5htp and seizures

[JoJo]

Had been using 5 htp with success in getting my daughter (who has a rare chromosome disorder which attributes to her autism/tourettes.) to sleep. However, recently she has been having absence and partial seizures which came on spontaneously after being on 5 htp. I immediately stopped the 5 htp and her seizures stopped. I was thinking 5 htp was safer than trying medications. I guess I was wrong. Anyone else have this experience? :confused: JoJo

[Lara]

Hi JoJo,
You might want to copy/paste your message over on the Tourette's forum as well as here. I know there are people who visit or used to visit there who have experience with 5 HTP. I don't have any personal experience, I'm sorry, but some of the other posters on Autism should be able to help you.
The only real safety issues I know anything about with 5 HTP is the caution regarding Serotonin Syndrome when using it in conjunction with some other medications (like SSRI's and Tramadol). There is a small mention about 5 HTP and seizures on the site below, but it doesn't give too much further information about those cases that I could find. Is your daughter taking anything at all apart from the 5-HTP, medications or complementary alternative medications/treatments?

http://www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/8513/31402/350470.html?d=dmtContent#dangers
Side Effects
"Based on several reported cases, 5-HTP may cause seizures if used for long periods of time."

ALSO

"Interactions With Herbs And Dietary Supplements

In theory, L-tyrosine, adenosyl-L-methionine, tryptophan, vitamin B6, chromium, melatonin, niacin, SAMe, St. John’s wort, herbs and supplements with monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI) activity, and magnesium may increase the effects or side effects associated with 5-HTP."

[Lara]

JoJo, I just ran a search on "Latitudes" for some information. You might want to check out a few of the messages there as well. I ran a search on the TS Forum there and quickly sifted through a few of the posts. Latitudes = 5-HTP Search TS forum (http://www.latitudes.org/forums/index.php?act=Search&CODE=show&searchid=8b43f52801cb6f5346456bc977c05738&search_in=posts&result_type=topics&highlite=5-HTP)

[Isabelle]

Manufacturers of Tryptophan considered it an antidepressant and as such a stimulant and is not recommended for an adult autistic with ADHD and Tourette's.

[JoJo]

Thank you for the information. I was very careful not to have my daughter on any meds when I tried 5 htp. I tried Gaba too but she was very agitated on that. My daughter has a duplication of chromosome 15 which is associated with seizures however she typically does not have them. I'm guessing she naturally has a low seizure threshold. It would just be nice to use something to get her to sleep and stay asleep without adding seizures to her already long list of disabilities. Sometimes melatonin will work but she doesn't always stay asleep with it and I think she builds up a tolerance too. She is up to 5 mg per night to get her to sleep. I'm not sure how much higher i can go safely. JoJo

[Lara]

JoJo, if you've not seen it already, you might like to read this article regarding Melatonin seeing you are using it. I know Dr. Freeman from Tourette
Syndrome community and know he's been heavily involved in research in this area for some time. In the PDF below, there's some information about dosing which you might find helpful. I have read also that Melatonin can vary greatly in quality and purity. He addresses that issue in this article as well.

I hope you have a good doctor who's helping you with all this. I'd be careful dosing with anything unless under medical supervision, esp. since your daughter has complex medical history.

As a result of the widely differing factors, some children with disabilities respond well to 1 to 2mg, or even less, while many need higher doses. In clinical practice we prefer to start with a low dose and increase it gradually until there is a satisfactory response. We recommend that physicians use the clinical response in selecting the appropriate dose.

James Jan MD FRCP(C), Professor, Child Neurology,Mental Health Research Unit and Roger Freeman MD FRCP(C), Clinical Head of Neuropsychiatry Clinic, BC’s Children’s Hospital, University of British Columbia, Canada.

782 Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology 2004, 46: 776–782
http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=255857
Full PDF available there to the right

Melatonin therapy for circadian rhythm sleep disorders in children with multiple
disabilities: what have we learned in the last decade?

[Isabelle]

I forgot to mention that the Naturopath not being a MD recommended 5HTP because he couldn't prescribe Tryptophan. Tryptophan is gentler.

About Melatonin the dosage was to be increased it to 6mg but seeing that my son was not sleeping at 3mg nor at 6mg I kept him at 1mg for the gluthathione that could provide.

As Lara points out the quality of the suplements include Melatonin diverse among brands so get supplements from a very good reputable brand.

Another supplement/s that I have faith on is adding probiotics to his smoothies: it helps with his flora intestinal, lets the intestine absorb the nutrients and keep on check the bad bacteria; then digestive enzymes: helps the small intestine in the process of munching foods for easy absortion; finally Milk thistle to help his liver do its work.

To help him repair his brain he is on the highest DHA supplement (google "fish oils and akathisia"). To balance it out I like to add a teaspoon of 3-6-9 to his smoothie. It makes sense to target the intestines because that is the place where most our immune system lies and where the brain chemicals are produced to help the brain to function.

Lara is more scientific than I ever could be. Thanks Lara for your help in the past.

[lisa6wks]

JoJo,
Don't want to hijack your thread, but would you tell me a little bit about your daughter? I have worked with children with deletion of 15 and IDIC15, but don't know if I have ever heard of a duplication of 15. The seizures and lack of sleep you mention sounds like kids with Angelman syndrome.

Thanks,
Lisa

[JoJo]

Lisa,
Yes, there is a crossover in some of the symptoms of angleman syndrome for some children. Her duplication is a portion of the SNRPN 15q12. . It is called interstitial duplication 15. My daughter is now 15 years old but I didn't get this diagnosis until last year. It has been a godsent to finally know what is wrong with her. Here is a site that explains her diagnosis better than I can -
http://idic15.org/ If you look under genetics overview it explains the different duplications. My daughter presents as high functioning child with autism/tourettes, adhd, extreme OCD and anxiety. She has sleep issues, behavioral issues and sensory deficients. She has a low average intellect but has scattered skills when it comes to things that interest her. She loves music, plays the piano, loves to speak in different dialects, and knows basic Spanish, can read and write on a fourth grade level. She is very social and does not like to be alone. Behaviorally she is very challenging. Her newest desire is to drive and so all the car keys have to be hidden because she has no impulse control. She doesn’t respond well to medications (very sensitive to their side effects) she wants to
marry Zac Efron and her favorite movie is high school musical! Jo-Ann

[lisa6wks]

JoJo,
Thanks for the description of your daughter. She sounds challenging, but charming :) I did teach a preschooler with Isodicentric 15 for a little while. She was the cutest little girl, although at the time she was non verbal and very impetuous. Most of the children I teach have some type of syndrome and I find it so fascinating to see the differences it makes on each having a different syndrome. Each child, of course, is an individual, even though they may have the same syndrome but it does help to know, especially at the beginning, the type of challenges they may be facing because of their particular syndrome. I will be attending a conference in Baltimore, MD this Dec on teaching children with syndromes and I expect to learn a lot there.
Thank you for the info.

Lisa

[JoJo]

Lisa,
My daughter's teacher and I are also attending a conference on isodicentric 15 in Boston in June, 2007. Could luck with your students they are very lucky to have such a dedicated teacher. My daughter lost valuable time in pre-school and elementary classes that labeled her as MR. (I knew in my heart she had much more going). We are finally with a good placement now and wonderful teacher. Jo-Ann