5-HTP sometimes doesn't work?

[Lysergic Dabbler]

I've started taking 5-HTP daily. After learning about it and the positive effects it has after you roll, i decided to try it. So the day after one of my rolls I tried it for first time. I took 200 mg right before bed and I felt great so I decided to start taking it daily in the morning. Three days later I began the daily consumption. I took 250 mg and felt nothing the first morning and the next morning i took 150 mg and it was way too strong. Then the next morning 150 mg again. Nothing. This happens on and off now. No rhyme or reason, no pattern. Just some days it hits me hard and some days absolutely nothing. So I'm just curious if any one has run into this problem or has any input on my predicament. Thanks

 

[JWills20]

5-HTP is a supplement, not a psychoactive drug. It's pretty unsurprising that you don't feel much from occassional use.

 

[Lysergic Dabbler]

Well I'm taking it daily and sometimes it has intense effects and sometimes none at all. And even if it is a supplement doesn't mean it isn't pychoactive. It alters the balance of a key chemical that is directly related to mood so I would say that it is psychoactive, even if it's not a 'high'. It just doesn't make sense to me that sometimes it just doesn't work.

 

[pasha]

Homeless -> Healthy Living

 

[Foreigner]

Because it's a supplement, 5-HTP will only work if your body is lacking in the precursors to make serotonin. It will not help you if there is any deficiency in the conversion process, or if your serotonin receptors have been down-regulated by abuse. If your body already has everything it needs to make serotonin then it's not going to make more just because you give it more fuel.

The body aims to maintain homeostasis which means it will always aim for just the right amount of serotonin. Only a serotonergic substance can mess with than dynamic.

Very little if any of the 5-HTP you take will actually make it to your brain, just like if you ingested more tryptophan.

 

[Maya]

The body aims to maintain homeostasis which means it will always aim for just the right amount of serotonin. Only a serotonergic substance can mess with than dynamic.

This^

I tried taking 5HTP on month 5 of my comedown but it gave me a really bad reaction to it. My anxiety was worse and the symptom was even worse. IME, eating food rich in Trytophan is a better way to go as the body processes it naturally once the food has been digested. It is safer and will not result to any side effects.

 

[RhythmSpring]

Some supplements, like herbs, need to be "cycled" to have the most gained from it. So instead of taking 5htp every single day, try doing 5 days on, 2 days off, or, 3 weeks on, 1 week off. That way, your body has time to reset itself. When done this way, sometimes the best effects are felt during the break. Sometimes not. It all depends on your body's chemistry.

 

[ebola?]

That way, your body has time to reset itself.

eh...I don't think that full serotonergic receptor upregulation will occur in this window.

ebola