‘Sweet Dreams’, ‘Happy Days’ and elevated 24-h urine 5-hydroxyindolea…

We report two patients with markedly elevated 24-h urine 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) excretion due to over-thecounter (OTC) self-medication with 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP). It is important to recognize that OTC medication may cause increased ‘false-positive’ 5-HIAA excretion to prevent undue patient anxiety and unnecessary further investigation for carcinoid disease. Discordance be…