LymeNet Flash: anyone on 5htp

This is topic anyone on 5htp in forum Medical Questions at LymeNet Flash.

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Posted by chainsaw joseph (Member # 6611) on :

What do you think of it?How many milligrams do you take and how close to bedtime?Thank you,Joe.

Posted by LymeDACnow (Member # 4649) on :

I take 2-50mg. caps (100mg.)at bedtime. I take it as a sleep aide only. From my understanding it is a natural serotonin and at higher doses also used for antidepressive effects. I had trouble with Melatonin in the past so tried this instead.

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"Courage is the mastery of fear-not the absence of it."-Mark Twain

Still trying hard to be brave...Deb

Posted by keylyme (Member # 6622) on :

I do take it (50mg)right before bed with Magnesium. Sleep like a baby. Haven't noticed any added benefit of increased mood. (Also take 50mg in am)

Posted by twoangie (Member # 1636) on :

I take 2 capsules at 50mg of the 5-HTP.

I take one capsule that is just 50 mg 5-HTP and then another 50mg capsule from Nature's Bounty that has the 5-HTP plus B6, Niacin, Magnesium and valerian rood. In addition to that I also add two magnesiun capsules and some calcium.

I try to take it at least an hour before bed time since I have so much trouble falling asleep. However, most nights it seems to keep me asleep fairly well.

I've tried Melatonin in the past and I won't use it again. I noticed that the weakness in my leg was really bad when I used Melatonin.

Angie

Posted by Foggy (Member # 1584) on :

It's hit or miss. Sometimes it helps, others no dice.

Klonopin and Ambien are more reliable.

Posted by frenchbraid (Member # 4225) on :

My husband takes it several times a day. He absolutely swears by it. I can always tell if he hasn't taken it. It works very well for him.

frenchbraid

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Stay positive. Smile. People care.

Posted by RECIPEGIRL (Member # 5884) on :

Hey Chainsaw,

My husband (functional Lymie) has taken Solaray's 5-HTP from the health food store. The capsules are 50 mg. and the most he took was 100 mg. about 30 to 45 minutes before bedtime.

He liked it fine & then started using Melatonin. He's beginning to have some insomnia now, too. He's trying to work & take Zithromax.

Here are 3 websites for information only:

=============================================
Michael Murray N.D.
http://www.doctormurray.com/5htp/bestway.htm

=============================================

Ray Sahelian, MD
http://www.raysahelian.com/5-htp.html

=============================================

Random website on this:
http://www.advance-health.com/5htp.html

=============================================

Sure hope it works for you.

My brain needs Dopamine so I take Rx Amantadine. (Any of the Prozac, seratonin stuff made me weirder.)

My insomnia is so bad I have to use Elavil 10 mg, (seratonin) but it is a vaso-constrictor & bad for my brain. It's painful to get up in the morning.

But I have to have something for sleep & it's non-addictive. The elavil helps me have restorative sleep----suppose to help the brain pass through all the stages of sleep.

Anyway, I noticed in the large health food store that they were carrying Tryptophan which I think was a pricey $50. You can get RX Tryptophan, but I didn't know the ban had been lifted on the OTC kind.

Hope this helps.

Happy New Year,
Jan

Posted by chainsaw joseph (Member # 6611) on :

I payed 35$ bucks for 100 capsules.I tried three so far,two of the times I fell asleep quick(I was surprised),the third one seem to relax me but didnt put me to sleep like the first two.They didnt keep me asleep either.My doc say I can take lorazapam with those so thats what i prabably will try.I wonder if the rx is stronger than over the counter,Mine is from douglas labs.Thanks everyone.

Posted by RECIPEGIRL (Member # 5884) on :

Chainsaw,

When I researched 5-HTP for my husband, it said you can slowly build up over 3 days to 300 mg & it might take time to work. (not fun). Another source said build up slowly by 50 mg increments. Just a thought-------

Have you tried SAM-e from the health food store? It's supposed to be almost the same as a tricyclic antidepressant like Elavil.

Don't know if that's really true. For me, it's cheaper to buy the Elavil as we have to buy supplements for the entire family.

It's not exactly cheap, & I would hate to try it and it not help me get to sleep.

Someday I'll try it though. It's made from an amino acid Methionine which is a sulphur- based amino acid. So SAM-e detoxifies the liver. [I heard one doctor say to always take Magnesium with a Methionine.]

PreLyme Diagnosis: I have taken just Methionine (activated with B6 & Vit. C) in the daytime & for some reason, it made me feel worse. Yet, when I take the NAC (N-acetyl cysteine) the major sulphur-based amino acid------it made me feel great & still does.

I think in the above website by Dr. Sahelian, they talk about using a small amount of 5HTP & SAM-e together. You just don't want to get too much seratonin or it's dangerous ------seratonin crisis. I'd be super cautious If I did that.

Hope you find something to help.

Take Care,
Jan

Posted by chainsaw joseph (Member # 6611) on :

Thanks again Jan,did you notice on the last link you gave me it says 5htp should not be taken with antibiotics(its way down the bottom)hmmmm.

Posted by RECIPEGIRL (Member # 5884) on :

Chainsaw,

No, I did not see that. But I'll go find it.

I wonder why that is. It's a precursor to Tryptophan-----I can't figure it out.

Thanks for the heads up.

Jan

P.S. O.K. I found it. I wonder if the
5-HTP renders the ABX useless. Maybe some of the scientists on the board can explain.

[This message has been edited by RECIPEGIRL (edited 01 January 2005).]

Posted by RECIPEGIRL (Member # 5884) on :

Chainsaw,

See what you think about this? Kind of scary. So I guess it's a judgement call.

From the website: Listening to 5-HTP
Author: Charles Davidson

Found at:
http://www.ehot.com/smartbasics/1_listening_to_5htp.html

"Experimental 5-HTP use in animals -- at the same time that liver toxic drugs were administered -- produced heart fibrosis.

5-HTP administration alone did not produce this effect.

Malnourished African persons who consume serotonin-rich foods and have heart fibrosis also probably have liver damage induced by chronic viral hepatitis and parasites like malaria.

Therefore, drugs which damage the liver -- and probably effect tryptophan metabolism -- such as cancer chemotherapies and powerful antibiotics should not be used at the same time as 5-HTP."

Bye,
Jan

P.S. Fixed the link.
TEXAS just won the Rose Bowl. Too cool.

[This message has been edited by RECIPEGIRL (edited 01 January 2005).]

Posted by chainsaw joseph (Member # 6611) on :

Thats a good find Jan.I think I will stick to my lorazapam to sleep for now,its to bad though 5htp does stop my restless legs and reaxes you.I didnt think it was going to work but it does.If,when I get off antibiotics it will be a good natural sedative though.You ever try melatonin,wonder if you can take that with atbx.5htp thats a bummer,thought I was on to something.Hope your feeling well.

Posted by Recipegirl05 (Member # 6729) on :

Same old RECIPEGIRL-changed e-mail

Hey Chainsaw,

Sorry to be so slow in answering; my ear is hurting on Mino 100mg.; I'm messed up right now.

Hope you don't stop your 5-HTP on my account. Maybe if you could find the original research about the 5-HTP causing problems with ABX------you'd have more specific answers.

Could you ask your doctor or know anybody to ask? Some large nutrition stores have Certified Clinical Nutrionists.

If you found something you like for sleep, hate to see you give it up. I know insomnia is a curse.

Re: melatonin
I won't take Melatonin because I'm on Armour Thyroid. I "think" Melatonin actually lowers body temperature, but thyroid is to raise body temperature. So, there's always a catch.

Melatonin sublinqual by Source Naturals is good. It converts to seratonin, so it should help you. Like I said earlier, the Health Food Store started carrying Trytophan again.

Hope this helps.

Take Care,
Jan

Posted by lymeHerx001 (Member # 6215) on :

Joe!

I used this when I had some serious mental illness going on.

I was deathlly affraid of going to a psych and being put on a drug coctail for bipolar.

I saw my grandmother go through this and it was torture. I even saw her go toxic on LITHIUM>

To make a long story short, I went to a natural doctor whom I found on the internet to treat mental illness, thats what I thought my sole problem was.

He sold me 5htp and said to slowlly build up.
It helped with the panic attacks , sleep and severe parinoia.

I was taking upwards of 300 mg.

I took it for a year. Now all I take is some ambien to sleep. Thank god that I dont have those horrible panic attacks anymore. Good luck

Posted by chainsaw joseph (Member # 6611) on :

I couldnt fall asleep last night with a low dose of lorazapam so after a while and getting aggravated that I couldnt fall asleep I took some 5htp and it knocked me out in about 40 minutes.Im going to use it asd sparingly as I can but Im not going to give it up completely,it works too good and sleep is so important.I find the 5htp works better on an empty stomache.Not only does it help you sleep but calms down restless legs syndrome.Jan,sorry about how you feel on mino,like i said I did 8 months of that,its a tough antibiotic.

Posted by Recipegirl05 (Member # 6729) on :

Good deal Chainsaw.

Surely you couldn't get in trouble taking 100 mg nightly; seems like the more you weigh, the more you'd need. Who knows???

Fact is, we can't fight this infection without sleep. Just my opinion, but insomnia should be treated first.

Jan