I was hoping to find someone to compare notes with on this.
I've been battling depression for as long as I can remember, but managing it pretty well.
Now I have anxiety suddenly. It seemed to start this summer and was amped up once I discovered that my pcos symptoms had gotten worse despite being on flutamide. The most distressing of these is hairloss.
But now it seems like it's taken on a life of it's own. It's a constant jittery feeling, like I'm always extremely nervous. It seems worst around ovluation until af. When I get af I get a little relief. Other than that, it's all day every day. Worst in the early part but sometimes bad a night too.
My GP gave me Zoloft and I was set to try it, until I saw a new naturopath who suggested 5-htp. It seemed to work great for about a week and then felt like it stopped. (I also Ovluated around this time I think). She had me up the dosage and it worked for a couple days and now it feels like it just works intermittently.
I've been hoping to not go on antidepressants and am even wondering if they'll work.
Anyone else have experience with this supplement? I'm wondering if I need to give it more time, or if I need to back off this and go on the zoloft after all.
I have no idea what's causing this anxiety. I'm tired of constantly feeling this way.
I plan on calling the nd this week again to see what she says but in the meantime was wondering if anyone else has had a good or bad experience with this supplement.
I know you've posted this almost a month ago, but noticed that you didn't have any responses, so I just thought I'd share my experiences with 5-HTP. Like many other natural remedies, it seems to work for different people differently.
For me personally, I started taking 5-HTP recently and it does seem to have a calming effect on me. I take it at night to help me sleep. However, it hasn't totally eradicated my depression and anxiety, so I still take Wellbutrin every day. Like you, 5-HTP seems to have an intermittent effect on me at best.
However, my dbf also takes 5-HTP and feels much better on it. He has dysthmia, or low grade depression, and the 5-HTP seems to help with it so he hasn't had to go on anti-depressants. A co-worker of mine started taking 5-HTP and was able to get off of her anti-depressants completely because of it.
I'm no expert, but the best thing I can recommend is keep trying it for a little longer and play around with the dosage a little to see what works. If after a few weeks, you still haven't had much success with it, you should talk with your naturopath and MD to see what other options they suggest for you.
Some folks don't do well with 5-HTP but have more success with SAM-e or St. John's Wort, so you can try those as well. An all-natural remedy I use that has really helped me a lot with anxiety is a homeopathic compound called "Rescue Remedy". I just use it as I need it, so I don't take it everyday. It's made totally out of flower essences and it's so safe, even pets can use it. It comes in liquid or a spray. You can find "Rescue Remedy" in most health food stores and it's not very expensive. I've been able to avoid going on anti-anxiety drugs thanks to this product.
Good luck to you....I hope you will soon find a remedy - hopefully natural- that'll work for you!
Last edited by siamlovex2; 11-20-2008 at 03:13 PM.
thank you so much! I was hoping someone would answer me!
I'm glad I'm not the only one who's had spotty success.
I'm giving it a few more days. I had an episode that was bad today where I almost threw up in the parking lot of my sons school.
This is mostly related to hairloss but I think the one is probably affecting the other. So I'm in a vicious cycle. I actually had a grandmother who had to wear a wig because her anxiety was so bad she lost most of her hair. Seems between that and the pcos I can't win!
I have tried that Rescue Remedy! In fact I have it in my purse! I also have been trying Gaba as well.
I'm giving it a few more days and if it's still this bad I'm going to start Zoloft per my GPs advice. I think I can use both if I'm careful of the dosage. My naturopath should be able to guide me there.
Hi Kimm, I'm finding the 5-htp experience similar to yours I suppose. I've been on it for almost 3 months for depression and anxiety. For me, I haven't had depression on it yet, and it seems to be keeping my low moods at bay. Things aren't as easy as they were when I was on prescribed antidepressants (which dull all my emotions - good and bad, and therefore I don't feel the depression) but my mood is pretty good overall. However, I also have serious anxiety issues and it doesn't seem to be making a difference to the anxiety at all.
Sorry about you almost being sick I can really relate to that. Sometimes with my anxiety I get dry retching which is awful - I can retch literally a few hundred times a day and therefore can't go out in public.
I did actually understand that 5-htp can't be taken with ssris, just incase you end up trying Zoloft. I'm not certain though. I'm sure your natropath would know better than me.
Good luck!
__________________ Dianette
Spiro 100mg
Zinc
EPA fish oils
Ground flaxseed (when I remember) and flaxseed oil on salads
Pure Inositol 3 grams a day (for panic disorder - thrilled to discover it could help with pcos as well)
My experience with 5 htp has been pretty much the same as everyone else's... It worked for awhile and I was feeling pretty good, then it quit and I got depressed again.
Have you had your thyroid levels checked? I'd been on antidepressants for years and was still depressed but getting on Armour thyroid fixed it. That's definitely something to look into if you haven't already.
Have you had your thyroid levels checked? I'd been on antidepressants for years and was still depressed but getting on Armour thyroid fixed it. That's definitely something to look into if you haven't already.
I'm hypothyroid and I take Armour, too. It does seem to help with depression, so as Somewhat Damaged said, you may want to get some lab work done the next time you see your doctor.
Still taking the 5-htp. It seems to be managing the anxiety and nervousness but not eliminating it. I still think I may end up on the antidepressant, and I'm thinking about counseling as well. Although, I'm not sure it would do much except drudge up crap that I'm over now and make me feel more broken than I already feel.
Funny that a couple of you mentioned the thyroid. I was diagnosed as slightly hypothyroid by one of my docs this summer and tried Armour. It didn't mesh well with the anxiety at all and I had a horrible time on it. Felt like I was going to die! This same doc wanted me to try Synthroid after that, but I didn't think I could handle a repeat of that experience.
So my other docs don't think I have hypothyroidism, but I still am unsure either way.
(have had it tested several times these last few months)
I actually have an apt with a thyroid specialist next Tuesday. Hopefully he'll be able to tell me for sure one way or another. If I'm going to treat it I don't want to play a guessing game again. I also don't want to ignore it because I've read enough to believe that if you do have a thyroid condition, it will be difficult to reverse your pcos symptoms without getting the thyroid straightened out.
Has anyone here with thyroid and anxiety issues had their adrenals tested? I keep wondering if I have an issue there as well. My naturopath seems to think so, but I'm really leary about adding another herb in right now.
I would looooove to get rid of this anxiety though. It's much worse than the depression I think. At least with depression I could still get myself to work out and enjoy a cup of coffee.
Kimm - absolutely make sure you get the numbers and reference ranges on all your thyroid labs so you can look for yourself and make your own determination.
How are you getting on, Kimm? I'm still in the same position - doing ok on the 5-htp but still considering antidepressants!
Hope you've seen the specialist and found out whether or not you have thyroid issues, so you can be one step closer to sorting this awful anxiety
I was referred for counselling too, but cancelled my first appointment which was meant to be this week. I'm also worried about dragging up my past and just stewing over it, rather than releasing it! Really not sure what to make of counselling in my situation...
Good luck.
__________________ Dianette
Spiro 100mg
Zinc
EPA fish oils
Ground flaxseed (when I remember) and flaxseed oil on salads
Pure Inositol 3 grams a day (for panic disorder - thrilled to discover it could help with pcos as well)
I'm not doing to well actually. Keep having setbacks.
I just popped my first Zoloft today.
My trigger has been my hairloss (the absolute worst symptom). It's becoming noticeable and I cannot cope with that fact.
I did get my thyroid tested (still waiting on results) I'm pretty positive I'm hypothyroid but the doc doesn't want to treat and possibly worsen the anxiety. (I'm only slightly hypo)
So I'm off the 5-htp and on Zoloft and kind of messed up at the moment.
I hope in a week or two things level out. After the holidays I'll take another look at counseling because I feel like losing my hair is making life not worth living and that isn't rational. It's also not fair to my husband and kids.
And I really just want to be able to enjoy a cup of coffee again!
If you want to try and stay herbal, my naturopath suggested a supplement called "Gabacalm" which is a sublingual that you can apparantely pop like candy with no ill effects. It helps a tiny bit for me. She calls it "herbal xanax"
I'm also trying a couple other herbs because she thinks it might be my adrenals going into overdrive over the stress, so I'll let you know if they are of any help. (started one, but am still waiting on the other)
It's funny because I felt like I'm betraying my naturopath by going on meds, but I'm now dealing with both profound depression and anxiety at the same time, so something has to give here.
Hang in there. Hope something works for you soon. I didn't know I could feel this bad!
I'm not doing to well actually. Keep having setbacks.
I just popped my first Zoloft today.
My trigger has been my hairloss (the absolute worst symptom). It's becoming noticeable and I cannot cope with that fact.
I did get my thyroid tested (still waiting on results) I'm pretty positive I'm hypothyroid but the doc doesn't want to treat and possibly worsen the anxiety. (I'm only slightly hypo)
So I'm off the 5-htp and on Zoloft and kind of messed up at the moment.
I hope in a week or two things level out. After the holidays I'll take another look at counseling because I feel like losing my hair is making life not worth living and that isn't rational. It's also not fair to my husband and kids.
And I really just want to be able to enjoy a cup of coffee again!
If you want to try and stay herbal, my naturopath suggested a supplement called "Gabacalm" which is a sublingual that you can apparantely pop like candy with no ill effects. It helps a tiny bit for me. She calls it "herbal xanax"
I'm also trying a couple other herbs because she thinks it might be my adrenals going into overdrive over the stress, so I'll let you know if they are of any help. (started one, but am still waiting on the other)
It's funny because I felt like I'm betraying my naturopath by going on meds, but I'm now dealing with both profound depression and anxiety at the same time, so something has to give here.
Hang in there. Hope something works for you soon. I didn't know I could feel this bad!
Anxiety is absolutely terrible. It's like torture.
A few years ago I went down the herbal route, but it got to the stage where I knew I needed prescribed medication. Seeing as you feel you need it too, then you're following your instincts and that can only be a good thing. I hope Zoloft works well for you. I took Lexapro which worked for me, and I did things (I've got agoraphobia) which I never thought I'd be able to do. Unfortunately I couldn't tolerate the side effects but I think my reaction to them was reasonably uncommon, as I am very sensitive to drugs in general. Zoloft could well change things dramatically for you, and make the anxiety issues much easier to deal with, or disappear completely!
Have you ever tried a prescribed antidepressant before?
It doesn't mean you'll be on them forever - it could just be the prop you need to get through this patch of anxiety.
Counselling could be very helpful too! I've actually just started a cbt type of therapy, combined with massage, and I spent almost 2 hours today working on my self esteem and writing all the positive things about myself. The woman I work with has also had mental health problems, and has a lot of compassion and understanding. She seems very wise. I think it'll really help me.
If you could relax enough to have a massage, I'd recommend reflexology. Whether or not it can help with health problems, I don't know, although it can definitely diagnose as my reflexologist picked up on all my health problems and was spot on! But it's very pleasurable and relaxing and I would recommend it to anyone!
Hope you start to feel better soon xx
__________________ Dianette
Spiro 100mg
Zinc
EPA fish oils
Ground flaxseed (when I remember) and flaxseed oil on salads
Pure Inositol 3 grams a day (for panic disorder - thrilled to discover it could help with pcos as well)
5-htp anyone? 
I can really relate to that. Sometimes with my anxiety I get dry retching which is awful - I can retch literally a few hundred times a day and therefore can't go out in public.
