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AndrewHickey comments on A rationalist's guide to psychoactive drugs - Less Wrong Discussion
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One thing I would point out here and that is that it's a really really bad idea to take multiple serotonin precursors, or to mix serotonin precursors and high doses of caffeine. Serotonin syndrome ( http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0004531 ) can sneak up on you quickly and is not fun.
Serotonin is the thing to be careful with if you are messing around with your neurotransmitters. Serotonin Syndrome is bad. That said, it isn't multiple serotonin precursors that are a problem. You can mix 5HTP and and Tryptophan and you still haven't done anything more than add to the pool of precursors - not much different from simply taking more of one or the other. It is a whole different ball game when you mix an SSRI with tryptophan, each unit of tryptophan is multiplied in potency.
The real problem comes when you introduce monoamine oxidase inhibitors, MOAI-A, in particular is the one that messes with the breakdown of serotonin. If you mix a MOAI-A with an SSRI you are in for a world of hurt. Even mixing MOAI-A with precursors isn't a good idea. Especially since a lot of our serotonin (and so monoamine oxidase) is actually located in the gut, not the brain. Here you are putting a bunch of serotonin precursor right into the digestive system, the same system you have made nearly incapable of disposing of serotonin efficiently. People on old style MOAIs have specific dietary instructions that they need to follow to avoid this kind of problem.
Good point - I didn't express myself very well (was quite tired when I commented). However, my point about caffeine stands though - and in fact is true for all amphetamine-like stimulants. They all increase production of serotonin, which when combined with an increased level of serotonin precursors can be far from pretty.
Thanks for the heads up; has this happened to you? What did you take, and were you on anything else at the time?
I believe so - I was never officially diagnosed, but became extremely ill and became better pretty much instantly on withdrawal of the 5-HTP. The symptoms matched those of serotonin syndrome, so I believe I had it - if I did, I was very lucky, as it can be fatal. I was taking, at the time, two over-the-counter 5-HTP supplements per day (can't remember the dosage, but they were fairly standard ones), but I was combining it with a lot of coffee - maybe ten, fifteen cups a day? - and that can have a synergetic effect when combined with serotonin precursors, as caffeine acts on the serotonergetic system.
That is a lot of caffeine! Are you still on that much?
No - at the time I was being paid by the hour, and not a very high wage, so I was working 13-and-a-half hour days. These days I limit myself to four cups a day maximum (three at weekends) and I don't take any 5-HTP (I do take melatonin though).