# 5-HTP Basic Questions, The Positive v.s. Negative Effects



## muie

There wasn't much info on this as I originally hoped so I'm asking a few questions here:

*1.* Are there any precautions that need to be taken when you start 5-HTP? Besides seratoninergic drugs should you avoid anything else? 

*2.*Cannabis/hashish, benzodiazepams, alcohol, tobaco and narcotics are what I use sometimes on a daily basis so can any of those drugs do anything with the 5-HTP? 

Also I should mention herbs since cat's claw I hear can potentate methadone significantly. I drink white, green, red tea and a few herbal teas as regularly as well (Mellissa, Chamomille, Linden flower, Horse Tail, Marigold, Mint, etc), 

In those herbal teas is there anything I should look out for? 

*3. *What physical effects does 5-HTP have on the body? Wikipedia says it creates jeart valve damage or disease. Even though it is natural and created in the body even, everything in excess has to do something bad! I firmly believe in that.

*4. *When should you take 5-HTP? Should one take it when feeling depressed? 

*5. *In cases of seratonin depletion, I speculate that I have drained my brain out of a lot of seratonin this year and last with mdma and other seratoninergic drugs like methylone and mephedrone, how long should one take it? Would it be better to not take it at all? Does it improve memory?

What if you have used so much mdma, methylone and mephedrone that you are feeling fried for months, or at least not as bright/witty as before? However depression doesn't really happen that often. 

*6. *Does 5-HTP act as an SSRI or a MAOi? 

*7. *When balacing out the good results and the bad results do you feel it is worth it? 

I would like to hear any experiences from people who have used it before for however long and for whatever reason! Every input is welcome!


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## FrostyMcFailure

It'll take a week  of daily intake to truly produce the desired effects. In combination with Omega 3 i find it among the best anti depressants. SSRI class anti depressants have been reported  by long term users to permanently change the brain. The fact is doctors get free lunches, gift certificates etc. to prescribes certain medications at your expense. Be very weary of anything a doctor is trying to prescribe for an unnecessary reason or condition you do not have.


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## a thing

muie said:


> 4. When should you take 5-HTP? Should one take it when feeling depressed?



It might help.



			
				muie said:
			
		

> 6. Does 5-HTP act as an SSRI or a MAOi?



No, but it could be dangerous with MAOIs.


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## sub21lime

ive been taking it for a couple of months now,they made feel great at first and now im taking less(50 mgs a night compared to 100 mgs a night)i go through some sort of withdraw.i fell worst than before i started taking 5-htp.im going to ween my self off and hope for the best...

i wish i could post more of my experiance with 5-htp but im tired,ill write more tommorow


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## correctly

i found some that come in 50mg pills
and normally take about two in the morning or two at night..
in the beginning it would give me some vivid fun dreams, would make weed feel stronger, and would make me happier and be in a good mood..
after a few days, some side effects came on that seemed to come on at random.. sometimes i would get stomach pain or headaches or sometimes both..
never took more than 200mg in a day..
and i take it before and after taking some methylone..


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## Transcendence

Alcohol in significant quantities is dangerous to combine with 5-HTP. Don't take 5-HTP if you plan to get boozed up, as it can cause seizures.


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## RhythmSpring

FrostyMcFailure said:


> It'll take a week  of daily intake to truly produce the desired effects.



Not for me. I start to feel the effects the night and day after I start taking it: better sleep, less need for sleep, improved mood, lower appetite (that's unwanted for me), greater tolerance for stress, improved cognitive function. 

5HTP rocks!


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## RedLeader

muie said:


> *1.* Are there any precautions that need to be taken when you start 5-HTP? Besides seratoninergic drugs should you avoid anything else?



As you hinted at, do not overlap 5-HTP with SSRIs or SSNIs.  Or MOAIs, for that matter.  Meaning, do not use it ontop of the popular anti-depressants or certain sleep-aids and OCD meds.  For example, I had to cease my 5-HTP intake when I began taking Fluvoxamine to treat my OCD (an SSRI).  

5-HTP works best when taken in junction with a daily vitamin, and/or a B-vitamin complex.  So keep that in mind.  



> *2.*Cannabis/hashish, benzodiazepams, alcohol, tobaco and narcotics are what I use sometimes on a daily basis so can any of those drugs do anything with the 5-HTP?
> 
> Also I should mention herbs since cat's claw I hear can potentate methadone significantly. I drink white, green, red tea and a few herbal teas as regularly as well (Mellissa, Chamomille, Linden flower, Horse Tail, Marigold, Mint, etc),
> 
> In those herbal teas is there anything I should look out for?



Herbs are fine.  "Narcotics" is kind of a vague term when used socially.  Can you expand on this?  It shouldn't be a problem with popular opiates, though.  Basically, think about what you would NOT want to mix with MDMA and don't mix such with 5-HTP.  



> *3. *What physical effects does 5-HTP have on the body? Wikipedia says it creates jeart valve damage or disease. Even though it is natural and created in the body even, everything in excess has to do something bad! I firmly believe in that.



5-HTP is pretty subtle.  If anything, it will help you feel calm and complacent (like a weak-benzo effect).  Sure, I mean there's a minority of people who might get extreme side effects from it, and given that it's new it's not FDA-approved and has not been the subject of much research.  But again, it's gentle compared to prescription anti-depressants.  



> *4. *When should you take 5-HTP? Should one take it when feeling depressed?



It's either to be taken daily (bottles suggest before bed since it can have acute hypnotic effects for some) and/or part of a pre/post-loading regime to minimise the negative effects of drugs like MDxx.  In the latter case, it's okay to take higher does, but daily use should stick between 50-100mg. 



> *5. *In cases of seratonin depletion, I speculate that I have drained my brain out of a lot of seratonin this year and last with mdma and other seratoninergic drugs like methylone and mephedrone, how long should one take it? Would it be better to not take it at all? Does it improve memory?
> 
> What if you have used so much mdma, methylone and mephedrone that you are feeling fried for months, or at least not as bright/witty as before? However depression doesn't really happen that often.



You can take 5-HTP indefinately at a daily dose.  Do NOT try and overload at the start in order to speed up the effects.  Just like an anti-depressant, it takes several weeks to notice a change in mood.  I know this sounds antangizing to what I said about its use in junction with MDMA before, but it you plan to use it to help your life (as opposed to short-term damage control), this is how you do it. 

I have not read anything about it improving memory.  With binging and semi-long-term effects like you describe, really time is your best friend.  Not that you won't have any permanent effects if you went nuts with the seratonin drugs, but your body/brain will heal itself in time, with or without 5-HTP. 


*6. *Does 5-HTP act as an SSRI or a MAOi? 

No and no. 



> *7. *When balacing out the good results and the bad results do you feel it is worth it?
> 
> I would like to hear any experiences from people who have used it before for however long and for whatever reason! Every input is welcome!



For me, it helped with pre/post-loading in juction with MDMA (though I don't know if this was power-of-suggestion or not).  I did not notice anything from taking it for 3 months a la an anti-depressant.  However, I know people who love it and say it's better than prescription anti-depressants.  Everybody's different, but it's not really that dangerous and therefore something I suggest you try and see for yourself!

Best of fortune


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## An Iz

5htp.

• Made me feel sleepy and weird all day
• Made my eyes bulge out or feel like they did
• Made drugs feel worse
• No appreciable effect on the after period of drugs


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## Mugz

I took a capsule earlier an hour or so after taking a small dose of gbl and now feel rather sick  Is there anyone else that has done 5-HTP at the same time as gbl and had a similar experience?


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## An Iz

nope, but it made me feel sick all on its own.


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## double ewe

An Iz said:


> nope, but it made me feel sick all on its own.



yup.

the specific scientific explanation is somewhere else on BL, but the basic idea is that 5-HTP supplements lead to seratonin (which makes you nauseous) in the stomach, rather than just the brain.


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## Noodle

I used to preload with 5HTP when I was rolling often ( maybe once a week )

I was also using it for quite some time after I slowed my harder drug use to help me sleep and uplift my mood.

I didn't notice a change in my mood until I was about a week in.  

I prefer it to Paxil, which I have also taken in the past to combat a situational depression.  I didn't like the side effects of Paxil.  For me these effects included physical lethargy, and a slowing of my mental state.  My head always felt heavy and in a fog.  Mind you I was on it for a little over a month.

I stopped taking it, because I didn't like the idea of having to use it to feel _right._

I still cycle through bouts of mild depression, but I just trugde through them knowing that I will have an upswing soon after.  

I recommend taking 5HTP in the 50 to 100mg range 5 or six times a week.




...


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## starlett7

When I was buying 5htp the guy at the pharmacy told me that I should take one when I'm feeling really depressed and I should feel it in 30mins to an hour and if not then take another. I usually forget to check how I feel after that time so I'm guessing it works? lol.

Also, I pop one or two after a night of mdma and 1-3 in the following days, it helps avoid the mid-week crash.

Also, vitamin B3 helps with absorption.


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## jamesmartin

You don't really feel 5htp ..

Well you do but it's after a few days of taking It and it's a very subtle effect .

Your obviously not going to feel it in the same day you first take it cause your body has to metabolize and convert the 5htp into serotonin and more


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## ebola?

> Alcohol in significant quantities is dangerous to combine with 5-HTP. Don't take 5-HTP if you plan to get boozed up, as it can cause seizures.



How?




> the specific scientific explanation is somewhere else on BL, but the basic idea is that 5-HTP supplements lead to seratonin (which makes you nauseous) in the stomach, rather than just the brain.



80 percent of your 5ht receptors reside in the gut, and 5htp readily metabolizes to 5ht outside of the brain.



> Also, vitamin B3 helps with absorption.



I thought it was b6.  Regardless, it's an open question: while b-vitamins aid metabolism into 5ht, this might lead a greater proportion of 5htp to convert into 5ht outside of the brain, and 5ht cannot cross the BBB.

ebola


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## Changed

*when I smoked weed after taking 5-HTP I get super super high... beware*

also, like other people said, don't combine 5-HTP and alcohol, as it can be deadly.


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## jamesmartin

^ really ? . Smoking weed and taking 5-htp shows no unusual effects .


Why would it ?

Lol think about how the two work in totally different ways in the brain and body


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## previouslyhere

*5HTP + Alcohol*

I've been taking 100mg before bed every night for the last month. Last weekend I went out and was drinking. I got pretty drunk, a lot faster than I normally do. I mean really really drunk. I almost ended up blacking out. I have a very high natural alcohol tolerance; I can usually drink 3 double Jameseons (neat of course) without feeling the slightest buzz at all. This time after just  2 vodka rocks' I was fucked up (and kept drinking, stupid as I am) 

Anyway if you're on 5HTP be careful with alcohol


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## Changed

jamesmartin said:


> ^ really ? . Smoking weed and taking 5-htp shows no unusual effects .
> 
> 
> Why would it ?
> 
> Lol think about how the two work in totally different ways in the brain and body



I'm not a scientist, I just know that it makes my weed sessions turn into 5 or 6 hour trip sessions...


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## alimak

I also felt way more drunk, way quicker and for longer. I typically just feel a little tipsy after three double of rum in cokes. I had one over an hour and felt very tipsy waited an hour had another one, and was drunk more then 3 hours hours.


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## double ewe

correctly said:


> in the beginning it would give me some vivid fun dreams, would make weed feel stronger, and would make me happier and be in a good mood..
> after a few days, some side effects came on that seemed to come on at random.. sometimes i would get stomach pain or headaches or sometimes both.



my experience exactly.


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## powdakilla

This is an interesting thread for me, after being on an s.s.r.i for over five years, and then switching to wellbutrin for a few years, I have finally tapered off those, and switched to 5HTP, at a 150 mg a day dose.  I have read online (and here now too) that taking more than 100 mg a day can be harmful.  On my bottle of 50 mg pills, it recomends building up to between a 2-400 mg a day dose, and I just purchased a bottle of 100mg strength pills, that suggests 200 mg a day.  Is this just a case of companies trying to sell you more product?  That seems really unethical if there are harmful effects at that level.
     On a side note, I actually feel better taking 5HTP than pharmaceutical anti depressants.  My moods are more stable, which was a huge issue for me before (rapid cycling), and it feels like my sex drive is slowly returning to normal after five years of being a marathon man, and then two years of being a two minute man.
     I haven't noticed the effects with alcohol whatsoever, but was curious for those taking a daily dose, if there are noticeable effects with MDMA?  It has been seven years because of the S.S.R.Is and depression, but I have been craving a good roll for awhile now.  Should I stop for a few days prior to taking it?  Or will it just help with the after effects and not have any impact on the actual trip at all?


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## ovenbakedskittles

An Iz said:


> 5htp.
> 
> • Made me feel sleepy and weird all day
> • Made my eyes bulge out or feel like they did
> • Made drugs feel worse
> • No appreciable effect on the after period of drugs


I know this is a old thread but i just took 5htp three hours ago and it also made me feel sleepy and weird... i felt somewhat relaxed but i really cant tell what is the 5htp and whats a placebo


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## roud123

Hi, I recently started taking 5HTP. Long story short, I jumped off sub at 2mg and tapered with loperimide ( as soon as WD from Suboxone kicked in *ouch* dosed with 60 mg loperimide with great results..I.e., no WD - now 3 weeks later  down to 10mg loperimide ea. morning) today began 5HTP on an empty stomach, slight sleepiness at about 2 hrs in. Otherwise no significant immediate effects. Hope to be off loperimide within 10 days thereby giving Ample time for 5htp to be built up in my system. I'm looking forward to smoking my nightly THC and seeing if it potentiates the THC.


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## ebola?

5Htp is metabolized rapidly and thus doesn't build up in your system.

ebola


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## roud123

Sorry, I meant reaching therapeutic effects.


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## roud123

Ive noticed substantial effect from 5htp beginning on day 4... Almost zero social anxiety. Verbal accuity and cognitive enhancement. Beginning L-theanine this afternoon will report back  yay, I've found something that works!


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## GrymReefer

L-tryptophan vs. 5-HTP would be substantially superior in my opinion taking into account tryptophan had an antagonistic effect on the overall activity of our SERT.  If you can start at the very most beginnings of the cascading cellular pathway involving L-tryptophan's metabolism and in the process reduce the amount serotonin reuptake then why not?  Also, L-tryptophan contributes to quite a few neurotransmitters in a multitude of pathways and due to the inability of being able to produce it on our own I would think that it's quite possibly the direct rate-limiting compound in quite a few reactions?


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## ebola?

Why would tryptophan inhibit sert?

ebola


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## GrymReefer

ebola? said:


> Why would tryptophan inhibit sert?
> 
> ebola



Give me a second and I'll find the sourcing as I cannot specifically remember the exact technicalities.  It had something to do with L-tryptophan's serum concentration being directly related to the concentration of tryptophan hydroxylase as they are rate-limiting factors in 5HT synthesis.  Also, there was something to do with 5-HT(1A), 5-HT(1B) autoinhibition and enhancing specific negative feedback mechanisms for serotonergic activity.

I'll find it soon and I'm sure you could probably school me on it.


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## roud123

IMO/E L-theanine is inferior to 5htp..  Currently on 200mg 5htp each morning with coffee and have experienced a drastic reduction in depression. VS L-theanine gave me headaches at 400mg 3 days in a row.


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## nuttynutskin

I'm considering trying it again because I'm feeling some serious seasonal depression and don't really want to go on an SSRI unless I absolutely have to.


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## dopamimetic

The problem is that most of the 5-HTP gets metabolised into serotonin in the gut etc. before it even reaches the brain and then just causes nausea and diarrhoea. This is why they co-administer some decarboxylase inhibitor together with L-Dopa (the dopamine equivalent of 5-HTP) like carbidopa, mesocarb etc.. there have been studies done with 5-HTP & carbidopa if I'm right and it indeed potentiated it very much, making it as effective as a SSRI.. but unfortunately these inhibitors aren't available as pure substances. I've asked several pharmacies around here and they are unable to source it even if I had a prescription ...


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## Babygirl09

Yes they are addictive. I've been reading and it says to take them for no longer than 2 months at a time.


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## lightcrow

Well 5HTP saved me as it stopped my panic attacks, anxiety and depersonalization symptoms which i had thru the whole day. Its much safer than anything else out there  If you are more interested in 5HTP and other treatments using amino acids and such go check out the book called "Mood Cure" Julia Ross, It even shows some scientific studies where it shows that 5HTP performs better than typical known Antidepressants and other drugs. It's a really good book and it's very easy to read.

Enjoy


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## KEP91

Hi! I've been suffering from depersonalization/derealization for almost 4 months now...I took antidepressants that made things 10x worse for me and got off of them only to make the depersonalization and now depression even worse. I just started taking 200mg extended release of 5-HTP tonight along with fish oil and some vitamins to hopefully help with this horrible mental illness! What dosage are you taking of 5-HTP and how long until you saw your amazing results??
Thank you!! It was amazing to read your review and gives me hope!


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## Carebear15120

I was thinking about adding 5-htp to my daily vitamin intake, but I do take Effexor for depression so I guess I'm better staying away from it. I don't understand why so many people put some much toxic drugs into their system or should I say illegal drugs, then go on a forum to ask if taking an otc medication is safe...is it just me or does that make no sense? These people are the same ones that didn't bother to ask anyone if taking some other person's  vicodin or xanax script was alright, but are now curious if an otc may effect them negatively while taking illegal narcotics that were not prescribed for them. Hello people?? Wake up. Stop talking the narcotics your not prescribed and you won't have any questions about an herbal supplement!!


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## RcahelMcC

Hello

I have just started 5 htp for sleep - which it is working very well for. I'm on a very low does of oral Amitriptyline (2.5 mg a day). I'm tapering off  Amitriptyline super slowly - VERY long story! I know you're not meant to take them together, but would this very low dose have an effect or interaction? I ask as I have dry eyes and my eyes have been VERY sore since starting 5 htp 5 days ago.

Also, if anyone else had this extreme sore eyes reaction - did it wear off eventually or did you have to give up?

Thank you!


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