Posted by nemesis on September 14, 2004, at 22:56:51 [reposted on September 15, 2004, at 18:33:45 | original URL]
In reply to Re: Selegiline Phenylalanine nemesis, posted by sfy on September 14, 2004, at 22:04:17
Happy to help however I can. You may need to experiment with 5 mg vs. 10 mg of selegiline, and with various levels of DLPA. It took me almost a month to figure out the optimal combo for me. Early on, I took more DLPA (often 1000 mg instead of 500 mg), but over time found out that for me 500 mg is sufficient (and also that 500 mg DLPA 10 mg selegiline seems to lead to less anxiety for me than 1000 mg DLPA 5 mg selegiline). One day early on I took 2000 mg DLPA over the course of a day and felt like a hamster going in an exercise circle. Many months ago I tried L-phenylalanine (not DLPA) by itself without selegiline and got only brief mood spikes (which makes sense now that I know the amazingly short half life of PEA when selegiline is not present).
Re: the B-6, there's not exactly a great body of literature on that (at least not that I've been able to find). But what I have seen indicates that the more commonly available inactive form of B-6 is not absorbed as well as the active form (P-5-P), and when the inactive form is taken singularly (i.e., without a B-complex) at doses of as low as 200 mg/day for a few months it can lead to a (usually) reversible numbness in the limbs, in theory because what's not converted into P-5-P from the inactive form gets stored in your liver and accumulates there. So I decided on the P-5-P. Not as any kind of endorsement, but just as a note of convenience . . . Solgar manfactures both DLPA and P-5-P and you can get both at Whole Foods (if there's one near you and they stock them, as they do in my area), or online at House of Nutrition, which carries the entire Solgar line.
Regarding lack of energy / anhedonia / lack of motivation . . . this may very well solve that for you. I was dysthymic for over 12 years (with a number of major depressions to boot) and I have found this to be amazingly energizing. I can't say I always wake up raring to go, but by the time I'm drving to the office, the DLPA selegiline combo has really kicked in and I feel absoulutely great. I feel like a normal, happy human being now. Never thought I'd be saying that!
I am mystified by why this is "alternative" . . . to me it should be first line therapy given the lack of side effects and the fast onset of action (within hours to a few days, instead of six weeks if at all).
One other thing I'd like to share. In the month I've been taking DLPA selegiline, I have had two nights where I experienced some sadness. In both cases, it was completely gone in the morning. The first time it happened, I was scared that the combo might be losing its efficacy. Not so. I just have a full range of emotions -- there's no flatness. Now I trust it (which was hard to do at first, after 12 years of largely useless drugs) so the second time I felt sad, I just accepted it as normal for anyone occasionally. It's not depression, because it's not sustained. My depression is gone.
> Thanks - I'm starting on 5 mg. Selegiline plus DLPA next week (I've got to wait for mirtazapine to wash out). I'm hoping it will help my dysthymia/anhedonia/lack of motivation. I figured I'd give it a shot before having to deal with Parnate.
>
> How important is it to have the P-5-P instead of just the usual B6?
poster:nemesis
thread:377600
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/alter/20040901/msgs/391203.html