Just posting this here, a helpful reply I received to this same thread on another forum for anybody who is interested;
“5-HTP and MDMA is potentially a risk for serotonin syndrome but I’m not sure how likely that is. It’s advised to avoid 5-HTP 12 hours before and after dosing MDxx.
What is more certain though is that although 5-HTP may increase serotonin in the brain, it is actually downregulating your serotonin receptors… This means when you do take MDMA, the serotonin it releases is not gonna be felt by your receptors as much, you are effectively increasing your tolerance to MDMA in a way. As far as what is understood about it would suggest anyway, and plenty of anecdotal reports.
5-HTP is best used in the 3-5 days after MDMA use, 100mg before bed, as a simple ‘safety net’ to make sure you are getting more serotonin up there for your brain to replenish. There are likely more factors involved in MDMA induced depression / anxiety or neurotoxicity than serotonin depletion alone. It is no replacement for using tested MDMA, infrequently and responsibly, with a proper vitamin/antioxidant pre/post-load regimen.
It’s also worth noting that it’s unknown how well 5-HTP makes it to the brain, and 400mg of EGCG (green tea extract) taken with the 5-HTP might be needed to aid its ability to get there.
Unfortunately a lot of the science around serotonin/5-HTP/MDMA etc is not very solid… “
