Topic Title: what to take?
| |  "what to take?"
, Wed 27 Mar 13:08
I've been in and out of depression for about 12 years. I tried prozac about a year ago and it was a miracle! I felt so much better and saw my real self coming out for the first time in so long. After three months I felt I was cured and stopped taking it. I felt fine until recently a few small things have gotten me down again. I've been down for about a month and a half now and i'm thinking of taking something more natural. I've been reading about SJW, SAMe and 5-HTP. Which one should I take? I feel this may have to be long term so I'm not sure if 5HTP has any side-effects after a while.
Posts: 0 | | Registered: Wed 27 Mar 2002 12:58 |
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| |  "Re(1):what to take?"
, Fri 12 Apr 17:33
Here is a great site for information on 5htp. I highly recommend it for moderate depression.
http://www.smart-publications.com/books/5htp/toc.html
MJ DuPont
http://events.diabetes.org/memberpages/peshka
Posts: 282 | | Registered: Wed 20 Jun 2001 6:19 |
| |  "Re(1):what to take?"
, Wed 27 Mar 16:17
hi Martina,
I would think about 5-htp or l-tryptophan (which I'm taking). I had to get a prescription for it but it wasn't hard. I went to a naturopathic doctor once and he presrcibed it for me. I like it better than 5-htp becuz it doesn't upset my stomach and has been around longer but other people here are happy with 5-htp, so investigate both and see what works for you. I have been taking L-tyrosine with it and it seems to work well together.
Posts: 8 | | Registered: Sat 9 Mar 2002 21:19 |
| | |  "Re(2):what to take?"
, Wed 27 Mar 19:38
Isn't l-tryptophan the one with they found with the contaminant in it that was banned from the US? I also heard some horror stories about 5-HTP. Does anyone know of any info that says it is safe to take? I got so excited when I read about 5-HTP and then I came across this article on the internet (Berkeley Health Letter or something like that) that said it was too risky to take (written in 2000).
Posts: 4 | | Registered: Wed 27 Mar 2002 12:58 |
| | | "Re(3):what to take?" , Thu 28 Mar 18:50
yes tryptophan was banned because one company had a contaminated batch - that's why it has to be ordered by prescription now because it undergoes rigorous testing before they can sell it and it has to be US grade pure (or something like that). IN any case, they test for this particular contaminant that was found before they sell it in the pharmacy. I can't respond to your questions on 5-htp, I know that I have read some things that say it's not safe, but I don't know. It's always difficult when you're relying on internet info - it's not always accurate. I know there are people on this list who have taken it for several years without any problems so you may want to keep asking. My naturopath just said he prefers l-trypotophan because it is regulated in the brain and only what is needed passes thru the blood brain barrier, unlike 5-htp which goes in automatically. I woudl just talk to some more people before making a decision and I would recommend seeing a naturopath, it helped me feel better about my decision. Hope this helps!
Posts: 9 | | Registered: Sat 9 Mar 2002 21:19 |
| | | "Re(4):what to take?" , Fri 29 Mar 04:59
L-tryptophan should never have been banned. The contaminated batch you refer to occurred because the company involved (Showa Denko K.K.) scaled back their filtration methods in order to enhance yield. This allowed a high-weight contaminant to pass through into the final product, and some people developed a life-threatening disease called EMS as a result.
If a smallgoods manufacturer makes a fatal batch of salami, do you ban salami? Of course not. But that is what the FDA did.
As for the scare over 5-HTP and "Peak X", I've answered that in the General forum. The theory got raised by Mayo Clinic researchers in 1998 and it has since been discredited.
Epyx
Posts: 114 | | Registered: Mon 3 Dec 2001 22:11 |
| | | "Re(5):what to take?" , Wed 10 Apr 06:49
Dead on Epyx. I was working in medical research when Cyclamates were banned in the U. S. due to an alledged "cancer causing" effect. What research field you ask: cancer research. And everyone in my lab (at one of the world's most prestigeous research hospitals- which will go unnamed), read the research reports - guess what? The researcher COMBINED Cyclamate with Sacarin, which, at the time "everyone knew" was "safe" because it had been in use for about a century. No control of just Cyclamate nor just sacarin nor just basic sugars, (fructose, sucrose etc.) was used. Immediately, the drug industry got Congress to force the FDA to ban Cycalmate - on just this one researchers data. Well, guess what? Follow on research done in many labs (no comment if any was done by us - read between the lines) - showed that, amazing but true, Cycalmate was NOT the primary cancer agent - SACARIN WAS. Well, read the label on sacarin sometime - they still sell it but never to my knowledge reversed the ban on Cyclamate.
Long comment here I know, but I have a LOT of professional skeptacism when I read about Goverment/Industry labs comming out with self serving data that results in a rapid banning of competative ( and usually cheaper/better) products.
By the way, I had / have no interest financially in any company that makes/uses either sacarin or cycalmate. And FYI why is cyclamate still considered superior to sacarin: sacarin causes an after taste in some patients - cycalmate does not. Also, cyclamate was superior in "cooked" products - this is especailly important for patients with diabetes or other conditions requireing them to avoid or limit their intake of natural sugars/carbohydrates. Why make a patient eat foods that have an after taste when you don't need to?
I'm so darn upstet that I didn't even check spelling on this - sorry.
Posts: 11 | | Registered: Wed 13 Mar 2002 8:58 |
| | | "Re(6):what to take?" , Wed 10 Apr 22:14
Leo, sounds like we are kindred spirits! Thank you for the personal insight into the cyclamate controversy -- I never looked into it, but I'll be sure to now 
In my personal life, my friends know that I am no-one's conspiracy theorist. But when I turn my attention to the state of medicine, you can't escape the obvious fact: there is an entrenched antipathy in the establishment towards herbal/alternative medicine. And I don't wish to believe that federal regulatory authorities deliberately rush through incomplete studies in order to suppress popular treatments, yet I see it happen all the time. Like you, it angers me so much that it overwhelms me at times. The current German drug safety protocol for kava is yet another example (see my other reply to you).
I'm looking forward to reading more your posts on this board.
Epyx
Posts: 156 | | Registered: Mon 3 Dec 2001 22:11 |
| | | "Re(7):what to take?" , Thu 11 Apr 07:19
Thanks Epyx, I don't believe in conspiracies - in fact just the opposite - I think that, understandably but regretably, the major manufacturers of prescription medications want to protect their market and limit competition. What I find upsetting is when regulatory agencies rush to the "safe" decision of "if we approved it, its OK, if we don't have the authority to approve it, its bad. U. S. law - fortunately - does not allow the FDA to regulate "dietary suppliments" e.g. herbals, except where harm is shown. This attitude is certainly understandable - no government employee - anywhere in the world - will take risks, but, they should try to do their job - unbiased scientific review of the evidence before making a decision, and more to the point, if later evidence shows the initial decision was wrong reverse it.
Well, maybe someday. Meanwhile, yes we are kindred spirits I beleive the best course is be informed, the more information, the better the decision - no matter who is making it.
Posts: 14 | | Registered: Wed 13 Mar 2002 8:58 |
| | |  "Re(5):what to take?"
, Fri 29 Mar 06:32
Epyx,
I read these two reports on the internet which are the ones that got me thinking. The second one states that they did find the contaminant in the 5HTP.
http://www.berkeleywellness.com/html/ds/ds5htpTryptophan.html
http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/ANSWERS/ANS00891.html
I'm in such a dilema b/c the 5HTP sounds so good and it's supposed to work very similar to Prozac.
Also, I did find SAMe for 23.50/1 month supply ("typical" dose of 400mg, enteric coated and all)-brand Nutralife, which I didn't think was so costly.
Posts: 6 | | Registered: Wed 27 Mar 2002 12:58 |
| | | "Re(6):what to take?" , Fri 29 Mar 14:05:
Martina, take a look at the date on the FDA page: it's the same 1998 scare I referred to earlier! It even mentions the Mayo Clinic. For a historical look at that scare, see here. Sadly, Mayo appeared to be politically motivated; they even tried the same scare tactic with melatonin.
The so-called "Peak X" debacle with L-tryptophan cost Showa Denko over $1 billion in compensation claims and settlements back in 1989. When the industry now says it is testing for Peak X, you can see that they've got 1 billion good reasons to do so. Not that they need to test really anyway, because you could only amplify Peak X in the way Showa Denko did in 1989, and 5-HTP is produced a completely different way (it's sourced from plant seed, not harvested from bacterial farms).
Personally, I would not pay any heed to this Peak X rubbish. Even if you search the Mayo Clinic webpages, you will only find articles from August 1998. They discredited themselves, and the same is true of anyone who re-prints the same trash and tries to pass it off as current news e.g. Berkeley Wellness. Shame on them.
Re SAMe: that's an excellent price. Bear in mind that some people end up on 800mg. I guess it sounds a lot more horrible in Australian dollars 
Epyx
[this message was edited by Epyx on Fri 29 Mar 14:06]
Posts: 116 | | Registered: Mon 3 Dec 2001 22:11 |
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