Trazodone and 5HTP

I have been taking ,25mg trazodone at times to help me sleep. I just got some 5HTP from the health food store I am woundering if they interact each other? I read some SSRI can be deadly. The reason I do not like trazodone is it makes your mouth dry but the 5htp what I read controls food cravings and so on I like this so please any input thanks.

D12345678 wrote:

I have been taking ,25mg trazodone at times to help me sleep. I just got some 5HTP from the health food store I am woundering if they interact each other? I read some SSRI can be deadly. The reason I do not like trazodone is it makes your mouth dry but the 5htp what I read controls food cravings and so on I like this so please any input thanks.

bump I can't believe no one knows about this for this long time no response shame what kind of site is this no doc in the house or wanna be doc come on now.

My husband and I have been on 5 HTP for years after being on Paxil and Prozac. 5HTP is an amino acid called tryptophan that works to boost serotonin but in a natural form. That's why some have claimed that it works well as a diet aid. It makes us not crave carbos so much. I've also been taking trazadone for a long time for sleep problems and the two work together well. That doesn't mean that I'm not having side effects. That's why I'm trying to figure out how to get off the trazadone. I hope this helps you.

D12345678 wrote:

I have been taking ,25mg trazodone at times to help me sleep. I just got some 5HTP from the health food store I am woundering if they interact each other? I read some SSRI can be deadly. The reason I do not like trazodone is it makes your mouth dry but the 5htp what I read controls food cravings and so on I like this so please any input thanks.

Actually, trazodone is NOT a SSRI like Prozac, Zoloft, Lexapro, Cymbalta, Paxil, etc. etc. Trazodone is more properly an SSRE (selective serotonin reuptake enhancer). It is in the same category as the likes of Remeron and Stablon (Stablon is the newest and hasn't been approved by the FDA in the States but is widely prescribed in the EU and other places with generally superior results compared to other antidepressants).

SNRI's are similar to SSRI's but inhibit norepinephrine reuptake as well. Effexor is an example of this type.

It's important to know the difference with these antidepressants. SSRI's block serotonin from going directly to the brain and force serotonin to stay in your "nerve cells" in the brain (the synapses, which control and are responsible for brain signal transmissions). Instead of raising serotonin in the brain per se, they actually speed up synapse firing. Basically, they ramp up the activity of these synapses, putting them in overdrive.

These SSRE's do not accelerate brain cell (neural synapses) firing by themselves but instead raise serotonin levels in the body overall and in the brain.

5-HTP, like tryptophan (two different chemicals), are precursors to serotonin and supplements increase serotonin production. The difference between the two is that 5-HTP directly crosses to the brain and directly produces serotonin while tryptophan is converted to tryptophan in the body outside of the brain---it does not cross directly to the brain for serotonin production.

I've been on pretty much every antidepressant and many, many combinations over the past couple of decades for severe anxiety (severe panic disorder with agoraphobia and severe GAD but my anxiety has not been associated with depression until relatively recently when I was diagnosed with severe depression, due to major life events and my anxiety condition worsening the depression.

Currently, I'm on trazodone (400mg/day) along with two benzodiazepines. I've been on and off of it for about 2 years but have not had any problems when I have discontinued it. Perhaps the problem is that the trazodone has caused a depletion of your serotonin. On my doctor's okay, I have been permitted to take 5-HTP to replenish my serotonin which is depleted by the trazodone.

So, 5-HTP and trazodone DO interact with each other. I have to emphasize that taking 5-HTP with any anti-depressant should be carefully considered and ok'd by your doctor. 5-HTP supplements with antidepressants can have adverse effects (short or long term) with many people.

Can I ask, in what ways are you having problems getting off of trazodone? Are you depended on it for sleep or are there other problems that you are experiencing?