Has anyone ever taken 5-HTP for depression, anxiety, or weight loss?
My mom takes it everyday (for those things) and swears by it.
I've taken it a few times when I was dealing w/ some stress and think it helped...I am really bad about taking anything regularly.
HTH!
I take 5HTP every morning with my other vitamins. I take it to deal with the excessive stress in my life right now. I do sleep better!! Calcium is also wonderful for relaxation. I take one calcium tablet in the morning and one in the evening and I sleep very well again.
I do take it for depression and anxiety. I find that it really helps me a lot. I DO take it at night, because it does make me sleepy...or just really relaxed. I HAVE lost weight, but I really think that's due exercising my butt off (quite literally) and watching what I eat and not necessarily because of the 5HTP.
I take 5-htp once in a while when Im having a bad day and need a little lift. I find they work very well. I call them 'chill pills' because thats exactly what they do.. make you chill.. lol
Instead of actually taking 5-HTP I ate a lot of foods that contain typtophan. foods like cottage cheese, milk, turkey are high in trytophan and trytophan makes 5-HTP in the brain.
After a couple of weeks I lost weight and just generally felt better.
I did try the supplement 5-HTP once; it made me tired. I am sure it would work faster than eating the foods but should be taken in the evening and don't drive after taking it.
Frankly, sometimes these supplements concern me.... they aren't well-controlled by the FDA.... just because something is "natural" doesn't mean it is good for you.
Web-MD says not to use it, since it has some very serious side effects.....
http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/ingredientmono-...
And yes, I realize that things prescribed by physicians can have serious side effects, also... I remember the problems caused by Phen-Fen for weight loss..... I know about Thalidiomide and pregnancy..... but at least with items being prescribed, they are produced under more controlled conditions, and are usually well tested before they are released. When problems happen, there is a procedure to get the warnings out to the consumer.
I took it for depression a while back and honestly it didn't help my situation- that's not to say it doesn't work. Just wanted to let you know it *might* not work as well as you're hoping. Every body reacts differently. I have heard that upping your Omega-3's (either with a supplement or natural foods) helps with depression and weight loss. Good luck!
