Fun with dopamine?

[stimulerium]

I've been experimenting with different amino acids lately, notably 5-HTP. I recently took 100 mg of 5-HTP, which is a precursor to dopamine, which is a neurotransmitter in the brain. 100 mg is 4x of the normal dose the pills are supposed to be taken at. Later on at school, I was in class and I felt very happy and couldn't stop laughing at the stupidest things. I also felt very social and was talking a lot even to people I dislike.

Does anyone know if having more dopamine in your brain than normal can cause such things, or was it all in my head?

Also would taking 5-HTP or another precursor to dopamine help with coming down from amphetamine?

Thanks.

[headcase]

5-HTP is a precursor to serotonin, not dopamine, IIRC. It's marketed as an anti-depressant so I wouldn't be suprised at your reaction. As for a comedown aid, I know it's recommend prior to and after MDMA use, but then again MDMA plays around with your serotonin levels. Amphetamines act on serotonin, although to a lesser extent, but it might help.

According to Wikipedia, it's also used as an appetite suppressant and a sleep aid. The more you know...

[stimulerium]

Oh, I don't know how I got that confused.
I was sure it was a dopamine precursor, but know I look and it isn't. Oh well...

I swear I looked at wiki. Whatever. Well, back to research.

You seem to know what you're talking about so: what can GABA be used for?

[headcase]

Isn't GABA a neurotransmitter? I don't think you can take GABA, but a few drugs do play around with it. Downers like diazepam and good old flunitrazipam, off the top of my head.

Wikipedia calls it an inhibitory neurotransmitter. And, oh yes, has a section headed "Drugs that effect GABA receptors". What don't I know.


Ireland has a funny law about 5-HTP. It's legal to own and to take, but illegal to sell. So, I can't get any unless I bring it back from abroad. Which is completely legal of course, as long as I don't sell it. I remember back in the day if a friend was going on holiday, you'd ask him to bring back a bottle of Absinthe. Nowadays, you ask him to hook you up with some 5-HTP.

[Synchronium]

GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) is an inhibitory neurotransmitter. Other drugs to mess around with it include Ketamine*, I think. Drugs that are GABAergic (that is, GABA agonists) tend to calm you down - stop convulsious, relax you and get rid of anxiety.

And 5-HTP is a precursor to 5-HT (as you'd expect) which is the proper name for serotonin.


* Evidence for GABAA Receptor Agonistic Properties of
Ketamine: Convulsive and Anesthetic Behavioral
Models in Mice, Irifune, et al.

[stimulerium]

Yeah I know about GABA and how drugs mess with it, but I was wondering what taking GABA would do. The pill bottle says it contains GABA 120 mg on the back. I don't know why the hell I have neurotransmitters in pills, but isn't Melatonin a neurotransmitter? It comes in pills.

[headcase]

Yeah I suppose. What are the pills?

[stimulerium]

Some kinda "natural" antidepressant pills or something. Same pill that has 5-HTP in it. I think I have pills that just have GABA but I'm not sure what they're for.

[headcase]

Originally Posted by Wikipedia

Drugs that... increase the available amount of GABA typically have relaxing, anti-anxiety and anti-convulsive effects.

However;

Originally Posted by Wikipedia

... it is unknown if GABA can pass the blood-brain barrier.

So it can act as a anxolytic and anti-convulsant, but it might not reach the brain at all. Even if it does, a single neurotransmitter can have a hundred different functions and I don't know exactly what the pill is. It's probably an anti-depressant like 5-HTP, in which case take it if you want but don't expect too much.

[stimulerium]

Yeah it's wierd that it's in pills since it wont cross the BBB, I'll do some research on the pills themselves. I wasn't expecting much from taking the pills anyways.

Thanks for the help and I'll try to remember not to sell my 5-HTP if I go to Ireland. :wink: