Stopped Taking Paroxetine. When Can I Start Sam-e With 5-htp?

Posted on Thu, 2 May 2013

Question: Hi;
I stopped taking paroxetine 5mg five days ago. How fast can I start taking 5-htp?
And also can I combine SAM-e with 5-thp?

Thanks for your advice,
XXXXXX

Answered by Dr. Jonas Sundarakumar (15 minutes later)

Hello and welcome to Healthcare Magic. Thanks for your query.

Paroxetine has a relatively shorter "half-life" of 24 hours; what this simply means is that 5 days is is sufficient to clear the medication from your system.

So, it should be okay to take other medication like 5-HTP after 5 days of stopping Paroxetine.

SAM-e and 5-HTP are different amino acid derivatives (methionine and tryptophan respectively) and so, it should be okay to take them together.

I would however advise you to: 1) procure them only from a genuine and standard source; and 2) use the lowest doses possible.

Wish you all the best.

Regards,
Dr. Jonas Sundarakumar
Consultant Psychiatrist

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Jonas Sundarakumar (2 minutes later)

Thank you;
Is there any particular brand that you recommend to be genuine?
I bought 5-htp from Wholehealth and SAM-e from Vitacost brands.

Thanks a lot

XXXXXX

Answered by Dr. Jonas Sundarakumar (4 hours later)

The brands which you have mentioned appear to be standard ones and so, it should be fine to take these supplements.

Regards,
Dr. Jonas Sundarakumar
Consultant Psychiatrist

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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar