# L-Tryptophan and P5P



## faze action (Aug 6, 2009)

This is an offshoot from the Risperdal thread: http://www.ibsgroup.org/forums/index.php?s...117816&st=0.I'm wondering if anyone has tried the supplements L-Tryptophan and P5P (form of vitamin B6) together to ease GI symptoms, anxiety, or insomnia.Here's an article about how these supplements can assist in treating these (and other) issues:http://www.smart-drugs.net/ias-tryptophan-article.htmI suffer from sleep maintenance insomnia (most nights, but not all), and also IBS-D which comes and goes, and was originally caused by SIBO (bacterial overgrowth). I'm sensitive to most traditional medications and thus try to avoid them, unless it's absolutely necessary that I take them. I'm much more open to dietary changes and supplements (although I realize that those too can cause unwanted side effects).If anyone has any expereince with this amino/vitamin combo I'd love to hear about it (positive or negative).Thanks


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## Thai (Aug 22, 2007)

The link is bad??


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## faze action (Aug 6, 2009)

Sorry. I fixed it. It should work now...


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## degrassi (Jun 10, 2003)

I started taking Tryptophan about 1 1/2 years ago. My doctor prescribed it as I was having a lot of problems sleeping and with anxiety. Its helped 100% with sleeping. I used to not be able to fall asleep, I'd lie in bed for hours tossing and turning. Then once I"d fall asleep I'd wake up very often and not be able to go back to sleep again.I was constantly tired throughout the day and run down. But since I started taking the Typtophan. I sleep fine. I take it about 1 hr before bedtime and I fall asleep right away after getting into bed and I dont' wake up much unless its to go to the bathroom, but even then I go right back to sleep. I haven't noticed any improvement in my anxiety from it. Originally my doctor prescribed it to take 1-2 pills in the morning to help with the anxiety but it makes me too tired for the rest of the day. So I only take it before bed to help with sleeping. Works great!I haven't taken the B6 supplement.


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## faze action (Aug 6, 2009)

Thanks degrassi. Can I ask what dose you are using and what brand? I've read that L-tryptophan taken without B6 P5P is not absorbed as readily by the body, but in your case that seems not to be the case. Seems like it may be worth a try for my insomnia (I don't have anxiety so it not affecting that is not an issue for me). Anyway, glad to hear it works for you!


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## degrassi (Jun 10, 2003)

Here in Canada you need a prescription for Tryptophan. My doctor prescribed it to help my sleeping. The pills are 500mg and I take 1-4 depending on how i'm feeling. Usually I take 1-2 pills but sometimes take 4 if i'm having a bad night. If you can get it over the counter, I would start with 500mg and see how that goes.


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## faze action (Aug 6, 2009)

Thanks degrassi. I think I'll go ahead and try the L-tryptophan... I may purchase one that has P5P added in (I think Lidtke makes one). I suppose the worst case scenario is that it doesn't work and I'm out about 20 dollars. I am so utterly exhausted that I feel compelled to give it a try.


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## idkwia (Feb 26, 2009)

Degrassi - did it help with your IBS?Faze Action - let us know how it goes for you please.


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## degrassi (Jun 10, 2003)

It didn't really help with my IBS-D but its helped me feel better overall as I can now finally get a good night sleep.


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## faze action (Aug 6, 2009)

I think that if this helps my insomnia it will also help my IBS-D as a result of that. My GI symptoms are usually worse when I do not get enough sleep. Anyway, I ended up ordering Source Naturals L-Tryptophan 500mg capsules. I went with pure Tryptophan since many of the combos I was looking at had a smaller amount of T in them (300mg) and that's really what I'm going after. I usually take B supplments anyhow. I really hope this helps, even a little... Also, what's the safety profile of Tryptophan?? I read some articles about it getting banned in the 80s due to impure supply and some people actually died from that. Yeesh.


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## faze action (Aug 6, 2009)

Quick update for those who care.







I have the tryptophan, but I'm going to hold off on taking it until I talk to my GI doctor on Thursday. I stopped taking the PPI (omeprazole) I was on about 6 days ago and my sleep has improved. I have no idea whether or not insomnia could be a side effect of omeprazole (seems unlikely), or whether something else (environmental or otherwise) is going on in my life that I am unaware of that could be affecting my sleep. I have quit all froms of caffeine prior to going off the PPI though, and my sleep did not improve (and it _did_ improve from this when I quit caffeine back in April).


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## idkwia (Feb 26, 2009)

faze action said:


> Quick update for those who care.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Well I care, thanks for the update and let us know what happens next.Good luck.


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## faze action (Aug 6, 2009)

The insomnia is back with a vengeance. I've been tossing and turning the second half of the night for the past 2 nights. Doctor appointment is tomorrow, although my GI doc probably won't have too much to say about insomnia. I may see if there's something he can prescribe short term just so I can get some sleep... this is killing me.


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## degrassi (Jun 10, 2003)

Have you tried the Tryptophan yet?


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

faze--you totaly have my sympathies, empathies---in my experience nothing is worse than ongoing chronic insomnia. and no sleep makes all our other health problems like ibs, reflux etc worse too. our bodies and our minds must have rest.over the years i tried everything for my insomnia--all the natural stuff, cbt, sleep restriction (what a joke)then went to ambien which worked for a while then quit on me. now take 75 mg trazodone nightly for maintenance and when things get really bad and traz doesn't work i take lunesta and believe me that has been a godsend. i've been on that since it first came out in 2005 and it works wonderfully. i just take it as needed--not nightly--although i have been on it for as long as two weeks straight. and it's not a benzo, not a narcotic so it has none of the problems associated with those. no addiction, no rebound etc. the only side effect i have is a bad taste in the mouth the next morning but that tends to lessen in time and besides that as far as i'm concerned it's more than worth it. i can certainly put up with a bad taste in the mouth--with anything really--if i've had a good night's sleep. http://www.sepracor.com/products/lunesta.htmland i don't mean to sound like a pill junkie here but really--nothing else worked for me..good luck with the dr tomorrow. hopefully he'll write you a script for something.


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## faze action (Aug 6, 2009)

degrassi, no I have not tried the Tryptophan yet, although I have it. I was waiting because when I went off Prilosec the insomnia improved for a few nights, but now it's back. I'm waiting until after my doctor appt tomorrow to start taking it.annie, thanks for the info about Lunesta. I'll ask my doctor about that tomorrow. My Mom actually said it might be helpful if I got a short-term script (7-10 days) just to see if it'll "reset" my body clock or disrupt the cycle my body seems to have gotten into. Fingers crossed I'll be able to get something to help me sleep!


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

oh yes--that's great advice from your mom--something for now just to get you back on track--like she said--reset your body clock.when i finally got my first sleep meds script--ambien--it was such an enormous relief just to know that i now actually had something that worked (at least at the time) something that i could rely on and fall back on. i then began to sleep so much better--without pills--just because of the relief in knowing they were there if i needed them.


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## faze action (Aug 6, 2009)

Okay, here it is:I had an appointment with my GI doc yesterday, and he took me off the omeprazole since it really didn't seem to be helping my gastritis symptoms (which are very mild anyway). I'm basically going to alter my diet and follow up with him in 6 months.I did ask him about the insomnia and prescribing something short-term to help me sleep. He didn't have a whole lot of input (being that he's a gastroenterologist), but while I was in the exam room he called a guy he knows who is a sleep specialist, and this guy basically advised against medication because, for the type of insomnia I have, once off the drugs it would cause rebound insomnia. So, there's not much else that I can do I suppose. I thought that was really nice of my doctor to consult another doctor not even in his field of expertise (he impresses me with something at every appt I've been to, but that's off topic!).Anyhow, I'm starting the tryptophan tonight and see how it goes. Degrassi, how long did you take it before you noticed it start working?Last night was awful: I had to take 2 benadryl and drink 2-3 glasses of wine to fall asleep. And it still took me three hours to get to sleep!! Argh!


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

One tip on sleep is take a warm bath or shower about an hour before you want to go to sleep. You want it to be long enough to raise your core temp a bit as that drop in temp is a natural "time to sleep" signal and with a warm to hot shower/bath you can exaggerate it. The other harder one for a lot of people is get up the same time no matter when you went to sleep. Keeping that constant helps keep the 24 hour rhythm going as solid as possible and sleeping in because you took a long time to fall asleep the night before only makes things harder the next night.You might also want to not use any overhead lights or look at the computer for that last hour before bed. Too much artifical light can keep you in day mode rather than let you work into sleep mode. Small lamps that just light the book you are reading, etc. don't seem to be so disruptive as bright overhead lighting.


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## idkwia (Feb 26, 2009)

faze action said:


> Okay, here it is:I had an appointment with my GI doc yesterday, and he took me off the omeprazole since it really didn't seem to be helping my gastritis symptoms (which are very mild anyway). I'm basically going to alter my diet and follow up with him in 6 months.I did ask him about the insomnia and prescribing something short-term to help me sleep. He didn't have a whole lot of input (being that he's a gastroenterologist), but while I was in the exam room he called a guy he knows who is a sleep specialist, and this guy basically advised against medication because, for the type of insomnia I have, once off the drugs it would cause rebound insomnia. So, there's not much else that I can do I suppose. I thought that was really nice of my doctor to consult another doctor not even in his field of expertise (he impresses me with something at every appt I've been to, but that's off topic!).Anyhow, I'm starting the tryptophan tonight and see how it goes. Degrassi, how long did you take it before you noticed it start working?Last night was awful: I had to take 2 benadryl and drink 2-3 glasses of wine to fall asleep. And it still took me three hours to get to sleep!! Argh!


Low dose anti-depressants can certainly help you sleep as well as being very good for digestive system issues. Perhaps you could discuss this with your doctor.


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## degrassi (Jun 10, 2003)

The tryptophan started working right away for me. It made me feel tired and I slept fairly good that first night. I also changed my sleeping habits. Before I would stay up late and sleep in because I wouldn't be able to fall asleep and then sleep in when I finally did. I started going to be earlier and getting up at a set time, whether I had enough sleep or not. It took about a month before I "reset" my clock and was able to feel tired at bedtime and wake up without feeling as run down and tired. The tryptophan helped with falling asleep. I also found if watch tv its harder to fall asleep. So I try not to watch tv right before bed now. I tend to get ready for bed and then read in bed for 30mins or so while I wait for the tryptophan to start working.


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

all great advice---and yes definitely don't sleep in not matter how little sleep you've had the night before. it's very important to get up the same time every day--even the weekends--and to try to go to bed the same time as well. all the good sleep hygiene stuff..exercise can help sleep but only if it's done earlier during the day. they don't advise vigorous exercise at least three hours before going to bed.good luck--hope the l-tryp will work for you..sweet dreams!


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## faze action (Aug 6, 2009)

Thanks for all the advice guys; I appreciate all the suggestions.Kathleen, I will try taking a bath before bed and see if that helps. I already use dim lighting instead of the overhead lights, and I do already get up at the same time regardless of when I fall asleep (I have to get up for work most days anyway). I don't tend to sleep in too much on weekends either, but maybe an hour or two more sometimes.One thing I will try is avoiding television before bed. My doctor also said this yesterday because TV can be stimulating to the brain. I don't watch a heck of a lot of TV, but I was watching it when I was waking up in the middle of the night, so I will stop that.Idkwia, I am leery about starting antidepressants because I tend to be ultra-sensitive to medication side effects. I have an appointment with my primary care doctor later this month, so if things do not improve I will possibly ask her about them.Again, thanks for all the replies... hopefully this will sort itself out soon!


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## faze action (Aug 6, 2009)

I've been taking the tryptophan for four nights now, and it has not really helped me yet. I have heard that it can take a week or two for some people to get the effects from it though, so I'll forge on. I did sleep okay last night, but I think it's because I was flat out exhausted: 6 hours of sleep on Friday, 5 hours of sleep on Sat night, and only about 3 hours sleep on Sunday night. My body had had enough by Monday night.I'm going to make a few other dietary-type changes and see if that helps any.


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## faze action (Aug 6, 2009)

Oh, one more thing: the first two nights I took the tryptophan I felt very dizzy for most of the following day (almost like vertigo). Anyone know if this is a side effect?


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

http://www.drugs.com/cons/tryptophan.html Dizziness is listed.Also check to see if you are taking any of the medications it can interact with as that may make side effects much more likely.


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## faze action (Aug 6, 2009)

Thanks Kathleen. I'm not taking any other medication right now, and the dizziness has subsided, so I think it was just a transient side effect.


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## degrassi (Jun 10, 2003)

Tryptophan makes me feel dizzy when I take it. Thats why I take it only right before bed. By morning I have no side effects, no dizziness. My doctor originally wanted me to take 1 tryptophan in the morning too to see if it would help with anxiety during the day. But I wasn't able to since it would make me feel really dizzy, tired and out of it.


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## Lookin'foraLife (Jan 2, 2009)

I haven't tried L-Tryptophan, but interestingly, I have found that L-Ornithine suplements help me greatly and they are also an amino acid like the Tryptophan!The L-Ornithine helps me with sleep and IBS abdominal pain like nothing else!


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## faze action (Aug 6, 2009)

One last update: I am now sleeping a bit better, not great, but better than I was. I noticed a slight improvement about a week after starting the tryptophan, so I think it is helping. This was also about a week after my GI doctor instructed me to discontinue the omeprazole I was on (for gastritis). I can't help but think that the PPI had something to do with my insomnia since it got much worse about 2-3 weeks after I started taking it. Of course my doctor didn't think so, but whatever.At any rate I'm sleeping better; hopefully that continues...


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## perdiddle (Jul 18, 2010)

idkwia said:


> Low dose anti-depressants can certainly help you sleep as well as being very good for digestive system issues. Perhaps you could discuss this with your doctor.


Wow you have been thru a lot. Just want to share with you what my husband is doing for his IBS. He's had super results... so I think it's worth the share.We've discovered that it makes a difference what foods you combine with each other...don't laugh yet.. this isn't craziness...Plus what foods you eat when. My husband has been suffering for over ten years and because he is on meds, he is starting to show the side effects of these drugs. I wanted so much (and so does he)for him to get off of these drugs, so I started surfing the net and came across this super site where this Dr. has been thru the same things you and my husband talk about.Here's the site. Don't Suffer AnyMore!I Hope you take a look at this site., plus sign up for the newsletter. She has amazing info...for anyone, in any state of IBS or GERDS, Colitis...etc.To Your Health


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