DrainBamaged, (That is an inside joke)

5-HTP is not a healing agent. It helps the brain work the way it is supposed to work without the need for an SSRI. It only takes the place of the SSRI and maybe helps you live without the benzo, too.

It has NO side effects other than needing to not take it and an SSRI at the same time. Taper the SSRI and add the 5-HTP.

I would go the natural route long before I tried the HBOT and other expensive and unproven (works for some but not for others) protocols.

My psychiatrist recommended 5-HTP as a way of getting off the Paxil/paroxetine/SSRI. Is is cheap at $10 a month for 200 mgs a day. It will take 2 to 3 months to see if you benefit from 5-HTP as you wean off the SSRI and onto 5-HTP.

Hmmm. A supplement that is naturally produced in and used in your brain with no side-effects or a synthetic drugs that screws with your serotonin modulation system and causes a page full of side-effects. Let me think about it.

I waited far too long. I was looking for a psychiatrist who would monitor my transition for SSRI to 5-HTP because the prior psych retired before I was ready to try to switch.

If the natural brain support does not work, you can always go back to the synthetic drug/SSRI.