Topic Title: Question about anxiety and shyness
| |  "Question about anxiety and shyness"
, Mon 14 Oct 13:54
I have a question about what 5htp can be used for. I have been a rather shy person all my life. i seem to worry about every little thing in my life and this does interfere with my life. i also have headaches (which the doctor told me was allergies) and my shoulders are always hurting. i believe this may be caused by my constant worries (tension). My question is would 5htp help me?
Thanks for any help?
Posts: 0 | | Registered: Mon 14 Oct 2002 13:50 |
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| | "Re(1):Question about anxiety and shyness" , Tue 15 Oct 04:34
hi there
I think the short answer is you wouldnt know if it will help you unless you try. people respond very differently to different mood-enhancing drugs, and I imagine 5-htp fits into this category. I took 5-htp for general anxiety and it did help me. dosage : 100mg 3 times a day. I did have start-up side effects (tummy problesm, an increase in anxiety initially)but that smoothed out after about 3 weeks. SJW never worked for me. take a look at the thread started 14 Jun where DuPont has a link to some research done on 5-htp re anxiety.
i was on Paxil (Seroxat) before and started taking 5-htp after quitting Paxil, adn because of terrible withdrawal side effects. 5-htp was a tremendous help at the time, so maybe it will help you too!
good luck
Matt
Posts: 10 | | Registered: Tue 11 Jun 2002 7:43 |
| | | "Re(2):Question about anxiety and shyness" , Tue 15 Oct 11:04
Matt:
How long were you on Paxil for? In what ways did it (5HTP) help your withdrawal? What times do you take the 5HTP? Do you get concerned about hibitual use? How long did it take to get over Paxil withdrawal?
Thanks, Bill
Posts: 1 | | Registered: Thu 10 Oct 2002 13:17 |
| | | "Re(3):Question about anxiety and shyness" , Wed 16 Oct 03:12
Bill,
I was on Paxil 40mg for a year. Odd prescription - to help with anxiety and other symptoms initiated by something called Epstein Barr Syndrome - a form of debilitating cronic fatigue which is not treatable but causes great anxiety and social withdrawal during an episode (EP improves over time and is in itself subject matter of medical debate). I thought the P prescription was an unecessary at the time, but followed doctor's orders so to speak. Disliked the P side effects and quit basically cold turkey since i was emphatically informed it was not habit-forming. WRONG. For me withdrawal was severe, i had no clue what was happening but found a support group on the net which was amazing. Withdrawal to me felt like a psychotic episode (sure it's not the right word, but included visual and aural disturbances, 'zaps', severe depression/anxiety, complete dysfunction, utter sleep depravation, etc - these things are well documented on many forums and websites). The worst was the first 3 weeks when you think you're going insane (which you probably are technically during that time! my brain zaps peaked at about 15 a minute). I started feeling 'normal' after about 2 mnths, with incremental improvement during this time. Am 5 months off Paxil and completely fine, except for some lingering short-term memory loss problems, but they're minor. Paxil works well for some, but wasn't for me. If I lived in the USA I probably would have joined the Class Actions Suits there, I feel so strongly about it.
Started taking 5-HTP in desparation to help with sleep (SJW does nothing for me), about 2 - 3 weeks after quitting P. Also thought it would help raising Serotonin levels to assist with withdrawal. difficult to judge its impact within the realm of P withdrawal side effects, but this i can say : after about 2 days I managed to get more than 1 - 2 hours sleep a nite - DEFINITELY helped with sleep - took 100 mg about half an hour before sleep, and this improved radically within days - 5-HTP was great for sleeping. AS P withdrawal symptoms became less, anxiety, depression symptoms obviously decreased as well, so I cant say for sure how much 5-HTP contributed to that. I was unsure of dosage at first, but the general consensus seemed that 300mg in divided dosages (morning, midday, before sleep) was the right thing to do. did have tummy problems for a week or two, that went away. Possibly an increase in anxiety in the initial stages of taking 5-HTP, Stayed on this dose (300mg) for a good thre months. I do believe it helped with anxiety in particular. also stuck to the rule of not having protein after taking it. Because I coiuld feel an overal improvement in my mental state, and because depressiona dn anxiety is not a permanent condition in my case, I then sort of tapered off 5-htp, dropping from 300 to 200 over a week or so, then 100 (taken in the morning), and then stopped. I had no withdrawal effects whatsoever. i still check into the forum - If I have an Epstein B relapse I plan to take 5-htp rather, altho there's no info on whether this is a good or bad idea. Just simply wont ever take P again, and would prefer to steer clear of other SSRIs as well.
Note of warning : do not take 5-htp or SJW together with an SSRI unless under medical supervision.
I was concerned about moving from one problem (P) to another : 5-htp. But thought that anything that could help with the withdrawal would be worht the risk, and couldn't imagine that an over the counter med could have the same risks as I experience from Paxil.
5-htp is not getting good press at some of the P withdrawal groups. I suppose like any of these drugs, individual reactions (positive or negative) vary tremendously. I think it's also important to remember that 5-htp's efficacy seems to lie with mild to moderate anxiety (which is really why I took it). A more severe condition would require more severe intervention.
long note, but hope it helps Bill! If you need some advice on Paxil withdrawal I can point in some directions.
matt
Posts: 11 | | Registered: Tue 11 Jun 2002 7:43 |
| | | "Re(4):Question about anxiety and shyness" , Thu 24 Oct 06:52
Matt -
Thanks for this exhaustive tale. I am glad to see where it ended up!
I am currently taking 50 mgs. of 5htp 2x day (in addition to klonopin .5 mgs. 2x day). I have decreased SLOWLY my paxil from 20 mgs. to 2 mgs. currently, where I'll be for 2-3 weeks. I am not sure if I will be able to exit the klonopin (given family history and my own personal life story) any time soon. But, like you, I hope to end the 5HTP after I am distanced from finishing the Paxil.
Question for you, I am concerned that sexual libido still has not returned (even on 2 mgs. of paxil). What was your experience with this? When did it come back? Do you think it could be the klonopin or 5HTP? I guess I am worried that this natural part of me will never come back . . .
You've been a big help and I too have GREATLY benefited from saints like you on this and other boards.
Blessings, Bill
Posts: 2 | | Registered: Thu 10 Oct 2002 13:17 |
| | | "Re(5):Question about anxiety and shyness" , Fri 1 Nov 00:26
Hi Bill,
just lost a reply to you - check my email address in the other thread and rather email me!
matt
Posts: 16 | | Registered: Tue 11 Jun 2002 7:43 |
| | | "Re(2):Question about anxiety and shyness" , Tue 15 Oct 10:09
I agree, you never know until you try.
I read as much as I could then decided to take 50mg a day for mild general anxiety. It worked immediately. After about 1.5 weeks, I would get really sleepy about mid afternoon, but that passed after another week.
Posts: 1 | | Registered: Sun 13 Oct 2002 16:49 |
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