Your testimony proves how different we all are Steve, and how we all react differently to supplements.

I had the opposite reaction to you with both 5-HTP and SAM-e - 50mg 5-HTP is good for me - induces drowsiness (great for insomnia) and the next morning i feel 'brighter'. I take it perhaps 2 times a month - not every day. I don't want to induce receptor de-sensitivity.
Whereas 200mg brought on a 'serotonin syndrome' attack! I felt so nauseous, drowsy, sweating...very dodgy feeling. I immediately crashed in bed for hours.
I have Pure Griffola Seed powder for 5-HTP - i'm not sure but perhaps NOW use something else for 5-HTP thus the different dosage and reactions?

SAM-e made me flat-out suicidal. Agressively so. I couldn't keep still, felt very irritated, angry. I cried all day, wanting the hell to end!

Many people have great results with SAM-e yet a handful have adverse reactions like i mention. I took 500mg. Never tried it again.

It's best to try these things with a low dose and seeing how you react. Always a low dose! If no effect felt up the dose by a small margin. Explore that way.
These things although 'natural' are still powerful. Finding your own threshold is the key.

As an aside note - i'm not sure personally of the worthiness of taking supplements for neurotransmitter health until you know you own neuro make-up.
Some studies show the broken-down metabolites of neurotransmitters from the brain do end up in urine, it's a debatable subject still, you have to make up your own mind and research this more - but perhaps urine testing is a step to take before supplementing.


Serotonin levels and gut health are linked - so if low on this neuro. then improving gut health can increase levels.

Also take into account the axis of neurotransmitters. You increase the levels of one - you'll lower the level of another.
I took GABA in the phenibut form, and that reduces dopamine - so i ended up less anxious/able to sleep but my limbs were twitching like mad keeping me awake! (Parkinson's folk are given L-Dopa to stop the involuntary limb twitching)

Finding out your own imbalances through whatever testing you can find is a useful first step.
Supplementing the deficiencies will then help improve symptoms and create balance - but without finding out WHY that imbalance is there in the first place - you'll more than likely have to supplement for life, which in my book isn't a cure.