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I consistently notice mood lift within 1 hour of tkaing 5-htp- possible or placebo?

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Harambulus

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Is that pharmacologically (ow whatever) possible? or did I just placebo myself?

I have taken it quite a few times now to try and treat a slumps in mood or general irritability.

So I took it again recently to experiment with it giving me a mood lift to help give me a little nudge which it seemed to do. That 1st time it gave me a mood lift within one hour as I remember it to have done and a slight fuzzy feeling which tailed off after a few hours IIRC and then I didnt notice anyhting again until a few days of continued use where the mood lift came back. I stopped taking it after a couple of weeks when I noticed mild cold like symptoms and post nasal drip and that went away as soon as I stopped (I may have had a cold but it felt more like the 'druggy' flue like symptoms you get from intoxicants and your body clearing them out).

So my main query is if its possible it could give me positive effects so soon after taking it? I understand the MAIN effects would come after it builds up in the system but why couldnt it cause a little boost right after taking it since most psychoactive drugs work in an hour or under so why cant a herb? Of course the effects wont be as pronounced but still you could feel SOEMTHING couldnt you?

Im interested in if this is possible or placebo cos ive been reading up alot on hypnosis recently and how that is just INDUCING a placebo state so if it was more likely placebo I might as well just try self hypnosis as that pips even herbs in terms of side effects. I think Ill do that anyway and see how I go with it cos even 5htp im not happy about using habitually but figured it was better than self medicating with stimulants like i used to- 5-htp being a 'lesser evil' and all- a big step in the right direction but if hypno worked then that would take the cake.
 
Like you I'm not sure if it's a placebo effect, but definitely felt "elated" around day 2 of taking 200mg/day (have since dropped to 100mg). Mood and appreciation of everything was through the roof, all anxiety gone, etc. I find it hard to believe a placebo effect could be so strong.

Doing a quick search it seems other people report feeling the effects in around an hour, so you're not alone.
 
cool you got any links to confirmations, i had been looking myself but couldnt find any after about an hour of searching which is why i made the post :P.

i usually notice a lost libido when im in a slump as well and the 5-htp seems to kick in quickly with that too as porn is seeming marginally more interesting just now.

also on my first run i also noticed slightly diminished feeling in orgasm altho i came hard which i recall as a telltale sign of increased serotonin from my mdma days.

actually i forgot to mention when i was taking 600mg of 5htp a day for a first few days i noticed it screwed up my sleep even tho i took it in the morning- had that feeling like i had cotton wool in the back of my head and couldnt quite drop off. also increased fuzziness so i decided to drop to 300mg htp a day with 1500 (500 x 3 per day) l tyrosine which seemed to level things out nicely for a while if anyone is having the same drowsiness with htp they might wanna try that themselves.

i found tyrosine alone too edgy and htp too drowsy but i think they complemented each other a bit as well as dopamine being another wellbeing one.
 
Cheers,

ye well i took it back to 300 at that time.

anyhow i def came harder just then (took 200mgs in one shot earlier)...dont see how that could be a placebo as the feeling was def serotonin ish- a little like post mdma jerking off (and similar to citalopram when i tried that once) tho way less intense naturally.

this is great for me if it has these effects the same day because my depression has come in bouts and wanted something to give me immediate relief (to maybe kick me out of it quicker to keep me productive and motivated) rather than continuous usage (something id gradually tail off once my life hobbies etc filled in the gaps). So then i could just take it for a day or a few days then before i get side effects drop it off.
 
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Be very, very careful taking 5htp or tryptophan when also on an SSRI antidepressant medication such as prozac, zoloft, effexor, etc. You could end up with serotonin syndrome if you do, and that can be fatal. Mild SS if like an intense panic attack that doesn't let up until the medication has worked it's way out of your system.

Bear in mind how these things work. The 5htp is a building block for tryptophan which is a building block for serotonin. So it's helpful if your diet is low in tryptophan-rich foods, such as turkey, bananas, nuts, etc. (Just google keywords tryptophan and foods. SSRI antidepressants - Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors work by increasing the brain's ability to hold onto and utilise serotonin. This class of antidepressants relies on the presence of serotonin in order to do it's job. When an SSRI doesn't seem to be working within the expected timeframe, it can be because there is insufficient serotonin for the Serotonin Re-uptake Inhibitor to inhibit the re-uptake of! By increasing tryptophan rich foods the effects of these antidepressants is boosted. It's relatively difficult to overdose on serotonin through diet, but when taking supplements it's possible to reach high levels of serotonin, which the body is not able to metabolise and process at a safe rate, with the presence of a substance that is specifically designed to retain that serotonin.

The bottom line is never to mix SSRI antidepressants with supplements such as 5HTP and tryptophan, unless under a doctor's supervision

As an aside, it is possible to lower the dose of an antidepressant significantly, when these building blocks are added to the diet through food (or supplementation with the careful watch of a health professional. I know of a person who was achieving no improvement of mood with prozac alone, at a standard dose of 20mg, but had success with careful and monitored administration of 5htp along with only 5mg of prozac daily.
 
possible? absolutely.
placebo? just make up some sugar caps and setup a test, you'll know pretty damn quick whether they're beating placebo for you ;)
 
^that wouldnt work havent you ehard of a 'blind/dbl blind' study :P.

anyhow im really seeing some positive benefits from this now ive been playing with dose.

Thanks amino for the heads up I was tkaign too much.

I had a restless mind last night in bed and whereas before a 100mg dose would make me have a fitful sleep and feel hungover the next day like a weed hangover 25mgs really seemed more like the sweetspot maybe even a bit less.

This is pretty powerful stuff in its own subtle way it also seems to stay in circulation a long time like 8 hours or more even, perhaps 24 hours or so.

Im just taking little doses of it when i feel irritable as well as a little l tyrosine.

Oh ye its also great for cravings including drug cravings it seems, becuasue id been thinking about having antoher drug session and altho i sitll might the desperate URGES have really diminished. Whereas before I felt I had to take soemthing soon or i was gonna go insane now its more of a id be interested to maybe take something soon for fun or maybe not, but the supplements are def making me more cetered.
 
i definitely seem to notice medium- to large-doses of 5-HTP within a few hours of taking it. i like bmx's idea tho... have a friend set you up on a double blind or something =p
 
I notice mood lift from taking it but it wears off quickly, so to me it's an expensive option.

Having a healthy diet leads to healthy neurochemistry.
 
^lol i just realized i took it for granted that it was clear my suggestion requires a 2nd person to make (or even just 'switch') for you. guess that was the confusion ;P

Foreigner said:
Having a healthy diet leads to healthy neurochemistry.
Click to expand...
This cannot be emphasized enough. Your body(including your brain) is healthier/faster/*best* when you keep its conditions optimal, and diet is a HUGE component of this (another important one is the whole stimuli thing ;P yknow, use it or lose it - applies to the brain as well as muscles :) )
 
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I have a pretty immaculate diet yet still feel like I regret being born most days.

I know exactly why i feel like shit tho its because i am not achieving my goals. Im putting in as much willpower as i can muster and my life is on just the track i want it to be but im seeing no fruits for my constant toil so it makes everything seem pointless if i spend 12 hours a day doing something only to be thwarted at every turn. Yesy es you gotta 'keep trying' but one man can only endure so much. That saying the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over achieving the same result (failure).

5-htp seems ok at lifting my mood tho i seem to get flu like symptoms after a cpl days of taking it which is probably about as irritating as the depression tho i guess it at least gives me a little break form the depression.

im also skeptical as to whether its placebo again now because i was taking l tyrosine and thought id feel beenfit form that after 30 mins but the other day i forgot id taken it for like 3 hours and then suddenly realized i hadnt noticed any feeling in that time which indicates the previous feelings were placebo since i was thinking about when it would take effect.

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Ye the getting a friend to do it was the point of issue since im a recluse and dont have any friends- part of the reason for feeling low no doubt but that isnt something that is gonna be solved overnight- im kind of autistic my mother says (as she teaches autistic children) so im extremely picky about who i will spend my time with.
 
to be frank with you i don't think 5htp is STRONG enough of a chem to do what you want it to do. And the ones that're strong enough to 'correct' such negative feelings are, obviously, going to be counterproductive to pursue (xanax, opiates, etc will help ya but then they'll HURT you even more).

You need to find something that matters to you that you can do to fill some of those gaps. let's say you're into, i dunno, painting. Go find some local/co-op/whatever type of classes, not only will it get you into a social situation but you'll have accomplishments (sub in anything for painting, i think you get my drift).


5htp may offer you some benefit, but it cannot correct issues such as you describe any more than taking a multivitamin can fix a shitty diet.
(see our healthy living subforum, and even 2nd opinion subby, to perhaps find more specific ideas of approaches that may appeal to you)

edit: also, on the topic of not achieving those goals - if you're truly putting forth a consistent effort that you consider proper/sufficient, yet you find yourself being 'thwarted' in achieving your goals, it's either: your effort is inconsistent with the goals set; you have the worst luck imaginable (i don't believe in luck lol); or your goals are unrealistic. Consider those 3 constants that're equating to undesirable results (effort/course; outside interference; goal/objective) and 20$ says it's NOT #2/"thwarted", so much as it's 1 or 3 (most likely #3, as it tends to be with most people. followed by 1. followed by #2. If outside interference is thwarting you to such an extent, then, at least temporarily, your #3 needs to be to deal with your #2. That may be difficult if, say, #2 is your family, or your town - but if #2 is truly teh root then, obviously, it needs to be dealt with)

/apologies for rambly/incoherence, still waking up lol had a long night :|
 
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