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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 16 of 16. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by sigismund on July 16, 2010, at 2:52:30
As luck would have it the theanine was delivered (from Pure Bulk, so cheap!) just as I was thinking that I could no longer put up with not taking Xanax 0.25mg.
I took maybe 400mg, and did all this housework.
Very useful....I believe in chemical imbalance, I just have little faith in the drugs to fix it (even if we had a clue as to what it is)(whatever).
Theanine made available to me a normality and energy that was somehow f*ck*d up.
Posted by Hombre on July 16, 2010, at 7:07:49
In reply to Theanine, posted by sigismund on July 16, 2010, at 2:52:30
PureBulk is a great place to order from. I just received my second kg of magnesium citrate. Their shipping model is brilliant for what they do.
Will put theanine on the long list of things to try. Thanks for the heads-up.
Posted by janejane on July 16, 2010, at 7:13:25
In reply to Theanine, posted by sigismund on July 16, 2010, at 2:52:30
That's amazing! I tried Jarrow brand a couple times and all I got was a neck ache. I've had much better luck with just drinking matcha tea (natural source; I use about 1/2 tsp per 4 oz. 170° water). It provides me with calm and focus, less so with motivation (which seems to be what you got from theanine).
So where did you buy it from? I looked up purebulk.com and I didn't see it listed. The packages look familiar, like I've seen them on ebay or something.
Posted by Lao Tzu on July 16, 2010, at 12:07:55
In reply to Theanine, posted by sigismund on July 16, 2010, at 2:52:30
Hats off to you for discovering something that helps you. I've thought about trying theanine myself, but so far, I'm doing okay on my regimen, and I may not need it to get through the day. However, thanks for informing us as to the effect you received from it.
Posted by sigismund on July 17, 2010, at 0:54:38
In reply to Re: Theanine, posted by Lao Tzu on July 16, 2010, at 12:07:55
>Hats off to you for discovering something that helps you.
You spoke too soon :)
It must have been something to do with the agomelatine. I take a smallish dose of that.
Anyway, very soon after I put it under my tongue there was immediate relaxation and (how's this?) I felt like doing things SPONTANEOUSLY and what's more did them.
Maybe I went a little manic? Anyway I went to bed and at 1am BAM, I'm awake for the rest of the night with what I'm sure was dopaminergic overload.
So today was kind of dreadful. Back to the drawing board. Interesting stuff though.....I must get some of that tea, I've not had that.
It struck me as having things in common with withania. I'd taken it when I wasn't on agomelatine and the effect was quite mild then.
Posted by sigismund on July 17, 2010, at 18:23:17
In reply to Re: Theanine » sigismund, posted by janejane on July 16, 2010, at 7:13:25
>I've had much better luck with just drinking matcha tea (natural source; I use about 1/2 tsp per 4 oz. 170° water). It provides me with calm and focus, less so with motivation (which seems to be what you got from theanine).
What's that? Not the powdered green stuff? If it's that I've had it.
Posted by morgan miller on July 18, 2010, at 1:42:48
In reply to Theanine, posted by sigismund on July 16, 2010, at 2:52:30
Theanine agitates me slightly for some reason. I think it has something to do with increased dopamine transmission.
Posted by janejane on July 18, 2010, at 8:15:20
In reply to Re: Theanine » janejane, posted by sigismund on July 17, 2010, at 18:23:17
Yes, matcha is the powdered green stuff. Did you try a decent grade? The early spring harvests contain the most amino acids. "Ceremony grade" is best, but can be quite expensive, so I get the second highest one, which works for me, for every day type use. (I'm wary of "food" or "restaurant" or unspecified grades.) I think that in actual tea ceremony, more than 1/2 tsp is used, but it's enough for me. I wouldn't be surprised if other people need more, though, since I'm a lightweight.
Are you sure you want to dismiss theanine so quickly? What time did you take it? If insomnia was a problem, maybe you could try it first thing in the morning, and lower the dose. Better yet, why not try taking it orally rather than sublingually? If I understand things correctly (and I'm never sure that I do when it comes to biology stuff), you wouldn't skip the first pass metabolism that way, which might help prevent things from getting out of hand again. I think it might would be worth the experiment since you really seemed to like certain elements of it.
Posted by sigismund on July 18, 2010, at 15:37:09
In reply to Re: Theanine » sigismund, posted by janejane on July 18, 2010, at 8:15:20
>Are you sure you want to dismiss theanine so quickly?
No, I won't dismiss it. It's interesting stuff.>What time did you take it?
4pm, and I go to bed and get up early>If insomnia was a problem, maybe you could try it first thing in the morning, and lower the dose. Better yet, why not try taking it orally rather than sublingually? If I understand things correctly (and I'm never sure that I do when it comes to biology stuff), you wouldn't skip the first pass metabolism that way, which might help prevent things from getting out of hand again. I think it might would be worth the experiment since you really seemed to like certain elements of it.
And I could lower the dose. I will try it again. In this instance the dopamine feeling came toward the end. I have no scales for weights of this amount. Maybe I can get some?
Posted by sigismund on July 19, 2010, at 18:51:25
In reply to Re: Theanine, posted by sigismund on July 18, 2010, at 15:37:09
So I take a little theanine (perhaps half what I took to begin with) first thing in the morning and it seems OK.
I was looking around for premium matcha and came across this
https://www.teas.com.au/Oolong_(Wu-Long)-Taiwan-Organic_GABA_Body__Mind_Tea.aspx?pi=1220
I've had matcha before but it was likely the basic grade. OTOH, I'm not anxious to buy the most expensive one. I'll have to look again for Ceremony grade.
Posted by janejane on July 19, 2010, at 20:19:11
In reply to Re: Theanine ))Janejane, posted by sigismund on July 19, 2010, at 18:51:25
So you're in Australia? I'm in the US and have been getting organic matcha from Japan through a company called Ryu Mei. They have an online store, but I didn't see anything about shipping to Australia from there. I do happen to know that they also sell through ebay, including ebay Australia (I just checked), so you could shop with them that way, if you'd like.
I'm honestly not sure how much of a difference the grade makes, except that I've read that the higher ones have greater amino acid content because of the earlier harvest. If it seems like I'm hedging now, you're right that I am. I know it's expensive and I wouldn't want you to waste money on something that won't work for you, especially if you've tried it before, you know? I do feel I notice a difference from it, but that doesn't mean you'll get the same effect. If you do order from Ryu Mei, I think the spring grade would be fine. It's described as high quality but a good value (something like that). Then again, maybe you could get the regular grade, and use twice as much. (Not sure it works that way, but you could try.)
It's good to hear the lower dose of theanine seems to be OK. Are you still getting the same benefits from it as you did the first day? If so, maybe you don't need the matcha.
BTW, an alternate spelling is maccha, in case you want to do more searching.
Posted by sigismund on July 19, 2010, at 21:48:13
In reply to matcha » sigismund, posted by janejane on July 19, 2010, at 20:19:11
It's nice to be able to get it sent directly from Japan to Australia rather than via the US.
The option to buy it came up for me. I don't understand computers....perhaps they know where we are?
So I've ordered some. I like things like green tea. When I was in Japan I thought the breakfasts were to die for....green tea, omelet, seaweed, rice, terryaki fish. On the train to Kanazawa an attendant came past with these boxes bound with split bamboo and string. Inside was something like a banana leaf and inside that was an enormous sushi, salmon on top of rice, a very good snack for two. Civilisation!
Posted by janejane on July 20, 2010, at 9:46:59
In reply to Re: matcha » janejane, posted by sigismund on July 19, 2010, at 21:48:13
I hope you enjoy the tea. I'm no connoisseur, but I think it tastes pretty good. I should note that I use twice as much as the instructions say (1/2 tsp versus 1/4 tsp), which seems to be more in line with what I've read is supposed to be used. It still makes a thin tea. For a thick tea, you'd use more tea and less water. I've never tried it that way, but I guess that's more typical for actual tea ceremony. Were you exposed to that when you visited Japan? It seems very involved.
P.S. What a nice breakfast. You're making me hungry! ;-)
Posted by sigismund on July 20, 2010, at 15:27:38
In reply to Re: matcha » sigismund, posted by janejane on July 20, 2010, at 9:46:59
>Were you exposed to that when you visited Japan?
No, but it would have been easy enough since we were mainly in Kyoto.
The other day in a place called Changu Narayan
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_WQ1K_t-fjzs/SHIDo4sMh7I/AAAAAAAAAjA/hI63XN5taqA/s400/Changu_Narayan_Temple_Door.jpg
I was sitting up in a restaurant like this, looking out
http://bluedandelion.net/viit/kathm_valley/IMGP2498.jpg
and this man I couldn't place came in and we started to talk. He was a second generation Japanese American who lived half the time in India where he was looking at temples with an interest in Tantric Hinduism, so he was walking from temple to temple, staying wherever he could. How cool is that?
Posted by janejane on July 20, 2010, at 16:46:29
In reply to Re: matcha » janejane, posted by sigismund on July 20, 2010, at 15:27:38
Yeah, that's pretty cool. So this was the other day? In Nepal? You must travel a lot. Forgive me for not knowing, but what's your Dx? You must be pretty stable right now.
Posted by sigismund on July 20, 2010, at 18:26:18
In reply to Re: matcha » sigismund, posted by janejane on July 20, 2010, at 16:46:29
I have no idea what my Dx is. Dx were different years ago (neurosis!) and my current shrink thinks the DSM sucks (we get on well, lots of fun). Anxiety/depression I guess. I can function.
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