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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 4 of 4. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by jms600 on May 2, 2008, at 15:57:18
Hi everyone,
Just a quick question. Can 5-HTP be SAFELY taken with Lexapro? I want something to add to my 20mg Lexapro / 5mg Zyprexa combo to act as a 'boost', as I'm still suffering from depression and anxiety even though I'm on a pretty respected combo.
Can the 5-HTP and Lexapro be safely taken together?? Any advice anyone?
Thanks!
Posted by bleauberry on May 2, 2008, at 17:20:42
In reply to SSRIs and 5-HTP, posted by jms600 on May 2, 2008, at 15:57:18
I can't help but question whether lexapro is the right med for you. In my opinion it would be wiser and safer to consider a switch than add 5htp. Or if you do want to keep it and add something, add something different like wellbutrin, provigil, ritalin, lamictal, maybe replace zyprexa with abilify.
Adding 5htp to an ssri is dangerous. Too much serotonin too fast equals serotonin syndrome, which is not just wildly uncomfortable and scary, but often times an emergency room trip and sometimes death. I do recall someone taking 5htp with prozac, but the prozac dose was only 5mg daily and the 5htp dose was 25mg every other day and these doses were ramped up to where they are carefully over several weeks. This person did a lot better with this than they did on 40mg prozac or 60mg prozac without the 5htp.
There is the possibility that even though lexapro is keeping what serotonin you have in the synapse, there is no way to know if there is enough serotonin in the first place for lexapro to have enough to work with. If that were the case, then creating serotonin with 5htp would fix that, while a very low dose of lexapro (2.5mg) would keep it working.
Unless you really know what you are doing, the whole idea of lexapro with 5htp would be frowned upon as risky by most people. The only way I know of to get away with it would be ultra low doses of both.
You might consider something else besides lexapro. If it aint workin, it aint workin. Simple as that. Effexor, zoloft, or prozac would be reasonable alternatives. While they all work primarily on serotonin, they are all different enough that one could work great while the others don't. But like I said, some people maybe just don't make enough serotonin in the first place for an ssri to do much. If you are determined to add 5htp to lexapro, get good with a razor blade...you will need it to make lines or piles of the 5htp powder emptied from a capsule to get something in the estimate of 5mg or less. Heck, that's the dose I started with and I didn't even have an ssri going.
Posted by jms600 on May 4, 2008, at 16:44:25
In reply to Re: SSRIs and 5-HTP, posted by bleauberry on May 2, 2008, at 17:20:42
Posted by KarenRB53 on May 7, 2008, at 9:32:59
In reply to Re: SSRIs and 5-HTP, posted by bleauberry on May 2, 2008, at 17:20:42
> I can't help but question whether lexapro is the right med for you. In my opinion it would be wiser and safer to consider a switch than add 5htp. Or if you do want to keep it and add something, add something different like wellbutrin, provigil, ritalin, lamictal, maybe replace zyprexa with abilify.
>
> Adding 5htp to an ssri is dangerous. Too much serotonin too fast equals serotonin syndrome, which is not just wildly uncomfortable and scary, but often times an emergency room trip and sometimes death. I do recall someone taking 5htp with prozac, but the prozac dose was only 5mg daily and the 5htp dose was 25mg every other day and these doses were ramped up to where they are carefully over several weeks. This person did a lot better with this than they did on 40mg prozac or 60mg prozac without the 5htp.
>
> There is the possibility that even though lexapro is keeping what serotonin you have in the synapse, there is no way to know if there is enough serotonin in the first place for lexapro to have enough to work with. If that were the case, then creating serotonin with 5htp would fix that, while a very low dose of lexapro (2.5mg) would keep it working.
>
> Unless you really know what you are doing, the whole idea of lexapro with 5htp would be frowned upon as risky by most people. The only way I know of to get away with it would be ultra low doses of both.
>
> You might consider something else besides lexapro. If it aint workin, it aint workin. Simple as that. Effexor, zoloft, or prozac would be reasonable alternatives. While they all work primarily on serotonin, they are all different enough that one could work great while the others don't. But like I said, some people maybe just don't make enough serotonin in the first place for an ssri to do much. If you are determined to add 5htp to lexapro, get good with a razor blade...you will need it to make lines or piles of the 5htp powder emptied from a capsule to get something in the estimate of 5mg or less. Heck, that's the dose I started with and I didn't even have an ssri going.Very interesting post. Is there really any way to know if you actually have enough seratonin?
Karen
This is the end of the thread.
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