I want to add to my post to say that I really appreciate JLS's comment about taking care if you are on with 5-HTP, if you are already on an antidepressant. It is contraindicated, and I should have mentioned that when I initially added to this thread. You can check with your physician if you're on an antidpressant and interested in this supplement, but by all means, take care!!!

So this 5-HTP is something that all of you are taking on your own and is not prescribed by your doctor?

what is it...can someone please explain to some of us...

GraceAnn? Me? I originally took it when a physician told me to try it. Unfortunately, I think that back then there might have been less understood about dosage. I recently started it again. Now it's really helping me.

It's an amino acid and a precursor to serontonin and melatonin (neurotransmitters). So it increases production of both of these neurotransmitters in the brain. Serotonin is tied into mood/depression and melatonin helps to regulate sleep cycles.

Since antidepressants seem to ease the perception of pain, then this acts as a more natural version of some of those. It can help with sleep, depression and pain. This is my understanding and my recent experience.

I hope this helps.

ok for those of you who dont what it is I just figured out ...where doug put his post if you click on 5-HTP it will tell you what it is...other than that I never heard of it before

Hey Doug, if you will fix my HUGsBOOK, I will give you the answer:)

sorry the only thing i take is tylenol for the fibro,i'm way too leary of the side effects of anything else.

Is it available in Canada it is marketed in U.S.?

WAIT, this is an old post from 2006, we have Trolls at work here!!!!!!!

bump

No, you don't have any trolls. Just me, researching what people have shared, and adding my thoughts to the discussion, as I have recently started using it. xx

I took 5-htp about a year or so ago,and it helped me sleep at night and it didn't have the risk of dependancy or undesirable side-effects like some of the other meds I took, but it is otc so insurance doesn't pay for it

I went off my bipolar meds last year and then learned about how amino acids such as 5-HTP and GABA do the same things as ADs and anti-seizure meds used in bipolar so I thought I'd give them a try as I believe our problems stem from the neurotransmitters in our brains being out of wack.

I'm absolutely amazed at the results I'm getting and couldn't be happier. The amino acids have normalized my brain function to the point I feel better than I have in at least 15 years. I realized yesterday that my new priority isn't fibro any more but the sleep problems so common with bipolar.

This is a huge step forward in my life as fibro has dominated everything for the last several years as I've gotten sicker and sicker. Now my flares are back to being one day and while miserable, are nothing compared to what they were a year ago.

5-HTP is used by the brain to produce the neurotransmitter serotonin so if you're on an AD, use caution.

I recently found this book 5-HTP by Michale Murry N.D. it is very informative. it was written in the late 90's so the information is not up to date, but I found it to give me a good understanding of 5-Htp.

Serotonin is absolutley essential for your brain and thus your body to function properly.Serotonin is a neuotransmitter, a chemical that carries vitial signals from one cell to another. without adequate levels of serotonin, those signals cannot move at proper speed or intensity. what's more, serotonin acts acts as a kind of master control chemical. the activities of many other important movements, your state of alertness, your mental activity, even your ability to fall a sleep depend on serotonin.

Because 5-htp improves sleep and relieves the sensation of pain, it can be a boon for people who suffer from fibro.

gernerally, it takes about 4 weeks for the maxim benefit of 5-htp to occur. thats because it takes a while for the brain to adjust the number of serotonin receptors in response to the increased levels of serotonin levels. however there are steps you can take to achieve even better results more quickly, because fibro causes such a wide range of symptoms, combination therapy is a rational approach. the combination of 5-htp 100 mgs , st. johns wort 300 mgs, and magnesium 200- 250 mgs, taken 3 times daily works better then any of these products alone.

I have taken the above info from the book. I hope that this will help. I have been doing these things for all most a year now. it has worked for me, when I do take them, the problem is I start to feel better then think that I do not have to take it any longer, I hate all the pills, At one point I was taking 30 different pills all vitiams and minerals. and wasn't even my pain meds. good luck to all who try this method, wouldn't be wonderful if we found the cure for fibro just threw trail and error ?