Posted by john1022 on April 9, 2005, at 18:57:00
Hello,
I used to post on here probably close to 2 years ago. I was in pretty bad shape. Very depressed, foggy brained, sleep problems, blurred vision, racing songs in my head, suicidal thoughts.
I used to take Effexor many years ago and it worked well. The third time I started it I had a horrible opposite reaction where it made my about ten times more depressed, anxious, foggy brained and actually gave me suicidal thoughts were there were none before that.
I finally saw a doctor who practices both natural and medical phychiatry. She diagnosed me as bipolar, which I know now I am, but I also strongly believed there was an underlying serotonin problem.
I was in really bad shape for about a year. I finally saw this doctor in Mass (search for Dr. Greenblatt to find out info about him and other doctors that practice with him). The doctor I found said I should never try SSRI's again and instead of putting me on something like Depakote or Lithium, she wanted to try me on small amounts of 5HTP first because I was so sensitive to meds and see what happens
within a week of taking 5htp I noticably felt better. I take 200-400 mg a night now and over about a month after taking it I really started feeling better.
I honestly thought my life was over because there was no other med I could take or tolerate (which will obviously be a problem in the future). I can honestly say 5htp saved my life NO QUESTION. I am back to having a normal life.
don't feel too happy for me because I still deal with a lot of anxiety and sleep problems and will probably have to deal with this again in the future, but for the last 2 years I have been stable and 5htp is what pulled me right out of it.
but fortunately the deep depression is very much gone (I know one might think it might be part of my bipolar cycle, but as soon as I started taking 5htp I was lifted right out of close to a living hell)
Just wanted to share my story in the hopes that even one person might be able to be helped by this stuff. It works, it worked for me like a charm and gave me my life back. Of coarse read up on it first and decided whether it is safe or right for you.
I wish all you the best of luck and hope everyone is well. Take care
poster:john1022
thread:482146
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20050408/msgs/482146.html