Is it OK to switch straight from SSRIs to l-tryptophan?

Hi there,

I have been on SSRIs for just over 2 1/2 years now and feel that it's time for a change. I reduced my 100mg dose of sertraline to 50mg approximately 3 months ago, and in around a month's time would like to withdraw completely.

The half-life of sertraline is 36 hours, so my plan is to wait for 3 days after ceasing my current medication before beginning supplementation of 2g l-tryptophan daily (split into 1g at morning and another 1g at night).

My question is this - is it OK to make the switch this quickly? Obviously a lot of people face withdrawal symptoms after stopping treatment with anti-depressants, so would switching to a natural amino acid so soon simply delay these discontination effects until after I stop taking the l-tryptophan rather than after quitting the sertraline?

Also, is l-tryptophan a viable option for long-term usage? I have seen studies indicating that continued use can lead to liver problems, but these studies on rats were conducted at the human equivalent of 8g per day, quadruple what I plan to take.

Finally, there are also studies showing lower testosterone levels correlating with l-tryptophan supplementation. I'm already deficient in testosterone so can't afford too much of a further decrease, but can't find specific figures on how vast the drop is. It would be great to hear from anyone in a similar situation who has tried l-tryptophan, and whether they noticed any change in libido.

Anyway, sorry for all the questions, I got a bit carried away there! The most important query is really about switching from sertraline to l-tryptophan.

Thank you very much indeed :) Tweet