milo88

Has anyone taken 5 HTP for depression? I ordered some off the internet, but reading mixed reviews. Am just interested to know if anyone here has tried it?

johnrambo

Yea, I've tried it. It works really well to boost my mood but I can't take it with my anti-depressant because it can cause serotonin syndrome.

It probably would have worked for my anxiety and depression needs if it didn't make me so drowsy. I would take it and start to get drowsy so I'd drink a tiny bit of caffeine which would leave me with a very positive mood. Unfortunately a short while after consuming caffeine my hypoglycemia would cause my blood sugar to crash because of the stimulant effect.

If it weren't for the drowsiness and the inability to drink caffeine it was well on it's way to being a miracle supplement for me.

Fandy

I've taken it for years...in the evening when i get home from work, it tends to make me relaxed.

Fandy

I've taken it for years...in the evening when i get home from work, it tends to make me relaxed. in the AM i take 400mg SAM-e and st.johns wort

milo88

Well, I started taking it four days ago and I've been really feeling good! I can't believe it! I think I'll take it for a couple of weeks and then stop just to see if it's the 5 HTP working. Wow! I'll be really happy if this is the answer. I had so much trouble with ADs and just decided in the end that maybe I'd better just accept being depressed. But this seemed to work almost instantly??? Unless I'm going mad (completely possible)
Thanks for the replies!

PDXCruiser

I've taken it in the past and all it did was wire me up, had problems sleeping, and waking up at 5-6am when I usually get up at 8-9am, every time.

johnrambo

How much did you take? And for how long? My friend that introduced me to it said the same thing happened to him for the first three days then went away.

The same thing happens to me if I don't start on a really low dose, I take the 50 caps and break them in half.

Sometime

I think my experience with 5-htp is unique but it sent me hypomanic (mild mania) in 2005 and I've no history of bipolar. It took 4 years for that to wear off and I was diagnosed and treated with Haloperidol. This is extreme and a search on Google shows this is rare but YMMV.

Magichappens

I have taken 5HTP for a while. I take it with melatonin at bedtime. It seems to give me a better overall feeling, though it does nothing for the occasional severe anxiety attack. I tried antidepressants, but they made my skin crawl, and gave me a tension headache. The natural stuff doesn't magically fix my problems, but I can tell it helps. B12 shots and vitamin B supplements have helped with energy and mood. I wish there was a fix for all the emotional upheaval I experience, but I will take what little help I can find. Magic

babystrangeloop

I used to take it but I had a bad reaction one day and stopped.

Fandy

the one i have slow release 12 hours...the brand is Natrol 100mg. i take one mid PM and one in the evening with Melatonin 3mg.

i have always had insomnia problems (which accounted for a lot of the problems with booze), but i get an average of 6.5-7 hours every night

TonyUK

yep, it works, it was actually working a bit too well one day as I could not stop talking!

When you come off it - you need to stagger it, lower the daily dose then alternate the days then, once per week etc until you are off it. Otherwise you'll hit earth with a bigger depression

Lyrah

I have a hard time swallowing pills, and had not realized that they were gelcaps. Well dummy me, I thought it'd be okay to break it open and mix the liquid content with grape koolaid. I threw up like I never had before. It was probably because I broke it open and took the highest suggested dose. Needless to say, I am scarred for life and won't even exercise the idea of taking it properly...Even if they make a cotton candy flavoured chewable

mikmiksymk

I have been taking it for years without any lasting side effects. Recently started taking patches though as I also hate swallowing tablets every day!

Aellyce

I took them for a while about 1.5 year ago when I had a severe depressive episode and I was too stubborn to see a professional. They were a real life saver, helped me bring me "up" just enough to have some motivation to start making major changes in my lifestyle (initially, basically to get out of bed and out of my apartment). I needed to play around with the dosing in the beginning. Some people take it as a sleep aid but I could not do that, they really disturbed my sleep. When I took them in the morning/early pm, they helped lift my mood for a while.

Not sure what you would like to take them for, but I can tell you if I ever had a similar severe depressive episode again, I would not take 5-HTP or tackle it on my own, but would see a professional and probably take more stable, longer lasting meds. 5-HTP can be good for quick/short term relief, but be careful as it can have interactions with other meds or supplements.