HORRENDOUS experience with 5-HTP!

I woke up this morning and threw the remaining 5-HTP I had, in the trash! After a night of horror that rivaled a train-wreck psychedelic trip I once had many years ago, I have decided that 5-HTP is not for me. It takes a lot to shake me up, after all, I'm Freddy Krueger! But what I experienced last night was so awful, that I am still sick to my stomach. I took one dose of 5-HTP the night before last, and had some bad nightmares, but nothing I couldn't handle. The next night was different, (and I didn't even take anymore of this bizarre supplement) and things got MUCH worse. I don't want to describe what happened, and I realize that this supplement works good for some people, so I'm not going on a 5-HTP bashing campaign, but I just wanted to get this off my chest sort of. Oh, I also wanted to say, I wasn't lucid during the nightmares, but I did get a spontaneous OBE. I don't like OBE's anyway, but that one was straight from Hell!

I guess the reason for the post is twofold:
1. I wanted to just put this out here for anyone wanting to take this supplement to have something to consider - and..

2. I want to ask if anyone has had a similar experience with it, and how long did it take for the effects to wear off? I discontinued after the first night, but the night after, my experience was way worse.

I am sure some are thinking that this was just a huge coincidence, but I can assure you that it's not. I am positive that my chemistry and the 5-HTP are not compatible.

Hm, strange. I had some very vivid dreams after taking 5-HTP, and though I wouldn't call most of them nightmares, I can see how they could have gone that way. It may be coincidence, but it seems to be a theme that after taking a certain amount and then not taking any the next night, I do have real nightmares (on the first night I don't take it) of the kind which force me to wake up in the middle of the dream with a huge sense of dread which carries on into waking but fades after a while. I'm a little strange when it comes to nightmares, though, in the sense that I would choose to have them, unpleasant as they are while they're still going on. I've learnt to calm down pretty quickly after them, at which point I mostly find them fascinating, so this far from discourages me from trying 5-HTP from time to time. :P But I agree that those trying it for lucid dreaming should consider whether they're prepared to deal with nightmares, as it definitely can happen.

I've only had nightmare effects the night after taking it, and my dreams quickly return to normal, so with luck yours will too.

How much did you take?

Hi, Vasion. Thanks for your reply - it was reassuring in the fact that it was the second night that you had the worst nightmares, like I did. Some nightmares I can embrace, but these were just to close to home for me, but I totally understand what you mean. As far as the dosage, I took one 100mg capsule -- that was the recommended dose.

I don't understand, what is 5-HTP supposed to do? If it is a precursor to serotonin and then somehow increases the production of serotonin, wouldn't that decrease the amount of REM dream-time that you have since serotonin is thought of as a REM-inhibitor (increasing serotonin levels inhibit the rise of acetylocholine)? I thought that the reduced dreaming sleep side-effect that people get from anti-depressants was caused by increased levels of serotonin.

I have had similar experiences with taking drugs for sleep though! NyQuil was especially bad for me. My mom would give it to me when I was little and I hated it because I would always have terrible nightmares. Or I would have a hell-like state of consciousness where I would see random images, numbers, and shapes floating past me in an infinite void and it was very chaotic. Happened every time I took NyQuil. I think messing with our body's chemistry can be a little bit dangerous if we aren't entirely sure what we're doing.

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Originally Posted by anotherdreamer

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Or I would have a hell-like state of consciousness where I would see random images, numbers, and shapes floating past me in an infinite void and it was very chaotic. Happened every time I took NyQuil. I think messing with our body's chemistry can be a little bit dangerous if we aren't entirely sure what we're doing.

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I encountered a Hell-like state of consciousness last night in my OBE. Yes, messing with our chemistry is not always the best course of action.

There have been previous reports about bad dreams following 5-HTP, and I believe some manufacturers actually warn about it on the package.

I use 100 mg about twice a week, and it does nothing but make me sleep a bit deeper; it is not a dream-generator for me.

You might want to consider combining 5-HTP with chamomile tea; in my experience chamomile-nights always turn out pleasant - whether filled with dreams, or devoid of them.

I may try the chamomile tea sometime, but I think I will pass on the 5-HTP, personally.

REM suppressors tend to cause REM rebound which can result in longer and more vivid REM cycles in the later morning.

I don't use 5-HTP that often. If I do then I take 100 mg pre-bed. I can feel when it kicks it as I get a small bit of HI and fall asleep easy.
However I did note one of the first times I used it that I had a micro-awakening about 1 to 2 hours in where I caught myself slamming my bottom jaw hard up onto my top teeth set of my mouth. This was very disconcerting. I don't think it was a hallucination either.

Yeah I tend to get the occasional micro-awakenings (inc. dreams!) from using 5-HTP during the middle of the night.

BTW did you take or are you taking any medication, including herbal supplements, apart from the 5-HTP which might interact, etc?

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Originally Posted by Highlander

BTW did you take or are you taking any medication, including herbal supplements, apart from the 5-HTP which might interact, etc?

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No medication, but I do take vitamin B6 once a week or so.