Combinations - 5-HTP Enhancers?

[Burning Fire]

SWIM just purchased a bottle of Natrol 5-HTP 30 capsules containing 100 mgs of 5-HTP each and was wondering if there was any other mood enhancing drugs that SWIM could take that would enhance the effects of the 5-HTP. SWIM would wish them to be legal and prefer herbal, but would not rule out any synthetic or OTC drug.

SWIM plans to take one capsule tomorrow (today technically) in the morning and would like to know if caffeine, gurana, or other ingredients in energy drinks would enhance it's effects.

Other info: SWIM is not on any anti-depressants or prescription medication or any OTC medication and has not dosed with DXM for one week.

EDIT: SWIM has been taking 100 mgs in the morning and it has made him happy and calm. SWIM used around 80 mgs of caffeine with 5-HTP and found it to make him more hyper-active and happy. SWIM also found that when talking to his girlfriend that was mad at him, he was subsequently not mad back and found resolving the issue easier without reprecussions. SWIM is still looking for any information on how to further enhance the effects of 5-HTP.

[DXMBunny]

5-htp is the precursor to serotonin... simply put your bodily turns it into serotonin... your brain constantly releases serotonin this is the chemical that makes your relaxed and happy but also works on sleep patterns and eating patterns... enhancing this is not really possible... it is definitely a good thing to take if one is not feeling happy and having odd sleep and eating cycles.... but from swim's experience after a couple of weeks of taking daily swim felt back to normal and stopped using... swim only uses now every few months when he starts feeling worse than normal or thinks his brain needs replenishment...

also if swim plans on taking X because this makes the trip better and helps very much with the come down...

[Burning Fire]

Would ginkgo biloba and/or yerba mate be something that would be safe to take while using 5-HTP? Also would alcohol be safe to drink while using 5-HTP? SWIM uses DXM occasionally, would taking DXM while using 5-HTP be safe?

[DXMBunny]

Originally Posted by Burning Fire

Would ginkgo biloba and/or yerba mate be something that would be safe to take while using 5-HTP? Also would alcohol be safe to drink while using 5-HTP? SWIM uses DXM occasionally, would taking DXM while using 5-HTP be safe?

5-htp is generally safe with anything... but because of increase in serotonin may slightly change the feeling of other substance for better or worse.

swiy can take 5-htp and generally still do anything swiy would normally do as if swiy was not taking the supplement... swim says generally because of course everyone is different and adverse allergic reactions or else can happen... but this would be extremely rare...

for about 1/2 of dxm users say 5-htp potentiates dxm... where the other half usually says that it hurts the trip a bit... and some find it does not matter... swim found it helped potentiate dxm... but only as far as a 1%-5% increase in trip... barely noticable considering dxm can fluxate anyways and hard to attribute a small change as such being from one certain thing...

swim can not remember but he remembers somewhere on here reading that 5-htp can have some effect on alcohol... and that one should not take during or right before drinking... not that its usually dangerous but that it can hurt the buzz... hopefully someone else remembers this and can help fix swim's thoughts lol

sorry this got a bit long... but hopefully it will help. many threads on 5-htp and simple search and a bit of time can go a long way...

forgot to mention that it is generally safe to mix with other supplements, again swim uses generally only to protect his own words from that one rare incident where something never thought could happen randomly happens lol

Reputation Comments on this post:

Answered the questions in full, paying attention to detail.

[Dark_the_7th]

Originally Posted by DXMBunny

for about 1/2 of dxm users say 5-htp potentiates dxm... where the other half usually says that it hurts the trip a bit... and some find it does not matter... swim found it helped potentiate dxm... but only as far as a 1%-5% increase in trip... barely noticable considering dxm can fluxate anyways and hard to attribute a small change as such being from one certain thing...

For the sake of harm reduction, I have to say that mixing 5-HTP with recreational doses of DXM is asking for an excuse to go to the ER. Seratonin Syndrome is not fun, people.

Oh, to the original poster... 5-HTP basically can't work without adequate vitamin B-6 in your system. Take both at once; you'll be pleasantly surprised.

[Maxfrombx]

Oh, to the original poster... 5-HTP basically can't work without adequate vitamin B-6 in your system. Take both at once; you'll be pleasantly surprised

Talking about harm reduction... Very bad advice here, unless one wants to convert all the 5-HTP in 5-HT in his bloodstream, preventing it from crossing the blood-brain barrier and reaching its target, and worse, provocking right-heart fibrosis and pulmonar hyper-tension as observed with cancerous patients having tumors secreting 5-HT.

SWIM is even wondering if he will not switch soon to L-tryptophan, which has to be dosed about 10x higher than 5-HTP, but which do not raise dangerously 5-HT blood level/provock serotonine syndrome.

[chibi curmudgeon]

I wouldn't say that anything containing caffeine, or ginkgo, would necessarily enhance the 5-HTP; the effects are a bit different, even though they might all make you happy. It wouldn't, afaik, be enhancing the 5-HTP so much as working to do the same thing on its own.

I checked with Clinical Pharmacology, and 5-HTP is indeed fine with caffeine and ethanol, and dextromethorphan in therapeutic doses. Depending on what kind of effects one gets from DXM, one might not want to combine it with excessive amounts of 5-HTP, but in reasonable doses one should be fine.