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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 8 of 8. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Tepidarium on April 24, 2009, at 10:13:14
Oops, I posted this in the medication forum, I should have posted it in the Alternative forum. Sorry. Here is the original post:
Hi,
I posted a few days ago about being worried about EMS(!).
To summarize: for two weeks, I was taking Ajinomoto Tryptopure (Doctor's Best brand). I was taking it for mood enhancement and anxiety reduction. I found it was helping for both. THe first week I took 1g a day (2x 500 mg). The second week, I took 2.5g a day ( 1x 500mg morning and 2x 1g midafternoon and at bed time). At the end of the two weeks (last Friday) I had dilated pupils, sensitivity to light, sinus, eye headaches, and body aches. I immediately stopped taking tryptophan and saw several doctors this week as I feared Serotonin Syndrome/EMS.
Anyhow, all my vitals are normal and I am relieved about that. Though, my mood has dropped since stopping tryptophan. In addition to CBT, he doctor would like me think about trying Buspar or klonopin or Xanax. I would rather stick with naturally formed compounds. Because of my adverse reaction, I'm concerned about taking Tryptophan again. I'm concerned about the safety of 5-HTP in the blood, and since I'm freaked out about Serotonin Syndrome, I'm wary of St. John's Wort. Is there any other naturally formed product I could try for mild depression, high anxiety? The only other thing that has helped somewhat has been Magnesium Taurate.
I'm thinking about seeing a holistic doctor. Any suggestions are appreciated.
Thanks.
Posted by nolvas on April 25, 2009, at 2:09:16
In reply to I'm better (recovered from Tryptophan) now what?, posted by Tepidarium on April 24, 2009, at 10:13:14
It's extremely common to have 'health anxiety'. I have this and any pain in my body can trigger off anxiety. It's a vicious circle as people prone to anxiety can experience a myriad of strange sensations in their body. CBT is likely to help you more than any drug or supplement and have longer lasting results, you have to stick with it and it's not a quick fix, in fact nothing really is a quick fix. Magnesium is very useful I find. You might find that l-theanine will help take the edge off the anxiety, it all depends how extreme your anxiety is.
Depression and anxiety go together, the depression should ease if the anxiety is treated. If you have a deeper depression or clinical depression then this probably does need pharmaceutical treatment.
I have GAD which has recently caused sleep problems. Im currently using the web site called myselfhelp.com and it's helping me.
Xanax and Klonopin are benzodiazepines, they bring great relief to anxiety and also a great amount of problems if you have to take them regularly. Benzos in my opinion should only be used in the short term. Also if you use Benzos only when you really need them then you form a 'safety' behaviour, which means you feel safe if you have a Benzo with you and you never really learn to face the fear and let your body learn that nothing really bad is going to happen and you just feel awful but it will pass. CBT will teach you gradual exposure and at your own pace.
1. CBT
2. Exercise - at least 3 times a week for 30 mins
Those two are important, the supplements and drugs you can try all your life to find the right combination. This is my experience of course. If you want information about St Johns Wort then check out Kellys SJW forum http://www.sjwinfo.org/ This site deals with anxiety and depression treatment with SJW and mentions other supplements too, there's a good forum there too.Here's a few sites which might help you :
www.myselfhelp.com (supposed to be $19 for a one off payment for each course. I got the insomnia course for free, when I signed up it said I got it free as there's a promotion, seems a good site and it's supported by the The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). Im a UK citizen and I got signed up there ok.
http://www.livinglifetothefull.com/ (Haven't tried this, as I want to stick to one site at a time, looks good though)
http://moodgym.anu.edu.au/welcome (This is a popular site as well for treating mood problems, also affiliated with http://ecouch.anu.edu.au/welcome which is a site for treating depression, anxiety etc)
I hope some of these suggestions will be useful to you. Take care.
Posted by Netch on April 30, 2009, at 4:55:39
In reply to I'm better (recovered from Tryptophan) now what?, posted by Tepidarium on April 24, 2009, at 10:13:14
Why not try tryptophan in a lower dose?
You obviously had too much.
Posted by Tepidarium on April 30, 2009, at 12:13:52
In reply to Re: I'm better (recovered from Tryptophan) now what? » Tepidarium, posted by Netch on April 30, 2009, at 4:55:39
Hi,
Thanks for the long reply. I am going to try CBT and I am also making an appointment with a Holistic doctor.
I have been taking a co-enzyme Vitamin B supplement for the past few days that seems to help my anxiety somewhat. I'm also taking extra zinc and magnesium.
I'm also going to try meditation.
Netch - I would like to go back to tryptophan as it really seemed to help my mood but I am concerned because of the symptoms I developed at 2.5 mg a day. The capsules come in 500mg doses. Maybe that's even too much?
Posted by mulva on May 3, 2009, at 23:46:47
In reply to Re: I'm better (recovered from Tryptophan) now what?, posted by Tepidarium on April 30, 2009, at 12:13:52
500 mg sounds like a lot .. let alone 2.5 g! I've been reading articles that advise to start with 100 mg per day. I'm a super-lightweight and I felt effects after 1 dose of only 25 mg. Everyone's different, you might be more sensitive to 5-HTP than you anticipated.
In general, with any kind of psych medication, I have learned through awful experience to always start with a dose that's way smaller than you think you need. If you feel nothing, double it, if you still feel nothing, double it again. It's a lot better than starting out huge and ending up in the emergency room.
Posted by nolvas on May 4, 2009, at 3:53:46
In reply to Re: I'm better (recovered from Tryptophan) now wha, posted by mulva on May 3, 2009, at 23:46:47
Suggested dosages for L-Tryptophan :
500mg - 1g per day
Suggested dosages for 5-HTP :
50mg - 100mg per day
These are usual dosages to treat anxiety/depression. Don't get these two supplements mixed up.
Posted by Tepidarium on May 4, 2009, at 9:12:13
In reply to Re: I'm better (recovered from Tryptophan) now wha, posted by mulva on May 3, 2009, at 23:46:47
> 500 mg sounds like a lot .. let alone 2.5 g! I've been reading articles that advise to start with 100 mg per day. I'm a super-lightweight and I felt effects after 1 dose of only 25 mg. Everyone's different, you might be more sensitive to 5-HTP than you anticipated.
Mulva - I was talking about Tryptophan, not 5-HTP. 500mg is the smallest dose Tryptophan comes in (in capsule form). It is also sold as powder so the dose can be varied a bit more.
It's my understanding that 50mg of 5-htp is roughly equivalent to 500mg of Tryptophan.
Still, I see your point. I'm tall and thin, and maybe 500mg is even too much for me. I just don't know.
I wanted to take tryptophan instead of 5-htp s I was concerned about 5-htp converting into serotonin in the gut, not the brain - which, in my particular situation, seemed to have happened in any case with the Tryptophan!
The max dose I was taking (2.5mg) a day, seemed to be safe from the literature I read. Even my doctor didn't think it was a lot. But, apparently, for me, it was.
I'm debating whether to start again at 500mg a day or go even lower per day...or none at all.
Posted by opiumden on August 11, 2009, at 0:00:32
In reply to I'm better (recovered from Tryptophan) now what?, posted by Tepidarium on April 24, 2009, at 10:13:14
Do you think there is anything wrong with this brand? I take the same brand and I don't want the same thing to happen to me.
This is the end of the thread.
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