Posted by Jazzed on June 7, 2005, at 9:52:54
In reply to extreme depression, not sure where to turn, posted by maggie1970 on June 1, 2005, at 11:52:45
Hi Maggie,
You kind of have to figure out which neurotransmitter is low in your brain, and then supplement that. If it's serotonin, then 5 HTP will probably help, and it helps pretty quickly - within the same day. The only brand I've found that works really well is Natrol, and I get it at the health food store or grocery. If the SSRIs made you feel better, than 5 HTP will too. The beauty of it is that there aren't the side effects, and there's no withdrawl. You can take it when you're feeling down. I take 100 mg., and if I don't feel better, I take 100 mg. more every hour until I do, up to 700mg, but you have to figure out if you can take that much. What I've noticed is that if you continue to take the higher doses over a period of time it's kind of counterproductive.
If you're low on Norepinephrine, then L-tyrosine might help. There are also the other "natural" anti-depressants, SAMe, which I really like, but is expensive, St John's Wort, and Inisitol. I haven't tried the latter two.
Have you tried Wellbutrin? It works for some people and is a stimulating anti-depressant.
Hope you feel better soon,
Jazzy
poster:Jazzed
thread:506264
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/alter/20050510/msgs/509013.html