Posted by Indie on July 24, 2004, at 12:46:59
In reply to Re: Questions about Phenylalanine and more. » Indie, posted by Larry Hoover on July 24, 2004, at 11:21:14
WOW...That's alot of information. Are you a bio-chemist or something or have you just done alot of research on the matter??
You say more questions welcome...I've got a million!! I am bi-polar II and know just enough about all of it to be a danger to myself :-) Basically I am trying to get a grasp on the systems that control mood to understand better what systems may be out of whack so that I can make some educated guesses on fixing them.
If you have any suggestions and info on that front I am ready to hear as much info as you care to give. As additional info, my manias are very easy to control, lamictal pretty much does the job. I find it a bit confusing that half of my manias are euphoric and half miserabely dysphoric. My depressions are extrordinarally difficult to control. ADs have worked in the past as did ECT once but now nothing on that front seems to be working..,
until this week. At the suggestion of my doc, I started taking SAMe along with an anti-homocysteine and it seems to be giving me a bit of relief. I started with 200 mg 2X/day and after three days moved to 400 mg 2X/day. The only problem is that my anxiety seems to be getting worse.
Now I know that SAMe is a methyl donor that allows the tryptophan-5HTP-5HT process and the tyrosine-dopamine-norepinephrine process to work. I also know that people advise Bipolars not to take the stuff as it may cause mania, however my doc and pharmacist both said that this really wasn't true.
I guess that all of this babbling is wondering why SAMe might relieve depression but increase anxiety.
As for the phenylalanine, where does it fit into the system? I am going to add supplements very slowly, but would it make any sense to take this supplement with SAMe?
The reason that I am wondering about glutamine is because of an experience that my doctor had many moons ago. He was working on a study at the University of Texas doing blood tests for nutritional status. Just for kicks he decided to get himself tested. After a few weeks his motivation increased dramatically. Over several months he lost over 30 lbs without even thinking about it. They did a mini study on the issue and the results were duplicated in patients with a family history of depression and diabetes.
I have two reasons for interest in this. The first is because I have motivation problems even when I am symptom free. The second is that my sister is clinically obese. She eats a pretty good diet and runs frequently but still gains weight.
>
> Simply put, glutamic acid is excitatory, whereas glutamine is inhibitory,but sometimes the glutamic acid excites an inhibitory process (net inhibitory effect), and sometimes the glutamine inhibits an inhibitory process (net excitatory effect), so the outcomes can seem paradoxical. Like amphetamine to treat hyperactivity. It works, but it doesn't seem logical, on its face.In my limited understanding, it seems to me that this study indicates the paradoxical effect of Glutamine inhibiting an inhibitory process. Is this a good assumption? Again, would it make sense to take this supplement with SAMe? My doc was taking around 1.5 grams/day "if his memory serves him correctly."
As for tryptophan/5HTP, as you seem to think that tryptophan is the best choice between these two...same question. Would it make sense to take it with SAMe?
Do you have any insight or suggestions about the anxiety issue?? I do not want to quit the SAMe as it seems to be having a positive effect on depression but the anxiety gets so bad sometimes that I feel like I am suffocating.
Thanks in advancee for any info.
P.S. I have another question off the topic but I will start a new thread for that.
poster:Indie
thread:369909
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/alter/20040718/msgs/369967.html