Posted by myco on April 1, 2009, at 16:34:18
In reply to Is it ok to just take 5 htp once daily?, posted by qbsbrown on April 1, 2009, at 14:20:39
Do you get any sustained effects from this during the day when you take it at night (assuming its night)? Sounds to me like you are on the wrong supplement and since youve mentioned you dont tolerate ssri's thats an indication, combined with your insistance that daytime use is no good, that you dont need a seratonin based med or supplement. I'm guessing youre not as depressed and suffer more from anxiety?...correct?
Since 5htp is one of the components in the pathway that makes seratonin you can also try changing supplements that are in that pathway. For example....tryptophan (another supplement) makes 5htp then that makes seratonin ok. Tryptophan is way better for sleep/insomnia...very dozy I got on it...it's actually a highly prescribed sleep aid in some countries. Pretty safe, as long as not on a maoi, and tolerable...it's food based (comes from turkey for one example).
Now...personally I think perhaps youd be better off changing up these supplements a lil. I would suggest, again since you dont respond well to seratonin, that you "toy"/experiment with dopamine based supplements...ie tyrosine (although this may make you irritable as it tends to do to anxiety sufferers). My recommendation would be to try out something like "mucuna pruriens" ("velvet bean")...its a powdered standardized extract (best quality comes from a company called "NOW" - product name "Dopa Mucuna"). Easily obtained if you are an american...harder if canadian but possible.
This sup will give you L-Dopa that converts to dopamine (thinking/memory) and then norepinephrine for energy....take in the morning only as will energize at night....no irritability if you start slow....i.e. 1000mg max to start in the morning. Many AD's have dopamine and norepinephrine effects that are useful in treating depression and anxiety...dont consider these conditions solely a seratonin issue...they arent.
So to sleep at night combine with a natural sedative like a herbal or a supplement....if you are choosing natural over rx by preference. Some ideas for sleep supplements (i have lots of experience in this regard):
like Ive mentioned in tons of posts:
1) scullcap extract (tincture form) - sleep aid
2) niacinamide (part of vit b3 complex) - sleep aid
3) valerian - sedative and sleep aid
4) magnesium citrate - sedative/sleep aid
5) hops - sedative/sleep aidIf you still want to stick with the 5htp route which is ok but I have the initial feeling you are approaching this the wrong way (i.e. go dopamine route then add sleep aid)...I would suggest tryptophan over 5htp for sleep. And start low on 5htp to see how it goes if you are staying with it....might be you are taking way to much. I needed (although im on nardil) literally 20-50mg of the stuff to feel it. Treat it like an AD....you have to play with dosage for awhile to get it right. Mabye even combine the dopa bean (if you choose that route) with the 5htp...there is a synergy and balance that goes in neuros...increase DA you decrease SE a little and vice versa. All about experimenting with dosage. Cant offer you a proper dose...it's personal to you.
myco
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> I'm using this primarily for insomnia, anxiety, depression. It feels like crap if I take any during the day. I never could tolerate any chemical SSRIs.
>
> Will I still receive the full benefit if only taken at night, or will that only help with the insomnia?
>
> Regards,
>
> Brian
poster:myco
thread:888073
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/alter/20090204/msgs/888080.html