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natural antidepressants....

C

candygrl66

Bluelighter
Joined
Nov 24, 1999
Messages
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i started taking 5htp a few weeks ago to help out with some depression/anxiety attacks...i have noticed a difference, but not enough, i was wondering if there is another supplement i can take along with 5htp that may help more..i really don't want to go to the doctor, and be prescribed something i have to take for the rest of my life. thanx
 
Going to a doctor and geting an antidepressant medication does not mean that you will be taking that for the rest of your life.
How much 5htp are you taking? Are you eating enough, exercising?
I know lots of people who have used St John's Wort successfully for what their doctor's described as mild to moderate depression, but I have no information on the safety of combining 5htp and SJW. SJW can interact with quite a few things, and there's even some preliminary evidence that it interferes with the birth control pill, so I'd suggest doing some research before starting this one.
 
well i take 150mg of 5htp in the morning, and 150mg before i go to bed, but in about a week i am going to lower my dosage. i was thinkin bout SJW but wasn't sure if you can mix with 5htp. i eat alot of fruits and veggies, and exersize when i can.
 
It is potentially dangerous to combine SJW and 5-htp. I would not do this.
5-htp is not an effective antidepressant (nor is it much use for other mental health disorders) at that dose. You would need to take at least a couple grams a day to see any real improvement (and this would be very expensive, and have a number of side effects).
However, it is quite likely that you are getting some placebo effects from taking the 5-htp daily, and placebo can be just as strong as medication oftentimes...so, if it works for you, great! But keep in mind that if it DOESN'T work, you'll need something more biochemically effective.
 
i really don't think it is just placebo, because i noticed a big difference, especially when i lay down at night to fall asleep, i am more relaxed, and not shaking on the inside!
so how many mg a day would i need to take to notice more of a difference? and do you know the side effects? or where i can find info on this?
i used to do E every weekend for 2 years..a couple pills each weekend, and i know i probably have no seratonin left!!!
 
You did some damage in 2 years! It's most unlikely that you don't have any serotonin left. It's due damaging of your braincells or/and downregulating of recepters.
I don't know when you took your last pill? It will take some time to heal the damage that's done due frequent pilling in 2 years. Maybe it won't even recover fully.
I would take 50mg 5-htp daily (maybe along with some anti-oxidants) for a few weeks (maybe even months) and see from there!
If you then still suffer from depression and anxiety or if you want some immediate relief I would go to a doctor.
 
well for 2 years i was doing pillz every weekend, then this whole year i slowed down alot, less than 1 pill a month, until 2 months ago, i just decided i wasn't getting any enjoyment outta this and it was time to stop- my rolls were getting really bad, and the anxiety and depression was getting worse. so i haven't done a pill in like 2 months and have been taking 5htp and a vitamin everyday.
 
Just keep doing it for a few months, hopefully your depression/anxiety will subside.
I think you shouldn't go to a doc for an antidepressant because your body has an incredible healing engine! Just give your brain some deserved rest and it will do his job. Just keep strong.
ps. 150mg 5-htp is a bit high, I should drop to 50mg. Because I read some really nasty adverse effects of someone who was taking 5-htp (150-300mg?) daily. Can't find the link anymore, anyone has a clue where Im talking about?
 
yeah..i am going to lower my dosage. i definetly would rather let my body heal the natural way then go to the doc for pillz!
 
Placebo is very powerful, like I said.
5-htp is useful as a sleep aid, for sure.
Higher doses of 5-htp are not dangerous, but some people find that their stomachs are easily upset by these doses. Like I said, there definitely are some side effects at higher doses, but this is really the only way that it's effective.
 
I don't think 5-HTP has a placebo effect. maybe in low doses and discontinued efforts...but when taken daily for 2+ weeks, I see an enormous difference.
I'm not depressed to begin with. I just took 5-HTP as an "experiment". after 2 weeks of daily 300mg use, everytime I would take it I would simply feel happy, for no reason at all, just lying in bed. That and I had energy to spare, was never depressed or angsty, my sex drive was GREATLY diminished and I was more or less satisfied and at peace with everything most of the time.
recently, I have been taking it for a couple of months @ 100mg a day. There is an undeniable "up" which lasts through the day. I take 50mg when I wake up (after a while 5-HTP will keep you awake instead of helping you sleep) and 50mg by 6 PM. Other than that, I notice some speed-like rushes that come out of nowhere when doing something even remotely spiritual (watching the sky, thinking about persons you like, etc).
5-HTP is effective, but I believe it to be so only with mild depression...I would try some hardcore medication (like venlafaxine [effexor]) if in a deep depression.
 
i agree fujicrow, i have been taking 300mg of 5htp, and i have noticed a huge difference. i feel much better, plus i am not as stressed out as i used to be and i can deal with situations much better. i think i am going to keep my dose at 300 a day for like 2 more weeks and then drop it down to 50 mg a day.
 
Hi everyone, this is my first post.
b vitamins work well as antidepressants for me. take a multivitamin.
i never tried 5htp
 
Depression is a very interesting thing - 50% of people will recover regardless of what anybody does. Most of these people would have mild depression. It's no surprise that 5-HTP may appear to work, and if it does, then keep going on it.
However, just as important is a healthy lifestyle, with balanced work and play, a good nutritious diet, a reasonable amount of exercise, and a regular sleeping pattern. If you can get it, plenty of sex... amazing what that does!
For others, antidepressants work wonders - it is important to remember that one cannot simply take the antidepressants and just expect to get better. The person must make an effort as well, however, some people need the medication to enable them to do that. Eating bananas seem to help me...
With more severe depression, such as losing interest in normally pleasureable activities, early morning wakening, mood variation through out the day, and interference with the course of normal life, then the doctor would be good to see.
Most important is time - remember 50% of people get better with time if nothing at all is done, and nearly everyone with treatment of some sort.
[ 24 December 2002: Message edited by: DoctorAl ]
 
^^^
Only on an MDMA comedown. Otherwise, no, it is NOT safe to combine these.
Oh, and do a search next time. This topic has been covered many times before.
 
Originally posted by fairnymph:
^^^
Only on an MDMA comedown. Otherwise, no, it is NOT safe to combine these.

Apologies for hijacking the thread, but could you explain the rationale behind why it is safe during a MDMA comedown? I think I have read somewhere that you should post-load with 5-htp except when you are postloading with a SSRI? Please clarify as it would be really cool if you can safely use both.
Click to expand...
 
Read the ecstasy slideshowhere. The slideshow will tell you how ecstasy works aswell how SSRI's can help to protect your brain.
 
This is a common question. Normally (i.e. when you haven't been doing MDMA), it is NOT safe to combine an SSRI and 5-htp, because of the risk of serotonin syndrome.
Some people think it is also not safe to combine an SSRI and 5-htp on an MDMA comedown, however, I believe it is safe and I have never, ever heard of ANY problems related to this combo following MDMA.
Why the difference? Well, right after you do MDMA, your serotonin levels are extremely low, and unless you were to combine ridiculous amounts of both an SSRI and 5-htp, there is no way you could get serotonin syndrome. Since your serotonin is so low, it makes sense to boost your serotonin as much as possible (with BOTH drugs/supplements).
 
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