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Wellbutrin and 5HTP safe to take together?

I have been taking Wellbutrin 450mg/day + remeron 7.5mg./day for about 4 years now.   Since going down on my hormone replacement therapy, this doesn't seem to be working, and I feel myself depressed again.  My doctor wants me to take 5HTP and also tyrosine to remedy my neurotransmitters so I can feel good again.
I have heard the combination of Wellbutrin and 5HTP is not safe.
Is this true?
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Avatar universal
I have been on Wellbutrin XL 300 mg for the past 6 months.  Anxiety is still a problem and after some research I began taking 5htp last week.  It is still relatively new to say much about it, but I have had MUCH less anxiety in the past 4 days.

In regards to my research, Burprorion/Wellbutrin is a DOPAMINE and NORAPANEPHRINE reuptake inhibitors and 5-htp is a SEROTININ precurser, so the two should not pose a problem.  

I definitely would suggest taking it later in the day (afternoon/lunch) if you are taking the time release 5HTP (200 mg)  
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That's what I was thinking since Wellbutrin is not an ssri I'm still on the extended release but I don't think I will go into a storm or anything. I think I'm gonna try it.? I'm tired of all the meds.
Good to read these posts.
I'm taking Wellbutrin 150 Sr. Twice daily.Snd wanted to try 5 HTP. I just weened off Lexapro after 10 years..don't want to be in ssri anymore. Anxiety still creeps up. Please let me know if 5 htp is still working for you. Thanks
Avatar universal
I am a 26 year old with low t and i amam considering taking wellbutrin andand remeron together.Ramani, are you a male that was on  TRT? Why did you discontinue trt. Oo Did your doctor believe wellbutrin andand remeron would increse testosterone? Please respond
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Avatar universal
I'm taking 450mgs Wellbutrin, 30mg Paroxitine  and 30mgs Remeron daily.  Plus I've added the Ltyrosine and 900mgs Lithium.   Just within the past week I've begun to feel energized.   Before I'd limp thru each day just wanting to lay down.   This fatigue comes and goes, duration is however it decides to linger.
Hang in there Ramani.  It's worth fighting to get a handle on this pest.  Doctors don't like it but I do experiment with my meds and herbal supplements.  Mind you I never take more than what is prescribed.   Times I take the rx's is what I play with.  
And for herbs, I swear by Valerian Root for sleeping when RLS visits.  Then in the am Ltyrosine is in my mix for a bit more energy.  I don't know if this is working or not but it's not doing any harm.

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Avatar universal
THE BEST PERSON TO ASK FOR A QUICK ANSWER IS A PHARMACIST. Walgrees is open 24 hours. The Pharmacist knows more about drugs then the doctor
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I asked my pharmacist today and he said all the cross reference guides do NOT cover OTC supplements. I m on 300 mgs Wellbutrin 30 days now..I mentioned in this thread I was taking Lexapro for 10 years and wan8to get off of the ssri. I took 100 mgs if 5 htp this afternoon and I will say I'm feeling more calm and the 'chatter' in my brain has guieted down. I'm continuing to read. Maybe take another 100mg before bed, With 250 mgs of magnesium glycinate..the best form for the brain.
Just a couple of observations.  OTC refers to pharmaceutical products that don't require a prescription.  It doesn't refer to natural supplements that are truly natural, such as taking a plant extract or herbal tea.  5-HTp falls into a curious category because obviously it doesn't exist in isolation in nature, it's a metabolite formed when you eat a food that contains protein which would contain tryptophan.  Combined with Vitamin C, B6 and other co-factors, HTP might increase the amount of serotonin in your body if your body determines it needs more because tryptophan is what the body uses to make serotonin.  For some, it might force some more to be made than otherwise.  Most serotonin isn't in the brain, so HTP is better than taking just tryptophan because tryptophan doesn't cross the blood/brain barrier very well as a supplement whereas HTP does this better and for us with mental issues we want the stuff that's in the brain.  There are many guides you can find that will suggest theoretical contraindications of natural supplements with medication, so your pharmacist may be right about the reference guides in the store but you can just Google any website that talks about drugs and it will tell you this info.  Unfortunately, it's mostly theoretical, because without the ability to patent anything natural, there's not enough money available to thoroughly study this type of thing, and frankly, there aren't a lot of these interactions being reported by hospitals to the CDC and the FDA compared to the massive number of bad reactions to mixing drugs.  But they do exist.  If you research HTP, you will see that at high doses, side effects can occur, and it's not a bad idea to taper up slowly on it and taper slowly off of it just as you would an antidepressant.  The sweet spot for most people seems to be 150mg to 200mg -- less isn't usually enough and more can be too much depending on the person.  Lastly, I don't think the glycinate chelate of magnesium is necessarily the best for the brain.  The key to a chelate is to bind the mineral with something that makes the body more likely to see food rather than a rock and break it down and absorb it.  The right chelate will depend on the person.  Many feel taureate might be the best for anxiety sufferers because taurine is used to make GABA.  Many still stick with citrate because you need an acidic stomach to digest minerals.  But to me, the best is the one that works best for you and isn't one that most people can't absorb well, such as oxide.
I should add, HTP is isolated from a plant called griffonia something or other.  It was found when the FDA, in one of its many campaigns to ban all natural supplements banned tryptophan because one lab produced an adulterated batch.  That allowed people to continue to take tryptophan, as HTP hadn't been found to be adulterated and therefore wasn't subject to the ban.  
And one other thing.  If you were the type of person who goes overboard, while it's true that an ssri can be used with a drug that affects dopamine such as wellbutrin, if you were to take too much of the ssri and I suppose theoretically too much HTP and your body actually absorbed that much instead of evacuating it (remember, the drugs work by preventing the brain from breaking down and evacuating used serotonin; HTP doesn't do that), because the various brain neurotransmitters are in balance in the brain, if you take too much serotonin you can actually affect dopamine.  Some people on very high doses of Effexor have reported this problem, though I haven't heard of it so much with other drugs.
Avatar universal
I believe Wellbutrin is kinda a multi purpose drug that is a starter drug, that doesn't do much of anything for real problems. They gave it to me to help quit smoking.
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I also take wellbutrin 300mg a day. I asked my pharmacist if it was safe to take 5htp with it and he said yes but take at least 2 hours apart.
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I am hoping that someone can give you an answer to your question because that is the same question I have.
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Wellbutrin, I'm on it too, and still wondering the same thing, but its not an ssri anti-depressant. If that helps.
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