Just playing devil's advocate here - if SSRI's deplete serotonin, then what do you do after your serotonin is depleted and SSRI's dont work anymore? It seems to me like it would be wiser to take the building blocks of serotonin, rather than let them get depleted with the resulting return of anxiety/depression and no good way to treat it.
Actually there is a way to measure serotonin and other neurotransmitters - the NeuroScan Neurotransmitter Test. If everyone took this test, then they would know exactly what they needed in terms of neurotransmitters.
In any case, nobody should try anything that is discussed on this forum without proper medical supervision.
Yes, it is wiser to take the building blocks of serotonin(5htp, tryptophan, and tryptophan rich foods) to treat serotonin deficiency FIRST. However, no one makes any money prescribing 5-HTP over AD's.
SSRI's do deplete serotonin stores in the long term along with axonal/receptor degeneration. What happens when you've depleted your serotonin stores? You take larger doses of SSRI's to squeeze even more serotonin out. Eventually, you will build up a huge tolerance, permanently alter your serotonin system in a negative way, and exchange your secondary depression due to CFS/ME for horrid primary depression. SSRI~MDMA/Ecstacy=EVIL
NeuroScan Neurotransmitter test is unreliable and not approved by any legit medical organizations to be used as a measurement for neurotransmitters. You can ask any MD/psychiatrist, they will all tell you there is no blood test for neurotransmitters. AD's are nothing but russian roulette.