When I first started Paleo last fall my health--physical and mental--was in a state of disrepair. I could not sleep, I had a lot of anxiety, and things such as struggling to open a shipped package, or cleaning a blender, would easily bring me to tears. Things were bad. 5-HTP, amongst other things, really helped me for the first couple of months of healing. I slept a lot better.

If you have another rough period, consider 5-HTP. There is little risk if you are not taking SSRI's or MAOI's. It is also really easy to stop taking. Once I felt good enough, I just didn't need it, and my supplementation ended.

Sounds like you might have some degree of Seasonal Affective Disorder, which can lead to depression, feeling sluggish/low, lack of energy, carbohydrate cravings e.t.c. Fortunately it's fairly quick and easy to treat with light therapy.

http://www.lumie.com/

This site offers a good range of clinically effective light therapy options, although I'm sure you could also find plenty of others via Amazon e.t.c.

Bought it once.

I had repetitive dreams of a blue eye in my foot!

True.

Can't say it did much.

I used 5-HTP for 10+ years to keep my severe clinical depression at bay (along with a low carb diet) but it wasn't until I discovered supplementing Vitamin D and Magnesium that I really finally felt that my depression disappeared. Since that discovery I eliminated the 5-HTP completely because it wasn't necessary (not to mention, it's much more expensive than D and mag). I feel amazing with just those two supplements and a healthy diet. Once the diet starts to slip into high carb land I do tend to slide a bit on the happiness scale personally.

I certainly recommend it if you've already tried magnesium and Vitamin D and those don't seem to work for you.

Last year I tried it for about 4 months but didn't seem to benefit much from it. I was trying to get off antidepressants so I tried that and St Johns wort and DLPA. It seems that many do find these helpful so it's worth a try.

Check out Julia Ross's work (The Mood Cure and The Diet Cure). She offers up some really great info and advise.

living in the pacific NW ie Puddletown the rain lasts into June and can be dreary. My Naturopath recommended 5-htp and after a few weeks I guess I didn't notice a difference. I switched over to SAM-e which has been a huge help in addition to enough Vit D..I take 5000 units a day.

5htp is great for some people, but if you don't respond well to it, try L-tryptophan. My whole family does better on L-tryptophan. A happy light, and plenty of vitamin d will also boost your mood in the dark months of the year.

I find a lot of success elevating my mood with Valerian. I'm easily annoyed and irritable otherwise, it seems.

I've tried 5HTP and don't think I saw much of a difference, but with all things your mileage may vary.

I tried it a couple years ago. t relaxed me ... so much so that I was zonked out within 15 minutes. Which would be great, except that I felt hungover in the morning too. Didn't do a lot for anxiety.

That said, a lot of people do really well on it, and it's certainly worth a shot.

I love it personally. Increased Lucid awareness in my dreams was the only intense side effect. Besides that, deeper sleep, improved mood, appetite, recovery. Only used it for about 2-3 weeks before I felt like I didn't need it anymore. I do tend to use it for SAD only.

While I no nothing about 5htp,

I was wondering if you supplement with vitamin D? Since you said you have depression in the winter especially, I am would assume that a lack of vitamin D could be part of the cause.

5-HTP is a chemical that the body makes from tryptophan (an essential amino acid, which has to be obtained through food). After tryptophan is converted into 5-HTP, it is then converted into another chemical called serotonin (a neurotransmitter, which relays signals between brain cells). My current understanding is that serotonin specifically regulates circadian patterns of eating (i.e. three times a day) by activating satiety neurons in the medial hypothalamus.

However, when under stress the hormone cortisol is produced by the adrenal glands and I understand that this, when combined with tryptophan also increases the likelihood of liver damage and bladder cancer? Is this true?

The amino acid tryptophan occurs is found in turkey, chicken, milk, turnip and collard greens and seaweed.

how much vit D and mag is a good daily dose? also how much HTP is a good dose to start with?

I have a Vit d = vit K supp and 5 HTP just wondering how many tablets to take?

Before giving in and taking ADD medication (see my dissertation on that here), I tried (among other things) 5-HTP along with D and Mg. There was a noticeable improvement in mood and energy level, but it didn't help with the general 'scatterbrained' problem, so the practical day-to-day problems causing the depressed mood didn't go away. To put it another way: I felt a bit better, but not enough better to go out and conquer life, so I was just spinning my wheels more happily. It didn't take long for the reality of the situation to spoil the improved mood.

Interestingly, L-tryptophan seemed to have a negative effect for me; on it I felt more tired and depressed. From what I've read, there's a wide range in how both supplements affect people, perhaps depending on just why your mood chemicals are messed up and what can get across the blood-brain barrier in the right amounts. So if one doesn't work for you, it might be worth trying the other one, even though one is a precursor for the other.

I'm diagnosed with clinical depression and unable to take prescribed drugs for this as I suffer with appalling side effects. A friend of mine recently recommended I tried Healthspan's 5-HTP 'happy days' supplement and what a change it's made! I've recommended it to others (I am a reflexologist and Reiki therapist) and everyone is happy with the results so far.