another paxil/tryptophan question

[Guest guest]

I have successfully reduced Allie from 1/4 teaspoon to 1mL. She did

seem agitated for over a week, but now seems better, however some of

her old obsessions are coming back, like screaming if we don't stop

at a McDonald's every time we pass one. (She is autistic, btw.) I'm

wondering if we might reach a point of weaning her that we could try

tryptophan, even if she is still taking the Paxil, or perhaps some

SAMe or St. John's Wort? I am thinking that as we reduce she's still

going to probably have a seratonin deficit (as her behavior and

learning curve dramatically increased while on Paxil) and want to

try to replace/replenish it. I'm also thinking that we might reach a

certain threshold when the Paxil affect is little enough that slight

amounts of a seratonin-producing supplement might help to counteract

the deficit without causing seratonin sickness.

 

Any thoughts? I have read some of the anti-Paxil websites and one

did suggest trying St. John's Wort, but I have read tryptophan is

better, and autistics tend to need B vitamins anyway.

 

TIA!

Debi

[Guest guest]

Dear Debi,

 

I think that you are going to have to " feel " your way along about how

much tryptophan to give, when to cut her dose etc.

 

There is not much data available because the drug companies hide any

information that they deem can be negative about their products. In

the USA thy are still saying that Paxil is nonaddictive while in the

UK, the government has forced them to acknowledge that it is

addictive and to put a warning label on it to that affect.

 

When making a cut in the dosage of Paxil, you may not see an

immediate change as it can be delayed (different for each person)

from a few days to a month down the road to seeing the effects of

that cut.

 

We are all differ as individuals and are all biologically unique, so

how fast to withdraw and how much tryptophan is needed are an

individual thing. Each person's taper is different and each person's

recovery from the drug is different. The doctors will tell you that

it is impossible for Paxil to cause any problems like that described

in the Paxil sites. That is pure BS.

 

Please keep in mind that ingesting Paxil into the body and then

coming off does not just affect only seratonin, but all of the

neurotransmitters in the brain.

 

You cannot look at outward symptoms and attribute it to the direct

effect of taking paxil that day or not. It is a long term effect in

that coming off it, ie. the total brain chemistry is usually

scrambled for a very long time, whether the person took anything that

day of not. After coming off, it can take a year or for some more,

depending on how long it was taken, how much imbalance was caused,

how rich the diet is in replacement nutrients, how well that person

processes those nutrients, and how suceptable the person was to

damage etc, in order to rebalance the brain chemistry to where it was

before starting on paxil.

 

Read the messages in those groups of the symptoms of coming off Paxil

and try and understand as an outsider what is happening in your

daughter. You as her mother will be familiar with the symptoms of her

autism, but it may be hard to distinguish between the two causes

possible during this transition period.

 

Tryptophan is not a B vitamin. It is an amino acid.

 

I would certainly look into her diet also if you hope to ever

normalize her brain chemistry. Tryptophan is only a small part of the

nutrients necessary to do the job. She will need a whole spectrum of

the necessary nutrients and cofactors to absorb, utilize, and correct

the problems.

 

good luck,

 

Frank

 

 

 

- In , " Debi "

<fightingautism> wrote:

> I have successfully reduced Allie from 1/4 teaspoon to 1mL. She did

> seem agitated for over a week, but now seems better, however some

of

> her old obsessions are coming back, like screaming if we don't stop

> at a McDonald's every time we pass one. (She is autistic, btw.) I'm

> wondering if we might reach a point of weaning her that we could

try

> tryptophan, even if she is still taking the Paxil, or perhaps some

> SAMe or St. John's Wort? I am thinking that as we reduce she's

still

> going to probably have a seratonin deficit (as her behavior and

> learning curve dramatically increased while on Paxil) and want to

> try to replace/replenish it. I'm also thinking that we might reach

a

> certain threshold when the Paxil affect is little enough that

slight

> amounts of a seratonin-producing supplement might help to

counteract

> the deficit without causing seratonin sickness.

>

> Any thoughts? I have read some of the anti-Paxil websites and one

> did suggest trying St. John's Wort, but I have read tryptophan is

> better, and autistics tend to need B vitamins anyway.

>

> TIA!

> Debi