mental health forums, mental health support, psych central, mental illness forums, mental forums, psychology forums, depression support, anxiety support, support groups

Join us now!

5-Hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP) is an amino acid that is the intermediate step between tryptophan and the important brain chemical serotonin. There is a massive amount of evidence that suggests that low serotonin levels are a common consequence of modern living. The lifestyle and dietary practices of many people living in this stress-filled era results in lowered levels of serotonin within the brain. As a result, many people are overweight, crave sugar and other carbohydrates, experience bouts of depression, get frequent headaches, and have vague muscle aches and pain. All of these maladies are correctable by raising brain serotonin levels. The primary therapeutic applications for 5-HTP are low serotonin states as listed in Table 1.

Table 1. Conditions associated with low serotonin levels helped by 5-HTP

Depression
Obesity
Carbohydrate craving
Bulimia
Insomnia
Narcolepsy
Sleep apnea
Migraine headaches
Tension headaches
Chronic daily headaches
Premenstrual syndrome
Fibromyalgia

Although 5-HTP may be relatively new to the United States health food industry, it has been available through pharmacies for several years and has been intensely researched for the past three decades. It has been available in several European countries as a medicine since the 1970s.

Keywords:

depression anxiety insomnia


	Mother_Goose New Member		Posts: 5 Registered: August 2007 see this user's products

Author

davidxjennson

Newly Joined

Registered: June 2014
Location: Warwickshire
Posts: 1

Review Date: Tue June 24, 2014

Would you recommend the product? Yes | Total Spent: $20.00| Rating: 10

Positive aspects of the product (pros):	Feel much better, especially to combat feeling bad in the winter
Negative aspects of the product (cons):	Can be expensive on an ongoing basis

Seems to be much more effective at the start, but less effective after a few months. Increasing the dose just made me feel sick. I have started taking 5-HTP patches now instead of tablets and they are much better.

Click here to Send this user a Private Message

XSKP

Newly Joined

Registered: December 2008

Review Date: Tue December 30, 2008

Would you recommend the product? Yes | Total Spent: None indicated| Rating: 0

Positive aspects of the product (pros):
Negative aspects of the product (cons):

Here's why 5-HT will not work for most Americans, and could be lethal to some people: The blood-brain barrier does not allow significant absorption of serotonin from the blood. The brain does have a large neutral amino acid pump that freely allows tryptophan and 5-HT into the brain for conversion into serotonin. The process by which 5-H is converted into serotonin is called decarboxylation. If decarboxylation occurs before 5-HT is absorbed by the brain, than blood levels of serotonin will elevate significantly, but very little serotonin will enter the brain. The result is possible serotonin overload in the blood, with virtually no serotonin reaching the brain.

skunktail

Newly Joined

Registered: August 2007

Review Date: Sat December 22, 2007

Would you recommend the product? No | Total Spent: None indicated| Rating: 2

Positive aspects of the product (pros):	I noticed no difference
Negative aspects of the product (cons):	Again, I noticed no difference and used it daily for 6 mo.

Try 20mg. ritalin and 40mg. celexa daily. It worked wonders for me and I have been on it for about a year.

Rascal

New Member

Registered: December 2007
Posts: 2

Review Date: Tue December 18, 2007

Would you recommend the product? Yes | Total Spent: None indicated| Rating: 9

Positive aspects of the product (pros):	inproves my aniexty level
Negative aspects of the product (cons):

It sure helps me with my generalized aniexty disorder.

josephina32

New Member

Registered: December 2007
Posts: 3

Review Date: Fri December 14, 2007

Would you recommend the product? Yes | Total Spent: None indicated| Rating: 8

Positive aspects of the product (pros):	Improvement in depression, sleep aid *, regulates appetite.
Negative aspects of the product (cons):	Minor digestive problems, Nightmares and very vivid dreams*, depression may worsen slightly in some cases before an improvement.

I have been on and off prescription medication for many years. I have also tried many natural remedies for depression and as a sleep aid. For me personally I felt slightly worse very briefly before I noticed a big improvement in mood. It also works (for me) as an absolute knockout pill for insomnia, BUT, the downside, a least at first, is the very vivid dreams and often nightmares (waking screaming and yelling !) which reduces after a few nights but dreams are still intense and easily recalled. I also found on a higher dose that my appetite decreased slightly. I have heard reports that sex drive is affected as with SSRI's, I have not found this extreme enough to be a problem but have noticed a slight decrease in libido. I would recommend 5HTP but start on a low dose until you know how you personally react to it, and be prepared for possible abnormal dream activity ! Another thing I'd mention is that (for me) it does not mix well with even moderate amounts of alcohol (I don't take it if I know I'm having a few drinks), it made me very sick the next day indeed.

Mother_Goose

New Member

Registered: August 2007
Posts: 5

Review Date: Fri August 3, 2007

Would you recommend the product? Yes | Total Spent: None indicated| Rating: 10

Positive aspects of the product (pros):	No prescription needed. Works well for a quick depression or insomnia fix.
Negative aspects of the product (cons):

After self medicating and using prescription drugs for 20 years, I went off of everything cold turkey in 1997. It didn't take long for multiple problems to set in. I still held out, using only St. Johns Wort and multivitamins, and losing the battle daily. When I finally tried 5-HTP, it worked immediately. I went to bed depressed and stressed to the max, took my first 5-HTP, and woke up with a 100% better outlook. I highly recommend 5-HTP for mild depression, and as a sleep aid.

Menu

My Support Forums