BlueAbyss wrote:
I had to look up what that is. I am interested in whether it could help with my fibromyalgia, though I'm leery of anything that plays with my serotonin levels. BUT I don't recommend taking any drug or even supplement that you don't see a clear health need for and have also weighed the possible negative side effects.
Still, I like a beer or wine now and then, so who am I to talk?
Has your mother researched it at all, and more importantly, have you? I would do as much reading as you can - pros and cons - and decide from there. An informed decision is always best.
ETA: Why is it so important to you to have more vivid dreams? I've tracked my dreams for years and am interested in Jungian dream analysis, and I go sometimes for days without dreaming. I see nothing wrong with that. If I were to do something that affected my dreams I would consider that an artificial enhancement of a natural psychic process. I would consider that, in a sense, interfering. Many of my dreams are plenty vivid enough, and complex enough that they can be difficult to understand. So why would you feel a need to make them more vivid?
ETAA: OTC does not necessarily mean safe. There are always precautions to consider. I don't take aspirin or Tylenol without a good reason, as both can be harmful. I do sometimes take regular tryptophan to help me sleep.
I have researched it. Mom hasn't. There is one risk I've found that I didn't mention in the OP. I knew about it but I didn't want to admit it. 5 HTP raises Serotonin levels. The medication I'm on also raises Serotonin levels. The two effects combined could raise my Serotonin levels too high resulting in Serotonin toxicity. That could cause heart or circulation problems.
My medication also intensifies the effects of alcohol but I can still have small amounts of alcohol. I found that out from careful experimentataion. I had a small glass of champagne on new years.
I have already taken one pill on Thursday night and again on Friday night. The reccomended dose is 1 pill three times daily but I took 1/3 of that because I knew my Serotonin levels were already being affected by my medication. Everything worked out fine. I can handle 1 pill even on my medication and I don't plan on taking any more than that.
I can have small amounts of alcohol even though my medication intensifies the effects and it seems I can handle small amounts of 5 HTP.
I knew the risk. I took it and I'm not taking the risk of taking more than what I've already tried.
Dreams are important to me. My inner world is much more important to me than the outside world. I have a personal love of the surreal and in my mundane life dreams are my only access to anything surreal. Being stuck in the same state day in and day out makes dreaming the only way to feel like I'm in another world. My love of the surreal does tempt me to take perception altering drugs that affect my waking consciousness but I try not to.
I still want vivid dreams to provide an enhanced surreal experience during sleep. I already have excellent dream recall and my dreams can be interesting/weird in their content but they're not very vivid. I remember 1-3 dreams every night and there have been occasions where I've remembered having up to 7 dreams in the same night. In a night with an unusually large number of dreams remembered I usually remember 3-4 in detail with 2-3 less detailed fragments from other dreams.
I want to enhance my dreams and make them more vivid because I value dreams and I want to make my nights even more intense. Usually there is an absence of certain sensory stimuli from my dreams. I don't want them to be dreamlike. I wan't to experience life-like 100% realistic dreams.
You're right. OTC doesn't mean safe. I know the risk. In this case the most likely risk is Serotonin syndrome. I'm being cautious with my usage. I know the only guarantee comes with not taking it at all but I still wish to take 5 HTP so I'm compromisng by being careful and using a very low dosage.
12 Jan 2013, 4:05 pm
