![[dr. bob]](/dr-bob-sm.gif)
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 16 of 16. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by DonnaM on August 12, 2005, at 22:56:20
I have a sleep disorder and my sleep specialist is trying me on tryptophan (I am in Canada). I am to start on 1 tablet a day for a week and work up to 5/day. I have been on 1/day for 1 week and I am feeling depressed(not usual for me) and very irritable. I went nuts tonight on my teenage son and pulled over his computer because he called me a name a few times today. I am also on .5 mg clonazepam which I have been on for a couple of months. Last night I felt so depressed before bed that I couldn't move until I dragged myself into bed. I am not sure if it is helping my sleep. Could the depression and irritability be a side effect. The Dr said that I may feel nauseated as a side effect but I don't have that. I will eventually call the doctor but I also wanted opinions from here esp personal experience. Thanks!
Posted by Larry Hoover on August 13, 2005, at 8:31:00
In reply to Tryptophan, posted by DonnaM on August 12, 2005, at 22:56:20
> I have a sleep disorder and my sleep specialist is trying me on tryptophan (I am in Canada).
Insomnia?
> I am to start on 1 tablet a day for a week and work up to 5/day. I have been on 1/day for 1 week and I am feeling depressed(not usual for me) and very irritable. I went nuts tonight on my teenage son and pulled over his computer because he called me a name a few times today. I am also on .5 mg clonazepam which I have been on for a couple of months. Last night I felt so depressed before bed that I couldn't move until I dragged myself into bed.
Are you saying the mental effect is so profound that it immobilized you? Or that you body was weak? It's more than a trivial distinction.
> I am not sure if it is helping my sleep.
Do you take it about one hour before normal bedtime?
> Could the depression and irritability be a side effect.
Absolutely, but they would be most unusual, absent an interaction with, for example, an SSRI. In cases of unusual drug reactions, what is typically done is to stop taking the med, wait a brief interval, and restart the med (called a challenge-rechallenge trial). If the adverse symptoms disappear during the non-medicated interval, and reappear upon restarting the med, it's reasonable to attribute the adverse symptoms to the med (regardless of whether the symptoms are "typical", or not).
> The Dr said that I may feel nauseated as a side effect but I don't have that. I will eventually call the doctor but I also wanted opinions from here esp personal experience. Thanks!
My experience is not at all like yours.
Here's a link to the drug monograph for Tryptan: http://rxcarecanada.com/Tryptan.asp
Lar
Posted by ed_uk on August 13, 2005, at 9:22:32
In reply to Re: Tryptophan » DonnaM, posted by Larry Hoover on August 13, 2005, at 8:31:00
The great Lar is back :-) :-) :-)
~Ed
Posted by Nickengland on August 13, 2005, at 9:34:00
In reply to Re: Tryptophan » DonnaM, posted by Larry Hoover on August 13, 2005, at 8:31:00
Very Good to see your name back on the board Larry...
Warm Regards
Nick
Posted by spriggy on August 13, 2005, at 13:13:17
In reply to Re: Tryptophan » Larry Hoover, posted by Nickengland on August 13, 2005, at 9:34:00
Mr. Larry has returned!!!
*Crowd errupts in applause*
We have missed you!!!!
Posted by teejay on August 13, 2005, at 19:08:41
In reply to Re: Tryptophan » DonnaM, posted by Larry Hoover on August 13, 2005, at 8:31:00
Nice to see you around again Lar, and hope life is being kind to you at present.
TJ
Posted by Ktemene on August 13, 2005, at 19:40:50
In reply to Re: Tryptophan » DonnaM, posted by Larry Hoover on August 13, 2005, at 8:31:00
Hi Lar,
My horse is still taking the veterinary tryptophan you posted about some weeks ago. She still has to work with jacka**es, and the tryptophan helps a lot. Thanks for that post, and all the (very many) other helpful posts you've made here. Glad to see you back!
Ktemene
Posted by Ktemene on August 13, 2005, at 19:57:45
In reply to Tryptophan, posted by DonnaM on August 12, 2005, at 22:56:20
Hi Donna,
I have had a good experience with tryptophan, but I do have friends who have said that tryptophan gives them a "hangover", so that they feel slowed down, depressed and slightly ill the next day. If you are not having a good reaction to straight tryptophan, you might try a whey powder that has a high percentage of tryptophan in it. (Whey powders usually have the percentage of the various amino acids on the container.) You could mix some high tryptophan whey powder into some hot milk and have it with some toast before bed. That would raise your tryptophan level more gently.
Ktemene
> I have a sleep disorder and my sleep specialist is trying me on tryptophan (I am in Canada). I am to start on 1 tablet a day for a week and work up to 5/day. I have been on 1/day for 1 week and I am feeling depressed(not usual for me) and very irritable. I went nuts tonight on my teenage son and pulled over his computer because he called me a name a few times today. I am also on .5 mg clonazepam which I have been on for a couple of months. Last night I felt so depressed before bed that I couldn't move until I dragged myself into bed. I am not sure if it is helping my sleep. Could the depression and irritability be a side effect. The Dr said that I may feel nauseated as a side effect but I don't have that. I will eventually call the doctor but I also wanted opinions from here esp personal experience. Thanks!
Posted by Declan on August 13, 2005, at 21:13:45
In reply to wwwwooooooo hooooooooooooooooooooo, posted by spriggy on August 13, 2005, at 13:13:17
We certainly have missed you.
Maybe you know stuff about flavanoids and enzymes. (My post above which has almost disappeared.)
Declan
Posted by JLx on August 13, 2005, at 23:26:14
In reply to Tryptophan, posted by DonnaM on August 12, 2005, at 22:56:20
> I have a sleep disorder and my sleep specialist is trying me on tryptophan (I am in Canada). I am to start on 1 tablet a day for a week and work up to 5/day. I have been on 1/day for 1 week and I am feeling depressed(not usual for me) and very irritable. I went nuts tonight on my teenage son and pulled over his computer because he called me a name a few times today. I am also on .5 mg clonazepam which I have been on for a couple of months. Last night I felt so depressed before bed that I couldn't move until I dragged myself into bed. I am not sure if it is helping my sleep. Could the depression and irritability be a side effect. The Dr said that I may feel nauseated as a side effect but I don't have that. I will eventually call the doctor but I also wanted opinions from here esp personal experience. Thanks!
I have not had good success with tryptophan and have wondered if it's because when serotonin goes up, dopamine goes down (roughly). Dopamine is sometimes considered the stress/cope neurotransmitter so it would make sense that less might make one irritable. Or it could be something else.
Generally, for me, irritability is relieved by taking more magnesium, and/or less or no calcium.
If you aren't already taking magnesium, I would definitely try it in the form of the calming chelates: magnesium glycinate, magnesium taurate or magnesium malate, citrate or even an Epsom Salt bath. In fact, the latter is a good way to see if magnesium is relaxing to you. It is to many people, but my sister, for one finds Epsom Salt baths stimulating, so you never know.
An interesting magnesium deficiency checklist and page about magnesium: http://www.thewayup.com/newsletters/081501.htm
JL
Posted by Phillipa on August 14, 2005, at 23:09:41
In reply to Re: Tryptophan » DonnaM, posted by JLx on August 13, 2005, at 23:26:14
Larry Welcome home. We love you and all the wisdom you have. Fondly, Phillipa
Posted by gardenergirl on August 15, 2005, at 1:51:35
In reply to wwwwooooooo hooooooooooooooooooooo, posted by spriggy on August 13, 2005, at 13:13:17
Happy day!
Lar, it was unbelievably wonderful to see your name next to a post.
gg
Posted by AuntieMel on August 16, 2005, at 17:05:45
In reply to Re: wwwwooooooo hooooooooooooooooooooo, posted by gardenergirl on August 15, 2005, at 1:51:35
Posted by Franz on September 17, 2005, at 18:32:19
In reply to Tryptophan, posted by DonnaM on August 12, 2005, at 22:56:20
Hello, after reading some abstracts (pubmed.com) I am trying to figure out which is the best time to take tryptophan or 5-HTP to increase _serotonin_ (5HT) levels.
It seems to me that if you need better sleep you should take it at night (more serotonin, more melatonin) but for more serotonin production (not used for melatonin) the dose shuld be taken during the day.
Maybe to maximize sero:
*taking try/5htp upon awakening on an empty stomach, maybe with some carbs and B6?
*taking try/5htp at sleep time with added melatonin to avoid conversion and B6?What do you think?.
I really need your suggestions. Thanks.
Effect of orally administered L-tryptophan on serotonin, melatonin, and the innate immune response in the rat.
Esteban S, Nicolaus C, Garmundi A, Rial RV, Rodriguez AB, Ortega E, Ibars CB.
Laboratori de Fisiologia, Departament de Biologia Fonamental i Ciencies de la Salut, Universitat de les Illes Balears, Spain.
To assess the effects of external administration of L-tryptophan on the synthesis of serotonin and melatonin as well as on the immune function of Wistar rats, 300 mg of the amino acid were administered through an oral cannula either during daylight (08:00) or at night (20:00) for 5 days. Brain, plasma, and peritoneal macrophage samples were collected 4 h after the administration. The accumulation of 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP) after decarboxylase inhibition was used to measure the rate of tryptophan hydroxylation in vivo. Circulating melatonin levels were determined by radioimmunoassay, and the phagocytic activity of macrophages was measured by counting, under oil-immersion phase-contrast microscopy, the number of particles ingested. The results showed a diurnal increase (p < 0.05) in the brain 5-HTP, serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT), and 5-hydroxyindolacetic acid (5-HIAA) of the animals which had received tryptophan at 08:00 and were killed 4 h later. In the animals which received tryptophan during the dark period, the 5-HT declined but the 5-HT/5-HIAA ratio remained unchanged. There was also a significant increase (p < 0.05) in nocturnal circulating melatonin levels and in the innate immune response of the peritoneal macrophages in the animals which had received tryptophan at 20:00. The results indicated that the synthesis of serotonin and melatonin, as well as the innate immune response, can be modulated by oral ingestion of tryptophan.
Posted by paulk on October 27, 2005, at 13:01:57
In reply to Re: Tryptophan » DonnaM, posted by Ktemene on August 13, 2005, at 19:57:45
> tryptophan gives them a "hangover"
I had the same problem - simple to fix - only take the tryptophan at bed time and be sure on an _empty_ stomach. I take mine with a bit of hot chocolate - works wonders for my dysthymia/limbic-add .
If you still have hangover in the AM try reducing the dosage some. -- the empty stomach is important for two reasons - 1 you want it out of you system in the morning and 2 tryptophan crosses the blood-brain barrier competitively.
Posted by Franz on October 27, 2005, at 22:24:15
In reply to Re: Tryptophan, posted by paulk on October 27, 2005, at 13:01:57
> > tryptophan gives them a "hangover"
>
> I had the same problem - simple to fix - only take the tryptophan at bed time and be sure on an _empty_ stomach. I take mine with a bit of hot chocolate - works wonders for my dysthymia/limbic-add .
>
> If you still have hangover in the AM try reducing the dosage some. -- the empty stomach is important for two reasons - 1 you want it out of you system in the morning and 2 tryptophan crosses the blood-brain barrier competitively.Hi paulk, isn´t that chocolate has fats and aminoacids?. Don´t hey affect absorption of tryptophan?. Thanks.
This is the end of the thread.
Psycho-Babble Alternative | Extras | FAQ
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.org
Script revised: February 4, 2008
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/cgi-bin/pb/mget.pl
Copyright 2006-17 Robert Hsiung.
Owned and operated by Dr. Bob LLC and not the University of Chicago.