5HTP for sleep?

[Spottedtowhee]

My naturopath has recommended that I try 5HTP to help with sleep.

Has anyone tried it and had some success?

Is it safe to use with carbidopa/levodopa?

Thanks!

[MBAnderson]

Look up serotonin syndrome

[Spottedtowhee in reply to MBAnderson]

Thank you for alerting me. I questioned it because I have not seen anybody on this forum, when discussing sleep problems, mention 5HTP.

[patientpat in reply to Spottedtowhee]

hello,

ive been using 5htp for sleeping difficulties for several weeks and i do find it helpful in getting to sleep for a while.However, i still wake up in the night but am able to go back to a light sleep. everyone is different of course but its worth a try.I get mine from Natures Best. They have a bogoff offer at present.

[Spottedtowhee in reply to patientpat]

Thanks for your reply.

[PDGal4]

I had a terrible experience after one dose of 5HTP--horrible stomach pains and took days to feel right again with my meds. Subsequently read not to take with C/L. When I mentioned to my neurologist, he said little was known about 5HTP but if it bothered me, not to take. Read up on it; I do not recommend. And personally would be leery of the naturopath who suggested knowing you take C/L.

[MarionP in reply to PDGal4]

The key phrase there is "little is known." Plus as a non-pharmaceutical, it is subject to all the business shortcuts one might expect from unregulated industry. If you must use an anti-cholinergic as a sleep aid, go with small dose of prescribed tricyclic antidepressants. In my experience there are better ways to go before resorting to the tryptophan route...which this and all tryptophan sources also can involve constipation side effects.

I would more enthusiastically suggest exploring various approaches using melatonin, which also is a nice anti-oxidant produced by your very own pineal gland meant to help induce sleep (with possibly other significant health benefits to PWP) as it is.

[Spottedtowhee in reply to MarionP]

Thanks, Marion. I’ve been using melatonin and still trying to find the right dose and timing.

[Spottedtowhee in reply to PDGal4]

Thanks for your input. I read that 5HTP can cause stomach pain. The naturopath says she has used it many times on patients and never seen a problem. I’m not going to try it.

[Hikoi in reply to Spottedtowhee]

Naturopath has used it many times with no problem, and how many of those people were also taking carb\lev? Did you asked her.

[Spottedtowhee in reply to Hikoi]

She treats a lot of people with PD.

I decided not to consult with her anymore.

Thanks for your reply.

[bepo]

We use 5 Htp to balance the mucuna. We use melatonin 2 hours before bed. It's a hormone that helps with sleep and also is protective against viruses.

[Spottedtowhee]

Thanks bepo.

[ElliotGreen]

From the Wikipedia page for 5-HTP:

When combined with carbidopa (as a treatment for symptoms of Parkinson's disease), 5-HTP causes nausea and vomiting; however this can be alleviated via administration of granisetron.[26] As mentioned below under pharmacology, cases of scleroderma-like illness have been reported in patients using carbidopa and 5-HTP.[27]

[Spottedtowhee in reply to ElliotGreen]

Thanks, Elliot. Decided not to use five HTP.

[Somic67]

consider if you can take Serplus,

it is based on ALAC = alfa-lattoalbumina, a siero-protein in the human-milk. it is naturally safe because ALAC is precursor of TRP = triptophan aminoacid that is a precursor of 5-HTP (which is feed-back regulated).

So to say: with Serplus the body produces only the 5-HTP that it needs, without risk of ovedosage.

[Spottedtowhee]

Thank you, that’s interesting