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5-htp and St. John's wort

5-htp; st. johns wort

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#1 funkmasterG

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Posted 13 March 2019 - 03:46 AM


I am experimenting with different supplements that help with mood regulation, and i have messed around with 5-htp (200mg) now for quite some time and it has so far been pretty decent. I am thinking about trying St. John's Wort  to see if it is better or just to see if it maybe causes some other effects that I may like. So here is my question, even before i have started taking 5-htp, whenever u do research certain things come up like possible side-effects, dosage, ect and one of the things, is possible interactions with other drugs,food, etc. And one of the things that always came up when i searched 5-htp is that your not "supposed" to mix it with St. John's Wort. So what i want to know is 2 things actually, for one, if I am currently taking 5-htp, how long do I have to stop taking it before i can start St. John's wort, and secondly I found the fact that your not "supposed" to mix them a little odd because I have come across a couple of diff supplements were the 2 things (5-htp and St. John's Wort) are both in the same supplement. I was kinda shocked, so I read the reviews of diff ppl who have tried it, and no one really said they had negative effects/symptoms. Most actually liked the results, and others who wrote less positive reviews, said they just didn't feel much of anything. I was curious to try this type of supplement with 2 in 1, but just wanted to know how potentially dangerous it could be, and on a side note, how dangerous would it be if I were to eat cheese and wine while on this cuz i remember that there is also a chemical naturally found in cheese and wine (tyramine i think is what its called) that may potentially interact with these two things (5-htp and St. Johns Wort). Any opinions is greatly appreciated.

 

Thank You



#2 coinperson

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Posted 13 March 2019 - 12:36 PM

I think the issue with mixing comes from Serotonin Syndrome https://www.mayoclin...es/syc-20354758

My wife is a schizophrenic and bi-polar, we have regulated her mood for the past 11 years to where no one would every know.  She does not take any pharmaceuticals and has a very level mood.  

The key here is diet.  We follow a keto/paleo diet pretty close.  All organic, to the point where we grow most of our veggies and eat zero sugars or grains.

For supplements, you need a couple of things:

For me, anecdotally, I found Carbon 60 to boost my mood as well as my energy.

Personally, for mood, we take:

  • Neurofuzion from Global Healing Center (I found that 2 once a day was best, not 2 twice a day).  I love this stuff...  2 capsules have 6mg of elemental lithium, zinc, Bacopa monnieri, Mucuna Prurien, passionflower, St. John's Wort, Rhodiola, and Saffron.  You can look up each of those if you wish.
  • B-12 from Global Healing Center.  I am all about absorption, and these people have that down
  • Krill Oil for Omega-3 from Dr. Mercola.
  • Multivitamin from Naturelo (again all about absorption for me).  Enough D3 and other B's for me.
  • Vitamin C for better absorption of many vitamins including B's
  • Carbon 60 I get from Redlion (cause they pulverize it, again absorption, plus I feel the best with it)

Some other things that might interest you.  B-Complex, Salmon Oil (if you don't buy into the whole krill oil), Alternative Multivitamin from Organixx I like, Zen Premium (never taken it) with B-complex and supplements, high absorption D3 from global healing center, and another good source of D3 from Naturelo.

Hope that helps



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#3 funkmasterG

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Posted 13 March 2019 - 05:40 PM

Thank you for your response, yes i forgot to mention it by specific name (serotonin syndrome) but that is why it kind of surprised me that they have some pre-made supplements with both (5-htp and St. John's Wort) in one. But if ppl who have written reviews have said they felt fine, I wanted to try it, I'm just still a bit hesitant i guess unless i can get more confirmation on here. 

I think the issue with mixing comes from Serotonin Syndrome https://www.mayoclin...es/syc-20354758

My wife is a schizophrenic and bi-polar, we have regulated her mood for the past 11 years to where no one would every know.  She does not take any pharmaceuticals and has a very level mood.  

The key here is diet.  We follow a keto/paleo diet pretty close.  All organic, to the point where we grow most of our veggies and eat zero sugars or grains.

For supplements, you need a couple of things:

For me, anecdotally, I found Carbon 60 to boost my mood as well as my energy.

Personally, for mood, we take:

  • Neurofuzion from Global Healing Center (I found that 2 once a day was best, not 2 twice a day).  I love this stuff...  2 capsules have 6mg of elemental lithium, zinc, Bacopa monnieri, Mucuna Prurien, passionflower, St. John's Wort, Rhodiola, and Saffron.  You can look up each of those if you wish.
  • B-12 from Global Healing Center.  I am all about absorption, and these people have that down
  • Krill Oil for Omega-3 from Dr. Mercola.
  • Multivitamin from Naturelo (again all about absorption for me).  Enough D3 and other B's for me.
  • Vitamin C for better absorption of many vitamins including B's
  • Carbon 60 I get from Redlion (cause they pulverize it, again absorption, plus I feel the best with it)

Some other things that might interest you.  B-Complex, Salmon Oil (if you don't buy into the whole krill oil), Alternative Multivitamin from Organixx I like, Zen Premium (never taken it) with B-complex and supplements, high absorption D3 from global healing center, and another good source of D3 from Naturelo.

Hope that helps

 



#4 Woody42

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Posted 18 March 2019 - 06:53 PM

A minor caution about St john's Wort it is a mild MAO inhibitor and like other MAO

inhibitors can react to some foods and cause high blood pressure.  About 14 years 

ago I tried a high dose of it and felt absolutely wonderful but noticed an odd feeling

in the back of my neck. I had my blood pressure that usually was 130/85 checked and

was shocked it was now 209 / 108   !   I stopped taking it and 12 hrs later my blood 

pressure was almost back to my normal level.  I am not saying not to use it just that

it may be a good idea to keep track of your blood pressure if you do.  


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#5 funkmasterG

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Posted 19 March 2019 - 03:36 AM

Dang, I think i may have come across something of that nature as well. Do you think ur blood pressure shot up that high just from taking the St. John's Wort period, or because it specifically interacted with some kind of food (like i think wine and cheese are no good cuz of the tyramine they have). That kind of sucks, I actually bought a combination supplement before i had started this question cuz this particular one was relatively low priced and so i was like what the heck, its not a lot $. But now I'm not even sure i want to try it cuz the dosage seems to be relatively high for both things (St. John's Wort 210mg and 5-htp 100mg).

A minor caution about St john's Wort it is a mild MAO inhibitor and like other MAO

inhibitors can react to some foods and cause high blood pressure.  About 14 years 

ago I tried a high dose of it and felt absolutely wonderful but noticed an odd feeling

in the back of my neck. I had my blood pressure that usually was 130/85 checked and

was shocked it was now 209 / 108   !   I stopped taking it and 12 hrs later my blood 

pressure was almost back to my normal level.  I am not saying not to use it just that

it may be a good idea to keep track of your blood pressure if you do.  

 



#6 Woody42

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Posted 19 March 2019 - 12:13 PM

At the time I was not taking any medicine or using any other supplements. I however

was taking 200mg of St Johns Wort several times a day.   I started noticing the back of

my neck feeling odd perhaps an hr after I took it then this feeling faded after an hr or so.

So one day after this feeling had almost subsided I had my blood pressure checked at my

local fire station.  And yes it was probably a reaction to some food I had eaten. But back

then when I looked it up I thought there were a lot of foods that could cause that reaction

not just cheese and wine. But that was 25 years ago and my memory isn't perfect. 



#7 funkmasterG

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Posted 19 March 2019 - 10:56 PM

I was only planning on taking this combination supplement once a day at the max, in your opinion from your experience do you think I will be fine. What made you decide to think it had to do with blood pressure, you just remember reading it was a possible side effect? I really want to try this combination supplement, mainly cuz i already bought it (albeit it wasn't too expensive), i guess i'm just still hesitant about the idea that your not supposed to mix the two due to possible serotonin syndrome, thats prob what spooks me the most. But the thing is, even tho none of these supplements are FDA approved, I would think that if anyone had (god forbid of course) died from taking this particular supplement, that they wouldn't be selling it anymore, and like i said when I read the reviews, most reviews were actually positive, and the others simply said they didn't feel much of anything. When I thought about it, I didn't think taking this would honestly be any worse than taking an actual prescription anti-depressant (i am talking about the two things being almost on par "strength wise" not mixing the the two of course, THAT would be bad) and i have taken 4 different kinds in the past (completely done with that crap though). I really appreciate your feedback Woody42, any last opinions/advice before I take the "plunge" so to speak (or maybe not depending on what ur response is).

Thank You

At the time I was not taking any medicine or using any other supplements. I however

was taking 200mg of St Johns Wort several times a day.   I started noticing the back of

my neck feeling odd perhaps an hr after I took it then this feeling faded after an hr or so.

So one day after this feeling had almost subsided I had my blood pressure checked at my

local fire station.  And yes it was probably a reaction to some food I had eaten. But back

then when I looked it up I thought there were a lot of foods that could cause that reaction

not just cheese and wine. But that was 25 years ago and my memory isn't perfect. 

 



#8 BasicBiO

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Posted 23 March 2019 - 05:53 PM

I take St. John's Wort through the winter months at 500mg taken at night. I will add 5HTP rarely to boost levels of serotonin if my mood is failing. This would be a maximum of 300-600mg of 5HTP a week to avoid the potential for Serotonin Syndrome. SJW appears to raise endorphins as well as upregulating serotonin production and I suspect the benefits are more from the former.



#9 funkmasterG

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Posted 23 March 2019 - 07:08 PM

So since my supplement already has 210 SJW and 100 5htp and going off of the range you suggested (max of 300-600mg of 5htp), at the very most I should only take this supplement for 6 days out of the week and then take the 7th day off, and then start again at the beginning of the next week. So in other words take Monday through Saturday, take Sunday off, and then start again on Monday? I don't know, can I get your take on this?

I take St. John's Wort through the winter months at 500mg taken at night. I will add 5HTP rarely to boost levels of serotonin if my mood is failing. This would be a maximum of 300-600mg of 5HTP a week to avoid the potential for Serotonin Syndrome. SJW appears to raise endorphins as well as upregulating serotonin production and I suspect the benefits are more from the former.

 



#10 BasicBiO

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Posted 30 March 2019 - 10:03 PM

So since my supplement already has 210 SJW and 100 5htp and going off of the range you suggested (max of 300-600mg of 5htp), at the very most I should only take this supplement for 6 days out of the week and then take the 7th day off, and then start again at the beginning of the next week. So in other words take Monday through Saturday, take Sunday off, and then start again on Monday? I don't know, can I get your take on this?

 

Well it's less of a suggestion and just what seems to work for me. Without knowing one thing about you, I can only make the vaguest recommendations. FWIW, I don't think serotonin syndrome is super likely with this combo..it's just something to be mindful of. There are commercially prepared supplements with both of these ingredients plus more serotonin boosters but I doubt they compare to SSRI's + 5HTP.  

 

Perhaps try SJW solo for several weeks (many report it takes a month or so to kick in) and if the results are lackluster, add some 5htp at a reasonable interval.



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#11 funkmasterG

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Posted 03 April 2019 - 04:30 AM

Well it's less of a suggestion and just what seems to work for me. Without knowing one thing about you, I can only make the vaguest recommendations. FWIW, I don't think serotonin syndrome is super likely with this combo..it's just something to be mindful of. There are commercially prepared supplements with both of these ingredients plus more serotonin boosters but I doubt they compare to SSRI's + 5HTP.  

 

Perhaps try SJW solo for several weeks (many report it takes a month or so to kick in) and if the results are lackluster, add some 5htp at a reasonable interval.

Ya I wouldn't think its super likely to cause serotonin syndrome, i just don't see how they would be able to keep selling the product and not have a ton of ppl complaining of feeling horrible or even worse, they would have had to recall or just discontinue the product all together by this point. Granted, none of these supplements are FDA approved, so i'm not saying the ppl concocting these mixtures have gone through the highest standard protocol, but I still trust they somewhat know what they are doing and how much to mix ( which is why i do not trust myself buying in powder form, i have done it once in my life time with a completely diff supplement and nothing bad happened..but still). Anyways, but yes my thought exactly, this shouldn't have the same profound effect to be cautious in terms of comparison to an SSRI + 5HTP. Now that you bring that up, I may try ur suggestion in just trying SJW solo, but I wanted to ask what milligram quantity should I start with. I have experimented with 5HTP for quite some time on two separate extended occasions, so my body is....pretty used to it and how much it can handle without negative side effects but the variety is in terms of quantity is much more simple for 5HTP at, 25mg, 50,mg 200mg and the highest ive seen is 300mg. But for SJW it seems like there is a lot more variety, my quick little researches have brought me across from as little as like 100mg to like 1000mg i think, not sure, and they all seem to say to divide the portions into 3 separate doses throughout the day which i hate doing. One cuz i find it more convenient to just take one pill and two, cuz it just conserves the supplement longer (kinda on a short budget so if doable, it would be great). So do you have a quantity you would suggest as well, what is like the "largest" one dose a day quantity i can take without feeling sick. Again, i really appreciate your opinion, i always like to hear what others have to say esp with prior experience.

 

Thank you 






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