I'm not sure if this is even the right forum....but for me, 5-HTP has opened my mind. I've been taking 1 100mg dose once a week and it works wonders. I take it in the morning, with breakfast, and it takes +/- 4 hours to hit. The best way to describe how it feels....it feels like being free from wanting. Like I understand drug addiction, addictive personalities, etc now. Without the 5-HTP its like I'm always unhappy/in pain and always looking for something that will make me feel better. Whether its my next bowlpack, orgasm, beer, video game. aka addiction. Anything to take the pain away. The 5-HTP makes me feel content and satisfied, like I don't need anything to be happy, I can be happy in any situation, even at work. I think I understand why it works this way. I don't chase the opposite sex at all, and I think my brain's hardware restricts serotonin and only wants to release it when I do something it wants to reward. AKA interact with the opposite sex. When I was depressed the only time I ever felt good was when I'd talk to women. Anyways, it goes much deeper than that. Low serotonin seems to be behind every mental problem I've ever had.....my ADD has been because of intrusive thoughts, and isn't ADD at all. Its low serotonin. Low serotonin feels like the verge of a panic attack, where you blow problems out of proportion. And my mind would race focusing on my problems. I remember that starting when I was a kid, when my parents divorced. On the 5-HTP I feel secure, even with huge problems in my life....but not the same false sense of security that opium/etc gives you. Low serotonin also seems to be behind my social anxiety, self doubting, and that kind of shit. When I'm on it, I can converse with people in a much more relaxed way. When I get drunk I'm actually a fun drunk, and now understand the classic feeling of being drunk. I used to always be so uptight I'd never "let go" and let myself be drunk. Now when I party I'm just like everyone else! Edit: one important thing I think I discovered, is that the paranoia/being stuck in your head/mind racing thing with weed is actually from low serotonin. On the 5-HTP, my mind relaxes and goes along with the high, I get the giggles, like a kid/teen when I first started smoking. About me taking it. The first day, I feel good, real good, better than being on vicodin, ketamine, xanax, weed, alcohol, the list goes on. The only thing I've ever tried thats similar is MDMA. Though on this I feel good without being fucked up, completely clear-headed, maybe a little manic. Ok, manic, cause it makes me enthusiastic about things (which I really haven't been since I was a kid). But its a physical sort of mania, a body-mania, as my mind doesn't race or become unstable. Besides just that, on the first day I'll get waves of euphoria that will come and go. Sometimes its absolute bliss. My depression was the sort, when I would look at something, the first thought that would pop into my head would be negative. On the 5-HTP, I look at something (like a sunset, flowers in a field, just general stuff) and the first thought is positive! Just like when I was a kid! For the first day I have effects like this. The first night I get jaw clenching similar to MDMA and I don't understand why anyone would look into this for a sleep-aid, or why anyone would split a 100mg morning dose into 2 50mg doses with 1 at night. The positive effects are wasted on sleep, the mania makes it difficult to sleep, and the jaw clenching is brutal. Anyways, I also want to say that if I do get mania, its not necessarily because I'm bi-polar....I believe I'm uni-polar depressive and my mind is so used to low serotonin that the 5-HTP has such a strong manic effect. Effects on other days. I only take one 100mg pill a week because I believe I'm trying to boost my baseline serotonin levels, not use it as my sole source of serotonin. And my experience seems to reflect that. Even a full week after taking 1 dose I feel 10x better than I did baseline before. I felt like absolute SHIT before I started taking 5-HTP. After the first day I typically just feel "normal". Even, stable, not happy or sad, inbetween and content. I usually take another dose 8-9 days after the previous, when I start getting agitated at things as that seems to be the first sign my mood is slipping. The pill bottle says to take 2 doses a day, which would be insane and dangerous IMO. One effect I like, that most people on here wouldn't agree with....for me it has similar sexual side effects as SSRIs. I can still reach orgasm just fine. But I just lose 95% of my attraction. Its WONDERFUL. I can live my life, do things, and feel secure and content and not like I need women I'm attracted to. I can still appreciate their looks.....the "heat" just isn't there. I'm like "meh" instead of "I neeeeeeed to tap that". Another effect I like, it seems to be an appetite suppressant. Apparently I ate so much as part of my addictive personality trying to find something to make me happy to take the pain away. It makes it so easy to turn down unhealthy foods and stick to a diet. Also after the first day it does help with sleep similar to weed. I don't see why more people don't know about this.....I've talked to friends and old ravers know it and appreciate it. But the general consensus seems to be, its a herb, and barely better than a placebo. Its not just a herb...its the direct precursor to serotonin, which is the precursor to dopamine. The effect is fucking scientific FFS. One last thing. I think the brain restricts serotonin to motivate people to succeed in life. If its too aggressive doing that, you end up being depressive in general. This seems like an "override". I know so many people this could benefit. And I wish I would've known about this back in High School or something, my life would've been so different!
