I haven't had time to read this long thread, but I have some academic training in psychoactive drugs, and wanted to comment on 5HTP and on serotonin.
5HTP is a precursor (an building block) of the neurotransmitter (brain chemical) serotonin. Taking it can raise the level of serotonin, but its effectiveness varies. There are prescription drugs that also raise the level of serotonin, including the drugs called SSRIs (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors.) Prozac is probably the best known of the SSRIs. These drugs have a much stronger effects than just taking 5HTP. The herb St. John's Wort has some of the same effects as SSRIs, and should not be taken by anyone on an SSRI or along with taking 5HTP.
[If you want to know how SSRIs work, here is how. When a nerve cell fires, it released one or more neurotransmitters into the gaps between nerve cells, which are called synapses. After a nerve cell fires, leftover neurotransmitters are either re-absorbed into the cells that fired them, or are broken down by enzymes. SSRIs prevent serotonin from being reabsorbed, so that the serotonin stays in the synapses longer and gets picked up more by the receiving cells. The "potentiates" (strengthens) the effects of serotonin.]
Although most SSRIs are given primarily to treat anxiety, they also often help with anxiety. It's that SSRIs gradually reduce anxiety by overstimulating certain anxiety-causing pathways in the brain, so that the pathways become desensitized -- numb and less responsive. You have probably experienced desensitization on your skin. If you ever have broken a fingernail close to the quick, the area that had been covered by the fingernail may be very sensitive for a while. Eventually, the area becomes less sensitive, the same as the other skin on your fingertip. This is the same sort of process that happens with certain anxiety pathways in the brain after a person has taken SSRIs for a while. However, starting with too high a dose of SSRIs can initially increase anxiety. Some SSRIs -- such as Buspar, which is primarily an anti-anxiety drug, not an anti-depressant -- are given first in a low dose, which is then gradually increased.
SSRIs are not sedatives and are not controlled substances. They do not produce addiction, but stopping them suddenly may cause unpleasant flu-like symptoms. Prozac is longer acting than the other SSRIs -- some people take Prozac just once a week, because it takes something like two weeks to wear off. Therefore, these symptoms rarely occur with Prozac.
5HTP is a precursor (an building block) of the neurotransmitter (brain chemical) serotonin. Taking it can raise the level of serotonin, but its effectiveness varies. There are prescription drugs that also raise the level of serotonin, including the drugs called SSRIs (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors.) Prozac is probably the best known of the SSRIs. These drugs have a much stronger effects than just taking 5HTP. The herb St. John's Wort has some of the same effects as SSRIs, and should not be taken by anyone on an SSRI or along with taking 5HTP.
[If you want to know how SSRIs work, here is how. When a nerve cell fires, it released one or more neurotransmitters into the gaps between nerve cells, which are called synapses. After a nerve cell fires, leftover neurotransmitters are either re-absorbed into the cells that fired them, or are broken down by enzymes. SSRIs prevent serotonin from being reabsorbed, so that the serotonin stays in the synapses longer and gets picked up more by the receiving cells. The "potentiates" (strengthens) the effects of serotonin.]
Although most SSRIs are given primarily to treat anxiety, they also often help with anxiety. It's that SSRIs gradually reduce anxiety by overstimulating certain anxiety-causing pathways in the brain, so that the pathways become desensitized -- numb and less responsive. You have probably experienced desensitization on your skin. If you ever have broken a fingernail close to the quick, the area that had been covered by the fingernail may be very sensitive for a while. Eventually, the area becomes less sensitive, the same as the other skin on your fingertip. This is the same sort of process that happens with certain anxiety pathways in the brain after a person has taken SSRIs for a while. However, starting with too high a dose of SSRIs can initially increase anxiety. Some SSRIs -- such as Buspar, which is primarily an anti-anxiety drug, not an anti-depressant -- are given first in a low dose, which is then gradually increased.
SSRIs are not sedatives and are not controlled substances. They do not produce addiction, but stopping them suddenly may cause unpleasant flu-like symptoms. Prozac is longer acting than the other SSRIs -- some people take Prozac just once a week, because it takes something like two weeks to wear off. Therefore, these symptoms rarely occur with Prozac.