5-HTP useful for RLS ?

[Dextropanthenol]

Has anyone tried 5HTP in context of Restless Legs Syndrome ?

Someone told me 5-HTP could help me with my RLS .

Anyone experienced ?

Thanks in Advance

[Hidden]

Not heard of it being used for RLS, did your source tell you why they thought it would work? It's discussed here:

healthunlocked.com/rlsuk/po...

[Dextropanthenol in reply to Hidden]

He reported his personal experience with it but he also takes other Meds and supplements , so I don't fully trust his judgement of the effects. He also recommended that Mood Cure book . Will read into the topic you shared thx.

[Jumpey]

Hi. I have recently taken it and have now stopped. 5HTP is an amino acid which is needed for your body to produce serotonin which in turn produces melatonin. They are neurotransmitters. I took it after reading The Mood Cure by Julia Ross. Serotonin is important for mood regulation(it's an "upper" if you like) and sleep and melatonin is also necessary to sleep well and promotes a good circadian rhythem. So 5HTP helped regulate my sleep which is so frequently disrupted by RLS. It does not stop the symptoms of RLS.x

[Dextropanthenol in reply to Jumpey]

Thanks for your reply ! Why have you stopped taking it ? I don't like uppers at all :/ so you took it in the morning , with food ? What amount?

[Jumpey in reply to Dextropanthenol]

I took 400mg in the evening-it needs to be taken with a carbohydrate snack. I stopped because my serotonin levels have now returned to normal so I don't need it at the moment. When this happens the 5HTP makes you tired in the daytime. x

[LotteM]

Good to hear that it helped you with your sleep, Jumpey. I am currently trying it out too for the same reason, as my lack of sleep is a bigger issue these dat than my rls. I'll keep on trying for a few more days.

[Dextropanthenol]

I also have a big lack of sleep from messed up circadian Rhythms. What dose for how long would you recommend ?

[jAY43]

Here is my 2 cents wq2orth; I have been and still am taking Mirapex for RLS. It has been working well until recently when I tried to take an afternoon nap. HA now way! Shortly after I started taking 5-HTP and took npas with no RLS sympthoms. I not saying that 5-HTP is the reason but I didn't do or take anything else. Like so many other remedies, it's different results for different pedople. I'll be following this thread to see more from, everyone.

[drowsy]

Yes, 5-htp works very well for my rls. But it pooped out after 9 months. I then tried neupro which worked for about a year and pooped out on me, and I'm back to 5-htp which is working again.

[Hidden in reply to drowsy]

Hi Drowsy, what time of day do you take the 5HTP?

If it works for you it’s important, I believe, for all of us to understand what, where, how and why about it. Here’s one short simple explanation of what 5htp is. foodstuffs.ca/scrapbookmain...

[drowsy in reply to Hidden]

Bedtime. 200 mg. Causes sedation. I think it works in about 10 minutes. It worked the first time I used it. I had to increase the dose gradually over a 9-month period to make it work the same because it gradually poops out on me. It made me progressively drowsier during the night. I don't have side effects during the day.

[drowsy in reply to drowsy]

Also chamomile tea works and white peony works, both only for a few days. I tried other supplements and they also worked for a few days like St. John's wort, I think passion flower. Neurontin worked for 9 months but had side effects. L-tryptophan also worked for a few months, but I can't tolerate it. Lots of things work, but they all poop out on me.

[Hidden in reply to drowsy]

Have you ever researched 5htp? Technically it should make your RLS symptoms worse, especially since you take it at night. Melatonin turned my RLS into the devil incarnate, but I never made the connection. Fortunately, a highly bio-available form of iron taken at night as well quieted my legs. The day I stopped the melatonin my RLS went silent.

[drowsy in reply to Hidden]

I saw something about it in the literature but not really thorough. I think 5-htp can deplete dopamine later on in treatment, not right away, so it is possible there is another mechanism going on that is counteracted by a decrease in dopamine after many months and that's why it stopped working eventually.

[Hidden in reply to drowsy]

Well, like iron supplements which provide relief to me in one hour, it might be worthwhile for others to try the 5htp for one or two nights. It is in my cupboard. I will trial it when I am done trialing this expensive wearable vibrational watch thingy called Apollo Neuro. I am not advocating it. A friend’s partner who has PLMD and used the Neupro patch for decades with limited success swears by it. He called me over and explained it all to me about 18 months ago. I nodded my happiness to him but laughed my arrogant self all the way home. 18 months later it is still working for him so I stopped laughing and bought one. He and my friend spent two months in California on a stressful vacation where he stated he had numerous restless nights despite wearing the Apollo. That actually gave it more credibility. Upon returning home he has not had another episode. Anyways, the point is, 5htp is so very worth a shot by everyone, as long as there is no interaction with other medications. Geez, I just spent $350 for a vibrating watch 🙄

[drowsy in reply to Hidden]

I have gotten over my rls now with stretching before bedtime. I'm off supplements and medications for the last few days and the symptoms are gone. Have you tried flexing? My symptoms were pretty severe and spread to my upper body and resulted in involuntary movements. I was taking meds for years for nothing. The cause was tightness in my body. Ridiculous that my neurologist didn't recommend stretching. They always try to medicate me first thing.

[drowsy in reply to drowsy]

Try the TENS unit. It is amazing. That plus stretching has cured my RLS. I'm so excited.

[Pte82]

Have you tried high dose thiamine with magnesium?