Topic Title: My opinion no why 5-htp takes weeks to work
| |  "My opinion on why 5-htp takes weeks to work"
, Tue 21 Jun 21:00:
This thought has been bouncing around in my head for awhile now.
I think this idea might be a possible reason it takes weeks sometimes for SSRI's, 5-htp, SJW, or any other anti-depressant type medications to "work".
It seems odd, that when you take a drug, or substance, it goes into your body, but the supposed effect of that drug takes 4 weeks to actually work.
What I think, is that the drug does what it does as fast as your body can digest and absorb it.
So, if you take 5-htp, it will pretty much start absorbing into your system in about an hour, which is the length of time it takes for your small intestine to absorb it. Once its in your blood stream, it will affect all the cells within minutes.
Why then, does depression not seem to lift immediately? Why does your serotonin level increase within a few hours after you take SSRI's (they've done studies), but your depression lift?
I think its because depression isn't actually just a shortage of serotonin. Shortage of serotonin is just a marker of depression...
I think instead, is the emotional mood leveling effect that 5-htp has on your system starts the day you take it. Each day goes by, where your mood is more stable. Depression I think has a lot to do with memory. Before you were on meds, you were depressed for a while. Every day sucked. Eventually, every day turns into every month, and even years.
After awhile, you don't even remember the good times. Depression is all you know, and is all you can remember.
But, after you take meds, your mood is leveled out. Each day that goes by, where you feel just decent, is added to your memory. Sooner than later, you remember in your head that you have had more good, or okay days, than depressing days.
It might be subconscience, because I don't think we really think about it. But, we finally reach a point, where we have put enough distance from those depressing thoughts, and those depressing days, where they escape our memory for the most part, and once that happens, we find ourselves feeling good again.
Its kinda like, the darkness slowly fades away in your memory, and whats left is just your normal light, your normal alive self.
If you think about this, it makes sense from different levels. If you breakup with someone, it takes months for you to "get over them". Part of getting over them is just allowing your brain the time to get over the memory of that person. The more you don't trip those memories, the more your brain doesn't delve into them, the fast you get over them.
Even with addictions. The longer you are away from a substance, the easier it gets to stay away. The withdrawal in the beginning is the hardest, I think partly, because of your memory of the good feelings that substance brings. Once enough days goes by, your brain kinda forgets what its like... just like it forgets what your ex was like....
So, same with depression. We get so used to being depressed, that its all we see.
This would explain why things like Cognitive Behavior Therapy works... becuase you train your brain not to go there, into the depression.
But, I'm still not sure that people don't need meds at all. I know it is probably more complicated than just not thinking of the depression etc.
Reguardless though, I've been taking 5-htp for about 5 days now for anxiety and depression. Strangely a few days ago my boss looked at me weird and said "Is everything okay? Your smiling! Thats not like you".
On top of that, I've noticed that I might be sitting down and my mind starts spinning around and around with anxiety, and I start becoming paralyzed by it, but instead of delving further and further into it...my mind kinda just lifts away from it, and I can move on in my thoughts.
So, I can see 5-htp working in slight ways already. Its my opinion, that its not allowing me to "go there", into the depressive thoughts. Those depressing, anxiety producing thoughts, are very stressful... and its been proven scientifically that your body reacts to stress the same way whether its physical or mental.
If you are always getting anxious, all those stress chemicals are building up in your body, and that will surely put you into a depression, if the anxiety doesn't let up.
So medication works by not allowing you to go to those stressful thoughts as easily, and for a shorter amount of time. Thats less stress on your mind-body everyday. Which means, more time for your body to heal itself, and to improve. You start reacting normally to everyday, stressful situations. You are able to conquer them, and to improve your situation in life.
Its my guess, that as my life improves, I will become less depressed, and more happy. I will be able to be more social, and enjoy myself more. I already see it happening.
It seems depression is very complex. But, we shouldn't just think, by taking a pill, depression will go away. Depression is real. Its a state of mind, because your life is not good. Its a simple reflection of it. But I think with many people who are depressed, the reason they are depressed is because they don't react normally to stressful situations, and thats why medication helps. As the medications or herbs you take help you deal better, its up to you to improve your life. The medicine is only a tool, its still up to you to buckle down and try...
[this message was edited by soar2thaclouds on Tue 21 Jun 21:00]
Posts: 81 | | Registered: Tue 11 Feb 2003 10:6 |
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| | "Re(1):My opinion on why 5-htp takes weeks to" , Tue 4 Apr 19:08
5-HTP and SJW both rely on your body's serotonin production system. That's why they don't produce the conventional addictive systems; you're not introducing an external source, you're just altering the environment a bit.
Any sudden increase in serotonin (such as by 5-HTP or SJW) will cause the brain to slow down it's serotonin production and release, so it essentially cancels out the effect of the drug. If it ratchets it down too far, it will end up with a deficiency. Like everything else in the body, the sensors responsible for this will adapt. If they recieve a false alarm of "too much serotonin" too often, they'll stop responding to it. This takes time, and this is what you're waiting for.
In other words, your brain needs to adapt to it's own adapting before the effects will be felt. That's why improvement takes several weeks, and why some people experience heightened depression during that time.
At least, that's what current understanding of SSRIs postulates
Posts: 10 | | Registered: Tue 4 Apr 2006 12:6 |
| | "Re(1):My opinion on why 5-htp takes weeks to" , Fri 8 Jul 08:37:
When one becomes dependent on a drug, like cocaine, their neurotransmitter receptors are hijacked by the chemical and eventually will only work when the drug is present. That's called addiction. Once the individual stops taking the cocaine their neuro-receptors remain dormant for a lengthy period before they can once again function as normal.
I think the same is true for people with depression. Their neurotransmitter receptors have ceased to function at an optimal level, hence the the lag time. Usually introducing a nutritional regime can "rejunvinate" your neuro-receptors, but there are some who's receptors will just not respond. These individuals take much longer or may not ever repond to treatment at all.
Neurologist believe that some of us are born with less neuro-receptors than others, thus explaning the genetic link to depression and other mood disorders.
As for 5-htp taking a long time. If your serotonin receptors are dormant, when first starting the drug, then how can you expect to synthesize serotonin? When they finally start functioning properly is when you'll begin to see relief. And that usually takes awhile in most people, especially those who've suffered from depression for an extended period of time.
[this message was edited by Bach on Fri 8 Jul 08:42]
Posts: 101 | | Registered: Thu 6 Sep 2001 7:42 |
| | | "Re(2):My opinion on why 5-htp takes weeks to" , Wed 27 Jul 10:48
Do you think this is why i have severe anxiety, insomnia, and mod. depression??? i have experiences many drug days, i have always drank heavily, smoked weed, etc... but i have overcome a bad addiction to cocaine and meth, and also a horribly bad addiction and overdose of xanax. Do you think that those drugs have caused mine to become dormant?
Posts: 4 | | Registered: Wed 27 Jul 2005 9:49 |
| | "Re(1):My opinion on why 5-htp takes weeks to " , Thu 23 Jun 02:14
That was a long post. I understand what you mean about the medications taking a while to work, because when you are used to feeling depressed, it might take a while until you realize that you are not depressed anymore even though the drug has been taking affect in the brain immediately. Kind of like when you smoke weed but it takes about 10 minutes before you realize that you are stoned. However when I took 5-htp I always noticed an immediate difference in mood 45 minutes after taking it. And I would especially also notice the immediate difference it made for my sleep, making it deeper with vivid dreams. Unfortunately the drug has seemed to completely stop working for me after 3 years of use.
Posts: 15 | | Registered: Thu 7 Apr 2005 15:17 |
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