Posted by Mistermindmasta on July 27, 2005, at 11:48:08
In reply to Tryptophan vs 5htp, posted by Declan on July 26, 2005, at 17:18:37
> When I raised the thing about 5htp not being an endogenous body chemical (is that right?), and was it some anxiety about arteries or heart valve defects?....Was this a generalisation from the Ponderax (fenfluramine)+Phentermine combination?
> Anyway when I raised this with my nutritional dr he said that if patients were on decent doses of Vit C (A couple of grams/d) there was no problem.
> Are the anxieties about 5htp resolving?
> Declan5-HTP actually is an endogenous body chemical, being an intermediate step between trypophan and serotonin, but generally doesn't last long in the body, since its quickly converted to serotonin.
The problem with the Fen-Phen combo indeed was with heart valve problems... wasn't safe to take.
In response to everyone else's messages... yeah, too much serotonin floating around is what causes serotonin syndrome. This can be caused from too high dose of an SSRI, a combo of an SSRI and a MAOI, the combo of tryptophan and an SSRI, or the combo of 5-HTP and an SSRI, not to mention many other combos. Bottom line is that you don't want to risk serotonin syndrome, in that it can be fatal.
However, the theoretical benefits of using 5-HTP and an SSRI is that it could minimize the side effects of SSRIs by having to use a lower dose. The biggest problem with such a combo is that we all differ as to how soon serotonin syndrome occurs and we don't really know how much 5-HTP and what dose of an SSRI to use... there's been no studies that I know of that combine the two.
However, I think that combining 5-HTP and an SSRI yeilds no higher risk of serotonin syndrome than SSRI's alone. It's just a matter of what doses to use. And guessing doesn't seem wise.
However, a decent idea would be to start out at an ultra low dose of 5-HTP and a lower dose of SSRI and very slowly raise the doses until a positive effect is felt. You'd have to be very careful and know the symptoms of serotonin syndrome though, to do this. The same would go for tryptophan, but I think I've heard of more doctors combining tryp and an SSRI than 5-HTP and an SSRI.
poster:Mistermindmasta
thread:532942
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/alter/20050713/msgs/534185.html