Has anyone ever tried giving 5htp to children?

[echelon]

It says on the side of my Serotone (5htp) bottle that it can be given to children over the age of 5!

Is this really safe?

Does anyone have any information on this?

My son suffers from suspected adhd and is very irritable, argumentative and seems depressed sometimes. He's 9 years old.

He is being assessed for his problems at the end of November, so I am getting him some help.

[DreamGirl]

I'm curious about that, too. My 12 yr. old son has severe adhd and takes a high dose of Concerta, which helps him a TON.

But he's still quite a negative, quick tempered little cus.

If you get information about kids and 5htp or even SJW, please post.

[echelon]

I have started giving it to my husband. He's been refusing, but he is sooooo irritable and 'low'. He said that he had a good nights sleep last night and felt quite well this morning.

If it says on the side of the bottle that it's safe for 5+ then it must be okay or they'd be trouble for doing that. It's only an amino acid. I dunno. I'll try to do some digging around on the 'net.

[echelon]

http://www.earthclinic.com/Supplements/5HTP.html

http://special-needs.adoptionblogs.com/weblogs/can-5htp-help-you-or-your-child

[DreamGirl]

Thank you, echelon! I will speak to my son's doctor to see what she thinks and if it's okay to combine 5htp with his adhd medication.

If we're really brave (maybe over Christmas break) we could try 5htp with no adhd meds?! :wobblyeyes: But that could get ugly, lol.

[echelon]

I have given my son half the contents of a 50mg capsule tonight. I'll give him the other half tomorrow, then if he's okay with it, I'll give him one a day like it says on the bottle.

He's being assessed for adhd/add/odd at the end of this month, but I don't want him to go onto meds. We are really struggling with him though.

You'll have to let me know what the doctor says. I find that they generally don't like people taking alternative treatments.......they're so closed-minded.

[DreamGirl]

I'll let you know. We already have an appointment set up for this coming Monday afternoon.

She actually seems pretty open to herbs, etc. So I'll let you know what she says.

We've tried a few different adhd medicines, and it's hell living with my son during these times. I'm a bit gun-shy to try something new.

The Concerta is like a miracle, but he's still not where he should be with his concentration/frustration level/irritability, etc. One of his teachers suggested I put him on adhd medication, and I had to tell her he already was! She should have seen him before Concerta! :laugh:

[echelon]

Okay, thanks, I'd appreciate any info. I can get.

I'll give him the other 25mg tonight then start giving him the 50mg capsule before bed. He did actually seem quite calm last night. No shouting or arguing. He started to get sleepy during one tv programme - he NEVER normally gets sleepy, so perhaps it was the 5htp. We actually got through an evening without screaming at each other! I gave my husband 50mg as soon as he walked through the door from work! *LOL* He says that he wants to take it before bedtime though - perhaps he felt groggy after teatime :laugh:

[echelon]

Well, today we went to the park and it was the first time EVER that we didn't end up by arguing!!!!!!!He seems happier and more upbeat. He's still hyper, but not as miserable, argumentative and unpleasant!My husband is feeling better too because I've been giving him some as well. He says that he feels less depressed and more inclined to do stuff.

[DreamGirl]

That's awesome!

I'm surprised you can see a difference in only a few days.

Is it making him feel sleepy during the day?

[echelon]

No, it's not making him sleepy at all. He's still as bouncy as ever, but he seems a bit happier and is much less irritable. He's being more co-operative as well. Normally he's yelling and shouting etc. I can't believe we had a trip out to the park yesterday.

I give it to him at night time and he wakes up feeling fine the next day. No grogginess or anything.

[DreamGirl]

Have you noticed a decrease in his appetite? My son is very underweight to begin with-- he's almost 5' tall and only weighs 70 pounds, so I'd hate to give him something that would cause him to eat less!

By the way, doctor's appointment in an hour... I'll let you know what she says about all this.

[echelon]

No, there's been no appetite decrease. He's still eating like a horse! I don't know what the effect long-term would be though.

I hope you get some positive feedback from the doctor.

[DreamGirl]

I did not get positive feedback from the doctor. :frown: And my son was embarassed and hurt that I described him as irritable.

The doctor was running late and seemed to be in a real rush to get through our appointment. She said she had reservations about 5htp--she didn't know how safe it was for adults, much less children.

I asked about Valerian Root to calm him, and she said no to that, too. She suggested Melatonin to help him settle down and fall asleep at night and to just continue with Concerta for his adhd.

Wish I had something more positive to say.

[echelon]

It's an amino acid. It's present in the body anyway and it's usually derived from foods. L-Tryptophan had a bad reputation a few years ago due to some contamination, but 5htp doesn't have that problem and as long as you buy a decent quality supplement that's good enough.

The only people who shouldn't take it are those with cardiovascular disease, pregnant and breastfeeding women.

If the correct dosage is adhered to, then there's no risk of serotonin syndrome or any other ill effects.

Doctors don't like alternative therapies because they don't know enough about them. They dislike showing their lack of education in this area as they like to pretend they're experts in ALL aspects of healthcare and medicine.

Conventional treatments for adhd have been shown to cause ill effects and are possibly harmful (as most conventional medicine is).

I can't believe that she wasn't open to suggestions.

I can't believe that she wasn't interested in the Valerian either.

Melatonin has been shown to cause growth problems in children.

Hmmm....doctors eh?

My son's mood is a hell of a lot better and he's not being so argumentative, irritable or unpleasant. He's cheerful and more co-operative.

I'm sorry that your son felt hurt by your observations. They don't understand the effect they have on others around them.

Are you in the UK by any chance? There was a Panorama (current affairs programme) programme on last night about adhd and the latest research from the US indicates that the widely used medications aren't helping these children and can cause growth problems. They have come to the conclusion that a combination of meds and behavioural modification/support is more effective than just meds alone. A few child psychs don't even believe that meds are effective at all.

I dunno. Doctors screw everything up for people.

5htp is safe and it's working well for me and hasn't fuzzed my brain up like their rotten SSRIs!

Grrrrr...........:frown:

What are you going to do about your son's meds now?

Have you ever considered consulting a qualified herbalist?

[echelon]

http://www.adhd-drugfreealternatives.com/pages/ADHD-hoax.cfm

http://www.adhd-drugfreealternatives.com/pages/5htp.cfm

http://www.5-htp.net/Safety.asp

[DreamGirl]

Thank you for the links. :smile:

I'm going to continue giving my son Concerta. It makes a huge difference in his behavior, task completion and sensory overload issues.

I gave him a melatonin pill the other night. It didn't help him fall asleep, and now I see (from your post) that it might not be a good thing to give him. I won't give it to him anymore.

[DreamGirl]

Hi Echelon,
I'm just wondering if you're still giving your son 5htp and how it's going?

I read an interesting study out of Duke that they now believe adhd is caused by low levels of seratonin, not dopamine as was previously thought.

[echelon]

Yeah, he's still taking it. It's going okay, but his behaviour was very bad over the weekend. He's going for his adhd assessment next Thursday - I'll see what they say and whether or not they think he has this.

How is your son doing?

[echelon]

Strangely enough, his asthmatic cough seems to have gone since he's started taking it.

He's still treating us like his damn servants though!

[DreamGirl]

My son's doing pretty well. When he wakes up in the morning he's horrid to deal with. It takes 20-30 minutes for the Concerta to kick in and then he's human again.

I've also been reading the Love and Logic books, which seem to be spot on. I highly recommend them to all parents.

It also helps that I've been taking sjw and 5htp so that I can deal with his rants and raves without blowing my cool so easily.

[echelon]

Oh, my sister in law bought us a love and logic book last Christmas :smile:

My son does seem to be a bit better after the bad period about a week ago. He's arguing less and doesn't seem so moody and down.

The Concerta sounds like a successful treatment for your son. I guess if something is working then you should stick with that.

[echelon]

Well, I went to the assessment and my son was seen by an Educational Psychologist and a Consultant Paediatrician who specialises in behavioural disorders. They conducted a full range of tests and it turns out that my son does have adhd and mild dyspraxia. He has a very high IQ which has been helping him to cope at school so far.

She gave me some recommendations and said that she doesn't want him to be medicated due to the fact that his schooling isn't suffering.

I'm still giving him the 5htp and he is happier and more relaxed.

His memory and concentration are still going to be badly affected, but at least his mood seems improved.

Oh well, at least I know what's wrong now and can work towards hopefully coping a bit better.

I wonder if the RR would help his concentration?

[echelon]

Update for anybody who's interested:

My son has been taking 50mg of 5htp each night for several weeks now and the differences I have noticed are: he's not arguing so much, he's happier, he gets off to sleep well, he's not complaining of nightmares and he's not to 'twitchy'. He's also not overeating like he was and not asking for sweets all the time :dance: