You betcha! I'm JEG325 and I've been researching, studying and takiing supplements for 22 years! I have taken a lot of supplements nearly from the beginning. I don't believe in drugs and I refuse to use them at all, even aspirin! But today, let's talk about a few drugs that many of you, several of my best friend included, are taking......(I only had room for 3)....One of the most popular drugs for anxiety and depression (yes, I looked it up and it is prescribed for anxiety on occassion too), is Zoloft. This drug works by enhancing the seratonin in your brain. In other words it helps to keep your seratonin level up by preventing it from being used up as fast. Sounds simple. Right? Alarmingly, anxiety is an all too common side effect of this popular drug. There are many others too, dry mouth, constipation, diarrhea, insomnia & more. The list of all the side effects would take half a page! What to do then, if you want an alternative? Take the #1 seratonin supplement out there! L-Tryptophan works by by actually increasing the amount of seratonin your body makes! It has virtually no side affects. This amino acid will increase your mood, allow you to sleep better & return your appetite to something approaching normal. I have taken it when i had the money and can testify to its effectiveness in my life.....There other things too but, I don't have the room to go into them all. You can always pm me for more info......I'd like a brief word about Xanax too. Xanax is known for its calming effect and is sometimes used for a sleep aid. As usual, its list of side effects is alarming. So, how do we get around this problem? It's quite simple, since Xanax enhances GABA in the brain and uses this mechanism to calm you, we go straight to the horses mouth! Taking supplemental GABA works better than Xanax and has virtually no side affects. You can take it 3 times per day, especially at bedtime to help you relax and sleep.....Talking about sleep: Before you ever consider Ambien or some other over the counter or prescription aid, try using the supplement that works directly with your body to help you sleep! Melatonin is a hormone that your body produces at night to help you sleep. I have used it off and on for years. It is extremely affective. However continuous use is not recommended. I use 3mgs an hour before bed. And here's a tip. If you use L-tryptophan & GABA, you may never need melatonin!! Now, I can provide alternatives to many other drugs too but, I ran out of room. Pm me for any info you need about drug alternatives. Information provided by the website ADHD Boss & I HealthTube.Com + 22 years of experience! And finally, my disclaimer: I am not trying to diagnose, treat or prevent anything. Use caution and common sense before stopping or starting any new treatment regimine. You should always seek professional help in making such decisions. I recommend a progressive doctor. They use medicine and supplements to treat illnesses (they also use diet and spiritual treatments too). As usual I wish the best physical & mental health possible to our ADAA members!!
Are There Alternatives To Psychotropi... - Anxiety and Depre...
Are There Alternatives To Psychotropic Drugs?
Jeg, what brand of L-tryptophan do you recommend?
I usually use Now brand products due to cost/quality ratio. 100, 500mg capsules run about $15 or so. you can take up 3 per day, but, I recommend starting with 1 to see how you feel. I usually took 1 or 2 per day.
What brand and dose or GABA do you recommend?
Sir99, I am sorry for the slow response time. I was working elsewhere for awhile. I favor Now products because the quality is high and the price is usually lower. 90 chewable, 250mg lozengers normally run around $10. You can take up to 3, I used 2 on average. One during the day when I felt anxious or restless & 1 at bedtime everynight. Works well with 3mgs of melatonin for sleeping problems. I will answer any other drug alternative problems you have too. Thanks for your interest.
Thx JEG! My daughter saw a naturopath a couple of years ago and she was fantastic. She had very evidenced-based recommendations. I wish there was more money to fund studies on alternative medicine! We've also had great success with an osteopath for migraines. Lots of good alternative approaches out there and lots of amazing potential for even more alternative evidence-based recommendations. I agree with you JEG--- that folks should work with their providers. Some supplements interact very poorly with certain meds or other supplements, and some are dangerous for people with certain medical conditions. People should do their own homework on side effects, med-med interactions, etc. And get really high quality products if they decide some of these are right for them (supplements and nutraceuticals are not regulated like pharmaceuticals are).
I also agree that caution should be used with pharmaceuticals. We have enough evidence on SSRIs and SNRIs (the most commonly used antidepressant/ anti-anxiety meds) to know they are pretty safe when used correctly. And they do seem to help a lot of people. That said, it is very interesting to me that the serotonin theory has never been proven and I remain a bit of a skeptic (here's a good article- but a real snoozer. If you have insomnia, read this! frontiersin.org/articles/10... I am personally not a fan of the benzos (ie Xanax) for long term use for anxiety, and I personally prefer embracing insomnia to any of the sleep-aids
I have absolutely no judgement, though- truly none, when people do things their way. I know it can be such a challenging road, and everyone is on their own journey. This is great info JEG! I hope you are having a fantastic night
Thanks for your input. I was a bit disappointed with the lack of reaction to this post. There's a lot more I could say about life in general right now too. But, having taken the 3 items, I know they work, at least for me. Cutting edge reasearch has established a strong connection between seratonin, mood & sleep. In fact, recent research strongly suggests that SAD is caused primarily by a lack of vit d which in turn deters your body from producing enough seratonin! But, at the end of the day I mostly appreciate you being there for me. Thank you for that. 10 kazillion hugs for being such a good person.
I tried to get into “Frontiers....,” but it will not let me get into it. I have problems sleeping and wanted to see what it said about that. What is it about?
Southpark,this is JEG325, I will send you a direct message. Your chat button will show a 1. Tap the button and it will show a page with a list of those who have contacted you. Tap my name on that page and it will take you right to my message. To respond write in the box at the bottom of that page and hit send. We will be connected directly from then on. I can help with sleep problems. Most of my life, I was plagued with them. I do pretty fair now and I can tell how. Okay? (Apologies, Calm_Mama, I know he was talking to you. I am pretty good with this topic though.....You can contact me directly too anytime you wish. I'm always glad to hear your voice of your calm reason!)
Hi Southpark!
Here is the link:
frontiersin.org/articles/10...
I included the link as part of my musing about the serotonin theory. My statement about it being good for insomnia was a joke- sorry about that! It is an article about the link between Serotonin and depression, at the molecular level in the brain. It is very scientific, probably incredibly boring to most people- thus, a good "treatment" for insomnia (because it's a snoozer).
Again my apologies for being misleading
Thanks for the info. Feel like I'm struggling at the moment with massive irritability and impatience. Have used SSRIs in the past with good result, but don't like side effects or want to be drug dependent again. Will try to find a UK source of Trytophan. Also, are there food sources of serotonin?
I will look that up for you and respond Sunday. Thanks for your interest.
For seratonin: Eggs, Cottage Cheese, Bananas, Oatmeal, Chicken/Turkey, Sunflower seeds & walnuts were the top mentioned foods on 12 sites I surveyed....Increasing B--vitamns is helpful too and includes these foods: Chicken, eggs, bananas, dairy products, whole grains (oats too), pork, liver & kidney beans were the top foods I found for that. Thank you for your interest, Myrs31.
Me again, do you know if there's a difference between L Tryptophan and 5HTP. If so, which is better?
Yes. 5 htp is a metabolite of L-tryptophan. Easily put, it is one more step up the wrung on being absorbed by your body. Some people have great success using it and only 50mg. doses are required. But, it always upset my stomach badly so, I did not recommend it. This is a pretty well documented side affect of 5htp. L-tryptophan is much better tolerated, gentler in its actions and less likely to cause any side affects. Thank you for your interest.
Thank YOU very much for that information.
Hi JEG. Thanks for all your information. I am also taking supplements. I have been on some of the meds out of desperation. Did not like side effects. Now using natural nutrionist who is working with me. Have had lots of problems with sleep. He is still trying different things for my sleep. Lack of sleep causes anxiety to go up. Please contact me if you would like:tprescott2000@hotmail.com
It is great to find someone else who is going the natural route. I have people around me that think meds are the only answer and don’t understand that supplements are very helpful. I am sticking to what I believe. I would like to hear more of what you have to say.
I am not good with emails. I will try but, you could also personal message me here on this site. Our words would be completely private then. You could also instant message me on Facebook. I am at jeglives@gmail. com if you want to try emailing me. I monitor my incoming email messages all the time. I agree with what you said about using supplements exclusively. My doctor and my counselors sure hate it!!
The Facebook info would have to be shared only in private. Thanks for your interest. I really, really look forward to talking to you. By the way, the 1-2-3 punch of L-tryptophan, GABA and melatonin is pretty potent for sleeping. Add magnesium and you should be able to sleep through anything! Take the tryptophan earlier in the day. The melatonin, magnesium & GABA can be taken at bedtime.
I agree on the Magnesium. But I've read multiple med sites where GABA supplement does not cross the brain barrier. Don't know if it does, haven't tried the GABA supplement, but I do know that gabapentin is highly effective. I was taking that for awhile but started feeling really bad on it, like crappy so I stopped it.
Your point is well taken. My research indicates that for some GABA is not effective. It can get into your brain through unhealthy 'leaks' and it can also get in through the pituitary gland. GABA increases growth hormone output which then carries the GABA with it into the brain. But thses 2 mechanisms do not work for all. To enhance its effectiveness and slow side effects you should add the following supplements: Magnesium & B-6. L-Theanine islso helpful. I was a bit lax on my info there. Thanks for pointing that out.
I don't believe you can recover from anxiety and depression by eating chicken, eggs, bananas, B vitamins or walnuts (even though the latter do look like miniature brains). By the time you're diagnosed with anxiety disorder or clinical depression it's too late for all that. Show me one person who has recovered by eating bananas.
The only way to overcome the symptoms is by taking the right medication (which brings respite but not cure) or by talking cures with a really good therapist or by really effective self-help cures available in books or YouTube videos.
For example, I took Vitamin B Complex 50mg for decades and can't say it's helped. I still take it but not for psychotherapeutic reasons. If Patagonian Cactus Juice is ever found in clinical trials to be effective in restoring quiet minds I'd be happy to go with it.
Sorry you feel that way. L-tryptophan has been shown to increase the body's production of seratonin. The food was offered as an add on. Food that increases your output of seratonin helps you with sleep and anxiety. No one said it would cure you or stop anxiety or depression by itself. I do not use one single drug for my anxiety, depression, PTSD or panic disorder. I have never taken a drug in my life, nor will I. The information was only disseminated to those who wanted to know. It is offered as a favor and has never been intended to diagnose, treat or cure a disease. Thank you for your interest.
I agree - L-Tryptophan is very good for sleep as well as turkey contains a bit of this. Bananas increase potassium which is depleted. I would advise however anyone that is taking an SSRI, SNRI do their due diligence on L-Tryptophan and never take 5HTP if you are taking an SSRI.
Could be right about the Tryptophan, I wonder why it isn't offered by doctors and psychiatrists routinely. Probably not so much profit in it for the pharmaceutical companies who influence doctors compared to drugs.
Before 1990 it was routinely prescribed for anxiety, depression and sleep problems. Big pharma engineered a false scare saying the amino acid was causing liver damage to people who were using it. The govermenst outlawed it immediately. Now, within days this whole thing was proven to be manufactured problem. The batch that had been harming people was doctored with some type of poison. The irony here is that within a year, tryptophan was approved as a treatment for the very disease It was supposed to cause! The reason? Tryptophan is incredidibly effective in treating the above disorders. It was becoming so popular that big pharma was losing craploads of money. It has taken 20+ years for Tryptophan to be allowed to be purchased by ordinary people. So, here's the idea: You take tryptophan to increase seratonin + you eat foods that encourage seratonin production too. Even if the tryptopnan does 97% of the work, wouldn't another 3% more still help? I try to be incredibly logical in what I recommend. But, I thank you for your concern and interest. It keeps me from going the deep end about how I feel.At the end of each day, I am only here to try and help. Have a blessed day, Jeff1943.
Thank you for that information, Jeg325, I can well believe what you say about Big Pharma. We are all here to learn and I have learned something today.
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