression. Why did you try it? What research did you find that made >you take the plunge? Are you taking any other meds (prescription or >other)? Did it do anything for your sleeping problems? What about for >overweight? Did you have any side effects? >How long did it take to be effective – if it was. >I am taking desipramine, dexedrine and ambien, and I am supposed to >switch to Wellbutrin in a few weeks because of bad side effects. I’m >thinking of trying 5HTP before starting on anything else, and want >some info. >Thank you for anything, positive or negative, you can give me to go >on.
I tried it. It wound up giving me a headache (which didn’t go away), so I quit taking it. I would check with the doctor and see if he/she recommends taking herbal products with your prescriptions. "Natural" doesn’t necessarily mean safe. Norma — What you know you can’t explain, but you feel it. You’ve felt it your entire life, that there’s something wrong with the world. You don’t know what it is, but it’s there, like a splinter in your mind, driving you mad. Morpheus, The Matrix
Response:
I’d like to hear from anyone taking 5HTP for severe long-term depression. Why did you try it? What research did you find that made you take the plunge? Are you taking any other meds (prescription or other)? Did it do anything for your sleeping problems? What about for overweight? Did you have any side effects? How long did it take to be effective – if it was. I am taking desipramine, dexedrine and ambien, and I am supposed to switch to Wellbutrin in a few weeks because of bad side effects. I’m thinking of trying 5HTP before starting on anything else, and want some info. Thank you for anything, positive or negative, you can give me to go on.
Response:
>I’d like to hear from anyone taking 5HTP for severe long-term >depression. Why did you try it? What research did you find that made >you take the plunge? Are you taking any other meds (prescription or >other)? Did it do anything for your sleeping problems? What about for >overweight? Did you have any side effects? >How long did it take to be effective – if it was. >I am taking desipramine, dexedrine and ambien, and I am supposed to >switch to Wellbutrin in a few weeks because of bad side effects. I’m >thinking of trying 5HTP before starting on anything else, and want >some info. >Thank you for anything, positive or negative, you can give me to go >on.
I tried it. It wound up giving me a headache (which didn’t go away), so I quit taking it. I would check with the doctor and see if he/she recommends taking herbal products with your prescriptions. "Natural" doesn’t necessarily mean safe. Norma — What you know you can’t explain, but you feel it. You’ve felt it your entire life, that there’s something wrong with the world. You don’t know what it is, but it’s there, like a splinter in your mind, driving you mad. Morpheus, The Matrix
Response:
I am posting this request from alt.support.anxiety-panic (ASAP). While we have been visited by a host of crossposting trolls who do that just for fun we are now also receiving some serious, *normal* messages which are crossposted, either evolving out of what used to be a troll thread or starting a new thread. We feel (and I am confident most of you will agree) that it would be best if these messages were only posted to the relevant newsgroups. I am crossposting this request because I don’t know where many of these messages originated and consequently this seemed the best way to reach as many of you as possible. I apologize for *intruding* like this and I wish each and every one of you (including myself ) much strength and good luck in your recovery. Thank you! Philip – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – >I’d like to hear from anyone taking 5HTP for severe long-term >depression. Why did you try it? What research did you find that made >you take the plunge? Are you taking any other meds (prescription or >other)? Did it do anything for your sleeping problems? What about for >overweight? Did you have any side effects? >How long did it take to be effective – if it was. >I am taking desipramine, dexedrine and ambien, and I am supposed to >switch to Wellbutrin in a few weeks because of bad side effects. I’m >thinking of trying 5HTP before starting on anything else, and want >some info. >Thank you for anything, positive or negative, you can give me to go >on.
Response:
I’d like to hear from anyone taking 5HTP for severe long-term depression. Why did you try it? What research did you find that made you take the plunge? Are you taking any other meds (prescription or other)? Did it do anything for your sleeping problems? What about for overweight? Did you have any side effects? How long did it take to be effective – if it was. I am taking desipramine, dexedrine and ambien, and I am supposed to switch to Wellbutrin in a few weeks because of bad side effects. I’m thinking of trying 5HTP before starting on anything else, and want some info. Thank you for anything, positive or negative, you can give me to go on.
Response:
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