5-hydroxytryptophan and Depression: What Users Say

• Nut...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• February 16, 2021

5-hydroxytryptophan for Anxiety "Be very mindful it's all about the dosage & type. Always start with the lowest dosage, this is a very strong drug not to be messed with. 25-50mg is all that is needed to start with and use slow release to avoid bad side effects. I started this for PTSD, ADHD, depression, insomnia, mood swings. I use 50mg slow release as soon as I open my eyes and if need be during stressful times, another 50mg after lunch. At 1st, I did take the recommended dosages which in my experience are dangerous. Horrendous side effects. Trial, error, and masses of research were the key in the end. I have now been taking 5-HPT for 13 years on and off due to PTSD and undiagnosed ADHD, which was causing me all sorts of issues from Depression, Anxiety, Insomnia, Terrible Mood Swings, Migraines, the list goes on. This stuff has helped tremendously with all the above. I cannot rate it enough, actually saved my life :)"

• zed...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• September 28, 2015

5-hydroxytryptophan for Anxiety "Just want to add this has been great. I was on citalopram but it became too much of a problem for me, having to go to the doctors every month and work. Getting this delivered to my door was so much easier. Been taking 100mg every night before bed, it has reduced my anxiety quite a bit. I'm still on a benzo for the time being, but what people need to understand is that this drug works with chemicals in your brain. This is the reason you might experience increased anxiety. When I started citalopram, my anxiety skyrocketed before starting to improve my condition after about 8 weeks. Let it ride through and take it at night at first. It might increase your anxiety initially and may increase your depression in some people at first, but afterwards it works wonders."

• Rob...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 3, 2021

5-hydroxytryptophan for Insomnia "Solgar 5-HTP 100 mg. 1x daily. First three days it helps with my insomnia, nice 7-8 hours of sleep, but no change with anxiety or mood. Then I started waking up at 3 a.m., sweaty with elevated heart rate and having very vivid bad dreams, and it continued during the day with tension headache and severe anxiety and depression. I didn't know 5-HTP was causing it, so I continued taking it. Things got worse to the level that I was stuck in a dark mood and suicidal feelings. I stopped taking them. Three days later, my system cleared and was back to normal. Some of us are sensitive to these 'brain chemical adjusters.'"

• Sad...
• April 12, 2019

5-hydroxytryptophan for Anxiety "Took 5-HTP 100 mg at night with magnesium, to calm my mild anxiety and sadness, help with sleep. I was post-concussion and being treated for autoimmune disease. At around 6 months, I increasingly noticed I was waking at night, I started getting more anxious, suicidal thoughts. During this time, I also did a small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) treatment of antibiotics, which probably helped my gut work better, and then started low-dose naltrexone for my autoimmune disease. I started to have heart palpitations, sweating at night, depressed thoughts, panic attacks which I never had before, where you get arrhythmia, continuous bad thoughts, tingling in your fingers, and feel dizzy. When withdrawing from 5-HTP, I had a horrible time. I had to withdraw slowly, as I had a lot of the symptoms of SSRI withdrawal. My brain and thoughts were so disturbing. I would be very cautious using this drug long-term and continuously. Study needs to be done on low-dose naltrexone and 5-HTP. Or post-concussion and 5-HTP."

• Diz...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 26, 2016

5-hydroxytryptophan for Anxiety "Don't take this with benzos, it made me extra drowsy and anxious. One pill-I only took half of one pill (50 mg!). I got some kind of adverse reaction. My insomnia got worse, I got panic attacks, shivering, tremor, felt disoriented, and seriously more depressed. Now I have woken up in the middle of the night for many nights to the same feeling: anxious, can't fall asleep again. I regret taking this. And I said once again: DON'T MIX THIS WITH BENZOS and be careful if your nervous system is sensitive, you are sensitive to supplements, or you suffer from bad insomnia, because it can cause a paradoxical reaction. Start with tiny doses to find out whether this is the right supplement for you. For me, it definitely is NOT. This supplement also has many side effects."

• Ari...
• September 2, 2019

5-hydroxytryptophan for Insomnia "Started taking 5-HTP with magnesium. Had to get online as it's not an approved drug in Australia. After 2 bottles, I had to come off it as it was upsetting my bowel. I started having panic attacks, depression, insomnia. This withdrawal lasted 4 weeks. There should be a warning about coming off this med, be careful. Maybe this is why it's not approved here."

• Dop...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• September 2, 2022

5-hydroxytryptophan for Anxiety "I found that both the 100 mg and 200 mg made my depression much, much worse. I cried more, thought of suicide more often, and felt completely hopeless. I started with 200, then reduced it to 100 and still had the same thing happen. Although the thought of suicide is never really out of sight as an option, being on 5-HTP made it worse. I actually started formulating a plan, making a will, etc. I stopped taking it, and about a week later, I was back to my usual depressed self - minus the urgent need to commit suicide. Be careful. Prozac did me the same way."

• Zob...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• June 9, 2019

5-hydroxytryptophan for Anxiety "7 days ago, I went cold turkey off Phenibut (dangerous, beware severe withdrawals), no sleep, extreme anxiety (I also have generalized and panic attack disorder), and extremely bad depression, which I’ve never had. I came across 5-HTP, which has seemed to help with the depression and anxiety, but it’s only been 3 days. Still can’t sleep, but my brain is in a bad way due to also being an ex-painkiller addict (clean from pills for almost 5 years) and recently Phenibut. I’ve got a very high tolerance to all forms of medications, etc., and started at 100 mg, but it didn’t do anything. 300 mg seems to take the edge off, but I don’t plan on going on a higher dose or for a long period of time because these adverse effects from Phenibut withdrawals only last a few weeks."

• Anonymous
• Taken for less than 1 month
• September 19, 2021

For Anxiety "It makes me feel so sick and nauseous, so I split the capsule in half. My friend says I seem a lot calmer and it helps with teeth grinding at night. I have only taken it a few times. Then I decided to go on Prozac, encouraged by my GP. I feel so depressed with the Prozac after 4 days, and my teeth grinding has started again. So today, I took half a capsule of 5-HTP, and I became VERY ill and sick. I tried to be sick but couldn’t as I have not eaten much today. I googled and found that 5-HTP and Prozac cannot be taken together. I feel so silly for not checking beforehand. So 5-HTP is very effective, but it has bad side effects, and Prozac makes my depression worse. Both 5-HTP and Prozac have suppressed my appetite, so I lost some weight. There is also research saying 5-HTP, if taken long term, can damage the liver, amongst several other health issues."

• w33...
• February 28, 2019

5-hydroxytryptophan "I hope for the following combination: a drive-enhancing and motivating effect in a good mood. So I started my experiment 2 weeks ago: I took 200 mg of 5-HTP 3 times daily, 900 mg of St. John's Wort 3 times a day, and 1950 mg of L-tyrosine twice daily. St. John's Wort acts as a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), and 5-HTP increases serotonin levels. The effects should therefore influence each other positively. I took the L-tyrosine to increase my concentration on the work. I know that this is a high starting dose, but my curiosity and lack of respect for drugs have won. ^^ After 11 days, I feel that I have become a little emotionless and much in thoughts. The St. John's Wort works only after 4-6 weeks, so I will carry out my experiment for a while."

• Ann...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 23, 2022

5-hydroxytryptophan for Anxiety "It made me feel much worse. It triggered even more anxiety, insomnia, and deeper depression. So disappointed. Clearly not for everyone. Please be careful."