Anyone using 5-htp for insomnia?

[TabooPrincess]

I was interested in melatonin but the 5-htp was half price so opted for that!  My sleep pattern is not great, I fall asleep easily but always wake around 2am and struggle for the next few hours before getting up.

Anyone tried this?

[J.R.E.]

Hi,

I've tried it before, in fact I still have a bottle sitting in the cabinet, but it's probably expired by now. It doesn't really have the same effect as Melatonin. The 5-HTP has more of a calming and relaxation effect, then it does as a sleep aid.


I  preferred the Melatonin.  The 10 mg capsule dose always worked the best for me, and  I purchased it at CVS. It never failed to get me to sleep in the daytime, when I worked the graveyard shift, and it never failed to get me to sleep at nighttime.

I very seldom have the need for it now.

The 10 MG dose is the largest dose available, for Melatonin.


Ray

[J.R.E.]

I was just looking at the bottle I have ( expires 6/14 ) It's Sundown brand,and contains 200mg of  5-htp, ( from griffonia extract) 

"5-htp is a precursor to serotonin"  It doesn't work the same way as Melatonin.


Ray

[TabooPrincess]

Thanks Ray - tried past 2 nights on it and ended up vivid dreaming and still early waking.  It felt like the nightmare atripla days which ended up making me panic that I was going to feel suicidal again and therefore not sleeping for thinking about that!!  Melatonin it is! 

[J.R.E.]

Thanks Ray - tried past 2 nights on it and ended up vivid dreaming and still early waking. 

Hi TP,

And I think that's the reason I stopped it was because of the dreams.  I counted the remaining pills that I had of 5-HTP and there were 20 left out of a 30 count bottle.


When you get the Melatonin, make sure that it's not the time release. It needs to be the capsule 10mg, I believe they have a 90 count bottle. Check coupons also, sometimes they have all this marked down in price.


Good luck---Ray

[Delby]

I suffer from severe insomnia so i've become quite an expert on natural remedies. You name them, i've tried them all.

5-HTP didn't work for me and if anything had a counter effect and seemed to stimulate my mind. However, that's not to say it won't work for you.

I would say above everything, the 2 most effective natural remedies that work for me are:

Magnesium Citrate - take between 400mg - 1200mg per evening. We are all deficient in magnesium. Not only is it an essential mineral used in the body, but it acts as a muscle relaxant and works very well for insomniacs.

Anti Histamine - Purchase the 'drowsy' type. You can get them over the counter, but make sure it is the drowsy type. It works by reducing the activity in the brain and does help with early morning waking syndrome, but I become immune to its effects after a week or so. I tend to do a week on one supplement and then a week on another.

Melatonin works quite well, when mixed with Magnesium.

Other things you can try are  GABA and inosital and Glycerin.

Delby

[livingmmy9lives]

5-HTP has serious possible side effects with Norvir and many other meds so do your research. Ambien has worked best for me. It helps to get all those thoughts in your mind to stop when you are trying to sleep. No bad effects on me.  I had some luck with valerian extract and wild lettuce extract. Trazadone made me feel lethargic all the next day and mirtazapine made me gain weight. I also find a homeopathic anxiety med called Anxiety Relief very helpful. It is subtle but helps. As far as non-drug/supplement  I just suggest stay as active as your condition permits. Good luck.

[MitchMiller]

I also found melatonin better than 5-htp.  However, I also have found melatonin makes the Sustiva dreams worse... so it goes.

I also had the exact problem you have... waking up in the middle of the night for 1 - 3 hours... sometimes getting back to sleep and other times just getting up for work. 

I've now retired and I no longer wake up in the middle of the night.  Sometimes I'm up late (like now) because I sleep too late or nap in the afternoon, but things are soooo much better now that I don't have to work. 

I'm pretty sure my sleep problems were caused by anxiety and caffeine.  I still drink a couple cups of sugar free cocoa, but nothing else that might inhibit sleep, including sweets.

The best thing that I found that worked for me was Xanax.  I got it from a friend, however my doc refused to prescribe it.  Restoral (temazipine) also worked, but gave me a mild but weird hangover (same class as Xanax). 

Ambien and Lunesta left me with a horrible hangover (very drowsy).  I couldn't handle either of them.  I also tried the one the used to be in the advertisement with Ab Lincoln.  I forgot the name of that one.  It pretty much didn't work at all.

Halcyon is very powerful and will keep you down.  I used to take it to go to sleep after a night on the town where I used ecstasy.  I'm not sure you can get that one anymore. 

The strongest sleeping pills are the very old ones that can no longer be had... barbituates like tuinal.