5 ms·

About 2 years ago I wasn't in a good place. My wife had been ill for a year, I found the lockdown hard (though I agreed with them), and I was struggling at my j

by ljf 3y ago

About 2 years ago I wasn't in a good place. My wife had been ill for a year, I found the lockdown hard (though I agreed with them), and I was struggling at my job. I wasn't sleeping well and was settling into a funk. I started taking 5-htp [0] every evening before bed - and over about a month I felt like a changed man. It took about 6 months to fully sort my sleep out and get my head back to where I wanted it, and to be honest it's only been in the last 6 months that I feel like I'm totally firing on all cylinders. But I personally feel like 5-htp had a massive impact in that. I only took it daily for about 6 months, then more sporadically for another 6 months, and now don't take it at all (but focus on other boosters like walking, litter picking, swimming, seeing friends etc.) [0 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/5-Hydroxytryptophan https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/5-Hydroxytryptophan ]

mobiuscog 3y ago
As with anything like this (especially anecdotal), how much did you take each day, and did you change anything else over the same period ?
- bflesch 3y ago
  he changed season, sun exposure and lockdown :)
  - MavisBacon 3y ago
    Bingo. It can really be tough to determine where progress is coming from over that period of time
- ljf 3y ago
  I was taking 200mg a day, about 45 mins before I'd go to sleep, with a piece of brown bread. (200mg is considered a high dose - but I hadn't done a lot of research, I was just looking for 'something' to help, and bought from the first shop I found had them. On one hand, very little else changed for me, I started taking it in late summer so as the days were getting shorter. As my wife was quite ill we still didn't see a lot of people or socialise much. But around when I'd finished my first box of tablets (180), my job started returning to the office - that could have helped (though at first I hated going back to the office and dreaded it), the spring time we also became more social again. Which is approx when I moved to taking it more irregularly. Aware my example is purely anecdotal, but before I started taking these I had tried cbd and melatonin tablets to try and help my sleep - my insomnia was terrible and neither had helped noticeably. I had also tried the 'Calm' and 'Headspace' apps and various meditation and breathing exercises and none seemed to help me. I didn't actually think I was depressed at the time, but looking back it is clear I was in a place I'd not been before. 5htp might not have helped at all, but I'd recommend trying it for someone in a similar position - as it felt so transformative for me. I equally didn't realised how long it can take to come out of feeling so down, and how much I can now control my mood through exercise and being outdoors. ---edit--- Also to add - this wasn't a magic cure - but I feel it gave me the boost and reset to my mood that I needed to make the changes in my life. My wife is still ill to some degree, my job is 'more stressful' in some ways, but I've taken care of myself and know what to look for.
lynx23 3y ago
[flagged]
- darreninthenet 3y ago
  I'm ready to see, what was done with me?
- ljf 3y ago
  My poor sleep and stresses started well before Covid, but definitely came to a head then, combined with my wife's illness from long covid. After seeing what covid did to my wife and others with long covid, plus friends who lost parents etc., I remain fully supportive of the lockdowns here in the UK - though as I've said here before: the lockdowns were not about saving the old, but about keeping as many of the infirm out of hospital as possible, so that people wouldn't die from broken arms or childbirth.
alwayslikethis 3y ago
One warning about 5-HTP here. It seems that it can be potentially cardiotoxic at higher doses, or so as I read.
- ljf 3y ago
  Certainly and some people also get serotonin syndrome if they mix this with other antidepressant medications. Read up before taking but to me this just highlights the impacts it can have. If it were patentable it would have had far more research I'm sure.
  - freehorse 3y ago
    > to me this just highlights the impacts it can have. I believe it also highlights that the body cannot regulate its conversion to serotonin, as it does with L-tryptophan (which needs to be converted to 5HTP) for instance, which can result to these issues. Also, the body does not regulate where in the body the conversion happens, you _really_ do not want it do be converted to serotonin in peripheral tissue (as it can cause heart issues), you only want it in the brain. Heart palpitations is a very common side effect due to it. If it was patentable drug it would possibly have been banned/restricted as a drug like many other 5HT2b agonists (but it is not patentable as it is something that our own body makes), and research would have turned to something with less cardiotoxic effects.
    - noduerme 3y ago
      >> Heart palpitations is a very common side effect due to it. This is the first time I've heard that, but - at some point in my life I found a technique for triggering mass bursts of seratonin when I want them. It's not that complicated; when I'm depressed and really need it, I just focus on a time when I felt my brain flooded with it. I habitually live with very low happiness but I'm familiar with the feeling of overwhelming joy - and love of everything around me - and I can put myself there, at a cost. Usually measured in hours or minutes. I also have an arrhythmia. When I do this, I often get heart palpitations lasting from 10-15 minutes. (I'm aware that the process I'm describing is also totally undocumented, but I've been doing it for years).

by ljf 3y ago

mobiuscog 3y ago

As with anything like this (especially anecdotal), how much did you take each day, and did you change anything else over the same period ?

bflesch 3y ago
he changed season, sun exposure and lockdown :)
- MavisBacon 3y ago
  Bingo. It can really be tough to determine where progress is coming from over that period of time
ljf 3y ago
I was taking 200mg a day, about 45 mins before I'd go to sleep, with a piece of brown bread. (200mg is considered a high dose - but I hadn't done a lot of research, I was just looking for 'something' to help, and bought from the first shop I found had them. On one hand, very little else changed for me, I started taking it in late summer so as the days were getting shorter. As my wife was quite ill we still didn't see a lot of people or socialise much. But around when I'd finished my first box of tablets (180), my job started returning to the office - that could have helped (though at first I hated going back to the office and dreaded it), the spring time we also became more social again. Which is approx when I moved to taking it more irregularly. Aware my example is purely anecdotal, but before I started taking these I had tried cbd and melatonin tablets to try and help my sleep - my insomnia was terrible and neither had helped noticeably. I had also tried the 'Calm' and 'Headspace' apps and various meditation and breathing exercises and none seemed to help me. I didn't actually think I was depressed at the time, but looking back it is clear I was in a place I'd not been before. 5htp might not have helped at all, but I'd recommend trying it for someone in a similar position - as it felt so transformative for me. I equally didn't realised how long it can take to come out of feeling so down, and how much I can now control my mood through exercise and being outdoors. ---edit--- Also to add - this wasn't a magic cure - but I feel it gave me the boost and reset to my mood that I needed to make the changes in my life. My wife is still ill to some degree, my job is 'more stressful' in some ways, but I've taken care of myself and know what to look for.

lynx23 3y ago

[flagged]

darreninthenet 3y ago
I'm ready to see, what was done with me?
ljf 3y ago
My poor sleep and stresses started well before Covid, but definitely came to a head then, combined with my wife's illness from long covid. After seeing what covid did to my wife and others with long covid, plus friends who lost parents etc., I remain fully supportive of the lockdowns here in the UK - though as I've said here before: the lockdowns were not about saving the old, but about keeping as many of the infirm out of hospital as possible, so that people wouldn't die from broken arms or childbirth.

alwayslikethis 3y ago

One warning about 5-HTP here. It seems that it can be potentially cardiotoxic at higher doses, or so as I read.

ljf 3y ago
Certainly and some people also get serotonin syndrome if they mix this with other antidepressant medications. Read up before taking but to me this just highlights the impacts it can have. If it were patentable it would have had far more research I'm sure.
- freehorse 3y ago
  > to me this just highlights the impacts it can have. I believe it also highlights that the body cannot regulate its conversion to serotonin, as it does with L-tryptophan (which needs to be converted to 5HTP) for instance, which can result to these issues. Also, the body does not regulate where in the body the conversion happens, you _really_ do not want it do be converted to serotonin in peripheral tissue (as it can cause heart issues), you only want it in the brain. Heart palpitations is a very common side effect due to it. If it was patentable drug it would possibly have been banned/restricted as a drug like many other 5HT2b agonists (but it is not patentable as it is something that our own body makes), and research would have turned to something with less cardiotoxic effects.
  - noduerme 3y ago
    >> Heart palpitations is a very common side effect due to it. This is the first time I've heard that, but - at some point in my life I found a technique for triggering mass bursts of seratonin when I want them. It's not that complicated; when I'm depressed and really need it, I just focus on a time when I felt my brain flooded with it. I habitually live with very low happiness but I'm familiar with the feeling of overwhelming joy - and love of everything around me - and I can put myself there, at a cost. Usually measured in hours or minutes. I also have an arrhythmia. When I do this, I often get heart palpitations lasting from 10-15 minutes. (I'm aware that the process I'm describing is also totally undocumented, but I've been doing it for years).