5-HTP

I have been taking 5-HTP 100mg at night for sleep and it seems to help a little atleast to calm my nerves down.  Has anyone else had any  experience with this supplement.  I have heard that if you take too much of it- it can have an opposite effect, but don't know if that's true.  I was wondering if the 5-HTP -  5-Hydroxytryptophan can be taken during the day for anxiety since it calms my nerves, but doesn't seem to put me to sleep?

[Paxiled]

5-HTP is a metabolite of L-tryptophan, the amino acid that, in concert with co-factors such as B6, produces serotonin in the body.  So when it works it does help with anxiety and depression.  Dosing would normally be at least twice a day depending on the amount in the bottle, as it comes from an herb called griffonia and herbs are generally dosed more than once to keep them actively being digested.  For better info, there's a book on 5-HTP by, I think, Michael Murray, one of the foremost herbalists and naturopaths in the US, and a book called Natural Highs by Hyla Cass, a psychiatrist at UCLA, that will discuss how to properly dose it.

[Shanna707]

thanks so much,  I had a feeling it was related to L-tryptophan.  I'll check those resources out you mentioned.
Shanna