5-HTP vs SSRI for mood
Short answer: For mood, more users report improvement with 5-HTP — 84% of 214 reports, versus 50% of 34 for SSRI.
5-HTP has 15 meta-analyses and 73 randomized trials on PubMed; the other has not been graded.
Based on 767 reports about 5-HTP and 85 about SSRI. Not medical advice.
| 5-HTP Supplement | SSRI Medication | |
|---|---|---|
| Users say it helped | 40%helped345 reports · high confidence | 14%helped54 reports · medium confidence |
| Verdict | Mixed | Mostly negative |
| Research | AResearch: Strong | Not graded |
| Meta-analyses / RCTs | 15 / 73 | — |
| Mainly used for | ||
| Mood % reporting improvement | 84% (214) | 50% (34) |
| Sleep % reporting improvement | 85% (102) | — |
| Anxiety % reporting improvement | 72% (71) | 73% (11) |
| Libido % reporting improvement | 33% (12) | 0% (14) |
| Energy % reporting improvement | 76% (17) | 25% (4) |
| Common side effects | vivid dreams, heart valve, serotonin syndrome, drowsiness | anhedonia, brain fog, erectile dysfunction, emotional blunting |
| Typical dose reported | 100 mg / with coffee | Not listed |
5-HTPFull 5-HTP profile →
Latest review conclusion
There are few, large, high-quality trials comparing combination pharmacotherapy with monotherapy for fibromyalgia, consequently limiting evidence to support or refute the use of combination pharmacotherapy for fibromyalgia.
Cochrane Database Syst Rev, 2018 ↗What a user said
“I just one day randomly decided to take 5-HTP an hour after finishing my workout, and I felt WIRED 15 minutes after taking it, and that lasted for 5–6 hours.”
Related comparisons
Percentages come from first-hand user reports and are not clinical outcomes. Talk to a doctor before starting, stopping or combining anything. How we rate