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5-htp....bad side effects!-anxiety through the roof!
hi everyone! i am new to this forum, i have been suffering with severe anxiety for the last 2.5 months, however the anxiety and panic started to slip away giving way to heavy depression, my naturopath put me on 5-htp a week ago for my depression (dont laugh im trying everything before i bite the bullet with SSRI's) but the 5-htp has done nothing but make my anxiety return with a vengance! i wasnt having any anxiety for about 2.5 weeks and the second day i was on 5-htp i had a panic attack and the anxiety has just started to come back! has anyone ever experienced this?
Best Answer
Yes, but my situation was unusual in that I was having an extremely bad reaction to coming off Paxil at the time, but this is common with anything that affects serotonin, including ssris. People get different reactions, and it takes a while for it to work, but unfortunately, side effects come before any effects. Also, any anti-depressant can overstimulate a person, which isn't comfortable for those suffering from anxiety There are two other possible reasons for this reaction: you're too sensitive to the 5-HTP -- sometimes things just don't agree with us -- or, you got anxious over starting something new, which is also common with anxiety sufferers (it takes one to know one, if you know what I mean). If you think the 5-HTP is making you have an adverse reaction, stop taking it and see if you go back to normal. There are other remedies you can try. It would also be better to combine remedies -- I'm surprised your naturopath hasn't discussed a combination that tackles the adrenals, GABA, and such as well as serotonin. And again, an ssri often causes the same reaction at first, so this is tricky stuff. Good luck.
chill out. it takes a while for it to work. just stick with it. try st. johns wort too.
Ask her about using adaptogens such as eleuthero and ashwagandha and holy basil for the adrenals. The organs are okay, if it's working don't worry about me, but I'm a bit leery of using the organ of another animal -- organs store toxins, and they aren't human. Again, though, they do work for many people. Also ask about passionflower, valerian, kava -- all probably work better or in combination with theanine. Good luck, it's a journey.
hey thanks for the reply! my naturopath also has me on adrenal cortrex for my adrenals as she said i have severe adrenal 'burnout' as well as Anxiovita- a homeopathic tonic and L-theanine. going back to see her this week about switching up the 5-htp, and yes i stopped taking it about 4 days now and i am returning to normal :) i think im too sensitive to it.
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