Took my first small trial dose of DLphenylalanine this morning, and my hands are shaking already! WHAT IS IT WITH THIS BODY OF MINE??? I do have better energy than "normal" and i don't have the uncomfortably wired feeling i got with tyrosine, but it doesn't look like this "family" of amino acid supplements is right for me. :-(
DAMN.
Showing posts with label amino acid supplements. Show all posts
Showing posts with label amino acid supplements. Show all posts
Monday, January 21, 2013
Friday, January 18, 2013
more thoughts on tyrosine (and levodopa)
Supplementing tyrosine was an experiment in increasing my thyroid function. Most of the supplementation i tried before then, specific to T4 synthesis and the T4-T3 conversion pathways, had been very helpful -- each producing perceptible results. Tyrosine supplementation increased energy, all right, but not in a positive fashion; i felt uncomfortably "wired" and the minor "essential tremor" i experience when overstimulated became almost chronic. From my study, i figured that one of a couple of things might be going on -- either pushing myself into periodic hypERthyroidism, or (more likely) increasing my levels of adrenalin.
I discontinued the tyrosine i was taking (500mg to 1000 per day, either all at once or split dose), and started using mucuna (mucuna pruriens, marketed with the label Dopa Mucuna). The tremor faded away to almost nothing, and my mood (equanimity) improved. Desiring more energy on some days, i've been experimenting with tyrosine again. One 500mg capsule taken every other day seems to give me a little boost without too much agitation -- but again, if something gets me riled up back comes the tremor. :-(
(How i wish they were caplets, so i could cut the suckers in half, and take one of THOSE every other day! It will be a messy job halving those damned capsules.)
WARNING: entering the realm of conjecture! :-) Reading up on dopamine has given me some interesting insights on my life. It would take a novel-length post to explain it all, so i'll give you the short version -- i strongly suspect myself of being short on the stuff all my days! And looking at what happens to me when i supplement tyrosine, i think i see what could be happening.
For some reason, tyrosine seems to take a shortcut to adrenalin in my body -- it doesn't seem to hang around the levodopa step. This may happen because of my "weak thyroid" and be self-perpetuating, i don't know. Because my thyroid doesn't use enough tyrosine to make a robust supply of hormone, then more tyrosine is available to go the other route and my body compensates for the low energy with adrenalin? GOK.
...back to my reading....
I discontinued the tyrosine i was taking (500mg to 1000 per day, either all at once or split dose), and started using mucuna (mucuna pruriens, marketed with the label Dopa Mucuna). The tremor faded away to almost nothing, and my mood (equanimity) improved. Desiring more energy on some days, i've been experimenting with tyrosine again. One 500mg capsule taken every other day seems to give me a little boost without too much agitation -- but again, if something gets me riled up back comes the tremor. :-(
(How i wish they were caplets, so i could cut the suckers in half, and take one of THOSE every other day! It will be a messy job halving those damned capsules.)
WARNING: entering the realm of conjecture! :-) Reading up on dopamine has given me some interesting insights on my life. It would take a novel-length post to explain it all, so i'll give you the short version -- i strongly suspect myself of being short on the stuff all my days! And looking at what happens to me when i supplement tyrosine, i think i see what could be happening.
For some reason, tyrosine seems to take a shortcut to adrenalin in my body -- it doesn't seem to hang around the levodopa step. This may happen because of my "weak thyroid" and be self-perpetuating, i don't know. Because my thyroid doesn't use enough tyrosine to make a robust supply of hormone, then more tyrosine is available to go the other route and my body compensates for the low energy with adrenalin? GOK.
...back to my reading....
Sunday, December 9, 2012
supplements "as needed"
When i go out of town, my supplement-taking becomes a lot less organized. It's a pain to have to pack all those little bottles -- they take up a lot of space which means they have a train-case of their very own. I can't always spread them out at my destination (if i stay in one place more than a couple of days), which makes my taking them more haphazard. But when i leave some behind at home, i see pretty clearly which ones have a strong impact on my well-being.
At home, they're ranged on my side of the bathroom counter with the contact-lens solutions, deodorant, salt container for the neti-pot, electric toothbrush and scented candle -- quite a lot of clutter! But they're also organized by time-of-day when they're taken, so i don't have to seek for the first-thing-in-the-morning bottles, and the midday take-these-together items are easily identified. I use my comb as a divider between those i've already taken and the ones i haven't. If i choose not to use a particular supplement today, i turn the bottle upside-down as i put it to the left of the comb. I "have to" do things like this -- i have so vivid an imagination that sometimes i wonder if i DID take those antihistamines or just THOUGHT about it....
Being systematic about my supplement-taking has helped to define which nutrients are really necessary, and some of the conclusions are surprising. After my thyroid glandular and the iodine and selenium, i find that the most obvious things i need to pack are the IRON and the BETAINE-HCl! The latter is an "emergency" supplement -- indispensable when i'm so drained that my stomach doesn't work properly. My absorption of iron from foods is obviously so poor that without the supplement, taken on an empty stomach in company with selenium, C and B12, the amount of hair i shed is directly connected with my depletion. I see NO correlation with shedding and copper, though balance of the two minerals is theoretically essential.
The "as needed" part is where things get tricky. I "know" that cod-liver oil (or capsules of it), K2, acetyl-carnitine and CoQ10 are beneficial, and i KNOW that magnesium and zinc are essential, but i don't feel their effects much if at all. I take them in modest quantities daily. Carnitine i'm convinced is a good addition, but like vitamin C is a behind-the-scenes "plus" rather than a star on stage -- if i skip a day or two, i don't expect to experience a big difference. Tyrosine is so potent a stimulant as well as a provoker of tremors, i'm treating it very gingerly these days. If circumstances make me need to pour out my energy, i have no doubt that it is a good thing, but for an ordinary day i find it winds me up too much -- rather than improving thyroid function and boosting dopamine, it seems to prefer to take the highway to adrenaline, and i tend to secrete that a lot already. The mucuna seems to be an antidote to tyrosine's action as an upper, balancing the catecholamines.
The pregnenolone arrived yesterday and i've let a 10mg sublingual melt in my mouth twice already -- i don't notice any reaction yet, but i'll keep you informed. In my mid-life reduced-hormone state, i may find that getting used to it then dropping it again might show me its effects more clearly; that's a sure test for the iron.
[sigh] The hoops i jump through, to try to function like a normal person...!!! The young and "whole" -- that is, most paleo bloggers -- don't have a clue how fortunate they are. And it's not like i "brought it on myself with poor choices." :-P- - - ...How do you blow a "razberry" using emoticons?
At home, they're ranged on my side of the bathroom counter with the contact-lens solutions, deodorant, salt container for the neti-pot, electric toothbrush and scented candle -- quite a lot of clutter! But they're also organized by time-of-day when they're taken, so i don't have to seek for the first-thing-in-the-morning bottles, and the midday take-these-together items are easily identified. I use my comb as a divider between those i've already taken and the ones i haven't. If i choose not to use a particular supplement today, i turn the bottle upside-down as i put it to the left of the comb. I "have to" do things like this -- i have so vivid an imagination that sometimes i wonder if i DID take those antihistamines or just THOUGHT about it....
Being systematic about my supplement-taking has helped to define which nutrients are really necessary, and some of the conclusions are surprising. After my thyroid glandular and the iodine and selenium, i find that the most obvious things i need to pack are the IRON and the BETAINE-HCl! The latter is an "emergency" supplement -- indispensable when i'm so drained that my stomach doesn't work properly. My absorption of iron from foods is obviously so poor that without the supplement, taken on an empty stomach in company with selenium, C and B12, the amount of hair i shed is directly connected with my depletion. I see NO correlation with shedding and copper, though balance of the two minerals is theoretically essential.
The "as needed" part is where things get tricky. I "know" that cod-liver oil (or capsules of it), K2, acetyl-carnitine and CoQ10 are beneficial, and i KNOW that magnesium and zinc are essential, but i don't feel their effects much if at all. I take them in modest quantities daily. Carnitine i'm convinced is a good addition, but like vitamin C is a behind-the-scenes "plus" rather than a star on stage -- if i skip a day or two, i don't expect to experience a big difference. Tyrosine is so potent a stimulant as well as a provoker of tremors, i'm treating it very gingerly these days. If circumstances make me need to pour out my energy, i have no doubt that it is a good thing, but for an ordinary day i find it winds me up too much -- rather than improving thyroid function and boosting dopamine, it seems to prefer to take the highway to adrenaline, and i tend to secrete that a lot already. The mucuna seems to be an antidote to tyrosine's action as an upper, balancing the catecholamines.
The pregnenolone arrived yesterday and i've let a 10mg sublingual melt in my mouth twice already -- i don't notice any reaction yet, but i'll keep you informed. In my mid-life reduced-hormone state, i may find that getting used to it then dropping it again might show me its effects more clearly; that's a sure test for the iron.
[sigh] The hoops i jump through, to try to function like a normal person...!!! The young and "whole" -- that is, most paleo bloggers -- don't have a clue how fortunate they are. And it's not like i "brought it on myself with poor choices." :-P- - - ...How do you blow a "razberry" using emoticons?
Friday, November 9, 2012
supplements (and foods) i missed
Since i got back home from my trip to NOLA and Houston, i've been trying to realign my nutrient intake to what i found optimal before. It certainly has been interesting, but also complicated by my husband's pleasure in eating out, and the low energy which came with that damned head-cold.
One thing i can state with confidence is that EATING OUT = OMEGA-6 OVERDOSE. Unless one eats nothing but wild-caught seafood while dining away from home, the 6:3 balance is totally gone. And as my favorite bloggers taught me long ago, excess omega-6 + fructose OR alcohol = an unhappy liver. Kids, an unhappy liver is a REALLY BAD THING. ;-)
How to make one's liver happy again? Eat those yummy saturated fats, preferably wrapped up in grass-fed ruminant flesh, or as coconut oil. When we eat in, no matter which of us cooks, the balance is acceptable (with the addition of cod-liver oil). J made another meatloaf, a crust-less quiche, his wonderful cauliflower gratin, and some miscellany; i made lots of coffee, bread from the Paleo Comfort Foods book, a pot of oysters-rockefeller bisque ... and various restaurant suggestions. And a few cocktails.
I've been adding my supplements back in, too. I traveled with the bare minimum -- my thyroid glandular which also contains small amounts of iodine and selenium, betaine HCl (which i didn't end up needing), melatonin (ditto), and coconut oil caps which i hardly used at all. Tell ya the truth, it was pleasant not taking handfuls of pills, but i would have benefitted with more than i had.
Overtly, it was the iron i NOTICED missing. The hair-shedding that increased progressively during my trip has tapered back to normal again. I assume i used up a good deal of stored iodine, and i'm replenishing it now, but i don't PERCEIVE a lack -- unless the cold is a sign. I probably should have carried along the mag-zinc supplements as well.
The supplement i'll probably not replenish when the bottle is empty is vitamin-c. I eat such a low-sugar/starch diet most of the time, i believe the quantities i get from tomatoes, peppers and other vegetable substances should be enough. I'm of two minds when it comes to the coQ10; probabilities say i'm likely deficient in it as well as things like b12, but i can't say that i FEEL any difference between supplementing and not supplementing. Considering its price, it's likely to hit the skids too, at least for a bit.
I'm having a love-hate relationship with the carnitine and tyrosine. On the one hand, i do feel more energy, but a lot of that energy comes through as "mental restlessness." Not the most comfortable thing! Perhaps i should only be using them on an as-needed basis, and not as a regular thing.
Most of the rest of the things i take belong to the BALANCING category. Extra selenium to go with my high-dose iodine, copper to go with the iron, magnesium and zinc.... They definitely need to continue.
So the tweaking goes on!
One thing i can state with confidence is that EATING OUT = OMEGA-6 OVERDOSE. Unless one eats nothing but wild-caught seafood while dining away from home, the 6:3 balance is totally gone. And as my favorite bloggers taught me long ago, excess omega-6 + fructose OR alcohol = an unhappy liver. Kids, an unhappy liver is a REALLY BAD THING. ;-)
How to make one's liver happy again? Eat those yummy saturated fats, preferably wrapped up in grass-fed ruminant flesh, or as coconut oil. When we eat in, no matter which of us cooks, the balance is acceptable (with the addition of cod-liver oil). J made another meatloaf, a crust-less quiche, his wonderful cauliflower gratin, and some miscellany; i made lots of coffee, bread from the Paleo Comfort Foods book, a pot of oysters-rockefeller bisque ... and various restaurant suggestions. And a few cocktails.
I've been adding my supplements back in, too. I traveled with the bare minimum -- my thyroid glandular which also contains small amounts of iodine and selenium, betaine HCl (which i didn't end up needing), melatonin (ditto), and coconut oil caps which i hardly used at all. Tell ya the truth, it was pleasant not taking handfuls of pills, but i would have benefitted with more than i had.
Overtly, it was the iron i NOTICED missing. The hair-shedding that increased progressively during my trip has tapered back to normal again. I assume i used up a good deal of stored iodine, and i'm replenishing it now, but i don't PERCEIVE a lack -- unless the cold is a sign. I probably should have carried along the mag-zinc supplements as well.
The supplement i'll probably not replenish when the bottle is empty is vitamin-c. I eat such a low-sugar/starch diet most of the time, i believe the quantities i get from tomatoes, peppers and other vegetable substances should be enough. I'm of two minds when it comes to the coQ10; probabilities say i'm likely deficient in it as well as things like b12, but i can't say that i FEEL any difference between supplementing and not supplementing. Considering its price, it's likely to hit the skids too, at least for a bit.
I'm having a love-hate relationship with the carnitine and tyrosine. On the one hand, i do feel more energy, but a lot of that energy comes through as "mental restlessness." Not the most comfortable thing! Perhaps i should only be using them on an as-needed basis, and not as a regular thing.
Most of the rest of the things i take belong to the BALANCING category. Extra selenium to go with my high-dose iodine, copper to go with the iron, magnesium and zinc.... They definitely need to continue.
So the tweaking goes on!
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
another milestone
I just "ran" up the stairs for the first time in months. :-D I confess -- there wasn't as much bounce in my bound as there was before i hurt my knee last winter, but the point is, i FELT like running up the stairs and i made it up them in fewer seconds than usual.
Tyrosine, i sing thy praises! I'm taking a gram every morning, and another half in the early afternoon. It's probably sharing the glory for my excellent fat-burning these days with carnitine, but the energy and verve i credit principally to the T.
And we know that when our energetic systems are working properly we WANT to move. I'm coming to believe that the laws of physics need just as much paraphrasing as those of thermodynamics, when it comes to biological applications -- you know, the one that says "a body at rest tends to stay at rest unless acted upon by an outside force" is the one i mean. Uh, it ain't outside. And the "inside force" that's inclining me to move more nowadays isn't the force of my will.
Tyrosine, i sing thy praises! I'm taking a gram every morning, and another half in the early afternoon. It's probably sharing the glory for my excellent fat-burning these days with carnitine, but the energy and verve i credit principally to the T.
And we know that when our energetic systems are working properly we WANT to move. I'm coming to believe that the laws of physics need just as much paraphrasing as those of thermodynamics, when it comes to biological applications -- you know, the one that says "a body at rest tends to stay at rest unless acted upon by an outside force" is the one i mean. Uh, it ain't outside. And the "inside force" that's inclining me to move more nowadays isn't the force of my will.
Saturday, September 8, 2012
in that fat-burning groove
The scale was down another half-pound today, and i'm back to that lowest-in-several-years point where i was before the last trip to SF. It IS tiresome to have to lose the same few pounds over and over, but at least i'm still trending downward. Seven and a half pounds to goal (again)!
On yesterday's theme, i took the same supplements this morning, but haven't had any caffeine (yet). I've had good energy and stamina, even after a short shopping trip, and when i returned i broke my fast with a grassfed burger -- and now i have a bit of postprandial sleepiness. Perhaps i should have a cup of high-octane now, and have the second dose of tyrosine and carnitine in two or three hours when the AAs in my brunch have "moved on" a bit....
*****
It's the tyrosine, with no significant contribution by the caffeine. Wow. If i had the credentials i'd recommend that anyone with fatigue issues should try this non-essential amino acid, beginning with a low dose and increasing it slowly till they see a response.... ;-)
*****
One of the tasks i've broached with my new-found energy has been to try making treats for Spenser myself. It's not easy to find a decently-priced doggie snack that hasn't got some really objectionable ingredients. What half-wit thinks that SUGAR is an appropriate additive to bikkies??? Even if he DID brush his own teeth, it wouldn't be a good idea. No wonder so many spoiled puppies get diabetes. Grrrrr.... Then there are the tainted jerkies that come out of China....
After perusing a bunch of recipes that have ingredients almost as inappropriate as in professionally-made treats, i decided to make some chicken jerky for him, from a recipe intended for humans. I sliced chicken breast thinly and marinated it overnight in fish sauce, lemon juice, garlic and ginger. It's finishing up in the dehydrator as i write -- sure hope he likes it when it's done! Of course, if it's people-food, there shouldn't be much doubt: i didn't put any alcohol in it. That's about the only thing in MY diet that he doesn't like.
On yesterday's theme, i took the same supplements this morning, but haven't had any caffeine (yet). I've had good energy and stamina, even after a short shopping trip, and when i returned i broke my fast with a grassfed burger -- and now i have a bit of postprandial sleepiness. Perhaps i should have a cup of high-octane now, and have the second dose of tyrosine and carnitine in two or three hours when the AAs in my brunch have "moved on" a bit....
*****
It's the tyrosine, with no significant contribution by the caffeine. Wow. If i had the credentials i'd recommend that anyone with fatigue issues should try this non-essential amino acid, beginning with a low dose and increasing it slowly till they see a response.... ;-)
*****
One of the tasks i've broached with my new-found energy has been to try making treats for Spenser myself. It's not easy to find a decently-priced doggie snack that hasn't got some really objectionable ingredients. What half-wit thinks that SUGAR is an appropriate additive to bikkies??? Even if he DID brush his own teeth, it wouldn't be a good idea. No wonder so many spoiled puppies get diabetes. Grrrrr.... Then there are the tainted jerkies that come out of China....
After perusing a bunch of recipes that have ingredients almost as inappropriate as in professionally-made treats, i decided to make some chicken jerky for him, from a recipe intended for humans. I sliced chicken breast thinly and marinated it overnight in fish sauce, lemon juice, garlic and ginger. It's finishing up in the dehydrator as i write -- sure hope he likes it when it's done! Of course, if it's people-food, there shouldn't be much doubt: i didn't put any alcohol in it. That's about the only thing in MY diet that he doesn't like.
Friday, September 7, 2012
it's the second one
The tyrosine experiment continues.
There is no doubt AT ALL that tyrosine is energizing me, but i'm still unsure of its synergy with caffeine. I start my morning with 500mg of it (plus another couple of supplements, but more on them, below) and a cup of dark-roast coffee, black. I get a boost of vitality. I have a ZC breakfast and wait a couple of hours, then have a second capsule of tyrosine and another cup o' joe, and WHAM -- moderately wired again.
I guess i'll have to take the supplements in the same way tomorrow, but with only decaf, to see what's going on....
I started using carnitine a month or two ago, also; just like the tyrosine at the basic dosage, it was hard to see if anything in particular was going on, but i thought there was a good chance of it. The first bottle finished, i bought another, plus acetyl-l-carnitine and more CoQ10, as these are recommended as "partners in crime" with the carnitine. The c&C, particularly, are important parts of the "mitochondrial cocktail" prescribed for people with a serious problem in that regard.
Well, i can definitely say that one tyrosine, one carnitine and multiple cups of high-octane do NOT give me the kind of energy that the 2t, c and ONE cup of coffee do, so it's a pretty well confirmed hypothesis that a whole gram of tyrosine is the major energizer for me. I'm now scaling back on the OTC thyroid glandular supplement i'm taking, on the supposition that the larger dose of tyrosine is encouraging my endogenous thyroid production. ... I'll let you know how it turns out!
There is no doubt AT ALL that tyrosine is energizing me, but i'm still unsure of its synergy with caffeine. I start my morning with 500mg of it (plus another couple of supplements, but more on them, below) and a cup of dark-roast coffee, black. I get a boost of vitality. I have a ZC breakfast and wait a couple of hours, then have a second capsule of tyrosine and another cup o' joe, and WHAM -- moderately wired again.
I guess i'll have to take the supplements in the same way tomorrow, but with only decaf, to see what's going on....
I started using carnitine a month or two ago, also; just like the tyrosine at the basic dosage, it was hard to see if anything in particular was going on, but i thought there was a good chance of it. The first bottle finished, i bought another, plus acetyl-l-carnitine and more CoQ10, as these are recommended as "partners in crime" with the carnitine. The c&C, particularly, are important parts of the "mitochondrial cocktail" prescribed for people with a serious problem in that regard.
Well, i can definitely say that one tyrosine, one carnitine and multiple cups of high-octane do NOT give me the kind of energy that the 2t, c and ONE cup of coffee do, so it's a pretty well confirmed hypothesis that a whole gram of tyrosine is the major energizer for me. I'm now scaling back on the OTC thyroid glandular supplement i'm taking, on the supposition that the larger dose of tyrosine is encouraging my endogenous thyroid production. ... I'll let you know how it turns out!
Thursday, August 30, 2012
effective dose(s)
Today, the boost i got from the increased dosage of tyrosine continues....
Yesterday, the wired feeling wasn't there in the excessive way it was on Tuesday; today is similar to yesterday. Both days, i woke up a bit slowly, but after the AAs and ONE cup of regular coffee, i was ready to be busy. When i let the dog out at about 7, the evening was so pleasant -- balmy and good-smelling -- i went back inside, put on shoes, got a leash, and we went for walkies.
I didn't get this huge boost when i first started tyrosine supplementation. I THOUGHT my energy was a little better, but it was far from obvious. Just goes to show, taking piddly little amounts of SOME nutrients is not going to impact one's quality of life.
Of course, there are nutrients which are only needed in small quantities, and with any supplement it's prudent to "start low and go slow." However, tyrosine is one of many which obviously require a significant amount before they benefit ME much.
Self-experimentation is important in these matters -- the one gram that's energizing me so well is probably too much for some people but not enough for others. We have to keep an eye, also, on interactions between nutrients; in the case of vitamins A and D, appropriate ratios are essential, just like the situation with iodine and selenium.
I'll keep taking this quantity, and see how habituated i become to it. So far, SO GOOD.
Yesterday, the wired feeling wasn't there in the excessive way it was on Tuesday; today is similar to yesterday. Both days, i woke up a bit slowly, but after the AAs and ONE cup of regular coffee, i was ready to be busy. When i let the dog out at about 7, the evening was so pleasant -- balmy and good-smelling -- i went back inside, put on shoes, got a leash, and we went for walkies.
I didn't get this huge boost when i first started tyrosine supplementation. I THOUGHT my energy was a little better, but it was far from obvious. Just goes to show, taking piddly little amounts of SOME nutrients is not going to impact one's quality of life.
Of course, there are nutrients which are only needed in small quantities, and with any supplement it's prudent to "start low and go slow." However, tyrosine is one of many which obviously require a significant amount before they benefit ME much.
Self-experimentation is important in these matters -- the one gram that's energizing me so well is probably too much for some people but not enough for others. We have to keep an eye, also, on interactions between nutrients; in the case of vitamins A and D, appropriate ratios are essential, just like the situation with iodine and selenium.
I'll keep taking this quantity, and see how habituated i become to it. So far, SO GOOD.
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
WIRED
...At least i was, yesterday afternoon. I need to watch what happens the rest of this week, while i continue the increased level of tyrosine supplementation.
I had something on my mind yesterday, though, and i suspected that the "overstimulated" feeling might have been psychological in origin. It didn't really occur to me that it might be just a very high-revved response to the only change in diet/supplementation i had made. I self-medicated (with a couple of glasses of wine), but it took me a little more time to get to sleep last night (and this was well after the thing-on-my-mind was resolved). I then overslept this morning.
So i'm a little off-schedule today, but loaded with some abnormal energy. Whether it's physical or mental will reveal itself eventually....
Meanwhile, i'm going to reduce my caffeine intake.
I had something on my mind yesterday, though, and i suspected that the "overstimulated" feeling might have been psychological in origin. It didn't really occur to me that it might be just a very high-revved response to the only change in diet/supplementation i had made. I self-medicated (with a couple of glasses of wine), but it took me a little more time to get to sleep last night (and this was well after the thing-on-my-mind was resolved). I then overslept this morning.
So i'm a little off-schedule today, but loaded with some abnormal energy. Whether it's physical or mental will reveal itself eventually....
Meanwhile, i'm going to reduce my caffeine intake.
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