DOSE:

400 mg

oral

Tryptophan - 5-HTP

(capsule)

BODY WEIGHT:

250 lb

I bought the bottle for about $20 at Walgreens. The brand is Nature's Bounty, Maximum Strength 5-HTP, Fast Acting, L-5-Hydroxytryptophan, 'Supports a Calm & Relaxed Mood'. The capsules are 200 mg each.

The 'facts' box on the back of the bottle reads:
5-HTP is a precursor to serotonin, a neurotransmitter involved in sending signals to the brain that contribute to well-being. 5-HTP supports a calm and relaxed mood and helps you maintain a positive outlook.
Directions: For adults, take (1) capsule one to two times daily as needed or before bedtime.
Discontinue use and consult your doctor if any adverse reactions occur, such as gastrointestinal discomfort (that's putting it mildly, read on), or headache.

It was a Sunday, I woke up late as usual, around 10AM after having slept in and getting a lot of much needed rest. I was actually already feeling very good, but didn't have any plans for the day and so I decided it would be a good time to try this out to see what it would do if taken just by itself without anything else.

I didn't eat anything from the time I woke up, so my stomach was very empty and I was quite hungry, but otherwise I felt just fine and was actually in a pretty good mood to begin with.

I took two of the capsules with a tall glass of cold, filtered water. Big mistake!!!

+10 Mins: I started to feel nauseous. I felt cold, shivering, feverish, my stomach started hurting really badly. I wrapped myself up in a blanket on the couch and was VERY miserable.

+12 Mins: I was laying on the couch, wrapped up in the blanket, regretting taking this substance, when all of a sudden I nearly vomited spontaneously, I had to struggle to prevent myself from voting all over the place. I threw off the blanket and ran to the bathroom just barely making it there. The entire contents of my stomach, which was just some water, the two capsules, I guess some stomach acid and much mucus all came up in a single contraction, I couldn't believe the force with which this stuff came out of me! A large portion came up through my nose as well. This was definitely projectile vomiting, unfortunately I didn't have a lot in me to get rid off. I kept having very strong vomit contractions that were super intense and felt like I was being constricted by a huge snake or something, it was really terrible. I have been this sick before, but that was caused by food poisoning (bad ground beef), but it was a very similar experience. I was put to my knees by this at the toilet and could barely hold up my head. The vomit contractions lasted for what felt like several minutes, this was just dry heaving though and was extremely painful on my sternum, ribs and abdominal muscles.

+15 mins: Finally I was able to pry myself up off the floor and went directly into the shower and took a hot shower because I was shivering badly with chills and felt very cold and was drenched in sweat. The hot water helped a lot, it made me feel much better.

+20 mins: I was exhausted, weak, nauseous and my stomach still hurt very badly. I felt extremely thirsty so I got a small glass of cold water (bad idea!) then I wrapped up in my blanket and laid down in my bed. My sense of hearing was very acute and I was extremely sensitive to sounds and light. I had to turn off the TV because it was very annoying. Small sounds from outside that I normally wouldn't even pay attention to or notice were very bothersome. I tried to shut my eyes and relax myself, but it was difficult.

+22 mins: I shouldn't have had that last cup of cold water! Very suddenly, I had the urge to vomit again and once again I had to throw off the blanket and literally run to the toilet. My first vomit contraction came with enough force to propel what felt like several gallons of water about 20 ft, unfortunately I only had a small cup of water available as ammo, the rest of the force felt like it attempted to bring along all of my insides with it. I couldn't believe it, from just a small cup of water I got so sick, AGAIN! I had to take another shower and go back to bed, again.

+30 mins: I got back in bed and tried to relax, I was very thirsty still though, but figured I should wait as long as I could before drinking any more water.

+45 mins: Still feeling very weak, my body temperature finally seemed to normalize. I decided to get some room temperature water. I had about half a cup.

+47 mins: Back to the toilet, vomiting!

+49 mins: Another hot shower

+54 mins: Back in bed, this time I fell asleep for a little while about 45 mins, completely exhausted.

+100 mins: I woke up, very thirsty and weak, but I decided I needed to get some fluids in me.

+105 mins: I made some chamomile tea in the microwave in a coffee mug with a little bit of sugar. I let it cool off a few minutes and drank it while it was still very warm, nearly hot, but it felt good going down and it made my stomach feel very warm and cosy for about a minute, but that quickly changed!

+106 mins: I never knew I could vomit hot tea and it would stay so hot inside my stomach for so long, the tea came up and it was still quite hot and nasty!

+107 mins: This time I got up, washed my face and decided I was going to take charge and said 'fuck it! I gotta clean out my stomach and give my body something to really vomit up' and I went and drank about two tall glasses of water that I had warmed up slightly in the microwave and I drank these both very fast.

+109 mins: As expected, I didn't need to do anything special, none of this was induced, my body just propelled the warm water out of me very forcefully, but this time it actually felt like I had accomplished something because I had a lot of water to get rid of. I felt like I had finally gotten rid of the poisons in my stomach!

I took another shower, and went to bed for a few hours. I woke up in the afternoon and had some warm tea. A short while later I had some oatmeal. Then I drank some gatorade to get some electrolytes in me.

I watched some TV and went to sleep early, around 9PM. I woke up this morning around 8AM.

I am writing this the next day after and my whole body still feels completely sore, I can barely move, all of my ribs, my back and my stomach muscles are very sore.

I had some oatmeal for breakfast and some tea, I feel OK.

Overall, I was very surprised at my reaction to this. Perhaps it was because I had taken it on an empty stomach with only a small amount of water to begin with. Perhaps I am allergic to it. Perhaps what I got is a bad batch? I am not sure, but I am going to keep this bottle in my freezer and try it again some day, but next time I will have some food in my stomach first and only try one capsule instead of two. I was very disappointed with this, I had hoped it would be something I would get something very positive out of.

I am still thinking perhaps I am just sensitive to it or maybe I was just having a bad day. I look forward to giving it another chance in the future.

Exp Year: 2008	ExpID: 75243
Gender: Male
Age at time of experience: Not Given
Published: Aug 15, 2011	Views: 30,374
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Tryptophan - 5-HTP (196) : First Times (2), Health Problems (27), Alone (16)