5 htp anyone tried it for depression?

[aggiecuttler]

i am interested in the supplement 5htp i was wondering if anyone could give me their oppinions thanks and blessings

[almamatters]

Sorry to appear ignorant but I have not heard of this supplement. Can you let me know what it is?

[Stormsky]

Yes took it for over a year, as part of vit b complex, didnt seem to do anything

[steveo]

I can tell you quite a bit about 5HTP.

Boring Science bit.

Basically, our bodies require amino acids. We can't produce these ourselves and there are a few that are known as ESSENTIAL amino acids.

5HTP is basically an amino acid called L-Tryptophan which is the precursor to Serotonin.

It's very important to add that this can't be taken with SSRI medication due to the high risk of Serotonin Syndrome.

Alot of people take 5HTP and they don't speak highly of it.

What most people don't know is that it's very hard to reach the brain. Most of our serotonin is in our stomachs believe it or not. There is alot of Tryptophan in foods like Turkey for instance but eating that won't really boost our serotonin levels.

To make the most out of 5HTP, it must be taken on an empty stomach. Another great suppliment is L-Tyrosine which is the precursor to Dopamine. A lot of people doing the natural route tend to take a 10:1 ratio of these 2 products.

5HTP and Tryptophan unfortunately went out of fashion due to it being banned in the late 70's. It was being produced somewhere in Asia and it got contaminated with a fertilizer from a factory next door and caused alot of damage to people all over the world.

The ban has been lifted but it's still not really a popular choice and people very rarely take it correctly or know how to take it correctly.

Another point to mention is, that because it's a natural product and no one company OWNS it, drug companies won't fork out millions of pounds on good research on amino acid supplements so we know very little about how effective it is. Drug companies would lose BILLIONS if it turned out that 5htp was more effective than their drugs.

They work very different from SSRI's too. SSRI's don't produce MORE serotonin despite popular belief. It merely regulates it and stops the reuptake of it back at synapse level.

Serotonin levels in the brain and very hard and very costly to check too. Alot of companies offer to test it for a few hundred pounds but using urine or blood. This is NOT accurate at all. A true reading would need to be done via a lumbar puncture which is 'RUDDY painful or via brain scanning which is very expensive.

It annoys me that drug companies dish us out these meds that mess around with our serotonin before checking our levels.

I have read countless research into 5HTP and other amino acids during my years a nursing student and having access to all the biggest research libraries.

I'd be happy to answer any other questions if I can.

[almamatters]

Thanks Stevo

[Emphyrio]

I tried 5HTP, though it didn't have any noticeable effect. I was only taking 100mg of it though, and could have increased up to 300 but for one side effect - the diarrhoea.

L-Tyrosine was an interesting one. It definitely seemed to work - it made me more focused and boosted my sexual function somewhat, but I had to stop taking it for now because it made me slightly dizzy and confused.

I guess these supplements work differently for different people. What I would say is beneficial to everyone, not just those who are anxious/depressed, is a good quality omega 3 supplement and a b-vitamin complex.

[Oosh]

5htp didn't do anything for me. I've tried it in the past and again recently.
I am a supplement freek. I try them all. L- tyrosine did nothing either.