5HTP

[divinedesign21]

Below is an article about 5HTP....I am going to get some from GNC this week and try it out. I desparately want to get off Seroquel. It really helps me sleep but I can't lose any weight and I'm consitpated all the time.

5 HTP is the metabolic precursor to the neurotransmitter serotonin. Tryptophane, an essential amino acid, is metabolized into 5-HTP by the body. 5 HTP is in turn, converted into the neurotransmitter Serotonin. Serotonin is responsible for mood, hunger and sleep. Antidepressant drugs approved by the FDA, including selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (SSRI's) such as Prozac, are said to work by increasing the amount of serotonin available to the brain. 5 HTP, therefore, may for some individuals, serve as a natural alternative to some prescription SSRI type drugs like Prozac.

Supplementing either Tryptophane or 5 HTP increases Serotonin levels by supplying more of the building block material needed to make this neurotransmitter. Low levels of Serotonin have been associated with depression, fibromyalgia, chronic pain, altered mood, insomnia, PMS, and headaches. Both tryptophane and 5 HTP are sometimes used as nutritional support for these conditions. 5 HTP is about five times more potent than Tryptophane for this application.

5 HTP for Mood Elevation, Depression and Panic Attacks

According to medical journals and reviews it ihas been proven that 5 HTP helps improve moods of depressed patients and helps panic attacks. The same sources generally recommended that more research on 5 HTP should be done before claims were made.

5 HTP for Sleep and Weight Loss

5 HTP may aid in weight loss and improve sleep patterns for some individuals. Research suggests that good serotonin levels may reduce apetite thereby assisting in weight loss. Serotonin is converted into melatonin in the pineal gland and melatonin, in turn, regulates sleep cycles. The theory is that if 5 HTP can increase serotonin levels, it may be able to improve sleep and aid in weight loss. In the medical articles reviewed, positive results have been reported but the authors caution that more research is needed before claims can be made.

[Penny Century]

i take tryptophan for sleep. i used to get it compounded, but now it can be sold w/o an rx again. my doctor reccomended source naturals brand. 5HTP is closer to seratonin that tryptophan. for some reason tryptophan helps me sleep more than 5HTP.

three things:

1) not everyone needs more seratonin floating around in there, it can make you manic, not sleepy.

2) never ever take 5HTP or tryptophan if you are on an SSRI.

3) as a general rule, GNC sells a lot of crappy supplements. supplement quality is not regulated. brands vary a lot. one may pack a whallop, another may just be a sugar pill.

[Velvet Elvis]

If you're bipolar and have ever gotten manic or had a bad reaction to a SSRI, don't.

Just because it's non-rx doesn't mean it won't send you down that road again.

[null0trooper]

5 HTP is the metabolic precursor to the neurotransmitter serotonin. Tryptophan, an essential amino acid, is metabolized into 5-HTP by the body. 5 HTP is in turn, converted into the neurotransmitter Serotonin. Serotonin is responsible for mood, hunger and sleep. Antidepressant drugs approved by the FDA, including selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (SSRI's) such as Prozac, are said to work by increasing the amount of serotonin available to the brain. 5 HTP, therefore, may for some individuals, serve as a natural alternative to some prescription SSRI type drugs like Prozac.

They're playing a little fast and loose with their facts. The idea that the writer is glomming onto is that you are

depressed primarily because you are short of serotonin. SSRIs do something with serotonin, 5HTP is almost

serotonin, so 5HTP is the same as an SSRI!

Well, no.

SSRIs keep serotonin in the nerve synapses longer than would happen otherwise. They do not CREATE more.

Adding more precursor material (5HTP) may improve serotonin stores IF they are already short on precursor

stock. MAYBE if more than needed 5HTP is added then more than needed serotonin will be created. That's

basic chemistry (LeChatelier's Principle, IIRC), but that's not quite how enzyme chemistry in the brain works.

Some of the rest regarding appetite and weight loss is surely BS, as a lot of people gain weight on SSRIs.

" According to medical journals and reviews it ihas been proven that 5 HTP helps improve moods of

depressed patients and helps panic attacks. The same sources generally recommended that more

research on 5 HTP should be done before claims were made."

The article you read didn't reference the "medical journals and reviews" well enough that you could look

them up, did it? If there were ANY medication PROVEN to improve depressed mood regardless of

depression type, it would be front-page news. My guess is that the original articles (IF any were read)

found that it works better than placebo, and that bipolar disorder and "atypical" depression patients were

excluded from the studies.

The bit about sleep? Well... to a point it might help. Lexapro sure knocked me on my ass. But at high enough

levels of circulating serotonin you are not going to sleep. You may wish you could get some sleep, but it

won't be happening. And it's not even the "wakey-wakey" insomnia that stimulants can provide. Been there,

done that, had to change meds shortly thereafter.

Even if 5HTP were a good substitute for an SSRI in low-grade depression, Seroquel is not an SSRI, it's an

atypical antipsychotic. It works through different mechanisms than Paxil, or Lexapro, or 5HTP. It

would be prescribed for symptoms that indicate that the serotonin is there but it's going to the wrong

places. Replacing that with 5HTP or St. John's Wort or even a standard SSRI could make things worse.

[divinedesign21]

nullOtrooper:

How does Seroquel make those of us who take it so sleepy? The reason I ask is because I've had insomnia since I was a teenager. I've tried everything...I work on my feet six hours a day waitressing, I exercise in the morning regularly, I eat pretty well...i don't eat sugar or drink coffee after 12noon. I've tried Lunesta, Ambien, the stupid Sleepytime tea, hot baths...EVERYTHING. Nothing puts me to sleep the way Seroquel does...except maybe heroin or ativan and I'm a recovering addict so I don't go that route anymore. I was addicted to crack for ten years and am just now three months clean so I was hoping my sleep cycle would be a bit regulated by now but it's worse than ever. I hate being dependent on Seroquel but like i said it's the ONLY thing that makes me sleep.

[null0trooper]

How does Seroquel make those of us who take it so sleepy?

According to a Wikipedia article, it also has an antihistamine activity at

the H1 receptor. That could be part of it - Most people think of benadryl as a strong antihistamine, but I recall some of the APs

and TCAs cited as many times stronger. The CrazyMeds opinion is that it hits histamine pretty damn hard.

If you really want to get knocked out, the next runners up are Doxepin and amitriptyline. From a PubMed abstract:

"...doxepin hydrocholoride, was about 4 times more potent than amitriptyline hydrochloride, about 800 times more potent than

diphenhydramine hydrochloride ... Doxepin hydrochloride and amitriptyline hydrochloride may be the most potent antihistamines

known, and the antihistaminic potencies of these and the other tricyclic antidepressant drugs may relate directly to their ability to

cause sedation and drowsiness in patients."

[divinedesign21]

Yeah, Seroquel is the bomb when it comes to knocking me out. I did go ahead and buy the 5HTP to see what effect it would have on me and so far it's knocked my appetite out, which is excellent since I need to lost thirty pounds. Seroquel hasn't made me gain any weight thankfully.