5-HTP? Or long term anxiety meds?

[Lost2010]

Hi everyone,

Hoping for some advice re medication. I've tried Prozac and Citalopram with horrendous results and also tried Lorazepam but had hallucinations so wasn't really great for me.

I'm not depressed as such but starting to get a bit desperate and would love for something to just help me keep a bit calmer and a bit less stress.

I've read some good things about the supplement 5-HTP (and some not so great things), just wondered if anyone has tried it or heard anything about?

Alternatively, are there any options for long term anxiety medication about from SSRIs or beta blockers? I know benzos such as valium, lorazepam etc can't be used long term so wondered if anyone had found an alternative?

Thanks for reading

[Ingenious]

I've tried 5-HTP and it didn't work for me, it didn't do anything at all (not even any side effects) so in the end I decided it just wasn't effective or strong enough and went to my GP for help and got put on a "normal" SSRI.

I was surprised because there do seem to be a lot of glowing reports on how good 5-HTP is; surely it has to be worth a try as we all react differently to these things?

[Lost2010]

Thanks Ingenious. I've gone back to trying Kalms as I had some and need to order 5-HTP online. According to my pharmacist 5-HTP can give the effects of prozac without the side effects so I'm definitely going to give it a try if I find I need something stronger than the Kalms.

Appreciate your feedback, glad you didn't experience any adverse effects even if it wasn't the right medication for you. Do you find the SSRIs to be more helpful?

[Emphyrio]

I'm trying 5HTP at the moment (100mg a night with zinc, b vits and c vits) but it doesn't really do much to be honest. I've had a fairly bad week which I know I wouldn't have experienced if I'd been on psych-meds.

I too am reluctant to go back on pharmaceuticals. I've decided I'm going to give St John's Wort a go - this seems to work more for depression than anxiety but depression is something I suffer with, and generally when I feel good I can better cope with worries.

Have you considered fish oil as a possibility? This generally doesn't interact with any prescribed meds.

[hanshan]

5-HTP is probably worth a try. Like St John's Wort, nobody holds a patent on it, and big companies aren't going to fund studies into its efficacy, resulting in a lack of robust research results concerning its usefulness.

A long-term medication that I take for anxiety that isn't an AD or a benzodiazepine is pregabalin. It's licensed for General Anxiety in the UK and EU and available on prescription.

[Lost2010]

Thanks for all the info. Sorry the 5-HTP isn't working for you Emphyrio :( I've heard good things about St John's Wort although I think it can interact with other meds so may want to check that if you're taking anything else.

I tried a vitamin complex a while ago as well as evening primrose oil, think the evening primrose did improve my mood but can't say it really helped with the anxiety. Seems like different supplements suit different people so worth trying them. I seem to reat quite badly to SSRIs etc so hoping alternative stuff will work for me.

Hanshan - do you find the pregabalin helpful? I did a quick google search and it says it's also used for nerve pain and epilepsy, does it contain some sort of pain relief as well or is just a secondary benefit for people with those issues?

Thanks again for all the info

[Ingenious]

Fish oils and St John's Wort are mentioned above. I have tried St John's Wort too, again like 5-HTP it didn't seem to do a lot, but it definitely did something. The best way I can describe it is this: Everything seemed "new" - in a nice way - and as if someone had turned the colour saturation up, not unlike the pleasant parts of being stoned. So I do think it has potential (I think I remember reading it is actually prescribed by the doctor in some countries).

I've also recently (within last month) started to take fish oils, "Fermented Cod Liver Oil" to be precise. It's fermented like the Vikings and Romans made it, naturally, not derived as a by product of something else. I'm taking this only for the vitamins in it however (and the oils) not for mental health reasons. It tastes like s**t and has had no effect on my mood, but my skin seems a bit healthier :) A few years ago I tried Evening Primrose oil but it didn't seem to do anything at all either.

The annoying thing is I am super sensitive to full blown medications - it took just 5mg of Citalopram to give me terrible nausea!

[hanshan]

I've never noticed any pain relief with pregabalin. I think it only works on particular types of nerve pain, like shingles and fibromyalgia. It's also an anticonvulsant, but I'm not prone to convulsions of any kind. As it's licensed to treat General Anxiety in the UK, it can be prescribed as a primary treatment for that disorder. Some doctors still aren't familiar with this - you may have to print out the info off a reputable website (eg NHS) or get the doctor to look it up in MIMS or online.

Despite the name, it doesn't work at GABA related sites. It acts pre-synaptically to slow the release of excitatory neurotransmitters.

For me, it works well to relieve background anxiety, which makes me feel more normal. I still experience normal stresses and worries, so have to continue to work on them. It's probably not much good for full-blown panic attacks, but might be useful combined with an AD. I take mine combined with mirtazapine.