When did you see results? - http://www.sjwinfo.org Forums
Topic Title: When did you see results?
| |  "When did you see results?"
, Sat 29 May 07:35:
Been taking 400mg of 5-HTP daily (based on every clinical trial I could find) for about four weeks for mild depression and anxiety, along with a couple of other supplements and exercise. I think it might be working, because I don't think I'm generally feeling as bad as I was, and there are times I almost feel good. Problem is, there isn't a huge difference yet (always very much aware that I don't feel right), and just when I think it's working, my mood takes a dip for a day or two.
Was hoping others who have more experience with 5-HTP could tell me how long they took it before seeing a noticeable and lasting change. I'm not talking about simply being able to cope. How long before you really felt normal?
I know it's not the same for everybody, but it would be helpful to at least have some idea of what to expect. There's lots of great information about 5-HTP, but reports of the results are vague. Most of the studies I've seen quoted show "improvement" happening at anywhere from two to six weeks, but don't really explain it clearly or indicate when subjects improved to the point that they were no longer considered to be depressed. Could have been six weeks or six months for all I know.
So, how much are you taking, how long have you been taking it, and when did you really start to feel like yourself again. Was relief gradual, or did it come all at once? Answers to these questions might ease my present frustration, or at least tell me when I should give up and try going the drug route.
[this message was edited by baldy1138 on Sat 29 May 11:51]
Posts: 1 | | Registered: Sat 29 May 2004 7:6 |
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| | "Re(1):When did you see results?" , Tue 6 Jul 07:11
i'm taking 1 x 100mg per day and i reckon it took 6-7 weeks to take effect. Am now in the 8th week. i take it mainly because i read it increases serotonin, deficiencies of which can lead to obsessive behaviour. i don't want to take it forever but if i had to i would and at the moment it feels great - kinda weird, but still great.
Posts: 1 | | Registered: Tue 6 Jul 2004 6:57 |
| |  "I think it's working"
, Wed 2 Jun 09:08
Well, I definitely still have my down times, but they seem to be milder, and the worries seem more easy to dismiss. The times I feel good seem to be getting longer and more frequent. I'm also finding myself to be more attentive and affectionate to my wife, to the point that it's making her suspicious. My sleep is better, and I'm dreaming vividly every night. I won't call the situation under control until I can go a few days without analyzing how I feel, but I'm definitely moving in the right direction.
It could be that the 5-HTP has had time to work, but I think the recent addition of Rhodiola might also have contributed. I've also changed 5-HTP from four doses of 100mg to two doses of twice that. Of course, I've also been taking a lot of inositol and EFAs, and exercising like crazy. There is also the anti-inflammatory combination of quercetin, vitamin C and MSM, which I know is working because my sinuses are clearer, I have fewer aches and pains and the heartburn I've had for months is pretty much gone. I'm suspecting that all of this is part and parcel of the same problem.
It's my hope that in another two or three weeks, I'll be feeling like a million bucks, and at the rate I'm going, it seems reasonable, particularly because I haven't taken either the quercetin or the rhodiola long enough for their full effect. I'm not there yet, but it's within sight. By late summer, when symptoms have typically eased on their own, I figure it should be safe to taper off all this stuff. Hopefully, if I treat this right, and take a few preventive measures, it won't come back.
Posts: 2 | | Registered: Sat 29 May 2004 7:6 |
| | "Re(1):When did you see results?" , Mon 31 May 05:54
I should also have asked the nature of the condition people are treating, since that makes a difference. Mine is not too severe, although there have been two times it's gotten severe. As near as I can tell, it seems to be the less common summer variety of SAD. It shows up in May or June, and it's gone by September. It only seems to appear every few years, although I can tend to be edgy in the summer. Pitifully little information is available about it - usually no more than a footnote tacked onto descriptions of winter SAD. Been exploring the possibility that it might be allergic in nature, and taking supplements to lower histamine. Can't tell if that's doing anything either.
I suppose I could just hold out until fall, but I enjoy summer too much to waste it feeling rotten. I'm also a little concerned that it is still early, and this could get much worse before it gets better. I'd much rather do something about it.
Been thinking of adding St. John's Wort to the mix I'm taking (5-HTP, inositol, B6, B12, C, MSM, EFAs, magnesium, potassium, and quercetin), but I'm wary of tinkering too much. The last time it was really bad, I'm not so sure that careless experimentation with supplements didn't compound the problem - that and going off caffeine and nutrasweet cold turkey. Right now, it's unpleasant, it's distracting, but it's tolerable.
Anyway, question is still the same: when did you see results, and under what conditions? Another question might be whether 5-HTP is better in larger, less frequent doses or several smaller doses throughout the day.
Posts: 1 | | Registered: Sat 29 May 2004 7:6 |
| | |  "Re(2):When did you see results?"
, Fri 4 Jun 03:56
I suffered with moderate/severe depression. I took 500 mg/day of 5htp, went to therapy, exercised, listened to uplifting music, prayed/meditated, read books about depression, posted here, volunteered, changed my diet and it took 2 years before I felt 100% back to normal me.
And I still use 5htp on occasion and go to therapy.
My doctors all told me, that like any chronic disease, I may need medication for the rest of my life.
MJ DuPont
Posts: 645 | | Registered: Wed 20 Jun 2001 6:19 |
| | | "Re(3):When did you see results?" , Fri 11 Jun 06:29
Do you take any SSRI'S WITH THE HERBS ?
Posts: 3 | | Registered: Wed 9 Jun 2004 11:28 |
| | | "meds for life?" , Wed 9 Jun 12:05
That is simply not true! Your doctors have no idea what they are talking about when they make absurd statements lke this. Trust me, there are alternative treatments in the field of electro-medicine that allow you to completely stay off of medication of any kind (I'm living proof). I suggest you investigate this matter further and start with "Politics in Healing", by Daniel Haley. This book blows the lid off of the FDA/AMA scam, when it comes to treating cancer and anxiety/depression.
Posts: 75 | | Registered: Thu 6 Sep 2001 7:42 |
| | "Re(1):When did you see results?" , Sun 30 May 21:03
That's a hard question to answer, as I really only noticed what effect it was having when I stopped taking it. I was taking Nature's Way 5-HTP 1X 50mg per day for at least 3-4 months, but it caused me lots of stomach problems. When I stopped taking it suddenly (not really a good thing but I had no choice) I didn't really notice any difference, and was starting to wonder whether it had been doing much at all, but after 2-3 weeks I started feeling more anxious, so I figured it was definitely helping.
As you can see I was only taking a small dose, and the effect it had must have been pretty gradual. I'm now trying L-tryptophan but it doesn't seem to be doing that much as yet...
BTW my main problem is also anxiety, with only some mild depression...and I was taking SJW at the same time as 5-HTP.
Posts: 26 | | Registered: Wed 14 Apr 2004 23:27 |
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