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Is this a crash after cold virus, or starting 5-HTP?

Messages
32
Hi. I'm having a really bad day today. My CFS started nine months ago but today is the first day I've experienced dry mouth.

I had a cold earlier this week but it mostly got better. Last night I thought I'd start 5-HTP and N-A-C Cysteine. The first half of the night seemed like better sleep, but then the second half was not so great. Today, freezing cold, ears ringing and now dry mouth.

Really can't tell if this is a bad response to 5-HTP. My condition originally came on as a response to stress, not virus. So I'm a little scared that the cold virus may have worsened my condition, since people get it in the first place with (worse) viruses.

Can a cold worsen CFS, or is this more likely 5-HTP?
 

Pyrrhus

Senior Member
Messages
4,172
Location
U.S., Earth
I had a cold earlier this week but it mostly got better. Last night I thought I'd start 5-HTP and N-A-C Cysteine. The first half of the night seemed like better sleep, but then the second half was not so great. Today, freezing cold, ears ringing and now dry mouth.

I would think it to be impossible to tell from the information you’ve given what may be causing the new symptoms.

I can only comment that some people have very strong reactions to NAC when they first start it.

Hope this helps.
 
Messages
32
This definitely helps. Thank you. I'm not inclined to take either one again tonight after today. Do you suppose people try to ride out the symptoms for long-term benefit? I realize that's also a not so much information question. I'm in a bit of a tough position since I still have to work part-time. Thank you again.
 

Pyrrhus

Senior Member
Messages
4,172
Location
U.S., Earth
This definitely helps. Thank you. I'm not inclined to take either one again tonight after today. Do you suppose people try to ride out the symptoms for long-term benefit? I realize that's also a not so much information question. I'm in a bit of a tough position since I still have to work part-time. Thank you again.

I can share my experience:
The first time I took a 500mg dose of NAC, I felt like crap for 5 days.
Over time, I would retry it and the 5 days became 3 days, and then 1 day.
When the bad effects wore off completely, I was able to easily take it every day.

If your purpose is to maintain intracellular glutathione levels, I think NAC is a worthwhile and low-risk supplement at relatively low doses such as 200-500mg per day. Some people purposefully take much higher doses for the sedative effect, and I’m not sure what the consequences of that might be.

Everybody has the potential to react differently, so you should also read about other people’s experiences. The easiest way to do this is with a Google Site Search:
Go to google.com and search for “NAC site:" followed by "phoenixrising.me”. (No space between the colon and the ‘p’ of phoenixrising)

Hope this helps.
 
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Messages
32
Again tremendously helpful! I took 600mg at night and again the next morning. So you have answered my prayers, that the cold virus didn't knock me permanently down. Thank you!
 
Messages
32
I am interested in restarting the 5-HTP. Is there much of a chance that it was the cause? From this thread, I feel pretty confident the NAC was the problem. Do people have such reactions to 5-HTP?
 

frozenborderline

Senior Member
Messages
4,405
Hi. I'm having a really bad day today. My CFS started nine months ago but today is the first day I've experienced dry mouth.

I had a cold earlier this week but it mostly got better. Last night I thought I'd start 5-HTP and N-A-C Cysteine. The first half of the night seemed like better sleep, but then the second half was not so great. Today, freezing cold, ears ringing and now dry mouth.

Really can't tell if this is a bad response to 5-HTP. My condition originally came on as a response to stress, not virus. So I'm a little scared that the cold virus may have worsened my condition, since people get it in the first place with (worse) viruses.

Can a cold worsen CFS, or is this more likely 5-HTP?
There’s no good reason to take 5htp with cfs. we may already have too much serotonin or serotonin sensitivity.
 
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