Author Topic: 5-HTP and SAD  (Read 6282 times)

Amanda_George

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5-HTP and SAD
« on: September 04, 2019, 03:05:39 PM »
Just got back from seeing Brad (my CPN) and asked for recommendations to see me through the SAD months.  He suggested trying 5-HTP as it's, apparently, the pre-cursor to anti-depressants so I'm gonna go and have a look for that now.

Obviously check with your medical bods before you take it, to make sure it doesn't mess with any of your current meds, don't just take my unqualified word for it, but if you struggle with SAD too, then it might be worth trying?

He's asked for blood tests of all sorts of things including my Iron, vitamin D and vitamin B12 and for the results to go back to my GP, but I already take supplements and I feel fine on them and I'm hoping the 5-HTP will see me through until next year, alongside the coconut oil that saw me through last year, but I'm feeling really positive right now!

Chocolate swiss roll is on me this afternoon, in celebration!
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Pip

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Re: 5-HTP and SAD
« Reply #1 on: September 04, 2019, 08:03:35 PM »
I've got a good mind to ask my GP about that, I've started using coconut oil and am hooked on that.

Amanda_George

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Re: 5-HTP and SAD
« Reply #2 on: September 04, 2019, 08:11:18 PM »
It's gotta be worth a try if your GP agrees... you've got nothing to lose other than the low moods that come along with SAD!
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Amanda_George

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Re: 5-HTP and SAD
« Reply #3 on: September 04, 2019, 08:47:30 PM »
Pip has approved the link I went to for the 5 HTP so here it is:  https://www.simplysupplements.co.uk/

I've used them for my supplements for pretty much 20 years so I can hand on heart say that it's a genuine site and if you pop my name (Amanda George) and email address (amanda.k.george@googlemail.com) into the "referred by a friend?" box at the checkout, you get a certain amount (I think it's 10%) off your order and I wouldn't go anywhere else for my supplements any more!

They had very humble beginnings of just a multivitamin suitable for vegetarians that were tablets that you could buy in 180 pill bottles and you usually got a second bottle for free which was pretty much unheard of online back then (your maximum was usually a maximum of 90 pills and they used to cost a small fortune because you were getting so many).

When I came out of hospital (I was on the Neurology ward for almost 3 months) I was dosed up to the eyeballs with meds and it was sooo expensive to fork out for them all every month so I had a look on Simply Supplements and found that they did a multivitamin and vitamin B complex (I was severely short of B1 when I was taken in to hospital) that was not only suitable for vegetarians but was also free of lactose (the food allergy that was making me throw up so much) as well as a lactose free Calcium so I popped them all into my basket and hoped for the best - this was gonna be the make it or break it of my custom with them.

As you can tell it was a "make it" decision 'cos I'm still with them now. 

I spend about £75 a year with them, which I know sounds like a lot, but for that I get a year's supply of vegetarian and lactose free multi-vitamins as well as Iron, B12 and Calcium and it's only once a year instead of £30+ three or four times a year that other online places charge and they either aren't suitable for vegetarians and/or they've got an allergen in their ingredients and/or they only sell capsules which I've never been able to swallow at the best of times.

Assuming the 5-HTP works, that's another £15 a month which is pretty steep, but if it helps me to feel better over the SAD months then it's so worth it for me and I won't be taking it throughout the year, just during the darker months.

Make an appointment with your MH bod and ask about taking it before you order it though, just in case they say no... I didn't even know it existed before Brad mentioned it this afternoon!

I'm off to bed now.

Night night everyone!   :sSig_cool2:
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May your life be as pleasant as you are.

Amanda_George

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Re: 5-HTP and SAD
« Reply #4 on: September 09, 2019, 01:42:29 PM »
The 5 HTP arrived with the post and I took it straight away.  Like with the B12 when I haven't taken it for a day or two, the effect was within minutes which I really wasn't expecting!  Assuming it keeps working like that, the combination of 5 HTP and coconut milk will hopefully see me through the SAD season the easiest ever!

As long as it keeps working, I can't recommend it highly enough!
Money talks, chocolate sings!  :-D

May your life be as pleasant as you are.