Anyone ever tried 5-htp?

[Shallah Kali]

I tried it yesterday evening and had a series of nightmares all night. I only took 1/4 to 1/3 of the 50mg capsule as I usually only need a fraction of the amount of a supplement that the average person would need to feel an effect. My mood and alertness level was up starting soon after taking it. At bedtime I took my usual 3mg of melatonin which includes b-6 & 1 capsule of valerian. Surprisingly after a night of horror movie dreams I felt pretty physically rested, or at least no worst than usual.

I am trying to find something to help my mood that does not keep me awake at night. Right now I take 200mg of SAM-e which helps the probably-fibro (in the process of getting a diagnosis) muscle and joint pain some. If I take more for more than a few days I have much more trouble sleeping than my usual plus it is restless tossing & turning where I wake up every time I turn over. I tried st. john's wort but even 1/3 or 1/6 of the standard daily dose worsens the sleeplessness AND when it hits me I walk around like an astronaut on a space walk for around a half hour. Space walking is funny and I could live with that as long as I can restraing myself in public but not sleeping is *bad*. Plus it doesn't help the pain. There is one small study that showed 5-htp helped people with fibro pain.

Another question for anyone who has used 5-htp - did you notice it increased your psychic sensitivity at all? I am empathic and I wonder if maybe I was not shielded enough when I went to sleep so that I picked up any anxiety or other negative vibes emitted in the neighborhood...

5-HTP: A Key to Feeling Better Naturally?
http://www.fmaware.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=6144

Herbs and Supplements for Fibromyalgia
http://altmedicine.about.com/cs/conditionsetoh/a/Fibromyalgia.htm


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

[2Design]

1. Used it from Natures Sunshine -

I use it to increase serotonin especially with less sun or exercise or dark days - it does help - don't seem to need it as much lately

for sleeping I used melatonin but again don't need it now that I moved from a bad apartment situation

Did not notice nightmares more or less than normal

Did not notice increase physic sensitivity - I am always sensitive

[Ricochet21]

2. I used it

unfortunately, it did nothing for me.

:shrug:

[Shallah Kali]

3. the dreams I had for anyone curious...

First dream I remember I was under attack by an evil spirit trying to possess me. When I would try to run for help to my Mother it would grab my feet and drag me back into my bedroom.

Second dream I was flipping out like I did years ago when I was given Prozac for anxiety w/panic disorder. Again I was trying to get to my Mother only she couldn't hear me. I wanted her to call a psychatrist to give me something to nullify the 5-htp that, in the dream, made me think I had gone nuts again.

3rd dream I can't remember, just that there was one that was filled with a vague sense of dread.

4th dream there was a huge spider crawling in one of my cats long hair. I was trying to grab it with a cloth hankerchief so it couldn't bite my kitty but I can't get close enough to actually grab it for some reason. Then my Mother comes along and starts petting the cat. She does not notice the HUGE spider with big fangs, whic it keeps displaying threateningly, is in the cats fluffy ruff. It crawls on her hand and wraps itself around her as I all I can do is squeek and point in protest instead of yell or scream or grab the horrible thing.

All of these dreams were ultra high def vivid unlike my usual murky, grainy vague dreams. The only thing in common is that I am usually lucky to have pretty pointed dreams, not a hard to figure out symbolic head scratcher :P

[Kind of Blue]

5. Yes, I was very curious about your dreams

and glad you posted them. The one common denominator, besides the horror and dread, is to me your mother - unable to help or is unaware of the danger, I mean she pets the cat - perhaps you - a loving gesture in one dream and in another you are prevented from reaching your mom's protection and love.

I wonder if the supplement isn't tapping into how you feel she is helping you, or not. On the one hand, I can't imagine a mother not helping her child in a dire situation. But then again, perhaps her involvement is not satisfactory in real life though she might be showing all the love that she can.

Mother just jumps out to me.

[Shallah Kali]

6. Yep I am dealing with Mother issues

In most ways my Mother has and is wonderful but like everyone in the world she has made mistakes. It is hard for me to say because I love her and respect her many good qualities so - especially when I compare the Mothers of friends and family through out the years. She didn't mean to hurt me, thought she was doing the right things at the time, but I got hurt all the same. My older sister was verbally & emotionally abusive for years and both parents did not do as much as they could have to protect me. My Dad is deceased so it is easier for me to connect with the anger with her than him. My Mother periodically wants me to let the sister visit even tho she hasn't changed and is just as verbally abusive to our Mother today as she would be with me. Even when she lays off me for a few days I have to listen to her denigrate and berate and insult my Mom or flee my own home. Inevitably she would blow up at me as well no matter how many times she swore to keep her ire to herself. Her last visit she took my timid Ragdoll Georgie cat and tossed him into a snow bank. He was terrified. My Mother saw this and came and told me. I stormed out, retrieved my cat and told her to never touch one of my pets again. my sister blamed my Mother for telling on her and called me a crybaby wah wah wah and in general cussed me out which almost made me laugh. She was the one acting like a spoiled 5 year old playing mean tricks on an innocent pet and putting blame on the one who told, not on her own wrong doing. :rolleyes: In any case I have never agreed to let her back in our home again. What Mom does with her anywhere else is up to her but as long as I rent I should be treated with a minimum of human decency as Mom would have insisted for anyone other than herself and me.

the other theme in the dream was I was unable to make myself heard to anyone not just my Mother. The most I could do was squeak or groan in any situation. another is that I was helpless or at least not able to adequately defend myself in any situation. I felt like a little kid who needed a big person to save her in the first few dreams. The last I recognized the problem that no one else saw and knew what to do byt was unabe to do anything effective about it. I have noticed that in real life that certain people in my life dismiss me at times which throws me back mentally to certain incidents in childhood. And I dismiss myself not recognizing the things I do right and what good qualities I have as much as I should. self-esteem and feeling a sense of personal power is still a work in progress...


I think the 5-htp just amped up dreams that would have happened anyway or at least made sure I remembered them.

[Kind of Blue]

8. Aww, Shallah. I'm so sorry she did

that to your cat. Here in San Diego, a man is going on trial for taking a cat and slamming the defenseless creature against a wall. It's just plain criminal.

Feelings for our parents is a real balancing act. But at least (and really a big deal) you are protecting yourself and have made yourself heard in your house! :thumbsup:

Thanks for the clarification on the other dream. Meaning to me that the action of protecting, and not dissing yourself when it comes to others, wants to come into play.

You're not alone Shallah Kali. Many, many of us still deal with the push-me/pull-you feelings we have for our parents. I'm dealing with the same thing with my Dad and feel a little guilty because he's sooo old now. I'm trying to deal so that his last years on Earth aren't filled with how I think I should have been treated when, Really, he was doing the very best he could.

I've been told by 2 different psychics in different states that he and I Always come back together as parent/child; father Always pops up in readings. If true, I really don't want to come back again to deal with this issue :D

:hug: You're doing really good and I'm glad the 5-htp helped to bring those feelings out for you to continue to protect and honor yourself.

[Shallah Kali]

9. Trouble with the 'rents

It is a balancing act trying to allow myself to feel the feelings I repressed back then knowing that my parents did the best that the could at the time. It wasn't malicious but it hurt all the same. Those feelings need processing or they will just sit in my psyche and putrefy some more. I don't argue with or berate my Mother about what happened back then. If the subject comes up I might say matter that it hurt and I wish they had found a better way of dealing with the situation back then then leave it at that. If my Mother can't stand to admit verbal abuse from a sibling or child is verbal abuse just the same as if it came from a spouse or co-worker by now she probably never will in this life. It does bug me when she expresses sympathy and outrage for friends who have get verbal abuse from spouses, bosses and the like but can't let herself see the same danged thing happened in front of her and continues to happen to herself today. So I don't argue and just work on myself so I don't get sucked into another lifetime with a similar scenario with this bunch again - or get into a close relationship with this pattern in this lifetime!!!

I do admit a few times I have mentally yelled at my Dad 'Dammit why didn't you DO SOMETHING?!?!?!' but being dead and all I think his soul can handle my venting better than my Mom :P

[Kind of Blue]

11. LOLOLOL...

"...being dead and all I think his soul can handle my venting..." too funny.

Yes, I'm all for processing but something I'm working on now is Release. I really thought that they were the same thing. So I'm hoping you won't go as far as me by really integrating all the stuff and filing it away. As you did by putting your foot down with your sister, I'm finding release relieves pressure building up in the file cabinet. I guess venting at your Dad is a good part of the release :D :hug:

[Shallah Kali]

12. :-)

I still sense my Dad around especially near my Mom so I don't think I have driven him off ;) About a month ago I invited him to watch a fishing program with me. I think it was called River Monsters about this guy who travels the world trying to catch HUGE freshwater fish most of which have lots and lots of big teeth :eek: Not something I normally would want to watch but every time I saw the ad I would say to myself Dad would have LOVEd that show. So one evening when I saw it was time for it to come on I asked my Dad to come and watch it with me. Normally a show like that with toothy people attacking fish and people swimming around in murky waters trying to catch them would make me anxious and cringing waiting for someone to get chomped. Instead I was laughing, intact almost giddy with enjoyment throughout the program.


processing vs. release - it feels to me like at times some stuff just needs out whether through cussing, energy work, hitting a pillow or punching bag, a good cry or something else. Other times it feels harder to just let it out, that maybe something still needs to be learned possibly so I recognize this pattern of behavior,

this way of reacting to others actions so I know what to do when encountering it again. This brings to mind what i read of the asteroid Nessus -

Nessus is about power dynamics and the dynamics of abuse, very important themes today in the western world, as we discover we were all abused as kids (and I mean it). Power and abuse dynamics always appear in relationships first, then they appear in one's inner emotional patterning, and the relationship pattern of that lifetime. Nessus tells us that physical abuse and psychological abuse work about the same way, and reminds us that quite often psychological abuse is more insidious because so often we don't know it's happening and we don't think it happened.

Eric Francis - http://ericfrancis.com/issues/0306/bonus.html

Nessus - the buck stops here.

The 3rd Centaur to be discovered is one that seems to address issues to do with the abuse of power, and it too has ancestral implications. It seems that Nessus brings opportunities to understand and release deep patterns of helplessness, being taken advantage of, and being oppressed. This is particularly relevant for people raised in a culture where they are in a minority group. Nessus processes really do seem to bring to an end the unfathomable ties that bind us to people, places, and situations. We can psychoanalyse our bonds, do 'tie cutting exercises', sweat and strain to be free of situations which burn with relentless continuity, but only when such endeavours are in harmony with the deeper timing of the soul will they result in deep release. And when they do, the healing is unmistakeable. Nessus activations correspond with times when things really do end, finish and transcend to another level, when release occurs and when the turning point is reached. This sometimes happens through an intensification of suffering. The end of falsely hopeful innocence is signalled by Nessus transits, and the opening of a deeper wisdom. Nessus sometimes correlates with itching and burning skin as occurs in instances of eczema, nettle rash and allergy for instance. This accords neatly with the Greek myth in which Nessus attempted to abduct and take advantage of Heracles wife, Deianira. Heracles saw the rape about to happen and shot Nessus. As he lay dying, Nessus gave Deianira a potion containing his heart's blood and semen, saying that the potion would ensure Heracles faithfulness to her. When she became unsure of Heracles fidelity she smeared the potion on his shirt but Nessus had lied; the mixture, impregnated with his toxic blood was poisonous and it burned Heracles terribly. To escape the pain Heracles threw himself onto a funeral pyre. Appalled by what had happened, Deianira committed suicide.


Chiron and the Centaurs by Sue Tompkins and Melanie Reinhart
http://www.melaniereinhart.com/melanie/astrologyarticles/chiron-and-centaurs.php

[Kind of Blue]

13. Wow, Great stuff, Shallah!

Whoa, "...quite often psychological abuse is more insidious because so often we don't know it's happening and we don't think it happened."

Thank you so much, Dear. Both these articles are so powerful. I look forward to reading them thoroughly ASAP :hug: :hug: :hug:

[Shallah Kali]

14. another Centaur that might help illiminate issues is Hylonome

I posted on her some time ago here:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=245x89841


BTW Nessus is conjunct Saturn. trine Uranus, trine Sun conjunct Jupiter in my natal chart. Currently it is heading towards conjunction with my Natal Sun & Jupiter in Aquarius.

[gblady]

4. I take 5-HTP daily....

and have for several years....I titrate the dose depending on how I'm feeling. Usual dose 100 mg at bedtime.
I was on antidepressants for years...chronic depression following a horrific post partem depression.
I finally just wanted off...so weaned myself off...and when I started to dive, I tried the 5-HTP.

It has held me in good stead, except for a short time following a MI in 08,
and subsequent mood nosedive, during which time I augmented with SAM-E.

I have another friend who swears by it as well. Has helped him tremendously, he also titrates according
to how he is feeling. I do know, though, that everyone's brain chemistry works in different ways....what
works for one doesn't necessarily work for another.

I am quite sensitive...not sure about the empathic part, but I have been all my life, and I did not notice a
change.

Good luck...

[OneGrassRoot]

7. Bless your heart....

You are so sensitive to supplements and such. :hug:

I took 5-HTP but it had no noticeable effect, so I moved up to SAM-e. In conjunction with a host of other supplements, it seems to be helping.

Huge :hug: :hug: :hug: to you, Shallah.

[Shallah Kali]

10. Awww

:hug::hug::hug:

In some ways it is good to be sensitive as I don't need to take a huge amount of something to get an effect. This is especially nice when trying something pricey like SAM-e. In other ways it's a hassle trying to figure out the right dose for me. Thankfully 5-htp does not taste nasty out of the capsule unlike DLPA or Valerian.


btw I tried the 5-htp again last night. It was hard to tell as the capsule contents had fluffed up but I think I took 1/4 of it again. I took 1/4 of my usual 3mg melatonin & 1 Valerian capsule as well. I also shielding my room which I probably forgot to do the night before as I wait until I am really sleepy to go do bed. It is too blessed frustrating to lay there and W A I T after too many years of chronic insomnia.

I can't recall any dreams although I got the feeling that something happened. My usual morning stiffness and ache was slightly less. I don't know if it is the 5-htp kicking in or just the weather not giving me heck for once or my stress level is coming down or all three helping the aches.


dlpa info (too stimulating for me unless I take tiny amounts)
http://www.herbs2000.com/amino_acids/phenylalenine.htm
http://books.google.com/books?ei=rTdoTPP6M4HmsQPPvqGyDQ&ct=result&id=SdZFPeTQyX4C&dq=cure+mood&q=DLPA#v=snippet&q=DLPA&f=false
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phenylalanine
http://www.raysahelian.com/phenylalanine.html
http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/phenylalanine-000318.htm