# FITNESS and NUTRITION FORUM > SUPPLEMENTS >  5-HTP warning

## perfectbeast2001

tried 5 Htp to help with mood while on PCT and had some terrible sides. Severe nightmares which ended in me waking up in panic and thinking i was being burgled several times a night, severe anxiety the following day lasting all day (similar to overdosing on cafffiene). I threw it in the bin straight after 2 days of use. I was using two tabs which is one tab below the reccomedded dose on the bottle. Beware.
On a side note i have started using St john wort to help with my OCD and anxiety and it is great. works well, no sides and elevated good mood, i would reccomend.

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## naturalsux

> tried 5 Htp to help with mood while on PCT and had some terrible sides. Severe nightmares which ended in me waking up in panic and thinking i was being burgled several times a night, severe anxiety the following day lasting all day (similar to overdosing on cafffiene). I threw it in the bin straight after 2 days of use. I was using two tabs which is one tab below the reccomedded dose on the bottle. Beware.
> On a side note i have started using St john wort to help with my OCD and anxiety and it is great. works well, no sides and elevated good mood, i would reccomend.


i took it for a couple months and didnt notice anything. how much were you taking?

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## vdub

I tried it a couple of times. First few times with no effects.

Last time I got some anxiety reactions as well. As you said, sort of like to much caffine, but a bit different.

Totally overrated IMO.

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## pedro01

Did you by any chance wake up & found you were not able to move whilst experiencing auditory hallucinations (hearing things) ? If so - it's called sleep paralysis. 

Your brain disconnects from your body when you enter a deep sleep - that's why you don't kick the shit out of your wife when you dream you are running. Sometimes, people can wake up whilst still disconnected, often being able to open the eyes. Often feeling a presence in the room/another room. It is also quite normal to feel someone sitting on your chest & holding your arms down.

I once woke up, found I couldn't move but could hear someone in the other room. I fought & fought the paralysis until I got out of the bed to the bedroom door. When I got to the door, I looked back at the bed & I was still ****ing in it ! At that point I woke for real and almost by reflex I was at the door for real and through it to find no-one there. 

This is VERY SCARY - I sympathise with you.

Drugs can bring this on - in my case xanax brings it on but I am prone anyway. It happens a few times a year, especially in times of stress. 

I think you did the right thing to bin the stuff. You may well just be prone to it though.

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## perfectbeast2001

> Did you by any chance wake up & found you were not able to move whilst experiencing auditory hallucinations (hearing things) ? If so - it's called sleep paralysis. 
> 
> Your brain disconnects from your body when you enter a deep sleep - that's why you don't kick the shit out of your wife when you dream you are running. Sometimes, people can wake up whilst still disconnected, often being able to open the eyes. Often feeling a presence in the room/another room. It is also quite normal to feel someone sitting on your chest & holding your arms down.
> 
> I once woke up, found I couldn't move but could hear someone in the other room. I fought & fought the paralysis until I got out of the bed to the bedroom door. When I got to the door, I looked back at the bed & I was still ****ing in it ! At that point I woke for real and almost by reflex I was at the door for real and through it to find no-one there. 
> 
> This is VERY SCARY - I sympathise with you.
> 
> Drugs can bring this on - in my case xanax brings it on but I am prone anyway. It happens a few times a year, especially in times of stress. 
> ...


yes just what you described, felt like there was an intruder in the room and my heart would start beating off the clock but i was like helpless, by the morning it felt like a load of really bad nightmares. Horrible.

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## pedro01

There's lots of good stuff on the web about this - http://skepdic.com/sleepparalysis.html

It's nice to know it exists because if it happens again, it won't be as scary. I'd been suffering for years before I found someone else that suffered & realised it was just my mind playing tricks on me.

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## Blitz777

I have that same condition. Every so often I will be *partially* awake, but just can't open my eyes. Hearing works fine, but my eyes just will not open. It is a shitty feeling, like I am trapped in my body, with no control over it.  :0icon Pissedoff:

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## BIGDOGIRISH

Its a bit of a buzz when your use to it. I love getting it but then I dont panic like you lot.
Strange

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## solid-d

> Did you by any chance wake up & found you were not able to move whilst experiencing auditory hallucinations (hearing things) ? If so - it's called sleep paralysis. 
> 
> Your brain disconnects from your body when you enter a deep sleep - that's why you don't kick the shit out of your wife when you dream you are running. Sometimes, people can wake up whilst still disconnected, often being able to open the eyes. Often feeling a presence in the room/another room. It is also quite normal to feel someone sitting on your chest & holding your arms down.
> 
> I once woke up, found I couldn't move but could hear someone in the other room. I fought & fought the paralysis until I got out of the bed to the bedroom door. When I got to the door, I looked back at the bed & I was still ****ing in it ! At that point I woke for real and almost by reflex I was at the door for real and through it to find no-one there. 
> 
> This is VERY SCARY - I sympathise with you.
> 
> Drugs can bring this on - in my case xanax brings it on but I am prone anyway. It happens a few times a year, especially in times of stress. 
> ...




Wow, that happened to me before and I never used the product. You described it great. Kinda trippy

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## dobaria

SamE is also useful to regulate mood. I had no luck with 5 htp so I switched to st. johns and SamE - Combined with a good ECA it made me into a walking zombie lol

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## Garbanzo Dude

i've used in the past.....had non of the issue you described

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## Tesla

I tried it as a sleep aid. It really made me feel anxious and stressed out the next day. I'm going to throw away the bottle.

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## dirtball_619

had sleep paralysis a month ago. problem was i couldnt breath and felt like my arms and face were numbed completely. scared the living fvck outta me.

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## NewMuscle83

> Did you by any chance wake up & found you were not able to move whilst experiencing auditory hallucinations (hearing things) ? If so - it's called sleep paralysis. 
> 
> Your brain disconnects from your body when you enter a deep sleep - that's why you don't kick the shit out of your wife when you dream you are running. Sometimes, people can wake up whilst still disconnected, often being able to open the eyes. Often feeling a presence in the room/another room. It is also quite normal to feel someone sitting on your chest & holding your arms down.
> 
> I once woke up, found I couldn't move but could hear someone in the other room. I fought & fought the paralysis until I got out of the bed to the bedroom door. When I got to the door, I looked back at the bed & I was still ****ing in it ! At that point I woke for real and almost by reflex I was at the door for real and through it to find no-one there. 
> 
> This is VERY SCARY - I sympathise with you.
> 
> Drugs can bring this on - in my case xanax brings it on but I am prone anyway. It happens a few times a year, especially in times of stress. 
> ...


**** man, I thought I was dying when that shit happened to me! It only happened once though, thank god. It was the summer of 2005, and I woke up to a POUNDING headache, pain throughout my body, and the inability to move an inch. I started praying, and accepted my death. Then I thought, well this is taking a while..hmmm..maybe I'm not dying. So I slowly started trying to move toes and fingers, and eventually I got out of it. Freaked the shit out of me. Never happened again though, thankfully.

Oh, I wasn't on anything at that point at all.

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## mustang331

> There's lots of good stuff on the web about this - http://skepdic.com/sleepparalysis.html
> 
> It's nice to know it exists because if it happens again, it won't be as scary. I'd been suffering for years before I found someone else that suffered & realised it was just my mind playing tricks on me.



I know this is an old post, I just wanted to mention that I also experienced this just like you mentioned.. TO THE T!!

The first time it happened I heard my cousin talking to me and it went on for 5 or so minutes, it was the weirdest thing because he died 5 years ago now.

It was the first time and I freaked out like crazy and still remember every word he was saying (of course it was me, but was it?  :Frown:  )

That said I have had it happen a couple times since and I have yet to hear him again  :Frown: 

Its the scariest feeling in the world though

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## neuf80

Hmm, this is the first time I've heard of 5 HPT causing those types of nightmares as a side effect. But I think with mood stabilizing supplements (or drugs), different things work for different people, and while it can work great for one person, it could make things worse for another. I think 5 HPT is a great supplement. It makes you so relaxed and helps you sleep better. Sam-e is also another good one. So I say find what works for you and stick with it.

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## trainfreak

48 volts u mjust made me lol great story

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## yannick35

> tried 5 Htp to help with mood while on PCT and had some terrible sides. Severe nightmares which ended in me waking up in panic and thinking i was being burgled several times a night, severe anxiety the following day lasting all day (similar to overdosing on cafffiene). I threw it in the bin straight after 2 days of use. I was using two tabs which is one tab below the reccomedded dose on the bottle. Beware.
> On a side note i have started using St john wort to help with my OCD and anxiety and it is great. works well, no sides and elevated good mood, i would reccomend.


that is so true i had the same, sick really sick, i took a product called somnolin from metagenics, was given to me by my medical doctor to help me sleep and reduce stress level.
I had the same side effects has you did beast. Glad to see i am not the only one.

Ouch i am now taking melantonin which is much better.

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## Awesome_Shiloh

i'm new to this and never knew people took 5-htp to enhance mood for exercise purposes, i use to take it when i partied in my early years, didn't notice any effects from it except for when i took it on days after rollin at the club since my seritonin, dopamine, and neuroepiniphrene were depleted. i read, and this was years ago that gammahydroxytrytophane (5-htp) just helped increase the production of these chemicals by your brain, is there something else it does that i'm not aware of? i honestly had no idea bodybuilders took it

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## NewMuscle83

it gets recommended as a sleep aid. Not necessiraly for bodybuilders, just anyone who wants a natural sleep aid i guess. The problem is that it causes unwanted sleep sides in many people

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## CHAP

WOW, This has happened to me before, looked it up now I know what it is I wont freak out as bad when it happen again. Always thought I was going to die

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## Ljavy17

It has been happening to me since I was 11 years old. But I now know how to control it. I shake my head left to the right because it seems in the paralysis all I can move it my head, even though very little. Try shaking your head as fast as you can from left to right and see if you come out of it. It works for me everytime, But you have to fight hard to get out of it.

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## charlesriley

if you happend to use st john wort and 5htp at the same time you ended up with way more serotonin than normal

hypercin and hypeforin are in st john wort, when they are isolated and extracted they are considered extreemly phsycoactive. 5htp as you already know causes and increas in serotonin,

if you increase the amount of seotonin in your brain and then go ahead and block your brains re-uptake of a monaamine especially sero youll get either serotoinin syndrome or phsycedllic and psychoactice results

Drugs which may contribute to serotonin syndrome with St John's wort Class Drugs

Antidepressants MAOIs, TCAs, SSRIs, mirtazapine, venlafaxine 
Opioids tramadol, pethidine 
CNS stimulants *phentermine*(*usefull to know if your using that)*, diethylpropion, amphetamines, sibutramine, cocaine 
5-HT1 agonists triptans 
Psychedelic drugs methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) 
Others selegiline, tryptophan, buspirone, lithium, linezolid, dextromethorphan, *5-HTP* 



if you overload your 5ht receptors in your brain they are all going to react. 5ht1a is the recptor responsible for Ecstacy and ACID hallucinations, its monamine is sertonin lol. 


i can go more in depth but this is a fitness wbsite just be careful with benadryl, 5htp and diet aids, they all effect serotonin and can cause the stupification seen with strung out people or paraniod thoughts. or if used right can cause a sense of well-bieng

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## charlesriley

to improve mood in a more gentle way (gentle with brain=good) try L-tryosine, and sleep at night with melotonin and a gaba antagonist.

** sleep with GBL or GHB is suuuper tranquil and it spike your HGH levels a respectable amount. youll get leaner, stronger, and somtimes have to sleep less to do it. and youll wake up a universe away from depression cuz your so rested. i do it a few weeks at a time a few times a year

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## charlesriley

try to act on dopamine,gaba or noradrenalin re-uptake to alter bahavior its safer and has less sides.

serotinin is tricky and can cause intelligence deficits or memory loss if you **** up.

if anyone out there is using drugs for anti depressant uses take well butrin or a dnri nri or dri, instead of ssri.

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## nyspqr

This stuff creates crazy dreams. Last time I took the stuff, I had a lucid dream. Really insane stuff. Makes me tired the next day though.

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## ProEvoDanny

Damn i thought i was the only one that has sleep paralysis, you need to get to your doctor you can get a med u take before bed which sorts it out

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