5htp and being in 100mg Levothyroxine per day in the morning. I take 5htp before bed? Is this safe?

[Juliet2020]

Hello to all. I’m new to this group. I have under active thyroid and anxiety and I want to try 5htp. I’m 40 and female on 100mg Levothyroxine per day is this the best herbal meds for anxiety with thyroid issues?

[greygoose]

Anxiety is a hypo symptom, so it could very well be that you're under-medicated. 100 mcg levo is only a small dose. Do you have any lab results to show us? No-one can say anything much without seeing some results.

[Juliet2020 in reply to greygoose]

I will talk to my doctor about test results. I’m not sure where you get them from! I have patient access. Might book another test to check thyroid if it’s due .

[humanbean]

I've been taking 5-HTP for about 8 or 9 years. For most of that time I took 50mg every night of the week, but I have cut down to 3 or 4 nights a week in the last couple of years.

The dose I take has always been very low, given that some people take 100mg three times a day or 400mg once a day or some other dose that sounds astronomical to me.

Be aware that some people get absolutely no effect from 5-HTP. I got a beneficial effect from the stuff within a couple of days.

Also be aware that 5-HTP raises cortisol which may cause problems if your cortisol output is already high.

Oh - and also be aware that you can't mix anti-depressants of any kind. So if you take Prozac (for example) you can't take it with 5-HTP. There is a danger you might develop a condition called Serotonin Syndrome and it can be fatal.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serot...

For dangerous combinations of drugs which can cause serotonin syndrome see this section of the above link :

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serot...

[Hashi-hacker in reply to humanbean]

I took 5htp and l theanine as a night and morning dose respectively for about a year, under the advice of a functional med person. This was when I first realised I had Hashimoto's and with all the other steps I took (diet, LDN, lifestyle) I think it helped with the general improvement. I also had Silexan lavela which is a lavender oil for a period, which might be worth investigating although it's not always easy to get that brand in the UK.

[Juliet2020]

Thank you Lora7again I never looked into it always busy teaching my eight year old or trying to at least but I need to look at my own health too. I will take a look

[Juliet2020 in reply to Juliet2020]

My results say normal TSH levels 1.51 MIU/L

[greygoose in reply to Juliet2020]

Is that all they tested? TSH? That is totally inadequate. You need FT4 and FT3 tested, too. I know that's difficult under the NHS, but lots of people get them done privately.

Your TSH is actually a tad high. 'Normal' just means 'in-range', it doesn't actually mean it is 'normal'. A euthyroid TSH is around 1, but people on thyroid hormone replacement usually need it lower than that. So, I'm guessing that your FT4/3 are low, and that's why you have symptoms like anxiety. I would advise getting full thyroid testing:

TSH

FT4

FT3

TPO antibodies

Tg antibodies

vit d

vit B12

folate

ferritin

That will give you a much clearer idea of your thyroid status.

Details of private testing here:

thyroiduk.org/getting-a-dia...