Comments on: What are the Effects of 5-HTP on Dreams?

By: Amy

Amy — Fri, 03 May 2013 02:20:08 +0000

For those interested in 5-HTP, I just want to add in my experience and echo what the author and many other have already said: BE CAREFUL. I’m a woman, about 5’6″, roughly 117 lbs. I have lupus and Ulcerative Colitis, both severe but much better now.

I only took 50 mg, for sleep and depression and appetite suppression, last night for the first time. I also take 1-2 capsules (250 mg/cap) a day with caffeine to help with my energy levels, never noticing an effect on my sleep/dreams with the choline. I also take melatonin (1 pill) nightly, for sleep and other “female” health issues. I OFTEN take many supplements and vitamins and minerals at the same time as the choline or melatonin and caffeine, with no noticeable side effects except the slight jitters, if I don’t eat first or very soon after.

So- last night…well really yesterday AFTERNOON/EVENING around…5 pm-6 pm, perhaps?-, took the 5HTP, along with all my other stuff. I’m sure I had a Red Bull and choline along with this mix, as I was not ready to sleep yet, and had forgotten to take my mix earlier in the day. I also took it hours before I slept because I must stop drinking liquids at least a few hours before sleeping, or else I’ll get no sleep from going to pee all night.

Anyway, took the junk- felt weird/jittery? Maybe a bit dizzy?- for a bit after, and then completely dopey the rest of the time I was up, nealy falling over at times!. Around midnight I remembered that I had taken something new and that it was prob interacting with the melatonin, which I had not previously considered (I’m very careful when adding new supplements or vitamins). Laid down and was immediately afraid to close my eyes and go to sleep, because my balance seemed even more “off” almost as though I had been drinking, and my mind seemed to want to “leave” me. Not sure how to explain it, but I knew that I would sleep, and deeply at that, but I DID NOT KNOW if I would awaken safely! It felt spiritual, and I was almost terrified. Prayed for protection (I’m a Christian), gave in and…

Some of the most terrifying/bizarre/erotic dreams I’ve ever experienced. And I’m a natural lucid dreamer since I was a young child, and so am used to crazy dreams. Every blue moon, I naturally have an erotic dream so intense I’ll have an orgasm that wakes me. *blushing furiously* Sorry so detailed, but I’m trying to help those searching to better understand that intensity of these side effects. Well, last night, I probably had about 5 or 6…or more. I got almost NO sleep, as I was busy running to pee all night, as orgasm>>intense desire to pee…naturally…yes? Lol…I’m so ashamed typing this! *sigh* In these dreams/nightmares, it felt spiritual, with dark overtones. I…”stuff” sexually was going on with me (Idk what, tried to forget immediately upon waking)- I also “witnessed’ family members/friends in erotic situations, which further contributed to the feeling of dark/evil overtones, as I shouldn’t be seeing things like that.

The orgasms were so intense that I nearly hurt myself several times during the “struggle”, and also in trying to fight against it after understanding what was happening. I don’t know if I made any noises (I live w/the parents). I was terrified to go back asleep, but couldn’t help it. I slept until nearly noon today after finally falling asleep peacefully around 8 am. Because of an ongoing illness, I already struggle with night sweats which can get intense; however, I’m convinced that the 5-HTP intensified that too, last night. I’ve also been feeling off-balance all day today, too, really off.

Please be careful with this stuff. Erotic dreams sound nice, right? Well they’re NOT when you have this stuff in your system, at least I’m sure that’s the way it will be for some other people too. And when you’re single and (now) chaste until marriage for years, erotic dreams of any sort are downright awful. I ended up crying…lol…because I didn’t have a REAL man to be with in that way, and it felt like I was being physically and spiritually tortured. Others here have also reported intense emotions while having 5HTP in their systems. I would have- SHOULD have- opened the pill and taken only half to start with. That’s what I suggest. I wasn’t looking for lucid dreaming aids, as my dreams are ALWAYS colorful, wild, and sensory-heavy and I didn’t want to aggravate that further, as dreams can also be/open pathways into not only the “good’ of the spiritual world, but also the evil! As I have experienced since childhood. So…here’s another experience for you, please use much caution. Don’t know if I’ll ever try it again…(Sorry So Long!)

By: RJ

RJ — Sat, 20 Apr 2013 16:32:47 +0000

Wow, I’ve only been on 5-HTP for over a week now and have had very vivid dreams every.single.night. It made me feel refreshed by morning, and I also loved dreaming about something so vivid. However, last night I had a bit of a disturbing dream of someone dying in front of me (a very gruesome death). It was too real for comfort and I woke up with such a clear memory of it, I began to realize that this whole thing started the first time I took the pills (I take 100mg in the mornings). So I decided to just look it up and see if it’s just me… I can’t believe that it’s not! I’m glad though.

The pills have personally helped me a lot with the bouts of depression I go through daily. I feel rejuvenated since taking them, but I also am hesitent because I don’t like messing with my body in any shape or form. I don’t know what to do really, because they really have helped me out so much. Hopefully no more nightmares for me though!

By: Ryan Hurd

Ryan Hurd — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 04:21:53 +0000

Unfortunately, the data was inconclusive, mostly bc 5HTP has a longer halflife than I realized at the time, and can have residual effects for days. I’d need to reanalyze the data comparing weeks on/off. And even more unfortunately, I have had to move away from using zeo as a research tool bc their company is for sale and there’s no telling how long their cloud based database will continue to operate. I’m pretty bummed about this. However, I can say, anecdotally, that 5HTP gives me night sweats.

By: Jesse Herbert

Jesse Herbert — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 13:58:35 +0000

Hi Ryan,

Did you ever get further with this trial?
J

By: gregory

gregory — Sat, 23 Feb 2013 03:49:52 +0000

hello all, i have started using htp 5 a month ago in griffiona extract form 500 mg , and i now tell you it WORKS! dreams started the first night on the first pill! the dreams where so real it felt realer than being awake, i could feel wind, cold, heat, i could hear loud sounds just like in awake reality but more real very strange to explain, the dreams where way out of this world i was superhuman immortal and i could know reality before it happened in my mind real strange, anyway i found out that if you take htp 5 with vitamin b6 you sleep real short i mean like 3 hours or less then wake up super awake so that is not a good idea to take htp 5 with vitamin b6. good luck

peace

By: Trevor

Trevor — Thu, 20 Sep 2012 06:29:48 +0000

I used Melatonin for the first time last night, and I’m really not sure what it did for me. I would not fall asleep at first, almost as if I had caffiene. I bought and took Choline bitartate and 50htp around 3 o clock, I felt quite different during my day at work. Very reserved, thoughtful, a bit sluggish, and my muscles seemed to be fairly tired for any kind of extra exursion. But it was still a great day. I have a feeling like my dreams are going to be amazingly vivid tonight, and they usually are. I would just like to know when it’s the best time to take the supplements. I’m thinking about skipping out on the Melatonin and sticking to both the 5 and the Choline. Choline is supposedly the big hitter in lucid dreaming.

By: Anthony

Anthony — Wed, 19 Sep 2012 03:08:15 +0000

Glyn! I felt the same exact thing as you, except about 9 years go. This dream was so dumb but it made me feel such emotion that I cried. Aha
I was like 8, and I had a dream that I was building a mansion. I was sort of carving it out of a big stone, and I was working SOO hard. All of a sudden it crumbled down into a billion pieces. I woke up crying and cried for about 15 minutes until my parents calmed me down. The rest of the day I was so depressed, and when they brought it up (they thought it was funny, and honestly it kind of was) I would start to tear up.

This fascinates me so much though! I just bought melatonin and 5-htp because I couldn’t find choline at walgreens. I’ll be trying them out tonight (:

By: Glyn

Glyn — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 20:27:57 +0000

I never thought about the correlation of taking 100MG of 5-HTP before bed, but I have been having extremely vivid and lucid dreams every time I sleep. They are amazing good and bad. An addictive experience that comes as a perk to additional health benefits of 5-HTP. Most recent dream I experience heart break similar to the love of your life being taken away from you. I woke up with this feeling and it wouldn’t go away for hours. Very powerful.

By: Ryan Hurd

Ryan Hurd — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 16:06:47 +0000

yikes thanks Brandon for the story: I’m glad you are OK! Those sound like the symptoms of serotonin overdose, also known as serotonin syndrome.

I surely hope that 5HTP overdose does not become a popular thing to try… it can have even worse effects for some people. Serotonin overdose can be fatal and different people react to high dosages in different ways. There’s a clinical case of serotonin overdose occurring at less than 50mg of a related compound known as venlafaxine. The case is relevant because this is not considered a strong dose. here’s the source on that one: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12549949

On a lighter note: write down that dream now! You’ll lose the details over time. It may have been a dumb move, but many people report insightful dreams during overdose situations, extreme fatigue and other intense activities. “From its fruits you will know it, not its roots,” paraphrasing William James on the topic of the origin of spiritual experience.

By: Ryan Hurd

Ryan Hurd — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 15:43:34 +0000

Nestor, I would try some of these other self-help methods for reducing nightmares. My guess is that taking 5HTP helps you feel safe; this may be providing some of the relief besides the biochemical relief. Nothing wrong with that.. but it’s a good idea to have multiple ways of securing your environment. Check out this article:
http://dreamstudies.org/2010/09/02/14-tips-for-getting-rid-of-nightmares/