# Is this true about 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP)?



## Freud (Mar 22, 2012)

Some scientist claim that 5-hydroxytryptophan can cause eosinophilia-myalgia syndrome (EMS), a serious condition which results in extreme muscle tenderness. Is it true? Have any of you experience from 5-HTP use? How much would you have to take to get EMS?


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/5-hydroxytryptophan-000283.htm says there have been 10 reports of it, but so far not enough to have them take it off the market like they did with tryptophan supplements.I'm not sure that we'd be luck enough to have any of the 10 reported people as posters here. Even with tryptophan supplements if I remember correctly there weren't very many people, but a severe side effect even if rare is a big concern. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tryptophan#Tryptophan_supplements_and_EMS has some info on that, with the tryptophan it was from a contaminant. Unfortunately there is not that much regulation of dietary supplements so hard to know if the few cases of 5-HTP and EMS are from the 5-HTP or from some problem in making it.There are a number of potential drug interactions so I would watch out for those as that seems to be a more likely problem than EMS, but again EMS is severe and if they prove it is from 5-HTP it may eventually get pulled from the market like tryptophan was, and may be a contaminate problem rather than from what is supposed to be in the pill.


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## Freud (Mar 22, 2012)

Kathleen M. said:


> http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/5-hydroxytryptophan-000283.htm says there have been 10 reports of it, but so far not enough to have them take it off the market like they did with tryptophan supplements.I'm not sure that we'd be luck enough to have any of the 10 reported people as posters here. Even with tryptophan supplements if I remember correctly there weren't very many people, but a severe side effect even if rare is a big concern. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tryptophan#Tryptophan_supplements_and_EMS has some info on that, with the tryptophan it was from a contaminant. Unfortunately there is not that much regulation of dietary supplements so hard to know if the few cases of 5-HTP and EMS are from the 5-HTP or from some problem in making it.There are a number of potential drug interactions so I would watch out for those as that seems to be a more likely problem than EMS, but again EMS is severe and if they prove it is from 5-HTP it may eventually get pulled from the market like tryptophan was, and may be a contaminate problem rather than from what is supposed to be in the pill.


Thank you for your reply Kathleen. I've ordered 5-HTP and I'm trying to decide if I should use them (only in extreme cases when my anxiety gets too bad) or if I should throw them in the wastebasket as soon as I recieve them. I don't want to get EMS, but I need some kind of anxiety rest on certain occations


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

Seems the odds are really low, but I would check to see if it is something that is an "in an anxiety crisis" type of thing or a you have to take it regularly to see benefit.I mean 10 possible cases out of probably hundreds of thousands if not more people who have probably taken it at some point... but that could be a risk you don't want to take.If you can't tolerate even the slightest risk (which will mean no medications or supplements of any kind ever as there is always some small risk even if it is just being allergic like with chamomile) then you really need to work the mind-body stuff like meditation and cognitive behavioral therapy.Sometimes the problem with anxiety is you are so anxious about the treatments you won't try anything and anxiety and the stress of it isn't good for your health, either. So you take a near certainty that the anxiety will have negative effects on you rather than a 1 in a million shot something else might be bad for you.


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