Posted by Larry Hoover on July 3, 2004, at 10:50:44
In reply to Re: Supplements for brain fog?, posted by KaraS on June 27, 2004, at 17:20:19
> Thanks for your input Lar. What dosages were effective for you? I have tried many things that have done nothing for me. I tried Enada NADH but
> only at 5 mg. I didn't notice any effect but I'm going to try taking 10 mg. Also, I've heard that this is something to take only periodically as your body will develop tolerance. Has that been the case with you?Rather than a tolerance phenomenon, I see it as a saturation effect. You need a higher dose initially, until you saturate your body. After that, you need much less, and much less often.
I have to resort to anecdote to explain specifics. In my experience, and in that of a "lost" poster, Ron Hill (I miss you, Ron), it takes some time for the NADH effect to build. I liken it to filling up a well. Both Ron and I found that 10 mg/day was needed initially, and that over time the effect seemed to increase. Then, and quite dramatically/suddenly, we both found that 10 mg/day was too much (as if the well filled up, and started to overflow). Thereafter, 5 mg/week was sufficient to maintain the effect. We both found that trimethylglycine (TMG) had a synergistic effect, making the NADH stimulation more pleasant.
> In terms of phenylalanine, I've taken 500 mg. of DLPA (with and without P5P) and I felt a little bit of a buzz but not much. I'm planning on trying up to about 1,500 mg. soon.
I personally prefer DLPA over L-PA or tyrosine. I have a similar response, but at higher dose.
> I've also tried SAM-e (1200 mg./day of one of the best brands) with zilch results. I didn't notice any change from DMAE either.
I never tried SAMe. Too expensive.
> In addition I've tried l-tyrosine (3,200 mg./day) for over 3 weeks and that did absolutely nothing for me.Interesting. Your DLPA response might be to formation of PEA, then.
> I'm thinking of trying an acetylated version with biopterin. Do you know anything about it? Here's some info on it from Dr. Priscilla Slagle's web site:
>
> ".... is a specialized tyrosine product used to treat depression when tyrosine hasn't worked effectively enough.
>
> .... combines biopterin with N-acetyl-L-tyrosine, a highly bioavailable form of L-tyrosine for the natural precursor treatment of low moods of depression. N-acetyl-L-tyrosine can be used in lower doses than L-tyrosine.
(snip)Biopterin is nothing more than a common form of folate. Unless you have a genetic defect which blocks folate--->biopterin transformation, I don't see any need for fancy supplements like that. I really don't get the actylation angle (but I haven't looked too closely at it, either). It might enhance uptake into the brain, but it certainly doesn't seem to promote e.g. DOPA synthesis (from a Larry-Hoover-brain theoretical perspective).
> I'm thinking that if this works for me for depression, energy and concentration, then I will know that for me biopterin is the missing link.
You won't know if it's the biopterin or the N-acetyl tyrosine.
> Otherwise I'm thinking that I have a problem with one or more of the aforementioned enzymes or with too much MAO.
You really ought to give TMG (trimethylglycine) a try. It has profound effects on my energy level. In fact, I have to be very cautious about dose because it exacerbates my insomnia.
> Sorry to to be so long-winded here but I'm determined to figure out why I'm so lethargic, depressed and unfocused. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
>
>Glad to help with the advice part, but it all comes down to how well you do the experiment, and some luck in finding the right experiment to try.
Lar
poster:Larry Hoover
thread:359642
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/alter/20040613/msgs/362788.html