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5-HTP for Anxiety

5 star (7)		64%
(4)		36%

Gord235 (Vancouver) on 10/24/2021:
5 out of 5 stars

I successfully transitioned from an anti-depressant, anti-anxiety medication(Paxil) to 5HTP-50mg by gradually reducing Paxil by 50% each day while increasing 5HTP TO 50mg. The whole weaning process took about four days. Note: experts say an anti-anxiety ant-depressant should never be stopped suddenly and I agree. I tried that once and found myself doing some irrational things.

CAUTION: I did find when I increased the 5HTP to 100mg, it actually increased my anxiety. This happened when my health food store brought in 100mg strength instead of the usual 50mg strength. Fortunately I realised what was happening and split the remainder in half and everything was fine from there on.

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Gord235 (Vancouver, British Columbia) on 09/29/2020:
5 out of 5 stars

Update - My usual store didn't have 5HTP 50mg in stock so I decided to try 5HTP100mg instead. What a mistake! After taking one 100mg tablet I became very anxious. I then put the balance of the tablets through a pill splitter so that they were just 50mg and the anxiety disappeared.

Now I am very careful to make sure I am buying only the 50mg strength. I even admonished the store a few times that the recommended dose was 50mg and that 100mg can actually increase anxiety and they have finally caught on.

5HTP doesn't mimic serotonin. it acts as a precursor for serotonin and melatonin which means it helps your body to naturally produce more of each. The end result is you feel better (serotonin) and sleep better (melatonin). The recommended dosage is 50mg. per day. Exceeding 50mg may cause anxiety so best to stick to 50mg.

Me (San Diego) on 07/30/2017:
0 out of 5 stars

I had the same side effects as you experience...migraine headaches. I no longer use the product.

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Bodulica (Barrie, Ontario, Canada) on 03/12/2013:
0 out of 5 stars

My reaction to 5-HTP was terrible. Felt like I ingested a poison. Very sick, felt like fainting, headache...

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Joe (Sterville, Co) on 03/11/2013:
5 out of 5 stars

I've read a few posts on the use of 5HTP and unusual symptoms (headaches, pains, etc) after using for awhile. Just wanted to recommend The Mood Cure book which helps to explain that these symptoms could possibly be caused by too much serotonin (serotonin syndrome). The gist of the 5HTP part is just using it long enough, and in proper doses, to where you feel better. Once you start getting abnormal symptoms, it can indicate that you are getting too much of a good thing, at which point you would stop or cut back.

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Cindy (Orange County, California) on 09/04/2011:
5 out of 5 stars

I was having terrible IBS symptoms along with extreme anxiety. I started taking 5-htp on the advice of my naturopathic doctor. Within 1-2 weeks, my IBS reduced substantially and my anxiety lessened dramatically. I felt great everyday with a more stable, consistent mood than I have ever felt in my life.

According to my doctor, a large proportion of serotonin either resides or is made in your gut (I forget which) so it makes sense that it helped my IBS. When I started, I was taking 200 mg each morning. It didn't help me sleep though, in fact it kept me wide awake. After taking for about a year or so, I started feeling very ill every morning. It took me a long time to figure out it was the 5-htp. However, my general health has improved much over the past year and I have now cut the dose back to 50 mg per day and can handle it fine. My doctor told me my system probably did not need as much now and this is perhaps why larger doses were making me so ill.

Jasonmchicago (Chicago, Il (usa) ) on 06/12/2011:
5 out of 5 stars

Serotonin is a vital neurotransmitter for all types of things... From mental to physical health. I had severe anxiety and tried different things from Velirium Root to different aroma therapies... The one thing that works amazingly was 5-HTP. It helps one get serotonin and serotonin helps with anxiety, depression, sleep problems (converts to melatonin), and muscle health (let's you get delta sleep so that your body can release growth hormone and repair muscle tissue). In the book "Pain Cure" there's a great recap of all the benefits of serotonin.

I HIGHLY recommend it for anxiety/depression. It helped change my life... Along with Yoga, MSM (joint pain), etc.

Thanks EC!

Marigold (Anchorage, Ak) on 04/10/2010:
0 out of 5 stars

5-HTP for anxiety/depression

After reading some posts on this website, I decided to try 5-HTP for my general depression and social anxiety. After taking it the first time, I really noticed it made me feel kind of happy and giddy, so I was excited, and I also felt less anxious and more able to be what I consider myself. However, about a week taking just 50 mgs twice a day, I noticed I would get headaches. Then after about a week and a half I got a horrible headache, which I think might have been a migraine. It came on suddenly and lasted for about an hour of excruciating pain and nausea, and more mild pain and tension the rest of the day. Afterwards, for about a week, I started getting strange pains all on the left side of my body, in my leg and hip and shoulder. The migraine was on the right side of my head. I was pretty sure the 5 HTP was causing my everyday headaches, and was starting to feel like it lead to the migraine and subsequent left-side-of-the-body pains. I stopped taking 5-HTP and and my head-aches and body-aches have subsided completely. I am glad this supplement has worked for some people, but I just wanted to share my experience.

Stefanie (Minden, Louisiana) on 07/17/2008:
5 out of 5 stars

I found this remedy when I was looking for herbal remedies for my daily headaches. I found 5-HTP. According to the article,some of the things it helped with are insomnia, headaches, anxiety & depression. I thought could it be? I immediately went to my husband to show him what I had found because he had problems sleeping at night as well. We went a few days later to our local drug store and picked up a bottle of 50mg. 5-HTP. We had decided on the lowest dosage available in our area, upping the dosage as we went along if it was necessary. We have only been on it for a few days now but there is a very noticeable difference. We both have been sleeping through the night and feeling more refreshed when we wake. My anxiety attacks are gone as well as my headaches. We both are much less snappish than what we were before. We haven't noticed any side effects so far. We are taking them with a meal or a small snack and so far we have stayed at 50mg. Thanks for the very useful information that lead to this discovery!

Molly (Madison, USA) on 04/11/2008:
0 out of 5 stars

Warning

One time I purchased a bottle of 5-htp, and after taking one capsule morning & evening, just twice, I threw the bottle away. My reaction to 5-htp was horrific; upon further research I learned that high levels of serotonin are associated with SEVERE ANXIETY. I also read that the spice ginger is a serotonin antagonist, so I have a bottle on hand, just in case I ever feel so anxious ever again.

Then I read somewhere online that there is a set of people whose depression responds to Acetyl L-Carnitine, they said the depression lifted in these people when using 3-4 grams a day, and to take two grams of acetylcarnitine on an empty stomach, first thing in the morning.

This amino acid is the most amazing substance; I've never been able to take more than 2 grams per day - there is such great mental clarity, there is utter inability to be depressed, but there simultaneously is no euphoria - just calm lucid clarity. I've read that it assists the brain in making many different neurotransmitters - so it is not anything, not anything at all like 5-htp which floods the brain with serotonin - which, if you don't need it, might create severe anxiety.

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