[sittingatwatersedge]

for insurance reasons, I started with a new MD this week
she's an internist but seems to be half "real" dr and half "witch" dr... accupuncture, herbs, whatnot.... interesting stuff but IDK....
she changed one of my prescriptions, which I believe needed doing, but because of that she also stopped the St John's Wort I've been very happy with for a couple of yrs, and told me to take 5-HTP.

Never heard of this, it sounds like an engine additive, lol

I have read up on it a bit and it seems i may have to become a teetotaler (or is it toeteetler) & I really object to that. If I feel like quitting I would quit but i resent the idea of HAVING to quit.

Is anyone familar with this stuff? Is it OK? Better than SJW? Not better? I've asked T what she thinks, but no reply yet. thanks

[mcl6136]

Thanks for asking cause I want a moment to get out of my own personal funk and I actually have something constructive to add:

I benefited greatly from this herbal preparation. My friend and I tried SJW and thought it was good as well. Pretty similar....some mild stimulant effects and better sleep We live in a very northern climate and both suffer from seasonal affective disorder. I drink moderately and had no problem there.

It does sound like an old oil commercial, however!

[InTherapy]

Hrm, I don't know anything about it.

Maybe this thread would be better off in the psychiatric medications forum?

[sittingatwatersedge]

Originally Posted by InTherapy

Hrm, I don't know anything about it.

Maybe this thread would be better off in the psychiatric medications forum?

If T2 discourages the idea I will go back to the MD & say, what else you got - because only T knows what happened last year, when I had to stop the SJW for a month.
I am starting out with a new T and am concerned about screwing up my work with her (which is already difficult enough) by messing around with an herbal which has done well for me. I asked this question here because it is, therefore, therapy related, and because I wanted the many people in THIS forum, many of whom I have grown to know and trust over years, to give me their helpful, polite, well intentioned responses.

[roads]

SJW isn't AMA approved, you know, SAWE. That would come under the witch doctor half of treatment you're concerned about!

I'm a big fan of, um ... *clearing throat* ... "alternative medicine," such as acupuncture. I'm teasing you about St John's Wort, because many people who have only heard the scuttlebutt about it are terrified of it. You know better, because you have had first-hand, positive experience with it.

5-HTP isn't herbal, like St John's Wort. You've read up on it, so you know it's an amino acid that our bodies turn into serotonin, which fights/prevents depression. Research is ongoing & overall looks promising, especially for those who are currently benefitting from Cymbalta--an anti-depressant aimed at people with despression-associated chronic pain, or depression and chronic pain, e.g., fibromyalgia.

SJW, like most herbs, has to be metabolized by the liver & may cause toxicity over time. Doctors tend to worry about this, especially when there is something available that they consider a safer alternative.

As for alcohol, from what little anecdotal reference I could find on the web, the problems arise with beer drinkers who consume four or more drinks, and some mention taking not only 5-HTP but valerian, melatonin, and SJW as well.

I hope you'll give your new MD a chance. I've been with my half-AMA, half-altMed for 20+ yrs. I think it's probably the way things are going, if we're ever to get serious about prevention & keep costs down.

Stay in touch. I'd like to know how things go for you.

I take 200 miligrams of 5-HTP every day and I love love love what it does for me. One time, I stopped taking it for a week to see how well my meds were working or if the 5HTP was doing more, and it turns out the 5 HTP helps me more than my meds do. There aren't any side effects (at least for me) and it kicked in for me really really really fast. I love it!

[sittingatwatersedge]

my whole family was very pill-oriented. My roomie in college, however, was a pharmacy student, who had a cool book on pharmacognosy that I still remember. Today she is retired, but learned so much from a Korean friend about herbals etc, that she told me she thought the pharm industry was pretty closed-minded. maybe one day it willl change.

I took the 5-HTP at noon and by 1pm I felt like the back of my head was asleep - an antihistamine sort of grogginess - tell me it won't be like that every time?

[ECHOES]

Can you take it at night? I read your post and then went googling I was wondering if it helps with insomnia by taking it at night. I didn't see a recommendation of when to take it, although I might have just missed that.

[sittingatwatersedge]

Originally Posted by ECHOES

Can you take it at night? I read your post and then went googling I was wondering if it helps with insomnia by taking it at night.

Echoes People do take it for that, I've read, and I think that's what the MD intended. She had asked me if I was sleeping OK, I told her I've started with a new T, and while I am having to go over my history all over again, I'm having nightmares several times each week, & waking up in the night & unable to get back to sleep for 2 hrs or more... so she said, you should be using this, one of the benefits is you will sleep great

but I am very leery of Taking Something At Bedtime To Make Me Sleep... my mom was once prescribed sleeping pills, and nearly overdid them because of the confusion they caused; she woke up thinking it was time to take the next one & had just taken it.
I didn't go to the MD to get pills to help me sleep & frankly I don't appreciate her messing with this. as I said, I've been happy with the SJW.

The sjw may interfere with the new med you were prescribed which may be the reason for the switch.
I understand the hesitation to take something for sleep, but it doesn't sound like this will have any abuse/addiction potential. It does sound like you could use some better sleep.

[granite1]

SWE is this an over the counter kind of thing i dont know a lot about this stuff just wondering

[sittingatwatersedge]

Originally Posted by granite1

SWE is this an over the counter kind of thing i dont know a lot about this stuff just wondering

yes but it is harder to find than SJW (which is not easy around here).

I got a note from T2 saying she has heard good things about 5-HTP, so when I see her I will ask about that. FWIW, I took it today for 2nd time and no grogginess, so that's good.

If you find me under a lamppost singing this evening, you'll know it works

It's so hard to tell with supplements/meds because the effect each person differently. I feel a big difference between when I take it and don't. Works wonders for me, but that's me SAWE might be different. All you can do is try and see. :-)

[sunrise]

I think the 5HTP just assures you have adequate precursors to make serotonin from. Adequate serotonin is needed for good sleep (but is not sufficient for). Adequate serotonin is also needed for good mood, so taking the 5HTP may help with both mood and sleep.I've never really known whether to believe it really helps with serotonin, but that's how the thinking goes, and it looks like it does help several who have posted here. Hope it works for you too!

[CantExplain]

Originally Posted by sittingatwatersedge

... she told me she thought the pharm industry was pretty closed-minded. maybe one day it willl change.

It's not necessarily close-mindedness.

St John's wort and acupuncture may work, but that's no good to a pharmaceutical company, because there's nothing to patent.

I've heard that SJW contains essentially the same chemicals as Prozac.