5-HTP for Depression, Anxiety and Low Serotonin

My daughter take 5HTP but she takes P-5-P along with it. Does anyone have any info on the P-5-P. After reading some of the side effects some people have had I am a little afraid to take it. I have just started on Tumeric. Had to quit Bill's spray and ACV as it made my throat so sore my voice dropped a few levels. Any one else had this happen?

I am a 26 year old male who has suffered from depression and sleeping problems for years. I have been on medication such as Effexor XR, Trazodone, etc. I was also diagnosed with ADD, given a prescription of Adderall XR. Ever since I was a teen I suffered from the issue of getting too much sleep. I always felt tired. Sleeping 10 hours would result in me feeling exhausted upon waking. No amount of sleep could remedy the issue (no matter how little or how much). I enjoyed Adderall because it made me feel "Awake" and able to concentrate on my studies; However, the side-effects were too great. I recently started supplementing 100mg of 5-HTP before bed. I have been waking up in the morning naturally after 6-8 hours of sleep. The beneficial effects of 5-HTP have been a live saver for me. I feel happier, my quality of sleep has improved beyond measure, and I feel rested and refreshed in the morning. I highly recommend this to people suffering from the "too much sleep" problem. There are many who suffer in silence, give this supplement a shot!

I used to take an Rx SSRI for seasonal depression and weight loss but after two years, my body decided it didn't want it anymore. I got anxious to the point of paranoia, I binged on sweets, and I lost the will to do much beyond sit in front of my TV/computer.

I weaned off it and discovered 5-htp. When I first began taking it, I took low doses (25 mg or 50mg) a couple times a day. It would work fine for a couple days and then I would have side effects like bone aches, sleepiness (no matter how much sleep I got), anxiety, and constant hunger. I tried taking smaller doses and found it to have no effect. Frustrated, I nearly stopped taking it.

I then found a time-release capsule of 5-htp. There is at least one company that makes it in a 100mg. It works incredibly well. I haven't felt this "normal" in a very long time. I'm awake during the day and I sleep at night, I eat normally and stop eating when I'm no longer hungry, and I'm able to handle stressful situations calmly. I honestly don't feel like I have any side effects.

I am 32 years old and female. The other things I take daily are a 'complete' vitamin, rhodiola rosea 400mg lysine 500mg, glucosamine/condroiton, fish oil, and 1000 mg of vitamin D. I've been taking all of those for years before taking 5-htp.

If you're having trouble with the 'normal' doses of 5-htp, I highly recommend trying the time release version before giving up on it entirely.

5-HTP for depression. This little pill did wonders for me. I had been feeling depressed for around a month due to heavy family problems. When I finally put all my symptoms together (oversleeping, hopelessness, sadness, emotionally unstable) I instantly came to this site. Cold showers did not appeal to me at all; I live in sunny CA and still get cold. I ordered the pills and thankfully they came the next day. I take one or two (depending on how I am doing) 100mg pills a day. My mood has definitely improved and I am finally returning to my normal self. They also seem to have reduced my terrible headaches. I recommend 5-HTP to all!

I work as a psychotherapist, the 5-htp, and the St. John Wort work wonderfully in a lot of my patients (I can not prescribe it, but I work with an open mind psychiatrist who takes care of it.) However, the low mood normally comes with other issues, like not including healthy foods in their diets or the lack of very important nutrients in the diet (e.g., vegetables, fruits, etc, that grow up in poor soils,) bad sleeping habits, intoxication with chemicals, lack of exercise, NOT enough SUN, the lack of vitamine D, causing what is know as "Seasonal Depression." It is very common in people living in areas with harsh winter, not caused by the cold weather, but the lack of sun (Who would want to a sunbath in winter??? ;) You use 5-HTP because you can not sleep? Are you sure is not because the lack of Vitamin B12? (common if you are vegetarian and you do not take care of it.) and check for the other >70 causes...

It's better if we avoid to treat "the symptom," and look for a more comprehensive approach.

Just trying to fix the "depression issue" the same way as the allopatic medicine does, but substituting the drug with something "natural" to get rid of the symptoms on the long run will not be very helpful. If you are taking the 5-htp, first know the CAUSE OR CAUSES of your problem. (e.g., does it occur every time you eat some type of food? Are you taking "zero calories food." that normally have Sucralosa -Splenda, a very potent poison? Are you just Dehydrated? Caffeinated beverages like green tee and coffe could cause it, because they are potent diuretics if you are not taking enough water, etc.

Another issue is that your body needs to adjust to the doses. All the SSRI (Selective Serotonin Rehuptake Inhibitor,) the drugs used to treat depression by allopatic medicine, every time it starts with a very low dosis: E.g., Prozac (Fluoxetine) with 10 mg per day. After one week, if necessary, they increased to 20 mg per day, until a maximun dosis of 80 mg per day.

The same with the 5-htp, You can start with a lower doses of 50 mg per day and increase it until a maximun of 300 mg. But, please, when treating the depression you need to take in account all other factors that could be affecting your mood. We were brain-washed by the Big Pharma that for every symptoms we need to pop-in a pill to fix-it.

In the internet you can find the 5-htp about $10 a bottle (a Zoloft prescription for a month, will cost you more than $700 !!!!) so if you really need to take it, do it after you help yourself taking in account all other factors that could be affecting your mood/headaches.

God Bless You

As the last comment, we can find more than 50 causes for depression: Social issues, espiritual issues -e.g.: guilty feelings; genetic, nutricional deficiences, life style, lack of sun, bad breathing habits or lack of pure air, exercise, dehidratation, intoxication buy heavy metals or chemicals and so on (by the way, is very UNCOMMON that a mental health provider will check all possible causes.)

Hi, I found 5 htp a couple years ago on the internet, looking for some thing to help my saddness and depression, so i heard about 5 htp , well i was desprite and i took 2 + 100 every day, it helped me so so much, I go off it some times because the side effects for me are, it makes me get my period more ofton , mind you i think that is when i was taking 300 mg. And also it has caused me to get itchy palms of my hand, and the back of my head . but now that iv gone down on them and taken a break for a few months,

im good . but i have to go on them because it helps me so much for depression. I have just discovered the 5 htp with 200 mg L- Ter , wow as far as I'm concerned its a bloody miracle. it changes my whole mood. Makes me very happy. But for sure one other side effect- I'not as hungry when im on it and i dream more vividly. But as far as iI' concerned it's a wonder drug. Let's just hope the drug companys don't take them away .

5HTP is greatly helping myself and my daughter with our symptoms of fibromyalgia. I have tried low doses of antidepressants in the past but nothing worked as well to improve my sleep as 5-HTP has. I take 200mg per night. My type comes with several essential cofactors to assist in proper seratonin production. No side effects for me, unlike with the other drugs. I'm considering it for more members of my family. We have a genetic sleep and pain disorder. Hopefully we can find the right dose for all of us. I advise everyone to see a qualified ND or sympathetic MD before self dosing to be extra safe but side effects are rare thankfully.

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!

I am taking 5-HTP to help me with sleeping. My 16 yr old daughter is also taking it to help with stress and weight control as well as sleeping. We have found it has helped a lot and I don't have to take it every day . My kids call them the turkey pills because the amino acid they contain are the same as the one found in turkey, milk, bananas etc. We both take 100 or 200 mg a day.

It's fairly common amongst users of psychedelic drugs known to effect serotonin receptors and levels (MDMA, LSD, etc. ) to use 5-HTP to restore serotonin levels. I've found that it noticibly helps myself and have seen it gain a lot of popularity over the last few years. It'd be interested to see legitimate research done.

Poor sleep really impacts your quality and outlook on life. For years I have had poor sleep due to back pain, inflammation and was never able to go into deep sleep. Every year about January and February I would have acute SAD.

I found 5 HTP and am really impressed at how my life has improved. I take 2 50mg capsules about an hour before I go to bed. I finally go into a deep sleep and I awake in the morning loving life again. I feel refreshed. I feel like 5 HTP has restarted my serotonin and melatonin production. I feel that I don't need to take every night because now I naturally start to get sleepy, but I still do anyway. My depression is much improved.

Several things I noticed taking 5 HTP. Less is better. Start at 50 mg's. Too much will cause vivid dreaming. Sometimes I am aware that my short term memory is impacted. I am observing if 5 HTP makes a learning issue worse or better and how it effects my memory.

I am an energy healer and meditate on a regular basis. Serotonin and melatonin are produced by the pineal gland, the gland of enlightenment. I am finding that my inner experiences and process seem to be highly supported by 5 HTP.