I'm not a doctor or anything but I took 5-htp for about a year with one psychiatrist and when I changed psychiatrists she changed my meds and took me off the 5-htp cold turkey and started right into other meds. I didn't have any problem as far as I noticed. I kinda think she thought the 5-htp was just nothing. You know what I mean? Anyway...I didn't have a problem...I hope that helps.

Wait two weeks in between so you don't get Serotonin Syndrome.

Hi, I was on 5-htp too. I stopped it on Monday and started taking Lexapro on Thursday and I was fine. I'd say wait at least 4-5 days and drink lots of water to make sure you get it out of your system first. My therapist didn't think the 5-htp mattered but I read on line that it could cause serotonin syndrome so just to be safe I waited a few days. Good luck.

Thats what I was wondering. My doctor seemed to more are less think that I was just wasting my money on snake oil with the 5-htp. However, I read all over the internet about getting serotonin syndrome which I certainly do not want or need at this point in my life. I also get conflicting answers with every web site I look at. Some say that the 5-htp leaves your body very fast and that yoou have nothing to worry about as long as there are at least 24 hours between the last dose of it and the first dose of your ssri. Especially given the fact that that it takes several days if not weeks for the ssri to even being making a difference in the re-uptake in your brain. Others say that the ssri takes a long time to leave your body so don't take any 5-htp within a month of taking your last dose of ssri brain. I am realy confused as to what the best thing to do would be. Especially since my doctor thinks it is just snake oil anyway.

well I can say my experience was I waited 4 days and was fine. i was worried about serotonin syndrome too. 4 days worked for me.

Hello all,
Happened across this website. I have experience with this directly. I started taking 10mg Lexapro while I was already taking 300mg 5-htp per day. I am only two weeks into Lexapro now and new to admitting I'm depressed and working on getting better. I did get seratonin syndrome. I had hot flashed, muscle cramping, twitches, racing heart, could not sleep. So I stopped the 5-htp and within a day I was back to maintaining some sanity. I did a lot of internet research on mixing Lexapro and 5-htp. If you type in Lexapro's actual chemical name "escitalopram" along side of 5-htp on Google, you will quickly find a chemist who is patenting a mix of 5-htp and lexapro. Anyway, I stopped the 5-htp but then I wasn't feeling the positive effects of the lift from depression during the day as much. So I went back to the 5-htp at a lower dose. I now take 5-htp at 50mg per day and Lexapro and 10mg. I have no more seratonin syndrome and I can actually sleep! Plus I have the positive mental/emotional effect from the mix of the two! I did get seratonin syndrome one day and one night when I tried upping my Lexapro dose. From personal experience, I think that at the right dose, the two mixed together are safe and effective. Oh, I did find that link for the chemist with the patent: http://www.freepatentsonline.com/20070213370.html. It's an interesting concept. The 5-htp helps you produce seratonin and then the Lexapro goes to work with the extra seratonin that is produced. PS: I wouldn't worry about seratonin syndrome. It comes and goes quickly as soon as you adjust your dosage down. And while you are having it, it just feels like intense physical anxiety. Not fun but I think it's very rarely fatal.