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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 5 of 5. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by VanessaFlower on November 28, 2007, at 23:32:06
So I took a small dose of tryptophan last night for the first time (the capsules were 500mg, and I cut it down to about 1/4 of a capsule, so that's about 125mg), around 10pm. I've suffered from depression I had read that it could help you sleep + elevate moods. However, I noticed very strange side effects!
Negatives:
- I couldn't concentrate very well. I would read a paragraph and not comprehend a word.
- HORRIBLE muscle cramping!!! My body ached all over even 2 hours after ingesting.
- Nervous feeling. My limbs felt cold and shaky.
- Very unsatisfying sleep. I woke up an hour earlier than normal (resulting in only ~5 hours of sleep) and couldn't fall back asleep.Positives:
- I was much better socially. I felt like I could interact with people better without worrying about what I was saying, doing, etc.SO what on earth happened here??? Why all these bizarre reactions??? Is it because it was my first time taking the supplement? I'm afraid to take it again -- I thought tryptophan was suppose to HELP concentration because it raises serotonin levels, but I, for the life of me, could not concentrate at all! I was out-of-it all day. But I liked how it helped me interact better socially. WTH mate?
Posted by Netch on December 4, 2007, at 9:28:30
In reply to Tryptophan - Strange side effects, posted by VanessaFlower on November 28, 2007, at 23:32:06
The tricky thing with increasing serotonin/melatonin levels is that it will act on several different receptors... some will alleviate symptoms of depression and others will aggrevate symptoms.
/Netch
Posted by seldomseen on December 4, 2007, at 18:59:45
In reply to Tryptophan - Strange side effects, posted by VanessaFlower on November 28, 2007, at 23:32:06
That's about the same amount of tryptophan that is in 1.5 ounces of cheddar cheese.
I wonder if taking the purified form made a difference?
Seldom
Posted by qqqsimmons on December 5, 2007, at 14:45:59
In reply to Tryptophan - Strange side effects, posted by VanessaFlower on November 28, 2007, at 23:32:06
actually that sounds like my bad experience with 5-htp. some people just can't take the excess serotonin.
Posted by bleauberry on December 5, 2007, at 17:45:22
In reply to Tryptophan - Strange side effects, posted by VanessaFlower on November 28, 2007, at 23:32:06
Tryptophan is tricky. It relies on liver metabolism to convert into many different things, with only about 10% going to serotonin. Net alternative sites say it needs to be taken with B vitamins and C, with niacin the most important, or otherwise it converts mostly to other stuff and not much serotonin. It is the other stuff that causes weird effects.
For me tryptophan was just too tricky to manage. I did get the same socialable effect you got, but it only lasted a couple days and then I was feeling more glum and down than I had before. I played around a lot with different dosing times and vitamins and such but I just couldn't find the key.
5htp is a much more straight forward way to do it. While net alernative docs say doses are in the 100mg to 300mg range, I found that a 10mg to 25mg per day dose was plenty. More than that made me feel more glum and down. In the low dose I slept deep, vivid dreams, and felt more sociable during the day. But it also made my primary symptom - anhedonia, lack of joy, lack of motivation - worse. Net docs say to then add tyrosine or dl-phenylalanine, which I did, and those just really felt yuck.
I remember someone saying they did great with 10mg 5htp once every two days. Another did great with 400mg every day. Go figure. We're all different.
If tryptophan is too weird, like it was with me, try 5htp. Much simpler, much more direct, no need to worry about vitamins, liver function, and stuff. Start low. Take a 50mg cap and dump most of it out. Try 10mg or so the first time and work up to 25mg to 50mg. I crept up to 25mg over about a 5 day period, adding just a tiny bit more each day. The first 2 or 3 days I felt a bit of anxiety increase similar to starting an antidepressant, but it turned into calm after that. I took mine at 4pm for best effect. Later didn't work as well, and earlier made me too tired.
I do believe 5htp does other things besides convert to serotonin. I say that because I have chronic dormant boil-like things on my buttocks that make it painful to sit. Lots of different herbs, meds, and prescription steroid creams have failed to help. But I noticed on 5htp those darn things were shrinking away like magic. Did 5htp boost my immune system? Did it boost hormonal function? Don't know. But it sure did something besides just make a bunch of serotonin. Tryptophan did not do that.
This is the end of the thread.
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