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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
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Posted by oeps7 on October 29, 2003, at 11:08:33
I am on 50mg zoloft and 1 mg klonopin - also fish oil - can I take 5 htp with all this? Have people had success on it? Help!!! I feel my depression returning and ocd.
Mary
Posted by john1022 on October 29, 2003, at 11:23:10
In reply to 5htp, posted by oeps7 on October 29, 2003, at 11:08:33
Hello, I would be very careful of taking 5HTP with an anti-depressant because of serotonin syndrome.
There have been reports of a lot of doctor's augmenting inositol along with the use of SSRI's to resensitize serotonin receptors and to make them "sharper" and more receptive so to speak, so that may be an option for you.
As far as the fish oil goes, how long have you been on it? How long since you have started feeling depressed again? Do you think there could be a connection between the two?
I know a lot of people use fish oil for depression, but when I tried it fish oil made my depression much worse believe it or not. I would feel worse even hours after taking a fish oil pill. Might be something to think about...good luck
Posted by oeps7 on October 29, 2003, at 11:42:39
In reply to Re: 5htp, posted by john1022 on October 29, 2003, at 11:23:10
Hi John,
Thanks for getting back to me. I think the fish oil helps a bit - I've been on it about a month. I used to be on 300 mg of effexor but want to have a baby in the near future so I am looking for alternative means to fight my depression. I feel like my ocd is kicking in again.
Posted by john1022 on October 29, 2003, at 12:32:40
In reply to Re: 5htp, posted by oeps7 on October 29, 2003, at 11:42:39
Definitely stick with the fish oil if you think it is helping you. I would just be very careful of adding 5htp to any anti-depressant if you decide to. I would really consider augmenting Inositol for a few weeks in with your Zoloft first before 5htp. It is becoming a safe and common practice to add Inositol to an SSRI for maximum affect.
As a lot of people on here have posted, Inositol has been shown to help with both OCD and depression in many patients. The lady at Vitamin World says a lot of people are buying it and having good luck with both of these conditions lately. If you do decide to try something, let us know how it goes. Good luck!
Here is the study on it:
"Inositol is a simple polyol precursor in a second messenger system important in the brain. Cerebrospinal fluid inositol has been reported as decreased in depression. A double-blind controlled trial of 12 g daily of inositol in 28 depressed patients for four weeks was performed. Significant overall benefit for inositol compared to placebo was found at week 4 on the Hamilton Depression Scale.
No changes were noted in hematology, kidney or liver function. Since many antidepressants are effective in panic disorder, twenty-one patients with panic disorder with or without agoraphobia completed a double-blind, placebo-controlled, four week, random-assignment crossover treatment trial of inositol 12 g per day. Frequency and severity of panic attacks and severity of agoraphobia declined significantly with inositol compared to placebo.
Side-effects were minimal. Since serotonin re-uptake inhibitors benefit obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and inositol is reported to reverse desensitization of serotonin receptors, thirteen patients with OCD completed a double-blind controlled crossover trial of 18 g inositol or placebo for six weeks each. Inositol significantly reduced scores of OCD symptoms compared with placebo.
A controlled double-blind crossover trial of 12 g daily of inositol for a month in twelve anergic schizophrenic patients, did not show any beneficial effects. A double-blind controlled crossover trial of 6 g of inositol daily vs. glucose for one month each was carried out in eleven Alzheimer patients, with on clearly significant therapeutic effects. Antidepressant drugs have been reported to improve attention deficit disorder (ADDH) with hyperactivity symptomatology. We studied oral inositol in children with ADDH in a double-blind, crossover, placebo-controlled manner. Eleven children, mean age 8.9 +/- 3.6 years were enrolled in an eight week trial of inositol or placebo at a dose of 200 mg/kg body weight. Results show a trend for aggravation of the syndrome with myo-inositol as compared to placebo.
Recent studies suggest that serotonin re-uptake inhibitors are helpful in at least some symptoms of autism. However a controlled double-blind crossover trial of inositol 200 mg/kg per day showed no benefit in nine children with autism. Cholinergic agonists have been reported to ameliorate electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)-induced memory impairment. Inositol metabolism is involved in the second messenger system for several muscarinic cholinergic receptors. Inositol 6 g daily was given in a crossover-double-blind manner for five days before the fifth or sixth ECT to a series of twelve patients, without effect. These results suggest that inositol has therapeutic effects in the spectrum of illness responsive to serotonin selective re-uptake inhibitors, including depression, panic and OCD, and is not beneficial in schizophrenia, Alzheimer's ADDH, autism or ECT-induced cognitive impairment.
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