Citralopam, sertraline, 5htp

[smoothiefun]

Hi. I have taken citralopam before and unsure if it helped or not but i am scared of taking meds in general but years a go took sertraline and was unsure if it helped and xame off eventually but when i started it again my anxiety was really bad as it made it worse. I read somewhere if you stop a med then go back on it can make the side effects worse.

I am considering taking 5htp though, has anyone got any advice or experiences.

[panic_down_under]

I am considering taking 5htp though, has anyone got any advice or experiences.

Waste of time, and potentially dangerous. Firstly, anxiety disorders and depression are not due to a lack of serotonin. See my: Serotonin - The 'chemical imbalance' myth

Secondly, as detailed in the above link, 5-HTP may contain the same Peak-X contaminant which killed 37 people taking L-Tryptophan supplements in the late 1980s in a vain attempt to boost brain serotonin levels and permanently damaged the health of 1,500 others.

Thirdly, the brain makes and uses less than 2% of the body's serotonin. The enteric nervous system of the gut makes and uses about 95% so will grab any orally taken serotonin precursors for itself. Little, if any, is likely to find its way to the brain. When used in research 5-HTP is usually administrated by subcutaneous injection to bypass the gut.

BTW - serotonin and its precursors L-Tryptophan and 5-HTP have been shown to depress the immune system, and it seems to protect the parainfluenza virus from elements of the human immune system, or at least some of its antiviral elements inhibit virus replication by depleting 5-HTP.