5-HTP

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Isn't 5-HTP wonderful? I'm so glad that I found it instead of giving in to my doctor and taking a chemical antidepressant. I've been taking it since March and wish that I had started alot sooner. Doesn't feeling well rested make a huge difference in everything?
 
Dear Lindy,

I can’t really answer you if 5-HTP is wonderful. What is wonderful is when I can observe my spouse being depression free and her illness is controlled and stabilized into long-term remission.

Since her illness is dynamic in nature we have to be constantly vigilant of any changes in her mood and/or any unusual circumstances such as the advent of headaches which she experiences in cycles. As you may have noticed I maintain detailed records of her treatment regimens. We have gone the route of abstinence from all medications and utilized vitamins and supplements and unfortunately, in her case, to no benefit. We’ve also used medications with mixed but no long-term effectiveness with the exception of one med which also proved refractory. I define long-term as being a year or more. The only therapy, in her case, to yield long-term almost continually beneficial results has been the VNS Therapy but as you now note it is not a panacea and we’re doing a little tweaking.

In my wife’s case, she sleeps well utilizing her current treatment regimen and is well rested and most importantly, she is depression free.

So while I am extremely happy for you that you’ve achieved wellness utilizing a more natural treatment regimen through the use of vitamins and supplements, I know we both agree that it certainly is worth a try but for others it may not necessarily yield the same results.

Warmly,
Herb
 
I fully agree. That's what is so great about sites like this. We are given so little information about alternatives to conventional medicine, even when the conventional doesn't work. Epilepsy is such a highly individualized disorder that what works for one does not work for all but I would much rather experiment with vitamins and supplements than with drugs!
 
Side effect with Turkey?

Hey Lindy,

Have you ever experienced any side-effects when you've eaten Turkey? Several weeks ago I had an early T-day dinner and had lots of trouble getting to sleep. I shrugged it off as a fluke, but I had the same thing happen Thanksgiving evening and on Friday when I has some leftovers.

What I call the side-effect was also what I call the herky-jerky just as one falls asleep. Same thing as you're just dosing off and JERK, you're awake. Seems to only happen with Turkey dinners....?
 
I certainly have been eating alot of turkey for the past few days and I haven't had any trouble sleeping at all. Like Bernard said, turkey is known for putting people to sleep because of the L-Tryptophan. Are you okay?
 
Yes, I think so. I was curious though if having too much tryptophan could have some weird response for E folks taking HTP, another form of tryptophan. One would think it would put one to sleep much easier. Sort of thinking like a mild overdose...where there's too much T running around?

I only seem to notice it if it is like a turkey dinner. Turkey sandwiches for lunch etc. have not bothered me either.

The Herky-Jerky is when I am falling asleep and my legs will just jump. I've kicked the cat out of bed several times over the years. Poor dear she still gets back up in the bed with me. It can be severe enough to roust you from being able to dose off. I haven't had any bouts of it since starting the suppliments, nearly 4 months now, until roasted Turkey came along. I haven't had any other seizure symptoms at all, so I am thinking it had/has something to do with too much tryptophan?
 
Overdose
For more information on the management of overdose or unintentional ingestion, contact a poison control center (see Poison Control Center Listing ).

Clinical effects of overdose
The following effects have been selected on the basis of their potential clinical significance (possible signs and symptoms in parentheses where appropriate)—not necessarily inclusive:

Serotonin syndrome {01} (agitation; confusion; diarrhea ; fever; overactive reflexes; poor coordination; restlessness; shivering ; sweating; talking or acting with excitement you cannot control; trembling or shaking; twitching)

http://www.drugs.com/MMX/L_Trytophan.html


Hmmm....
 
So, how would one go about figuring the right vitamins/dosage? Will a doctor do different tests to see what is lacking in the blood, then suggest different supplements and doses? Or do we need to walk in there with a list in hand and tell them what we want to try? If I've learned anything, it's that doctors will only tell you the minimum. Most of what we know about E is what we've found out on our own by doing research, and talking with people like you! My boyfriend is very interested in trying the 5-HTP and other supplements..but neither of us has ever been a health "nut" so we don't know much about this natural stuff.
 
Stacy's doctor did some blood tests to find out what nutritional deficiencies she had and adjusted her vitamin/mineral supplement plan accordingly. For 5-HTP, she always just took 50mg/night which was just one pill.
 
Hi Mykie,

May I suggest you run a search engine such as Google on the following term, “Orthomolecular” and you’ll find considerable information relating to vitamins and supplements as a therapy option?

I am a proponent for many treatment options but I am first and foremost a proponent of education for the patient and/or his/her support persons in making informed and un-coerced medical decisions in collaboration with one’s trusted, caring, compassionate and knowledgeable licensed health care practitioner.

After researching and reading through “Orthomolecular” as well as various discussions on this forum I would also suggest a balancing and tempering of viewpoints by also starting with the following opinion:

http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/ortho.html

I am also of the opinion that “Nothing ventured, nothing gained.”

Good luck to you and your boyfriend. He certainly is fortunate to have a devoted support person and health care advocate in his corner.

Warmly,
Herb
 
We discussed Herb's concerns about vitamins in the alternative treatments thread. There is nothing wrong with taking vitamin/mineral supplements as long you don't overdo it.
 
Dear Bernard,

In all the years I’ve been a support person and health care advocate to Joyce and utilizing the services of licensed medical practitioners and that of holistic practitioners we've never been written a prescription or advised a dosing of “as long you don't overdo it.”

I maybe missed this terminology in the professional literature in my years of reading. Please explain to me what quantity and how many times per day does “as long you don't overdo it” mean?

I would also question you to please either tell me or direct me to any information that states the proper levels and/or parameters for serotonin in the body?



Dear Donna,

Thank you for your informative contribution to the discussion. After reading through the links that you provided I am of the opinion one should be educated regardless whether what is ingested is a drug or vitamin, mineral or supplement etc and as I always suggest in collaboration with a licensed health care practitioner. While one may consider drugs man-made and vitamins, minerals or supplements may be considered natural they are still processed by companies and the regulations relating to the so called natural items in terms of quality and composition are not as regulated and/or as stringent as pharmaceuticals. To which I shall also add that a number of practitioners of Orthomolecular Therapy has practiced mega dosing of the “natural” products which confuses me further when Bernard states “as long you don't overdo it.”

Warmly,
Herb
 
My Doctor is well aware that I take vitimans to go along with my AEDs. She is very pleased with the fact I educate myself. Her very words to me were " just don't over do it". She and I have such a relatioship, she knows I will educate myself before I make any decisions on what to put into my body. That includes percribed drugs, as well as over the counter ones. There are several websites you can use to make sure nothing is going to interact, with each other. The one I use is, http://www.drugdigest.org/DD/Interaction/ChooseDrugs/1,4109,,00.html

Oh, and for me, and what I believe my doctor meant by "Just don't over do it" is...
* Add one vitiman at a time, making sure it isn't causing any issues.
* Don't go over the recommended dosage
* Do your research. Make sure none of them interact with your AEDs, for example... I learned, if I was going to take calcium with Dilantin, I needed to be taking "Food Based" Calcium. And I learned this on the wonderful world of the WEB.

I have found Doctors have great respect, and appreciate a well informed and proactive patient.
 
Herb said:
... we've never been written a prescription or advised a dosing of “as long you don't overdo it.”

Most prescriptions state exactly what dosage the doctor is recommending. When Stacy's doctor recommends an OTC supplement, he usually recommends the minimum dosage (as found on the bottle at most any health food / vitamin store).

Herb said:
I would also question you to please either tell me or direct me to any information that states the proper levels and/or parameters for serotonin in the body?

Perhaps you should check with your doctor if you suspect your seratonin levels are low. S/He would be the one who could answer your questions.

Herb said:
... To which I shall also add that a number of practitioners of Orthomolecular Therapy has practiced mega dosing of the “natural” products which confuses me further when Bernard states “as long you don't overdo it.”

The "number of practitioners of Orthomolecular Therapy" you encountered that "practiced mega dosing of the 'natural' products" does not jive with my experience. I am also not a "practitioner of Orthomolecular Therapy" so I'm not sure how my comments should be confusing you.
 
Very well put Elisa.

Just about everything you buy has directions and recommended amounts to take. But some people has no common sense and think if a little will help me a little, them a lot will help me more.

If I have questions on how much or how often to take, I would rather ask a pharmasist than any doctor. Most doctors do not have the time to keep up on the lastest information and with a pharmasist, that's all they DO! They can tell you more about interactions, and adverse reactions than any doctor I've seen.

I do not bother my doctor with questions about meds/suppliments when I know the pharmasist will have more information at his disposal.
 
Doing anything without learning about it first is always a mistake. You can't count on a doctor to know anything about alternatives to drugs. In fact, I'm the one who has educated my doctor! She has been so impressed with what I've accomplished that, for the past two years, she's been taking classes and seminars on alternatives to conventional medicine and vitamin therapy. There is no way you can determine what is best for you if you don't teach yourself as much as possible and, if you aren't your own advocate, you're going to be pushed around. Being your own advocate requires a great deal of self-education and research but it's well worth the effort.
 
Lindy and Bern,

I've noticed that it's more the GABA that I had been taking than the 5-HTP, that gave me more vivid dreams. I haven't taken the GABA in about a month now, nor have I taken 5-HTP, unless I feel like it's necessary. If you feel like you can, wean yourself off it. If you feel like it's helping, then smile and enjoy!

Love, Stace
 
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