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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 8 of 8. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by fogmama on December 23, 2003, at 17:39:05
Hello,
New poster here. Has anyone ever heard anything about safety of 5-HTP during breastfeeding?
I used to take 5-HTP and it helped tremendously to lift the "fog", but I gave it up when I discovered my pregnancy and haven't taken it since. It's been over a year since I stopped it, and I'd love to be able to get back on it.
But there doesn't seem to be any reliable information out there - the only information is about Prozac, which of course is supposed to be safe for use during breastfeeding. The 5-HTP bottles all carry the standard "not for use while pregnant or breastfeeding" warning, but as far as I can tell this is based on the lack of research, not on anything specific. Does anyone know any different?
I'd like to do therapy, etc., but I can't afford it, and 5-HTP helped me so much before that I want very much to take it again. But not if it could harm my precious baby.
Best wishes to all for a good holiday, and if you have any thoughts for me about this topic I am listening.
Thank you,
fogmama
Posted by fogmama on December 23, 2003, at 18:03:52
In reply to 5-HTP while nursing a baby?, posted by fogmama on December 23, 2003, at 17:39:05
I've just read some of the previous posts on Tryptophan and 5-HTP, and thought I'd add that the dose I took previously was very small compared to the "clinical" doses recommended by some, just one 50mg capsule per day seemed to be enough for me.
Posted by TeeJay on December 23, 2003, at 18:56:39
In reply to Re: 5-HTP while nursing a baby? (more), posted by fogmama on December 23, 2003, at 18:03:52
HI Fogmama,
I'm no chemist but given the low dose you were taking in comparison to clinical studies i'd suggest it wouldnt alter your bloods chemistry enough to put your baby at any great risk.
It could even perhaps be argued that if the mother requires it then the baby too might benefit from that little extra that thew 5htp gives.
Sorry cant be more helpful or specific, just kinda musing out loud.
Phil
Posted by Larry Hoover on December 30, 2003, at 11:12:22
In reply to 5-HTP while nursing a baby?, posted by fogmama on December 23, 2003, at 17:39:05
You can safely use 5-HTP while nursing. There is absolutely no risk to your child.
Lar
Posted by fogmama on December 30, 2003, at 14:35:07
In reply to Re: 5-HTP while nursing a baby? » fogmama, posted by Larry Hoover on December 30, 2003, at 11:12:22
> You can safely use 5-HTP while nursing. There is absolutely no risk to your child.
>
> LarHi Larry,
Thank you! I'm pretty new here but I've read a good deal of your posts and I seem to recall you're a biochemist, correct? Can you tell me where I can find research/info that will explain why 5-HTP is safe while nursing? (I like details.) I'd be sooo happy if I could take it again with confidence.
Actually while you're at it, do you know if DLPA and L-tyrosine are also safe?
fm
Posted by Larry Hoover on December 30, 2003, at 21:57:39
In reply to Re: 5-HTP while nursing a baby?, posted by fogmama on December 30, 2003, at 14:35:07
> > You can safely use 5-HTP while nursing. There is absolutely no risk to your child.
> >
> > Lar
>
> Hi Larry,
>
> Thank you! I'm pretty new here but I've read a good deal of your posts and I seem to recall you're a biochemist, correct?I'm an environmental toxicologist, which has a good dose of biochemist in it, but that's diluted by other things.
> Can you tell me where I can find research/info that will explain why 5-HTP is safe while nursing? (I like details.)
I am unable to give you that, I'm afraid. You mentioned a very low dose of 5-HTP (50 mg), and animal studies using much more than that (on a mg/kg body weight basis) found effects on the mother animal only, and only at doses very much higher than you are considering. High levels of 5-HTP affect pituitary hormone release, including ACTH (which stimulates the adrenal gland) and prolactin (which affects milk production). Those effects are not seen in humans at 50 mg and 100 mg doses.
> I'd be sooo happy if I could take it again with confidence.
If you're looking for absolute assurance, I can't offer you that. Any reference that I can find that directly mentions 5-HTP and nursing suggests that it is not advised because it has not been studied. To put that into context, mothers using SSRI meds, which are known to pass in milk, are permitted to breast feed their infants. A depressed mother is of proven adverse effect on an infant, while monitoring of infants breast-fed by mothers on antidepressants has not shown any evidence of any adverse developmental effect.
I'm not pro-drug. I just want to say that overtly. I've studied the medical literature, and there is no evidence of adverse effect from antidepressants passing to infants in breast milk. That's not to say there is no risk, but there has been none yet found.
> Actually while you're at it, do you know if DLPA and L-tyrosine are also safe?
>
> fmI can be quite certain in saying that DLPA and l-tyrosine are absolutely safe for you to take. There is a fundamental difference between taking pure amino acids and in taking 5-HTP. The latter is a chemical intermediate, and is not normally found in food. It is typically only found (and briefly at that) in the cells which are synthesizing it for their own use, as an intermediate in serotonin formation. There is a theoretical risk in taking 5-HTP, as it is not normally found in blood in any appreciable concentration. However, the dose, 50 mg, places a constraint on the theoretical risk, that in my opinion, makes the risk quite trivial to non-existent. Pure aminos are generally used at 10 to 60 times the dose of 5-HTP that you are considering taking. Because the structure of 5-HTP is so little changed from the precursor amino acid tryptophan, mass comparisons are valid simplifications. The dose makes the poison, and the dose here is very small.
Lar
Posted by fogmama on December 31, 2003, at 4:35:20
In reply to Re: 5-HTP while nursing a baby? » fogmama, posted by Larry Hoover on December 30, 2003, at 21:57:39
Thank you for the detailed reply! :)
fm
Posted by fogmama on January 7, 2004, at 16:49:13
In reply to Re: 5-HTP while nursing a baby? » fogmama, posted by Larry Hoover on December 30, 2003, at 21:57:39
Hello,
I know Larry's checked out of here for a while, but I thought I'd put in a post regarding what I'm now taking, just in case anyone else pops by with similar questions -
2000mg fish oil
1000mg borage oil
500mg DLPA
500mg L-Tyrosine
50mg 5-htpAlso a prenatal vitamin, iron supplement (I was on them while 6-9 mo's pregnant, and they really helped with pregnancy related lack of energy), and an extra 400mcg zinc and 500mg vitamin C to boost my immune system. I'm leaving the longest possible time between taking all this and nursing the baby, by putting milk in storage prior to taking the supplements. I started with the fish oil & 5-htp first, then added the others. "Baby and mother are fine" as they say in the movies ... if anyone else has commentary please feel free to share it.
I'll follow up in a while with results ...
fogmama
> > > You can safely use 5-HTP while nursing. There is absolutely no risk to your child.
> > >
> > > Lar
> >
> > Hi Larry,
> >
> > Thank you! I'm pretty new here but I've read a good deal of your posts and I seem to recall you're a biochemist, correct?
>
> I'm an environmental toxicologist, which has a good dose of biochemist in it, but that's diluted by other things.
>
> > Can you tell me where I can find research/info that will explain why 5-HTP is safe while nursing? (I like details.)
>
> I am unable to give you that, I'm afraid. You mentioned a very low dose of 5-HTP (50 mg), and animal studies using much more than that (on a mg/kg body weight basis) found effects on the mother animal only, and only at doses very much higher than you are considering. High levels of 5-HTP affect pituitary hormone release, including ACTH (which stimulates the adrenal gland) and prolactin (which affects milk production). Those effects are not seen in humans at 50 mg and 100 mg doses.
>
> > I'd be sooo happy if I could take it again with confidence.
>
> If you're looking for absolute assurance, I can't offer you that. Any reference that I can find that directly mentions 5-HTP and nursing suggests that it is not advised because it has not been studied. To put that into context, mothers using SSRI meds, which are known to pass in milk, are permitted to breast feed their infants. A depressed mother is of proven adverse effect on an infant, while monitoring of infants breast-fed by mothers on antidepressants has not shown any evidence of any adverse developmental effect.
>
> I'm not pro-drug. I just want to say that overtly. I've studied the medical literature, and there is no evidence of adverse effect from antidepressants passing to infants in breast milk. That's not to say there is no risk, but there has been none yet found.
>
> > Actually while you're at it, do you know if DLPA and L-tyrosine are also safe?
> >
> > fm
>
> I can be quite certain in saying that DLPA and l-tyrosine are absolutely safe for you to take. There is a fundamental difference between taking pure amino acids and in taking 5-HTP. The latter is a chemical intermediate, and is not normally found in food. It is typically only found (and briefly at that) in the cells which are synthesizing it for their own use, as an intermediate in serotonin formation. There is a theoretical risk in taking 5-HTP, as it is not normally found in blood in any appreciable concentration. However, the dose, 50 mg, places a constraint on the theoretical risk, that in my opinion, makes the risk quite trivial to non-existent. Pure aminos are generally used at 10 to 60 times the dose of 5-HTP that you are considering taking. Because the structure of 5-HTP is so little changed from the precursor amino acid tryptophan, mass comparisons are valid simplifications. The dose makes the poison, and the dose here is very small.
>
> Lar
This is the end of the thread.
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