Posted by cache-monkey on January 5, 2005, at 20:42:03
Hey all,
I do think I want to go back to something serotonegeric for my anxeity/self-confidence/depression issues. I'm thinking about Tryptophan and have a couple of questions.
1) Long-term efficacy
I guess the extra Tryptophan kicks into action your serotonin generators, a large chunk of which lie idle most of the time. Does your body get used to the extra Tryptophan and then revert to laziness in production again? (Or maybe the reuptake pumps kick in higher?) If so, I could imagine your body getting used to or "learn its way around" (as linkadge put it) the extra Tryp. Oh, and is there the worry of down-regulation of the DA system?I guess this is my worry, so I'm wondering if there's anyone out there who's used it for a while and gotten good results. Or have people found it necessary to stop it and restart it every so often? Or maybe some Tyrosine to balance the Tryptophan?
2) Sexual side effects?
If the sexual SEs from SSRIs are purely based on excess serotonin, I wonder if the same holds for Tryptophan. (Alternatively, I could imagine the SSRIs doing other more complicated bonding and stimulation to the various 5-HT subreceptors. Or that the Tryptophan becomes serotonin where it's most needed. I which case there wouldn't be as much of a worry of sexual dysfunction on Tryp.)Anyway, for those with experience on the Tryp, have there been libido issues, or (for males) problems with erection and orgasm?
Lots of questions.
Thanks for any input,
cache-monkey
poster:cache-monkey
thread:438282
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/alter/20050101/msgs/438282.html