Need advice taking 5HTP for 1 month

[Minica]

Hi everyone,

I've been taking 5HTP 1 month now, 1 in the am and 1 in the afternoon, 50mg each. They give me no side effects at all, and for me that is fabulous. They don't work as well at SJW, but they do calm down the negative, repetitive thoughts. (SJW gave me too many side effects and severe IBS pain.) They take the edge off of the anxiety so I am able to go out if I want to. I am still depressed, but the edge is off of that too. However, the results are very mild and I really want to feel normal.

Can anyone tell me how long this can take and if I'm on the proper dosage etc?

Also, if I switch to L Tryptophan, will I get better results, faster results?

If I seem impatient please forgive me. I have had anxiety and depression and insomnia my entire life, since I was a little girl. I could always handle it until my spouse became permanently disabled/ill, 8 years ago and then things started to go out of control for me. Then, he died 2 years later and it became even worse. I've tried so many rx antidepressants I can't even list them. All made me sick, or gave me allergic reactions. Also, I never got any results. I want to be "normal" haha, is there really such a thing?

I've been reading this forum for years only joining this year. You are all so nice and helpful, thank you for any help/suggestions. Sorry this is so long.

[Quest]

Your HTP dosage is what is recommended in the beginning. Some people are fine at just that, some less, some more.
As far as Tryptophan, some actually respond to it better, some not. All trial and error.
Depending on what is causing the depression, you will respond differently to different herbs/supplements. 5HTP works primarily on low serotonin. If that is not the root cause of your depression, then it won't cause such a noticable change. SamE works on dopamine and norepinephrine. In my opinion, Sam e is/was a better antidepressant but more of an antagonizer for anxiety over time. In my case St Johns Wort made me dizzy, which exacerbated the anxiety. So, while all of these supplements can work, they work differently on everyone sometimes. A very good book on supplementing is The Mood Cure by Julia Ross. It explains some of these things a bit clearer and how/how much to take. Also another great book is The Triple Whammy Cure by David Edelberg. Sometimes its nice to read these books when they are not so painfully scientific and get to the point. Both are very helpful.
Be well :smile:

[orlando]

If you're still depressed you might also want to add L-tyrosine to the 5htp or L-tryptophan. This will increase your dopamine and norepinephrine neurotransmitters, which both are sometimes low in depression. It will probably be counter-productive for anxiety though, because of norepinephrine. But give it a try and let us know how it goes.

[Minica]

Hi Orlando and Quest, thank you both so much for the advice/help. I'm low on dog food so I will try to get to the pet store and book store this week or next week. I did try to take Sam E, but I'm allergic to it, it has a sulfa bond in it. I can't find a brand without sulfa. If you know of one, please let me know, I'm willing to try it again. I need to put in a vitamin/supplement order so I think I will go ahead and order the tryptophan and tyrosine. I'm really hoping that if I take a tryptophan along with the 5HTP it just might bring me to where I need to be. Thank you both again my cyber friends!

[orlando]

Hey, you're welcome. Just one more thought, though. You might be better off if you don't take 5htp and L-tryptophan together. Later maybe, yes... but try it out one at a time and see how you feel. Also don't take L-tryptophan and L-tyrosine at the same time since the amino acids compete with each other. All the best! ;)

[Minica]

Glad you told me about mixing the supplements! Do you know anything about L-Theonine from green tea? I read something on it not long ago and can't find the information, but is it a mood elevator? Is it ok to mix with other things? Anyway, thanks again.

[Quest]

FGS I wrote this long reply and then it just "poofed" LOL
Bottom line in trying to simplify what I wrote before is:
5HTP and Tryptophan are basically the same thing...just missing one conversion step between them to serotonin, so taking both? No, pretty much useless. Just try them both seperately and take the one that makes you feel the best as some people have trouble converting Tryptophan and some do not.
Theanine...raises dopamine primarily. So it calms yet slightly enhances the mood. Depending on what your body is lacking it may work, may not. Personally, it does nothing for me at all. But my main problem is serotonin, thus it doesnt work so great on me. Also, I have read that while HTP raises serotonin, theanine tends to block it and raise dopamine instead...so some believe that the 2 may cancel each other out.
Tyrosine...Some say to take it if you find that your 5HTP starts to poop out. Technically, the HTP isnt pooping out so much as.. since the serotonin level is raised, the dopamine gets left behind and drops. Again though, be cautioned that Tyrosine also raises norepinephrine and can cause extreme anxiety at high doses.
Hope this helps.

[Minica]

Quest, thank you so much for your help and yes, it definately helps me to understand better.