5-HTP and sleep..I am going to go crazy

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Biscuit

Bluelighter
Joined
Dec 27, 1999
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I have recently began using 5-HTP to pre/post load, i know many will say pre loading does little but i wanted to try it anyway.
i understand all the biochemical/pharmacological reasons behind its use etc but since taking it i have had a few problems which i cannot explain.
i have taken 100mg over the past 2 nights just before bed as instructed by the bottle and everyone else. my friend also took some too.
problem is i CANNOT sleep (he didn't do too well either), i feel like i have had 2 points of decent whizz, eyes open all night long. whats frustrating is i know u need to be asleep for the serotonin "factory" to function at is optimum.
what is wrong, am i taking them at the wrong time, who else has exp this problem. i mean they r meant to do good, yet i will be popping a pill tonight on basically no rest and that sucks)
the baffling part is they r used primarily to treat people WITH sleeping problems, so surely they wouldn't tell u to take them b4 bed if they kept u up all night.
i know it makes u dream and stuff, but i didn't sleep, to be even able to, just dazed all night long.
is it just coz i really don't need it at this stage and sort of overloaded on serotonin, meaning should i just save it for the post-load when my brain really needs a top up.
any advice would be appreciated, sorry about the drawn out msg.
 
well...the bottle of 5-htp that i have says to take once a day with a meal, so maybe try that instead? hope that helps!
 
I preloaded on 5-htp before i shroomed this weekend. i was taking it periodically throughout the night. it made me somewhat tired the whole night. I came down and took a roll. when i came home i took more before i went to sleep. I felt slugish but not as hung over as i was expecting. that night i took 100mg before i went to bed. I felt dazed. throughout the night i was getting dreams that were extremely realistic. I began forcing myself to wake up out of my dreams (kind of hard to explain). anyway all in all i was having trouble falling asleep, my bottle however says take 200mg before going to bed. I'm going to try this one more time tonight to see what happens if it persists than im going to use it strictly for postloading.
///adidas///
 
Hmm, that seems like quite a bit Adidas, but I guess whatever works for you.
Biscuit, what I'd recommend is first to try taking it earlier, along the lines of 5 hours before you go to bed. 5-htp can take a while to be metabolised, and I find that this helps. If that doesn't work, try upping the dose a bit. I'm a chronic insomniac (have been for as long as I can remember), and am currently on 100 mg 5 hours before sleeping. While it still takes me up to an hour to fall asleep, I sleep better, and have better dreams. However, this may not work if you have normal to high levels of seratonin to begin with (a good friend has absolutley no results, except as a pre/postload). Best of luck to ya
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Dave
 
Biscuit - I occasionally find the same thing with 5HTP. I think you are right about the overload of serotonin idea - it just gets you buzzing so much that sleep becomes impossible - or leads to night terrors or extra-realistic dreams, both of which have been associated with serotonin in one way or another.
A little theory I just concocted - perhaps 5HTP is only of use as a sleep-inducer if you already have a fairly normal supply of serotonin - and indeed haven't damaged your serotonin receptors in any way. I'm not hugely well-versed in this stuff, but do you think that could be a factor? perhaps in a "normal" person who has never taken E, it ups the serotonin levels just enough, whereas in people like you and me, our levels are so reduced that we get a "jolt" of serotonin that has opposite effects.
Just a thought.
Oh, and raversxstacy, if you don't have something useful to say when someone posts an intelligent question (for once) stick to the "how big is your penis" polls. Thanks.
Cat
 
5-HTP causing insomnia??? tha weirdest thing i ever heard
its supposed to make tha OPPOSITE
it increases tha serotonin level in your brain.. and serotonin helps you sleep.. tha brain releases a large amount of serotonin just before going to sleep--
you cant fall asleep because of something else
 
i can't see how u get a serotonin buzz on going to sleep, as the 5-HTP has just been taken and it would take a few hrs before serotonin would be starting to be produced.
i think maybe u have to get to sleep asap after taking it, i was kinda excited when i took it, lot on mind so would have sat for a while anyway. i.e: if u don't get to sleep b4 the brain starts its conversion ur possibly fucked for the night.
thats all i can think of.
Thanks dave ur may be right but
i don't know about taking it earlier, coz a lot has been said that it shouldn't be taken with food, as other amino acids etc metabolised at same time compete for entry into the brain, who knows, its a hazy mystery.
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a bit like a brains.
but thanks for the replies guys.
 
shiva:
thats exactly y i made the post, coz i agree it just doesn't make sense, but for 2 nights i have had restless sleep, and my friend who took them last night was the same too,
said he felt half asleep all night.
maybe it was something else, don't know
 
Knowing that you had a roll coming up might have made it difficult to sleep. I'm pretty sure if you take the 5-htp periodically throughout the day. My bottle says to take 1-3 times daily (of 100 mg.) And definitly if you want to sleep take hours before your ready to go to bed. And I would suggest uping the dosage. Possibly 300 mg.
And kawl me in the morning. And enjoy your dreams!
Just kawl me Doc.
applesbliss
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P.S I've found that it helps to take on a regular basis. But eventually you have to slow down on 5-htp. OR with me @ least 5-htp becomes to my perception, effectless.
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well i fell asleep within 45 minutes last night which is pretty good for me. i took 100mg 20 min before i went to sleep and that seemed to work out fine. maybe its just something that your body needs to get used to falling asleep on?
///adidas///
 
Hey alls,
I dont know about all the sleep effects, but i do know it 5htp is used as a diet pill. If you go to any gnc, you will find it in the diet section.
I have read somewhere that serotonin is released before you sleep, so the sleep effects are probably affected.
I am not sure about preloading effects anymore, since i have eaten large meals and rolled hard after only taking a two week break, so i think good e always has something to do with it. HOwever, as for post loading effects, i'd say it has some great effects. I know that when my bottle ran out, and i had been rolling on the same pills as before when i had great afterglow, i felt sluggish and bed ridden all day.
The dose i take is 4 pills about 8 hours before i roll. i really dont think this helps much for a preload, but if you figure in the time your body has to digest AND metabolize 5htp before it is converted to serotonin, that is just about the right time for me to be leaving a rave or a club. Then, when i get back to the motel/hotel, i take four more before i go to bed, primarily for the next days supply of serotonin. This has seemed to work great for my friends and i. Those who used to cry and get all emotional do not experience it anymore. I feel myself getting some afterglow as well. Of course, all this means nothing if you just get a dirty bean. So as always, find a good bean.
Just as a side note, just about everyone i have talked to who was taking 5htp on a regular basis during the week before rolling has had bad experiences, so i wouldnt recommend it. They all either couldnt sleep or were sleepy.
Anyways, thats my .02.
Much love and take care alls.
Just remember there is no substitute for just some good ole fashion rest, great beans, and moderation.
 
On a sidenote. I personally was post-loading until I discovered how much I love being 8up. And anywho if anyone has any more info on DPLA. As in amounts to upload, how long before, ect.. It would muchly appreciated
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I did not read everyone elses replies, just your post, Biscuit. But, 5htp definitely does help me sleep. I even take it while traveling so that I can go to sleep on the plane. Anyway, do you have other things that are going on in your life right now that are on your mind? Do you normally have trouble getting to sleep? Maybe you bought a really shitty brand.
Try taking the 5htp with a cup of hot decaffienated tea with a bit of warm milk in it, play some very mellow grooves, and see if that works. A LOT of people have difficulty with insomnia and your mind proves to be the most important element and it also quite strong. Now you already 'think' that 5htp keeps you from sleeping so that may be what does happen. I would say, though, that if the above does not work just take 5htp during the day.
"MIND OVER MATTER"
Sweet dreams, Biscuit!
 
I agree with Shiva...it is something else which is making you not be able to sleep. Serotonin helps a person sleep, not the opposite. I take 5-htp every night before I go to sleep and I have been sleeping ever since. But I also do not do drugs anymore.
Perhaps it's all in your mind. Were you thinking it was going to keep you awake?
 
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