5-hydroxytryptophan and Nausea: What Users Say

• Car...
• November 6, 2017

5-hydroxytryptophan for Anxiety "I have been on anxiolytics and antidepressants for 15 years. I wanted to give them up and go natural. I must say, I cannot believe it has not been recommended to me before! I guess it's because it takes away from their business. My first 200 mg dose, I became a little nauseous but I hadn't eaten before taking it. I am amazed at how my mood has improved. I also used to smoke marijuana and when I stopped, I missed the way it gave me patience with my children. I would smoke and all of a sudden, the messes and yelling didn't bother me. Unfortunately, it's not legal in Texas so I needed to stop. After two months of irritability, I have now found something natural and legal that gave me my patience back and my children their loving mother back!"

• Anonymous
• August 24, 2018

5-hydroxytryptophan for Anxiety "5-HTP has helped me manage my anxiety, and after years of PTSD-related nightmares, I'm finally sleeping properly. It's helped massively with suicidal ideation. Even during better times, the intrusive thoughts were always lurking. For the first 7-10 days, I did have quite noticeable side effects: headaches, feeling nauseous, and shaking a little. But I continued to take it because, to be honest, it was better than the side effects of prescribed antidepressants I've experienced in the past. Which is probably not the most sensible, but now I'm happy I did. I take this with a combination of L-tyrosine, B vitamins, and magnesium. Probably also worth mentioning is the ease with which I've managed to sort out my binge eating. I've lost 13kg in the last 4 months, which has been a fantastic thing for me, and now my BMI is back in the healthy range."

• 5ht...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• April 27, 2017

5-hydroxytryptophan for Anxiety "It has been the only thing that has relieved my symptoms of depression and anxiety, and possibly my pain. The only downside is that it makes me vomit, make sure you eat BEFORE taking it. It can also make my stomach hurt and feel nauseous. That's the only reason I didn't give it a 10."

• Med...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 11, 2018

5-hydroxytryptophan for Anxiety "Only started taking this for a few days. After experiencing mild anxiety and insomnia, I started with 200 mg and noticed immediate improvement with sleep and anxiety. I found a boost in concentration and therefore better memory, which helped with work and socially. 200 mg was a high dose to start off with, in which I had nausea. Some tips for people: start at 50 mg if first dose, and consume with a light carb-heavy meal, avoid caffeine if possible. I feel like that if you cycle use (i.e., 1 month on, 1 month off), it will reduce the likelihood of tolerance and dependence. I decided to not take it for a day and noticed withdrawal anxiety, it may be worth tapering off the dose instead of going cold turkey. To conclude, this is excellent for anxiety and sleep, although not for everyone."

• Kit...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• August 11, 2019

5-hydroxytryptophan for ADHD "I am 54 and have ADHD (combination-type). Numerous tests show no anxiety, no stress, and no depression. I've been taking 5-HTP for about seven years. 160 mg every morning, thirty minutes before food, is my current sweet spot to help with my irritability. It doesn't help me with any other ADHD symptoms, e.g., dysfunctional working memory or concentration. If I've had a 15-hour working day, I may have a 100 mg dose before retiring, as I feel exhausted the next morning and know that I'll be irritable (stop the world, I want to get off) with everyone who rubs me up the wrong way, until my morning dose kicks in. Only side effect is nausea if I wait more than thirty minutes before eating. Just remember to keep your stock levels sufficient (set a reminder), so that you don't run out and then have the added drama of rushing around to buy some while you're in a bad mood. I buy them from a website in New Zealand, and they arrive in Australia within a few days."

• Dia...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 30, 2022

5-hydroxytryptophan for Anxiety "I have tried 5-HTP on a couple of occasions. The first time, it made me really tired. Almost scary tired because I couldn't get out of bed. I wasn't wild about the effects, so I stopped taking it. Then, a couple of months later, I tried it again because I was suffering from anxiety, and I had few other options. I had a really bad experience. Again, it made me really tired. I didn't like that it also made my depression worse. It altered my thinking so that I was having more negative thoughts. I had one experience where I was sleeping, and I woke up feeling like I was suffocating. It also gave me nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. I think it actually also made my anxiety worse. I had one incident where I started feeling extremely anxious for no reason. I have had panic attacks before, and the feeling was similar. Overall, I have not had a positive experience with this drug."

• Nop...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 12, 2022

For Anxiety "If you have tinnitus, don't take it. It amplifies it. I usually brag about my stomach of steel, but this made my stomach sick, and I swear it made my kidney hurt. If you look further into it, you'll read it does make you pee more. All that from one 100 mg capsule."

• Sty...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 30, 2020

5-hydroxytryptophan "I went to a nutritional store for 5-HTP after doing some research on it for mild chronic depression. The nutritionist suggested 200 mg. Took it at night for a couple of nights, and my stomach woke me up. Had pains and diarrhea. Took it after breakfast two days later and ended up with severe nausea, diarrhea, dizziness, sweating, pale, and weakness. Was terrible. I am going to try the smallest dose I can get and take it on a full stomach. See what happens. Otherwise, it's not going to work for me."

• Ann...
• April 24, 2018

5-hydroxytryptophan for Anxiety "I was recommended this by a close family friend who also suffers from anxiety. I took 50 mg a couple of times a week a few months ago and didn't notice a change or any negative side effects at that time. I have been feeling more anxious over the past few weeks due to hormonal imbalance/other issues, so I decided to try again one night when the anxiety was really bad just to see if it could alleviate some of it. I took 1 50 mg capsule about an hour after dinner, and for the first few hours after I took it, I actually felt noticeably less anxious. At one point, my entire body felt very peaceful and relaxed and almost had a warm feeling to it. It did not help me sleep though like some people commented, I woke up multiple times throughout the night and tossed and turned, and then around 6 AM woke up feeling nauseous, wide awake, and anxious again. I'm not sure if this is because of my hormonal imbalance issues right now or side effects from this, but not sure it's worth it to try again."

• 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."

• Den...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 17, 2019

5-hydroxytryptophan for Anxiety "Took 5-HTP for the 1st time in like a year. Took 400 mg along with a probiotic, and about an hour later got a nasty stomachache along with nausea and feeling like I would throw up. Think it was a combination of too much at once along with an empty stomach. So I'm going to try a smaller dose along with eating before."

• Bil...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 13, 2021

5-hydroxytryptophan "5-HTP for SIBO as a prokinetic. I have been using 5-HTP for 4 months in the form of Motilpro to stimulate the Migrating Myoelectric Complex (MMC) for SIBO, 100 mg at night (2 capsules). I had mild adverse side effects at first but continued to use it. I have now had to stop, my side effects are waking up in the night with a racing heart, nausea, sleeplessness, vivid unpleasant dreams, also sweating, dizziness, and fatigue that lasts during the day. I cannot function while taking this drug anymore. It was worth trying out, I believe it is effective. My FP advises some people's serotonin levels rise very fast, I believe I am in that category. I hope this helps someone else decide whether or not it is for them. I do not suffer from depression and didn't notice any enhancement of my mood."

• Leo...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• April 4, 2021

For Depression "I took 5-HTP for the first time this morning. It was prescribed by my naturopath (along with B-6 complex and GABA) for depression and anxiety due to perimenopause and other issues. She had told me to take 100 mg in the morning and at night on an empty stomach (or without protein). Well, I accidentally took 200 mg at one time, which was obviously way too much for me. I got very nauseous pretty quickly, had diarrhea and gas pain, chills, tingling in my hands and fingers (like poor circulation), racing heart, body aches, and felt wide awake but wished I could take a nap. That was 10 hours ago, and I'm still feeling chills, body aches, and racing heart. I am going to try tomorrow with a lower dose before I decide to give up on this supplement, though."

• Tri...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 19, 2019

5-hydroxytryptophan for Insomnia "I bought some 400 mg high-strength tablets after reading good reviews about 5-HTP and knowing I have a high tolerance for medicines. I took a tablet around 8 pm hoping to feel a bit drowsy by bedtime, but it's 12:15 am and I'm still wide awake, even though I also took 2 zopiclone at 10:55 pm and ran 13 km earlier and did a full 9-hour day at work today. I feel a little bit queasy in my stomach, but it's hard to say as I do have a lingering chesty cough right now too. I feel a bit anxious as I want them to work."

• D88...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 27, 2022

For Depression "I was taking St. John's wort for moderate depression/SAD, and it worked well but was affecting my sleep and interacting with sleeping pills I occasionally use. My mood started to get low again a couple of days after finishing them, so I decided to switch to 5-HTP. I'm now on my second day, and I won't be taking it again. I took 50 mg yesterday, and it felt just like the early side effects of an SSRI. I felt nauseous, wired, and spacey. Today I took 25 mg, and whilst I didn't feel nauseous, I still have that strange slightly wired/spacey feeling, it reminds me of how much SSRIs blunted my emotions and made me feel plastic. I read that 5-HTP increases serotonin but may deplete dopamine and noradrenaline. St. John's wort, on the other hand, stops the reuptake of all of these chemicals, and would explain probably why it worked better for me. I will be going back to taking St. John's wort, though I can appreciate these are powerful supplements and will work for some people really well."