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AspCat
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24 Nov 2007, 5:27 am

I was reading about it in the melatonin thread. Supposedly, it helps with depression and anxiety. I was considering going back onto Lexapro, but prior to that I thought I would look for something less pharmaceutical.

It was readily available at my local vitamin store (US), next to other 'mood enhancers' such as the melatonin and tryptophan.
I took a 50 mg tablet yesterday afternoon, with no ill effects. One of the other posters said to expect a 1 month 'break-in' before full effects are noticed. I am also taking 3 mg melatonin before bed.



2ukenkerl
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24 Nov 2007, 8:11 am

AspCat wrote:
I was reading about it in the melatonin thread. Supposedly, it helps with depression and anxiety. I was considering going back onto Lexapro, but prior to that I thought I would look for something less pharmaceutical.

It was readily available at my local vitamin store (US), next to other 'mood enhancers' such as the melatonin and tryptophan.
I took a 50 mg tablet yesterday afternoon, with no ill effects. One of the other posters said to expect a 1 month 'break-in' before full effects are noticed. I am also taking 3 mg melatonin before bed.


Actually, if you don't have enough 5htp you will be VERY depressed, sleepless, etc... In the US many drug stores sell it also. It is a metabolite of the amino acid tryptophan. It ALSO breaks down into melatonin, so you could cut back there.



AspCat
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24 Nov 2007, 8:15 am

Interesting. Last year I took Lexapro for 6 months, which worked well, but I was afraid of developing a dependency, so I stopped using it. Lately my anxiety/compulsiveness has returned, so I am giving the 5-HTP a shot. I have no idea if I have a deficency of 5htp, but when I took the 50 mg for the first time, I think I felt a difference within an hour or two. We'll see what it brings over the longer term.