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Misty (Indiana, US) on 07/18/2014
0 out of 5 stars

5-HTP gives me terrible nightmares. It seems as if every night I am waking up screaming or crying, which has never happened to me even as a child. Every night for 2 weeks, I have dreamt that horrible things happened to family members, friends, and me. I also get these weird hallucinations when I am about to drift off to sleep where suddenly I see a giant spider or something on my pillow, then I'll scream and wake up. It is all but impossible to get up in the morning, even when I am done sleeping.

I started out taking 100mg before bed, then gave it a week and tried 100 in morning and 100 before bed, gave it another week and tried 100 in morning and 200 before bed, then tried 100 in morning, 100 in afternoon, 200 before bed, which I've been doing for the past 2 weeks. It does not seem to be helping my depression at all; in fact, it seems as if it has gotten worse.

Replied By Misty (Indiana, US) on 07/18/2014

I also forgot to mention that it has all but completely killed my appetite. I noticed I can't seem to eat more than 1000 calories a day. I've been trying to force myself to eat more but just feel nauseous. I previously had zero problems eating enough.

@Timh Just because it's a naturally occurring amino acid does not mean that it won't cause problems if dosed unnecessarily. Overdosing on any essential nutrient can cause harmful side effects and even death. I have done my research and found that these are all documented side effects of 5-HTP, so clearly it doesn't work for everyone.

Also, I don't believe I need to detox. I eat very clean (paleo and mostly organic), live in a rural area, and detox several times a year. I rarely ever get sick and do not have any other symptoms that indicate toxicity.

However, thank you for your recommendations. I have tried St. Johns Wort, but it doesn't work for me either. I do take some L-Tyrosine in a supplement called True Focus, but I have never tried it separately. I did see marked improvement with SAMe in the past, but I tried 5-HTP in the hopes that a less expensive alternative would work for me.

Replied By Gord235 (Vancouver, British Columbia) on 09/11/2017

To Misty: I have been taking 5HTP 50mg per day for three months and find that it's really effective for depression. However, if I double the dose to 100mg I do have some weird dreams so maybe try dropping your dose.

Replied By Gord235 (Vancouver, British Columbia) on 10/10/2017

Update: I just want to add that my dreams when doubling the dose to 100mg/day have been not so much weird but vivid and funny. I quite often find myself waking up laughing so that's okay. Obviously not everything affects everyone the same and 5HTP is a good example of this.

Replied By Gord235 (Vancouver, British Columbia) on 01/29/2018

CAUTION: If coming off of an SRI (saratonin reuptake inhibitor) such as paxel, do not stop the SRI suddenly (cold turkey). Instead, cut your dose in half for a week then take 1/4 dose for the second week.

5HTP can be started at any time and will not interfere with an SRI. Start with 50mg/day of 5HTP, then increase to 100mg/day if required.

Replied By Idot13 (Ireland) on 07/18/2018

Did you first try worm tablets? Most of the time it can be the cause if nothing is working for you.

Replied By Alla (California) on 01/14/2024
What is worm tablets?

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