Hi, has anyone tried the supplement 5-HTP..... Dr. Oz was talking about it last week he had a specialist on and she was saying everyone should be using this supplement....

Help control appetite
Help depression
Can help with hot flashes


This is info I found on the internet:
Widely used to help with obesity (dieting), PMS, migraines, depression, anxiety, insomnia and addictive behaviour. 5 HTP increases production of serotonin. Serotonin levels in the nervous system are essential for so many aspects of our daily lives. Serotonin is responsible for feelings of well being, satisfaction and for normal sleep patterns. Obesity, PMS, migraines, depression, anxiety, insomnia and addictive behavior have all been associated with low levels of serotonin. Serotonin plays an important role in controlling anger, aggression, body temperature, mood, sleep, human sexuality, appetite, and metabolism

So just wondering if anyone has tried it and if it does work?

Personally, I'd avoid anything Dr Oz recommends. In order to keep interest, he seems to promote anything and everything.

Dr Weil wrote a good article about 5-htp a few years ago and I find him more trustworthy. He basically says there are better things to take.
http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/QAA76842...serotonin.html

I just stumbled upon this thread and thought I'd share my experience. I recently read "The Diet Cure" by Julia Ross and this is one of the supplements she recommends for certain situations. I found it at Costco and decided to try it because although I can eat healthy and not feel hungry, I get very cranky and irritable when I can't self-soothe with junk food like I've trained myself all these years. I'm taking the one-a-day dose the bottle says to take, and it's been 24 days now. So far, absolutely none of the side effects mentioned in the above post and I'm definitely not experiencing the crankiness I usually get when I go back to my healthy eating plan. So for me, I'd say it's working.

I've been taking for about a year. My older sister started before that. I used to have extreme anxiety. After taking my first few days, I had a major city-wide event I was in charge of. I left in the morning without the anxiety and felt in control and confident all day. I don't think 5 htp MADE me confident. What happened was that my anxiety was out of the way which allowed me to have confidence in all the planning and work I'd put in to make an awesome event. When there was a glitch, I wasn't destroyed by it.

I have since started taking 5 days a week with 2 days off (weekends for me). The natural store said you don't want to shut your system down from having its own ability to create it's needs. I believe my sisters (there are more of us but only two of us take 5 htp) have low serotonin levels. There might be other ways to boost the levels.

I also work on nutrition, exercise, calming strategies, silence (I'm Quaker so this is similar to meditation), and creating fun.

I took it for over a year religiously. I took it for all the reason mentioned, anxiety, weight loss, etc. I honestly can't tell any difference now, off it .But, in the beginning I did. I felt more relaxed, less anxiety. I didn't lose any weight. I had to keep upping the dose and eventually it got to where I noticed nothing anymore.