5-Htp and Anit Depressants

Hi RedMan. I personally don't have any experience with 5-HTP, but in my research, I have read that it can help a lot. Along with St. Johns Wort, and a multi B-vitamin. Especially B-12! I believe a healthy diet, exercise, and vitamins can help tremendously with anxiety. Good Luck!

Hey there. I have a lot of experience with pharmacueticals AND herbs/vitamins. I took lexapro for 4 months straight, benzodiazepines like klonopin and ativan for anxiety, etc. taken a lot over the years. I don't support depression and anxiety pharmacueticals, they are not the answer, and OFTEN make things worse instead of better. Klonopins and lexapros are hell to quit, science shows that klonopin is perhaps MORE addictive than heroin or morphine. Gee thanks doc, just what I needed.
A much better approach is herbs and/or vitamins. They do work, and with little side effects if any. As with pharmacueticals, every person's brain chemistry is a little bit different, so some might work better for others than they will for you.
I've taken 5-HTP and I didn't notice any significant difference, but in double-blind studies it apparently works as well if not better than prozac, etc. for others. What has worked for me is St. John's Wort, taken 3x a day immediately after a meal. I notice it takes about a week or two of taking it regularly before a noticeable effect is felt. It has definetely worked as well as lexapro on my depression. I've also felt a desireable effect from DMAE. As far as anxiety goes, I've found nothing better than GABA. It's an amino acid found at GNC or most health food stores, you can get it in powder or capsules. I take about a gram or two a day of that, and I take that on an empty stomach. If I'm dealing with a lot of anxiety, then i'll take a gram of powdered GABA, and mix that in with a cup of Kava Kava tea, i'll drink that mixture with a couple grams of Valerian Root in capsule form. Now that, works like a charm. I suggest looking into it for yourself, make sure none of those things will effect you negatively, of course, consult a physician for health advice first. But St. John's Wort and GABA is what has worked for me the best. Long story short:
St. John's Wort
GABA
DMAE
Valerian Root
Kava Kava

5HTP made me dopey. Literally, a walking zombie with a silly grin and an inability to comprehend much.