5-HTP for Anxiety and Mild Depression

I have taken 5 htp for anxiety and didn't like the side effects, it tended to make my hair fall out at a higher pace than normal. I didn't see any lasting impacts. I prefer valerian for anxiety.

http://anp.sagepub.com/content/36/4/488.short

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD003198/abstract

Good luck.

My doctor had me take that for a while. Long time ago. If I remember right, the theory is that your body may convert it into serotonin. Most modern prescription drugs for depression increase the availability of serotonin and/or dopamine is some way or another.

There is a little bit of evidence that suggests 5-HTP *could* be effective, however, the risks might outweight the benefits.

Here is a link to the University of Maryland Medical Center page regarding 5-HTP:

http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/5-hydroxytryptophan-000283.htm

Another option is mediating by way of diaphragmatic breathing:

my.clevelandclinic.org/.../hic_diaphragmatic_breathing.aspx

Many mental health professionals promote breathing because of the positive effect on the parasympathetic nervous system (calms us down).

If your anxiety is mild, your Dr. might prescribe something like Buspar because of the mild side effect profile.

@TheDevastator Do you know if soy-based skin products are problematic as well? I'm googling this now but just curious if you knew. I used Aveeno face wash and face lotions, and their big thing is that they use a Soy complex and are "natural"...whatever that means anymore.

Yes they are as far as I know. If your skin absorbs it, it can do damage to your hormone levels.

My doctor told me to take them for my migraines. I went from about 2 a month to about 2 a year! I love them. No side effects for me.

Is this the 5-HTP you are taking for migraines? or something else?

i love htp and melatonin 1 hr before bed. I sleep like a baby. I feel like I am floating on clouds as I drift off to sleep. I used to have anxiety attacks and this has helped alot.

Not sure what your diet is like, but I had issues with depression and anxiety when I wasn't eating enough saturated fats.

5-htp works well for my husband for sleep and seems to help level his moods. He's take it for a couple of years now without issue. For me, it helped some things but I had some side effects that included sinus aggravation that disturbed my sleep, so I stopped taking it. We were taking it at the dose intended for insomnia.

I've become a cheerleader for magnesium lately. The US guidelines, which changed to a lower magnesium requirement sometime in the 50s or 60s, are probably too low, and 2 out of 3 Americans aren't getting enough even by those likely-low standards. Although this is a serious problem for many, many reasons and conditions, I mention it here because anytime you are talking about serotonin, you should be checking magnesium first. This is because magnesium is absolutely necessary for the body's manufacture and management of serotonin.

The long list of complaints doctors now dish out antidepressants for like candy overlap very well with the list of symptoms caused by low magnesium levels, including anxiety, depression, insomnia, chronic pain, etc. ad infinitum. Some antidepressants actually artificially raise the level of available magnesium in the body, which may explain some improvement of symptoms, but obviously if that is the reason for the improvement (and I'm not saying it ALWAYS is, just that it may be one reason), there are better ways to raise magnesium levels, like.... taking magnesium. Unlike calcium supplementation, it is very low risk even at high doses for anyone with normal kidney function.

Based on my own experience, I agree with the theory held by many nutritionists that starting with magnesium supplementation can either eliminate the need for antidepressants, anxiolytics, or sleep aids, or reduce the dosage requirement for more severe cases. When I started supplementing magnesium I was able in less than two weeks to stop taking the prescription sleep aid I've been on for over two years, which is a low-dose antidepressant frequently used for insomnia. Before I eliminated it altogether, the magnesium helped right away with the worst side effect which was leg cramps.

Off my soapbox now, but if you would like more information feel free to contact me directly. The magnesium issue is broad and there are different kinds of supplements out there, and I may be able to help summarize the avalanche of information.

Good luck!

Before I took any supplement not prescribed by my doctor to treat a deficiency measured in my bloodwork, I would ALWAYS try to make the changes to my diet and routine that are shown to help.

Just a note--my doctor has ordered several "complete" blood panels over the years, which I am able to review online. The panel her office uses, which I assume is probably pretty standard, does not include a test for magnesium, and a separate test for magnesium was never once ordered.

This is a case, I believe, where a lot of mainstream and naturopathic practitioners are missing something very important.