don't know what to do

[cam8008]

took 1 100mg pill of 5 htp yesterday at 3pm and it made me feel awful.  I've decided to start taking the meds my doc gave me today.   The only thing is, I wanted to know if it is safe to start the meds right now.  It's been almost 24 hrs since I took the 100mg pill of 5 htp but I just want to know if it's ok to start taking the pristiq the doc gave me.  the 100mg 5htp pill was the first and only 5htp I"ve ever had.  Please, if anyone could let me know.  Thanks

[Paxiled]

Since you only took it once, it wouldn't matter when you took it.  It takes a while for it to start working anyway.  A lot of things will give you side effects before they give you effects, including meds.  You've been fine all along to take the med since you weren't on the HTP for any length of time.  

[cam8008]

does that mean it's ok to take the meds now?  It's been 42 hrs since I took the 5htp pill.

[Paxiled]

5-HTP doesn't work at all the way ssris work.  An snri is, of course, mostly an ssri with the addition of an affinity for norepinephrine receptors.  So how one feels from HTP would have no correlation with how one would feel on a med.  5-HTP is natural to the body, it's the metabolite of tryptophan that manufactures serotonin, with the aid of cofactors such as B6.  This serotonin, if it gets to the brain (there's more serotonin in the digestive system and blood vessels than in the brain), would be used, then broken down and excreted.  What ssris and snris do is delay this excretion, washing the neurons in used serotonin far longer than what the body does naturally.  This causes other serotonin receptors to shut down as they're no longer needed; part of the withdrawal of going off these meds are those receptors reawakening because they're again needed.

[AnxietyGuy1976]

I guess you said the Effexor wasn't too terrible though, and that's supposed to be similar.

Anyways, don't be a stranger.

[AnxietyGuy1976]

I would think so, since it's been 24 hours, and it was only a single dose. Definitely never take them together though. It could be fatal.

If 5-htp made you feel that crummy, I tend to wonder how an SNRI would be. Keep in touch, or shoot me a private message on how it's going. If the Pristiq doesn't work out well, there are other alternatives that might make you less "up".

[boogieman]

Hello. You should be fine, but your doctor should be aware of any meds or supplements you are taking to avoid contraindications. Best wishes, GM