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Home > Community Treatment Reports and Side Effects > 5-Hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP) Treatment Report
What is 5-Hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP)?

5-Hydroxytryptophan or 5-HTP is a naturally-occurring amino acid marketed in the United States and other countries as a dietary supplement for use as an antidepressant, appetite suppressant, and sleep aid.

Reported Purpose & Efficacy

Reasons and Efficacy
Purpose # of patients
# of patients with evaluations Efficacy
Major
Moderate
Slight
None
Can’t tell
Depressed mood 19 8 Efficacy_major Efficacy_moderate Efficacy_slight Efficacy_none
Treat my mood condition(s) 18 8 Efficacy_moderate Efficacy_none Efficacy_cant_tell
Fibromyalgia 17 11 Efficacy_major Efficacy_moderate Efficacy_slight Efficacy_none
Insomnia 11 6 Efficacy_major Efficacy_moderate Efficacy_slight Efficacy_none
Other 11 2 Efficacy_major Efficacy_cant_tell
Sleep problems 10 4 Efficacy_moderate Efficacy_slight

See all 94 patients currently taking 5-Hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP)

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Reported Side Effects

Side effects as an overall problem

Severe
 2
Moderate
 3
Mild
 7
None
 42

Commonly reported side effects, conditions, and hospitalizations associated with 5-Hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP)

Volatile mood 3
Vivid dreams 2
Heart palpitations 2
Dreams 2
Fatigue 2
Sleep problems 1
See all 13 reported side effects ▼ See top 6 reported side effects ▲

Reported Dosages

Frequently reported dosages based on patients currently taking 5-Hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP). See all 15 dosages ►

  300 mg weekly 50 mg daily 60 mg daily 100 daily 100 mg daily 150 mg daily 200 mg daily 300 mg daily 400 mg daily 650 mg daily
  1 Number of Patients: 1 20 Number of Patients: 20 1 Number of Patients: 1 1 Number of Patients: 1 30 Number of Patients: 30 5 Number of Patients: 5 24 Number of Patients: 24 9 Number of Patients: 9 2 Number of Patients: 2 1 Number of Patients: 1  

Reported Stop Reasons

Why Patients Stopped Taking 5-Hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP) (multiple reasons could be selected)
Reason # Patients Percentage of patients
Did not seem to work 24   Did not seem to work: 39%
Other 15   Other: 25%
Expense 8   Expense: 13%
Doctor's advice 7   Doctor's advice: 11%
Course of treatment ended 6   Course of treatment ended: 10%
Not indicated 4   Not indicated: 7%
Side effects too severe 4   Side effects too severe: 7%
Personal research 2   Personal research: 3%
Change in health plan coverage 1   Change in health plan coverage: 2%

See all 61 patients who’ve stopped taking 5-Hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP)

Reported Duration See details about how long patients take this treatment ▼

Currently Taking 5-Hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP)

A bar graph

0-1 month 1-3 months 3-6 months 6 months-1year 1-2 years 2 years or more
0

Stopped Taking 5-Hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP)

A bar graph

0-1 month 1-3 months 3-6 months 6 months-1year 1-2 years 2 years or more

Reported Adherence, Burden & Cost See details from patient evaluations ▼

Adherence

Taking treatment as prescribed

Adherence of 5-Hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP)

Always
 37 69%
Usually
 11 20%
Sometimes
 6 11%
Never
 0 0%

Burden

Difficulty being on treatment

Burden of 5-Hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP)

Very
 1 2%
Somewhat
 5 9%
A little
 9 17%
Not at all
 39 72%

Cost

Paid out of pocket

Cost of 5-Hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP)

$200+
 0 0%
$100-199
 0 0%
$50-99
 0 0%
$25-49
 7 18%
< $25
 33 83%

See more information, including instructions, precautions, side effects, and interactions.

Report created on February 12, 2012.