No need for drugs
I'm glad I can help you with this question, because I took it for about 2 months!!
Before I tell you how it went, let me say I did further research which ultimate stopped me from taking it, and I also decided I didn't need pills to deal with my life. I was going through a very rough time when I decided to take this, so I may know how you feel.
I have read that the serotonin that it gives you will get into other parts of your blood stream, aka not going into your brain, which is supposedly bad for you. supposedly only a small percent gets into your brain.
I wont post links because I'm lazy, but you you really need to do your own research, that way I don't like you false information. (google something like ""5 htp serotonin blood stream"")
Apparently you may be better off taking l-tryptophan (please google: l-tryptophan vs 5-htp . there is a process it goes thru to convert to serotonin. read the first page of links extensively until you get the information that you want, I read enough things that ultimately made me stop taking it. as well as vitamin b. vit b plays a role, it may be needed to convert, dont quote me on anything, do your own research!)
Okay now just let me tell you how my personal experience went with it anyways...
I took 100mg ONCE EVERY OTHER DAY. i did not do the 3x a day bs that i tells you to take. i found the amount that i took was PLENTY. i noticed the effects the first day, and they were quite enjoyable. I had no reason to take it more than I needed to, because I used to take ssri's etc in the past so i know how that sort of thing works to come off of (the 5htp wasnt so bad to come off of, at all. i dont remember it as a nightmare.). I knew it'd be smart to start very slow, and not take more than I needed at all. Kept the tolerance low. basically it kinda made me feel high. made me feel good. maybe felt like a slight weed high. nothing AMAZING, but it def helped me through my depression. Would l-tryptophan have been safer/better? idk. i believe i have that along w/ other amino acids in the whey protein shakes that i drink daily, but i never really notice any sort of 'high' effect from that. 5htp may have made things a bit more 'colorful' (or less colorful, I noticed a change in the hue of colors, and maybe a slight change in my mood on the days I took and didn't take. felt more awake/energized the day I took it, and then the next day when I didn't take it was more chilled out and 'back to normal'.) , it may have made me happier/relaxed, it may have made me more focused. But sometimes a sleepless night in general will do all of those things for me anyways, (and I normally stay awake until morning anyways).
I had my heart broken, so I was feeling quite dead and useless inside, as you might imagine. That's what made me start taking the 5-htp. Once the two months of every other day use had past, and after I was able to distract myself enough and stay busy and focus on other things and get my thoughts down and figure out my life etc. I decided to stop taking it. I stay drug-free most of the time, I actually randomly came on the website, I'm not really a drug user. I occasionally will take a hit of weed with some friends or if i happen to have some, but thats about it. I drink coffee/black tea!! (i prefer black tea) let me tell you, black tea works very well for depression! It makes me very focused and awake. Although I've slept for 3.5 hours (this morning, equaling last night's sleep total), I brew 4 bags of black tea, and bam. I edited my resume quite a bit, spent lots of time searching through craigslist last night while drinking coffee. and today applied to 12 jobs today online! I find sometimes a bit of caffeine, a cold shower, a run, anything to get the heart beating will beat any drug/perscription/pill that you can take. Especially remember to LAUGH, and appreciate the little things that you have. Stay healthy, eat healthy (lots of veggies, water, fish), write down your thoughts. Do exercise (pushups/run, just get yourself to do it, and you will receive a nice endorphin high, which beats all highs). GO OUTSIDE AND WALK AROUND, IT HELPS YOU ORGANIZE YOUR THOUGHTS, KEEPS YOU HAPPY
, BREATHE IN THE FRESH AIR, FEEL THE SUN %) , SEE GOD'S WORK, SEE NATURE, SEE PEOPLE!!!
Do things that you love, find new hobbies, meet new people, and remember to pray to God from the bottom of your heart to guide you. You'll make it through this, I have. I've taken an ssri for over a year at one point in my life. I recommend you beat the system and say no to that (and to 5htp), unless you think you're a danger to yourself or others, then you should seek help. It's good to talk about what you're going through/how you're feeling anyways. Getting help isn't a bad idea, but just be careful with what they prescribe to you. i know how it can be.
sometimes a pill wont help what's really bothering you deep down inside. that's sometimes why people take drugs. Not always though, sometimes people just like the feeling. But if there is a problem, it needs to be figured out and talked about so that you won't be thinking about taking anything.
I haven't noticed any long term effects from 5htp, or really from the ssri's either. Only drug i've noticed longterm effects from was LSD (but i was tripping multiple times over the course of a few months, not smart. actually one of my first posts on this site was about that years ago. never again).
As far as dreams go, I've always had quite strange and vivid dreams (we all do, but we don't remember them). I keep a dream journal right next to my bed. When I wake up, I write down any thought I remember about my dream, even if it's one person that I remember that showed up in my dream, or an event, or something. As I write more down, I remember more details. It's best to do this ASAP, before you lose the memory. And also the more you do it the better you become at it. I write down my dreams just about every time I sleep. I sometimes try to interpret what they mean , but a lot of times they are just too weird and random for me to bother with . Very interesting though, and it keeps my faith strong, and gives me something to think about.
best of luck
