| 5 star (2) | 40% | |
| 1 star (3) | 60% |
Evelyn (Rhode Island) on 10/06/2016: 
Beth (London, England) on 08/02/2016:
Melissa (Phoenix, Az) on 09/16/2014:
Warning
5-htp is a precursor to serotonin, which means your body will take 5-htp, convert it to serotonin and it in theory will act like Imitrex. Though that's where the awesomeness ended for me.
I have a few major warnings for anyone interested in 5-htp:
1) You cannot use it if you are pregnant
2) You cannot use it with many anti-depressants
3) You cannot use it within about 24 hours before or after you use Imitrex. Both anti-depressants that increase serotonin and Imitrex that imitates serotonin used with 5-htp that creates even more serotonin can cause a serotonin overdose and can be fatal.
4) I did more research on it and it turns out that 5-htp is a chemical by-product of L-tryptophan, which is responsible for making serotonin in our bodies. They used to sell tryptophan supplements but after many people started developing eosinophilia-myalgia syndrome, an incurable muscle and blood disease, from these supplements, as they were tainted, they banned the sale of tryptophan supplements in the US. (This happened mainly due to one large manufacturer going cheap, but who's to say this won't happen again with 5-htp??)
There have already been a few cases of eosinophilia-myalgia syndrome being caused by 5-htp supplements to date and that got me thinking: "Is taking this 5-htp to hopefully have a cheaper more 'natural' form of Imitrex worth it?" I decided it wasn't worth it.
I just want to warn those who are thinking about taking 5-htp that just because it's natural doesn't make it safer, and just because they sell it doesn't mean it's guaranteed safe. Supplements are not regulated by the FDA and only get any attention once a lot of people get sick from it. Use the information we are given to make the best decision for you. I ended up finding that Mint essential oil works really well for me and with no serious side effects. (or any at all for me)
I hope this helps someone, it would have been nice to have this all written for me when I was researching it. :)
Wendi (San Clemente, Ca) on 09/20/2012: 
Currently I take 200 mg/day and can have a sandwich for lunch and cheesecake! (it's SO wrong, I know! ) I still try very hard to keep the gluten and casein out of my diet. Even though I can cheat and not have a migraine attack, I still can tell that my body feels wrong or icky when I have those foods. But it's SO nice to go from 10 migraines a month, down to 1, maybe 2 per month. I plan to cut back to 100mg/day because I know that there is differing opinions about how much is too much. Plus being able to eat whatever I want makes it very hard to stay gluten/casein free. I hope this post helps other people to realize that they may have food allergies/intolerances that they are unaware of yet.
Claus (Osaka) on 12/24/2010:
| 5 star (2) | 40% | |
| 1 star (3) | 60% |
Evelyn (Rhode Island) on 10/06/2016:
Beth (London, England) on 08/02/2016:
Melissa (Phoenix, Az) on 09/16/2014:
Warning
5-htp is a precursor to serotonin, which means your body will take 5-htp, convert it to serotonin and it in theory will act like Imitrex. Though that's where the awesomeness ended for me.
I have a few major warnings for anyone interested in 5-htp:
1) You cannot use it if you are pregnant
2) You cannot use it with many anti-depressants
3) You cannot use it within about 24 hours before or after you use Imitrex. Both anti-depressants that increase serotonin and Imitrex that imitates serotonin used with 5-htp that creates even more serotonin can cause a serotonin overdose and can be fatal.
4) I did more research on it and it turns out that 5-htp is a chemical by-product of L-tryptophan, which is responsible for making serotonin in our bodies. They used to sell tryptophan supplements but after many people started developing eosinophilia-myalgia syndrome, an incurable muscle and blood disease, from these supplements, as they were tainted, they banned the sale of tryptophan supplements in the US. (This happened mainly due to one large manufacturer going cheap, but who's to say this won't happen again with 5-htp??)
There have already been a few cases of eosinophilia-myalgia syndrome being caused by 5-htp supplements to date and that got me thinking: "Is taking this 5-htp to hopefully have a cheaper more 'natural' form of Imitrex worth it?" I decided it wasn't worth it.
I just want to warn those who are thinking about taking 5-htp that just because it's natural doesn't make it safer, and just because they sell it doesn't mean it's guaranteed safe. Supplements are not regulated by the FDA and only get any attention once a lot of people get sick from it. Use the information we are given to make the best decision for you. I ended up finding that Mint essential oil works really well for me and with no serious side effects. (or any at all for me)
I hope this helps someone, it would have been nice to have this all written for me when I was researching it. :)
Wendi (San Clemente, Ca) on 09/20/2012:
Currently I take 200 mg/day and can have a sandwich for lunch and cheesecake! (it's SO wrong, I know! ) I still try very hard to keep the gluten and casein out of my diet. Even though I can cheat and not have a migraine attack, I still can tell that my body feels wrong or icky when I have those foods. But it's SO nice to go from 10 migraines a month, down to 1, maybe 2 per month. I plan to cut back to 100mg/day because I know that there is differing opinions about how much is too much. Plus being able to eat whatever I want makes it very hard to stay gluten/casein free. I hope this post helps other people to realize that they may have food allergies/intolerances that they are unaware of yet.
Claus (Osaka) on 12/24/2010:
Evelyn (Rhode Island) on 10/06/2016:
Beth (London, England) on 08/02/2016:
Melissa (Phoenix, Az) on 09/16/2014:
Warning
5-htp is a precursor to serotonin, which means your body will take 5-htp, convert it to serotonin and it in theory will act like Imitrex. Though that's where the awesomeness ended for me.
I have a few major warnings for anyone interested in 5-htp:
1) You cannot use it if you are pregnant
2) You cannot use it with many anti-depressants
3) You cannot use it within about 24 hours before or after you use Imitrex. Both anti-depressants that increase serotonin and Imitrex that imitates serotonin used with 5-htp that creates even more serotonin can cause a serotonin overdose and can be fatal.
4) I did more research on it and it turns out that 5-htp is a chemical by-product of L-tryptophan, which is responsible for making serotonin in our bodies. They used to sell tryptophan supplements but after many people started developing eosinophilia-myalgia syndrome, an incurable muscle and blood disease, from these supplements, as they were tainted, they banned the sale of tryptophan supplements in the US. (This happened mainly due to one large manufacturer going cheap, but who's to say this won't happen again with 5-htp??)
There have already been a few cases of eosinophilia-myalgia syndrome being caused by 5-htp supplements to date and that got me thinking: "Is taking this 5-htp to hopefully have a cheaper more 'natural' form of Imitrex worth it?" I decided it wasn't worth it.
I just want to warn those who are thinking about taking 5-htp that just because it's natural doesn't make it safer, and just because they sell it doesn't mean it's guaranteed safe. Supplements are not regulated by the FDA and only get any attention once a lot of people get sick from it. Use the information we are given to make the best decision for you. I ended up finding that Mint essential oil works really well for me and with no serious side effects. (or any at all for me)
I hope this helps someone, it would have been nice to have this all written for me when I was researching it. :)
Wendi (San Clemente, Ca) on 09/20/2012:
Currently I take 200 mg/day and can have a sandwich for lunch and cheesecake! (it's SO wrong, I know! ) I still try very hard to keep the gluten and casein out of my diet. Even though I can cheat and not have a migraine attack, I still can tell that my body feels wrong or icky when I have those foods. But it's SO nice to go from 10 migraines a month, down to 1, maybe 2 per month. I plan to cut back to 100mg/day because I know that there is differing opinions about how much is too much. Plus being able to eat whatever I want makes it very hard to stay gluten/casein free. I hope this post helps other people to realize that they may have food allergies/intolerances that they are unaware of yet.
Claus (Osaka) on 12/24/2010:
