I use a small cocktail of amino acids now. I haven’t always. It’s a rather new addition to my supplement regime. I’m exclusively using inhibitory amino acids, as when I tried excitatory amino acids I had bad reactions. Besides the story I just linked to I also tried SAMe and had a real nightmare of a time as well. SAMe is a combination excitatory amino acid which is often used as an antidepressant. I was using it as prescribed by a orthomolecular doctor for having high histamine which it is supposed to correct. It backfired big time.
I did much more research on amino acids before adding the inhibitory ones and it seems they are helping greatly. My new doctor, another orthomolecular, holistic and energy healing psychiatrist recommended a couple I wasn’t taking. I am now sleeping 9 hours a night. They seem to be helping.
A good place to begin a study of amino acids is here.
It’s possible to be tested for optimal levels of amino acids, but I personally found that test useless and the doctor who did that supplemented me with a broad based amino acid product that included excitatory amino acids. For now I will stick with the inhibitory and calming aminos.
When I met my newest doctor I was taking GABA, Tryptophan and D-Phenylalanine. GABA receptors are what benzo’s mess with and I’ve talked to a few people who have withdrawn relatively painlessly from benzos by using GABA. It’s not a sure thing though. Many people seem to feel nothing when they take GABA. Tryptophan is used both for sleep and depression but can rarely cause agitation so needs to be used with caution. It very obviously helps me fall asleep.
D-Phenylalanine must be differentiated from L-Phenylalanine and DL-Phenylalanine, both of which are excitatory. The D-Phenylalanine I take because it causes release of endorphins. It’s cut the pain of my endometriosis in half. No joke. I have gone from writhing in a ball of pain for 24 - 48 hours to being able to essentially ignore the pain. I still take ibuprofen. But prior to the D-Phenylalanine it wasn’t enough and I had tried every other non-addictive pain medication out there. Actually I did even try a stuff like hydrocodone to no effect. I suffer a lot of pain, so discovering D-Phenylalanine was a great relief. A profound relief that makes me want to cry. Endometriosis is no picnic.
Then I met my new doctor. She said I tested very low in Taurine, which she uses as a sort of mood stabilizer. I take that three times a day. I take the rest all at bedtime with melatonin. I take all of them on an empty stomach to optimize absorption. If you take them with food, especially protein they get lost in digestion.
The last amino acid I take is N-acetyl-cysteine which was also recommended by my new doctor. It raises glutathione which helps by doing a gentle detox. I was taking products called Immunocal and Protect which are basically the same thing. They are both whey protein products that deliver cysteine for the same purpose—raising glutathione, but they are outrageously expensive. The people who sell Immunocal and Protect claim plain old N-acetyl-cysteine does not absorb and therefore does not raise glutathione. The product I take is called CysNAC and has complimentary nutrients that allow it to absorb. It seems to be working. In the past if I’ve stopped Immunocal I’ve felt the difference and since I made the switch to the much cheaper CysNAC I feel fine.
Oh, I also take Theanine, another inhibitory amino acid that is often taken for anxiety. I had some on hand that I wasn’t taking and my doctor said it was a good thing to add on. I’ve spoken to many people who find it very soothing when they have anxiety attacks. I just take it at night with the rest of my amino cocktail. And like I said I’m sleeping 9 hours a night now with no hangover and that is after about 3 months of 2 to 3 hours of sleep a night.
I’m hardly recovered. I have a few good days here and there, but I’m so toxic I literally feel poisoned much of the time. Barely able to move. It’s been like that the last couple of days again. It turns out I tested high in mercury too. The glutathione helps detox that too, as well as the psych meds and enviromental toxins that I’m sensitive to. I also take Milk Thistle to help detox.
It feels good to be sleeping again, but I really wish it was accompanied by feeling rested. It’s possible I’m trending towards that as I’m certainly not as out of it as I was when I thought I was quitting the blog just about three weeks ago and I’ve had a string of pretty good days in there too—days in which I was able to leave the house, drive and be social—even if for only a couple of hours before exhaustion set in. That’s much better than being exhausted from the moment I wake and not being able to get out of bed. So, yeah, I’m tentatively hoping I’m trending towards more energy and I suppose it seems I am. I’m also tentatively hoping I’ve found a doctor who can really help and again, I’m thinking I have.
For a post on other supplements see here. I don’t take exactly those supplements anymore but it’s an example of a somewhat typical orthomolecular regime.
This may be a stupid question, but do you have a post on how to get a test for the deficiency and excess of various vitamines and things you decribe here.
Do you have a compleat list of testable things?
A-Z list, and then what deficiencies and excess’s typically mean in the human body?
Do you have estimated cost of the tests?
The organization and quality of this website (that is excellent) give no hint/clue as to the living problems you write of.
Hi Mark,
there are special labs that do all sorts of testing that standard doctors don’t do. I don’t know what you’ve got available in Canada.
They do tend to be expensive…I am extremely lucky in that while I and my husband live very simply on not a very large income, my mother helps me with some of these more unusual health supports that I use.
You can look for naturopathic doctors or orthomolecular psychiatrists who may be able to test for nutritional deficiencies.
Otherwise as long as you’re careful a lot of these nutrients are safe to experiment with. But you need to do research to be safe. Safe Harbor’s yahoo email list is a good place to get advice from others who use natural means to help themselves. I know lots of people who have figured things out for themselves. Unfortunately my situation has begged for assistance from the beginning and it certainly feels better when I feel like someone can direct me.
lots of great supps mentioned …. thanks for the info. just one note of caution about the Tuarine — it is good for body builders, but it really takes some getting used to as it caused me muscle cramping in some areas. It is also available in more diluted amounts in power-C vitamin water.
Hi Gianna,
I was planning a post on the supplements that I use as I just placed a huge order yesterday. Thank for this post. I will refer to it.
Naturalgal
thanks for the word of warning Denise…I apparently am very low in Taurine and am taking it three times a day with no adverse effects, but it’s always good to know what to look for and I wasn’t aware of that side effect.
I think that when someone is experimenting with aminos it’s always best to start low and slowly increase the dose in case there are any adverse reactions.
I mentioned how some people have a paradox reaction to Tryptophan for example…it’s very calming for most people but occasionally people get a little amped from it…so starting slowly is good. I take 1 gm at night but I’ve heard of ortho docs using up to 9 gms of it spread out through the day. I did take more for a while but day time use seemed to make me drowsy.
Naturalgal…you just made me think of an old post of mine. While I don’t take everything exactly the same anymore it’s a good sort of generic regime I have outlined here:
http://bipolarblast.wordpress.com/2007/09/16/supplements-supplements-supplements/
somewhat typical of ortho molecular medicine for mental health
Very popular in Britain, especially with youngsters, is a high caffeine soft drink called Red Bull.
The drink contains, amongst other things, 1000mg of taurine.
Has it taken off in the USA as well?
Redbull is very popular—the taurine takes the edge of the caffeine and guarana…it’s like a speedball in a drink. (that’s what the heroine/cocaine cocktail is called right?)
college students drink redbull & beer, i’m not hip enough to recall the name; talk about a brain jolt!
Good post gianna, glad you are feeling well enough to keep passing on information and inspiration. Thanks.
re: the Redbull topic, in 2003 I was on 40mg. of Prozac , 3mg Xanax, 100 mg trazodone, and drank Redbull all night driving my oldest to college across several mountain passes, let me just say that I had to pull the car over and call the hotel we were planning on stopping at and tell them I couldn’t drive, to cancel the reservation. Kind woman tells me she would sent state troopers to look for me. I kept on driving as she guided me into the parking lot and when I walked in the door she told me “5 more minutes was all I was giving you before I called more police in a search”. I was in the middle of no where, on that mix. Just a cautionary tale about herbal drinks, and psych meds. Even so-called “vitamin” drinks can affect us.
Red Bull is nasty ass shit, psych meds or no.
Could some one help me? What makes an amino acid inhibitory? Do you mean amino acids that are used to make a neuotransmiter that inhibits nerve transmission? My age is showing. I took organic chemistry and biochemisty too many years ago, I guess.
Jim S
OMG-Red Bull causes psychosis, IMHO. It IS nasty, as you say, Gianna! According to a few sources I have found on the net, the military used it to “motivate” soldiers during Vietnam’s War in the 70’s. They discontinued it’s use because it was discovered to cause pathological neurological conditions in our soldiers. (See caffeine allergy, but there are other ingredients in it that act on hormones and neurotransmitters in a very bad way. Taurine, for ex, may be protective in small amounts–it’s an ingredient in human breast milk– but I think the excessive amounts in Red Bull are contraindicated for most people, along with other gunk!) A businessman from Thailand “rediscovered” it and marketed it during recent years to our kids. The company gets around this history by denying it and making a joke of it: they even host a sporting event called RED BULL PSYCHOSIS. Of course the company and the gov deny this and the history of this product. People will not think much about it until somebody they love dies from cardiac arrest at a sporting event after consuming it before a game. If they read your blog, they may consider this when someone they love develops really bad mood disturbances from it after mixing it with Jeager on a regular basis. Interestingly, I can’t think of a better way to weaken our kids and our culture than by marketing this stuff under the guise of “sports energy” drink.
I’m sure it can cause psychosis in predisposed people, but it’s so widely used that I doubt its a terribly common occurrence. But I also wouldn’t be surprised if we do hear of a death by cardiac arrest either in a kid who has drank 5 or 6 or more of them…
From the Daily Mail (London) newspaper:
The article in full is here.
well, that’s an interesting article about a dangerous drink!
thanks Sloopy.