"Tryptophan is not a drug. It is an essential amino acid much needed to support life and sanity. In an interesting coincidence, Prozac made its first appearance within days of the ban on tryptophan. Now there is a whole family of serotonin-stimulating drugs, but none of them can create more serotonin; they can only speed its firing into the brain and partially block the reuptake into the neurotransmitters, and so the low levels of serotonin in those neurotransmitters are slowly becoming even more depleted.
At HRC almost everyone comes into our program taking one of the serotonin-firing antidepressants (Zoloft, Paxil, Desyrel, Serzone). Our physician switches them to the natural serotonin precursor, tryptophan, which promptly restores the missing serotonin levels. Usually the firing mechanism works fine; the problem was that it simply has had very little serotonin to fire.
Here are the guidelines for substituting tryptophan for a serotonin enhancing drug:
Tryptophan alone will not be converted to serotonin. To insure that it is properly used, you must also take vitamin C and vitamin B6 (Table 25, Seven Weeks to Sobriety).
Tryptophan is converted to niacin before its final conversion into serotonin. If your body is deficient in niacin, the tryptophan you take will supply you with niacin, not serotonin. For this reason, it is a good idea to take a B-complex vitamin daily. This will give you both vitamin B6 and niacin and allow the tryptophan to be converted to serotonin.
Inositol changes into a substance that regulates serotonin's effectiveness within nerve cells. A recent (1997) study confirms its effectiveness with depression. Therefore, we include inositol in this formula.
Of all the amino acids, tryptophan is least able to cross the blood-brain barrier. It must pass this biological hurdle in order to be converted to serotonin. You can give it a nudge by taking it in fruit juice. This will trigger insulin release, which will assist the tryptophan across the blood-brain barrier. Always take your tryptophan on an empty stomach.
Safety and Side Effects
Orthomolecular physicians have safely used tryptophan in doses of one to six grams daily. Since it is not stored in the body, it cannot accumulate to toxic levels. However, taking high doses of tryptophan can produce some side effects:
Drowsiness the next morning
Bizarre or strange dreams (rare)
Increased blood pressure in persons over sixty who already have high blood pressure
Aggressiveness (this rare side effect can occur in the absence of sufficient supplies of the nutrients needed for normal conversion of tryptophan to serotonin)
Who Should Not Take Tryptophan:
Anyone who takes an MAO (monoamine oxidase) inhibitor for depression; do not take tryptophan until ten days after giving up MAO inhibitors
Anyone with severe liver disease (a damaged liver cannot properly metabolize tryptophan)
Pregnant women (you may be able to take five hundred to thousand milligrams of tryptophan, but only with the approval and supervision of your physician) "
which they will in due course 