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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 4 of 4. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by stargazer2 on March 26, 2014, at 14:31:02
Is anyone taking this for depression? YOu opinion, please. I have taken, and although there are times I swear it is doing "something" to help with my depressive symptoms, i.e. focus and communication, I'm not really sure of it. I know it is an amino acid and a precursor for seritonin but I also believe it has implications for ADHD symptoms.
Does anyone have a clue about it's effectiveness for "the beast", aka depression?
Posted by Lao Tzu on March 27, 2014, at 11:18:59
In reply to DL Phenylalanine, Any input?, posted by stargazer2 on March 26, 2014, at 14:31:02
I had better experience with just plain L-phenylalanine. My sister also takes the L-type for her depression. She didn't like the DL-type. Dopamine and norepinephrine are made from phenylalanine, which are implicated in depressive symptoms. My sister also takes L-tryptophan at bedtime, because it is a precursor of serotonin, which also is implicated in depression. I guess you could try both and see which works better for your depression. Some people like the basic L-type and some like the DL-type. The DL-type is typically taken when you have a combination of pain symptoms and depression. Good luck!!
Posted by Tomatheus on March 30, 2014, at 10:50:24
In reply to DL Phenylalanine, Any input?, posted by stargazer2 on March 26, 2014, at 14:31:02
Stargazer,
I've taken l-phenylalanine for what are probably the negative symptoms of schizophrenia, and in my case, my energy and concentration seemed to improve for about a week before the supplement's benefits seemed to fade. I get this type of response to a lot of supplements, though, so I wouldn't necessarily assume that you'll respond in the same way. Also, strangely enough, when I went back to try the supplement a second time, I didn't seem to benefit from it at all. I can't really explain that, but I've had similar things happen to me with other supplements.
As far as phenylalanine's effects on depression are concerned, I think that there's some reason to think that the supplement could be effective. I came across one study -- or at least its summary (Fischer et al., 1975) -- that found that supplementing with dl-phenylalanine or d-phenylalanine produced "complete euthymia" in 17 out of 23 treatment-resistant depressive patients, but the study was preliminary with no control group. Another "open" study that lacked a control group (Beckmann & Ludolph, 1978) found dl-phenylalanine supplementation to benefit 12 out of 20 depressed patients. It's probably hard to conclude much from the two studies that I mentioned given their small sample sizes and lack of a control group, but the results did seem to be favorable. So, I would say that there's some reason to think that phenylalanine supplementation might benefit individuals with depressive disorders, although the evidence seems to be limited.
Tomatheus
==
REFERENCES
Beckmann, H., & Ludolph, E. (1978). [DL-phenylalanine as an antidepressant. Open study (author's transl)]. Arzneimittel-Forschung, 28, 1283-1284. Abstract: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/380577
Fischer, E., Heller, B., Nachon, M., & Spatz, H. (1975). Therapy of depression by phenylalanine: Preliminary note. Arzneimittel-Forschung, 25, 132. Abstract: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1173765
Posted by johnnybaklava on April 8, 2014, at 15:24:29
In reply to Re: DL Phenylalanine, Any input?, posted by Tomatheus on March 30, 2014, at 10:50:24
I've been taking 300mg of L-Phenylalanine for years, and it has really helped, perhaps more than any single thing I've tried (melatonin for sleep, too). To prove this, I didn't take it this weekend and felt incredibly lethargic. I'm sure my brain would have eventually worked around this, but I was surprised how much I needed it to maintain a healthy outlook!
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