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5-HTP only works temporarily

hixxy

Senior Member
Messages
1,229
Location
Australia
Has anyone else had this problem with 5-HTP?

I've tried taking 5-HTP many times of the last few years and every time it works for the first day or 2 (immediate, drastic mood lift), then stops working completely. It's like some nutrient becomes depleted. The nutrients needed to convert 5-HTP to Serotonin are:

Vitamin B6
Vitamin C
Zinc
Magnesium

I supplement all these. I take a b complex (also extra P5P in the 5-HTP caps), 50mg zinc picolinate, 4.5g magnesium ascorbate, 250mg of magnesium oil (transdermal).

I suspect my digestive tract is just too screwed to absorb them. :confused:
 

heapsreal

iherb 10% discount code OPA989,
Messages
10,089
Location
australia (brisbane)
just use intermittently or altrrnate with tryptophan on empty stomache at night before bed, can help with sleep. Also look into acetyle tyrosine for mood, good on empty stomache in morning to increase noradrenaline
 

Adster

Senior Member
Messages
600
Location
Australia
I remember reading somewhere that b6 or p5p taken with 5-htp was not a good idea because it was all converted in the liver. Sorry, that's vague, I'll see if I can find the reference.

Here it is http://yarchive.net/med/5-htp.html I don't know if the theory he presents is correct or not.
 

adreno

PR activist
Messages
4,841
The problem with using amino acids as neurotransmitter precursors is that tolerance develops rapidly.

Anyway, I suspect 5-HTP to be very unhealthy in the long run, so I would avoid it.
 

hixxy

Senior Member
Messages
1,229
Location
Australia
The alternative of severe depression isn't very healthy either tho. :(

I'm yet to find an antidepressant I can tolerate.
 

snowathlete

Senior Member
Messages
5,374
Location
UK
Adster is right. Don't take it with b6. If you do them the 5htp is converted into serotonin before it gets to the brain. I.e. in the body and it then wrecks your heart valves. You only want it to convert once in the brain. People on it long term when prescribed by a doctor are often given an inhibitor to further protect against its conversion in the body!
 

Gavman

Senior Member
Messages
316
Location
Sydney
Well with the methylation cycle, there are three cycles. So maybe theres a deficiency in the others. Have you tried SAM-e or its precursors? - TMG and l-methionine. I'd have a look at that as, especially if its working short term. Also i would check the p5p, does it have b2 with it? Also important.
 

Living Dead

Senior Member
Messages
199
The alternative of severe depression isn't very healthy either tho. :(

I'm yet to find an antidepressant I can tolerate.
Hi. I tried many antidepressants and I couldn't tolerate them either. Also I tried 5-HTP, which in the end, I also couldn't tolerate. I think if you can't tolerate an SSRI you're unfortunately unlikely to tolerate 5-HTP.
 

Lala

Senior Member
Messages
331
Location
EU
The problem with using amino acids as neurotransmitter precursors is that tolerance develops rapidly.

Anyway, I suspect 5-HTP to be very unhealthy in the long run, so I would avoid it.

Why do you think 5-HTP is unhealthy in the long run? Is it because of Harris info about heart?
 

adreno

PR activist
Messages
4,841
Why do you think 5-HTP is unhealthy in the long run? Is it because of Harris info about heart?

It's been linked with heart valve damage, and also suspected of inducing eosinophilia myalgia syndrome in some people. Anyway, there aren't any long term studies, so we really don't know much about its safety.
 

hixxy

Senior Member
Messages
1,229
Location
Australia
I think we crossed words about this before but as I am big on increasing BH4 levels, the solution is "overdosing on methylfolate" Deplin (or equivalent, such as Thorne's 5-MTHF)! :)

For those that 5-HTP isn't effective, raising BH4 isn't likely to be effective (I suspect) for the same reasons. There must be a block somewhere in the last conversion to Serotonin. I refuse to believe that I develop a tolerance to 5-HTP after only 3 - 4 50mg doses.
 

nanonug

Senior Member
Messages
1,709
Location
Virginia, USA
For those that 5-HTP isn't effective, raising BH4 isn't likely to be effective (I suspect) for the same reasons. There must be a block somewhere in the last conversion to Serotonin.

Hmm, aren't you trying to deal with depressive symptoms? If that is the case, what makes you think that increasing serotonin levels is the answer? Haven't you said that you cannot tolerate antidepressants (I am going to assume SSRI's here)?

How about increasing the levels of dopamine and norepinephrine instead (something BH4 is needed for)? By the way, have you tried Wellbutrin?

How about reducing oxidative stress in the brain (something BH4 helps with)? There appears to be a link between depression and oxidative stress.
 

hixxy

Senior Member
Messages
1,229
Location
Australia
The thing is 5-HTP does help -- drastically. I have rapid mood improvement, then after a couple of days the 5-HTP stops working. I've also tried mucuna pruriens (source of L-DOPA) in the past and similarly, it only raises dopamine for first day or so, then nothing.

So this problem doesn't seem to be exclusive to 5-HTP. The conversions from 5-HTP -> Serotonin and L-DOPA -> Dopamine aren't BH4 dependent.
 

nanonug

Senior Member
Messages
1,709
Location
Virginia, USA
The thing is 5-HTP does help -- drastically. I have rapid mood improvement, then after a couple of days the 5-HTP stops working. I've also tried mucuna pruriens (source of L-DOPA) in the past and similarly, it only raises dopamine for first day or so, then nothing.

This is also my experience with amino acids. The body compensates rather quickly for these "excesses"!

So this problem doesn't seem to be exclusive to 5-HTP. The conversions from 5-HTP -> Serotonin and L-DOPA -> Dopamine aren't BH4 dependent.

Well, maybe there is nothing wrong in your endogenous production of neurotransmitters. For instance, hypothyroidism is associated with depression. Same goes for systemic inflammation. If you are having gut issues, focusing a lot of your attention there would probably be wise. For example, today I sent Metametrix my poop to see what they have to say, as part of their GI Effects Profile.
 

Adster

Senior Member
Messages
600
Location
Australia
Another avenue to explore is amine intolerance. The elimination diet is a tough one, but amines can be hell on the mood if you don't tolerate them.
 

Dufresne

almost there...
Messages
1,039
Location
Laurentians, Quebec
The thing is 5-HTP does help -- drastically. I have rapid mood improvement, then after a couple of days the 5-HTP stops working. I've also tried mucuna pruriens (source of L-DOPA) in the past and similarly, it only raises dopamine for first day or so, then nothing.

So this problem doesn't seem to be exclusive to 5-HTP. The conversions from 5-HTP -> Serotonin and L-DOPA -> Dopamine aren't BH4 dependent.

Hi Troy,

That two day limit on a mood lift may be a protective mechanism and not a serotonin precursor deficiency. Cheney has spoken about the theoretical problem of using SSRI's alongside unchecked oxidative stress. Perhaps when you boost serotonin you're forcing brain cells to function at a level they're unable to sustain. Which might explain why the same thing happened with the mucuna. This appears to be the case for myself when improving my mood with supplements or homeopathics. I end up in a rebound depression after discontinuing whatever it was that gave me the lift. And I'm particularly sensitive to supplements and homeopathics of this sort, as my excitotoxicity seems to turbocharge the antidepressant effect.

However if you believe you're deficient in certain vitamins and minerals perhaps an IM Myers Cocktail or similar multi-vitamin may be the way to go.