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Posted 10/30/2016 4:17 PM (GMT -5)
I have tried to find the answer, but can't seem to find one to this question: Do amino acids work fully from the get-go or do they have more of a cumulative effect?

I have read good things about L-theanine helping with anxiety and people claiming it eliminated it for them. I started it about 4 days ago.

Will it take a while for me to get the full effect (like say, starting an anti-depressant) or is what I am getting from it right now the best it will get?

Anybody with amino acid experience?
Posted 10/30/2016 4:31 PM (GMT -5)
The L-theanine should work quite quickly - if it's going to as in a few hours. (that's what my NP told me)

Maybe the dose isn't high enough? I don't know what the usual dose is.

I did take it but it was in a supplement that had other ingredients.
Posted 10/30/2016 4:39 PM (GMT -5)
I have no idea how quickly or slowly it will work.

I take amino acids on a daily basis - gosh they are in everything. L-theanine is in decaf green tea.

In our library we have a book called The Amino Revolution by Robert Erdmann, Phd, it is a 1989 book but it has a lot of information on aminos. My husband read it all, I read bits and pieces. The end result is that we take additional aminos in our household. We don't take them individually, we take them all.
Posted 10/30/2016 4:40 PM (GMT -5)
If you don't feel a difference after a week or so...then I doubt if it's going to help.
Posted 10/30/2016 4:54 PM (GMT -5)
Girlie, what supplement do you take?

PeteZa, do you multiple supplements or did you find one with all of them?
Posted 10/30/2016 5:03 PM (GMT -5)
We do 3 things at our home:

/nkdnutrition.com/products/grass-fed-whey-protein-powder?gclid=CJyNpK3Dg9ACFQwUgQodH3wJDw

www.proteinessentials.com/protein-essentials-home-page-1/!/Hydrolyzed-Collagen-w-Peptan%C2%AE%E2%80%93Unflavored-1lb-Bag/p/58969302/category%3D0

www.vibranthealth.com/green-vibrance/

Green Vibrance doesn't list the aminos, but those items do translate into aminos.
Posted 10/30/2016 10:09 PM (GMT -5)
Sissy63: We have to remember the different amino acids do different things. So you have to take the right ones for the right effects.

We dont take a handfull of mixed herbs, why take a handful of mixed aminos? Take what you need.

They all have natural chemical reactions with the ones already in us. Brain and organs. Some can effect us in the wrong direction depending on our individual genetic pathway deficiencies.

You could put most of them into two catagories:

-for Brain chemistry / mood / thinking

-for Muscle chemistry (and they generally wont have any mood effect)

The brain aminos have no build up effect. You will feel their full effects in an hour or so. You may need more, and some dont do much per individual (you have enough in you already). L-theanine is more of a cognitive thinking amino, not so much a "calmer". Better for brain fog, then anxiety.

Sam-E, 5-HTP, or Gaba are good calming aminos to try next.

Brain chemistry related anxiety is better delt with by aminos.

Adrenal based anxiety is treated with herbs.
Posted 10/30/2016 10:49 PM (GMT -5)
Astro - L-Theanine is supposed to have a relaxing effect....

It's in my 'Serenity formula' - helps relieve symptoms of stress.

I read it doesn't cause drowsiness, but improves quality of sleep.

Sissy - But, if it doesn't work...move on to something else.

Gaba might be worth a try.
Posted 10/30/2016 11:13 PM (GMT -5)
Girlie- Yes I know. I use it. Alone it doesnt do much. The others listed relax more for many people if taken alone. It did not relax me when I had bad anxiety. Clearer thinking, yes.

Many love gaba, puts me out.

I have always liked 5 HTP, it was in the middle for me.

I think a lot of my anxiety was Adrenalin based though. -Herbs for that.

We all have to experiment.
Posted 10/31/2016 7:58 AM (GMT -5)

astroman said...
Sissy63: We have to remember the different amino acids do different things. So you have to take the right ones for the right effects.

We dont take a handfull of mixed herbs, why take a handful of mixed aminos? Take what you need.

They all have natural chemical reactions with the ones already in us. Brain and organs. Some can effect us in the wrong direction depending on our individual genetic pathway deficiencies.

You could put most of them into two catagories:

-for Brain chemistry / mood / thinking

-for Muscle chemistry (and they generally wont have any mood effect)

The brain aminos have no build up effect. You will feel their full effects in an hour or so. You may need more, and some dont do much per individual (you have enough in you already). L-theanine is more of a cognitive thinking amino, not so much a "calmer". Better for brain fog, then anxiety.

Sam-E, 5-HTP, or Gaba are good calming aminos to try next.

Brain chemistry related anxiety is better delt with by aminos.

Adrenal based anxiety is treated with herbs.

Ugh! This is so confusing!

Do you know if there is a good test to for measuring amino acids in body? I guess I can ask my doctor on Thursday.

I do know that i have very high (off the charts when it was measured by saliva) morning cortisol. I wakes me up at 4:00 and I start sweating and go into a fight/flight mode. It isn't as bad as it use to be, but it is still there.

I just want the anxiety to go away! I can deal with the rest.
Posted 10/31/2016 10:26 AM (GMT -5)
Cortisol levels are supposed to be highest in the morning and lowest between about midnight and 4:00AM.

A simple one-day (4-sample) home saliva test will reveal your bedtime and early morning cortisol levels as well as your mid-morning and late afternoon levels.

If you wake up between 1:00 a.m. and 5:00a.m., ask for an extra (fifth) test vial.

The testing for amino acids is either a one time shot looking at your blood, which is a very limited look during your entire and only that particular day. A 24-hour urine test looks throughout the entire day, but is also limited to that particular day. I have never had either done. My opinion was that either test was very dependent upon what I ingested for that day.

I think you may have an adrenal problem, not an amino acid problem. I would definitely discuss this with your doctor and ask about testing your adrenals.
Posted 10/31/2016 10:58 AM (GMT -5)
I have done the 4 point saliva test and my morning cortisol was off the charts high. I do need to get my morning cortisol levels under control. I assume herbs will help with that.
Posted 10/31/2016 11:09 AM (GMT -5)
I love this guy's take on adrenal fatigue and the natural things to help. Worth a try before a doctor says you need to take meds.

/draxe.com/3-steps-to-heal-adrenal-fatigue/

My heart goes out to you. I cannot imagine being amped up first thing in the morning. I wake up very chatty, my husband says. But he is comparing me to him. I certainly do not wake up anxious and that has to be exhausting. I hope Dr. Axe's page helps. I love his part about do something fun every day!! I totally believe in this.
Posted 10/31/2016 11:12 AM (GMT -5)
You do need to experiment. We all do/did.

Doing the same thing after a while has the same results. Nothing can = nothing, then move on, try another.


There are several calming aminos previously mentioned. Try another one if the curreent one does not work. Dont use muscle aminos for your brain. Easy.

And then herbals for high cortisol.

Didnt you have a post about your high AM cortisol? Or was it someone else?

Holy basil is simple and effective for this. It works in 20 min. Stays in you less than a day. Take in the AM .
Posted 10/31/2016 11:17 AM (GMT -5)
I have always been a morning person! When my eyes popped open I was generally ready for the day. I would workout and take a nice walk/run, get ready for work, and eat breakfast while catching up on the news.

On Saturday, I would get up and start on one end of the house and work my way to the other end cleaning it and then generally do something fun for the rest of the day. If not something fun, then I had a home project to do.

That was me 3 years ago. Now I wake up at 4:00 sweating, heart pounding and not in a relaxed state at all. Often times I am crying before the morning is part way though.

It is SO much better than it was, but I still have a ways to go. I have faith and hope that I will return to my morning loving self again one day!
Posted 10/31/2016 11:22 AM (GMT -5)

astroman said...
You do need to experiment. We all do/did.

Doing the same thing after a while has the same results. Nothing can = nothing, then move on, try another.


There are several calming aminos previously mentioned. Try another one if the curreent one does not work. Dont use muscle aminos for your brain. Easy.

And then herbals for high cortisol.

Didnt you have a post about your high AM cortisol? Or was it someone else?

Holy basil is simple and effective for this. It works in 20 min. Stays in you less than a day. Take in the AM .

 

It is a puzzle...that is for sure! You and I have the hypothyroidism thing in the mix as well.

I definitely don't need any amino acids that would energize me!

Yes, I have the really high morning cortisol. I can lay in bed and literal feel it raising. I now recognize it and just try to keep myself as calm as possible and recognize it for what it is. I figured fighting it will only make it go up that much more.

I will look into the Holy Basil.

I am going to go broke over this goofy disease! I am sure most on here can relate!

Posted 10/31/2016 11:23 AM (GMT -5)
Adrenal and hormonal issues at the same time - Lady, this is horrible and probably brought about by lyme.

If you just put this sentence -- sweating, heart pounding and not in a relaxed state at all. Often times I am crying before the morning is part way though.

I would say, menopause symptoms. But they are also lyme and adrenal issues.

Gosh, where to start? Personally, I love the Holy Basil for a starting point. Good healthy fats are super important.

Have you tried Kava Kava tea? Maybe first thing in the morning you should have a cup of tea. It won't minimize your mental capacity, but it will take the edge off.
Posted 10/31/2016 11:26 AM (GMT -5)
Oh gosh and thyroid too!

hugs Sissy. You must be one tough cookie to have all that and still type.

I think you are tougher than most. I sincerely believe that! You can tackle this, I know you can. You have spunk, if I ever read spunk!
Posted 10/31/2016 11:32 AM (GMT -5)

PeteZa said...
Adrenal and hormonal issues at the same time - Lady, this is horrible and probably brought about by lyme.

If you just put this sentence -- sweating, heart pounding and not in a relaxed state at all. Often times I am crying before the morning is part way though.

I would say, menopause symptoms. But they are also lyme and adrenal issues.

Gosh, where to start? Personally, I love the Holy Basil for a starting point. Good healthy fats are super important.

Have you tried Kava Kava tea? Maybe first thing in the morning you should have a cup of tea. It won't minimize your mental capacity, but it will take the edge off.

 

I had a complete hysterectomy 10 years ago and did perfectly fine on my 1 mg of estradiol. I was also on .75 mcg of Synthroid. I was fine one day and then the next day I wasn't fine! (Looking back now, I can see the signs were there, but I was ignoring them.) That's all I really remember. I was so stinkin' busy with so many projects and had surgery a few months prior. The only thing I can guess is that I had Lyme that had laid dormant and with all the stress for being to busy and the surgery, the bacteria just took over.

I was on the same dose of estradiol for all those years and no one bothered to check my hormone levels. By the time I was really sick, I had a lot of estrogen in my body and the other hormones were pretty much non-existent. My cortisol was measured and it was off the charts high. I went to so many doctors and everyone just kept chasing the hormones around until I found the wonderful doctor I have now that said this is beyond hormones...there is something systemic going on and so he tested for LD.

It sounds like Holy Basil is something worth looking into.

 

 

Posted 10/31/2016 11:38 AM (GMT -5)

PeteZa said...
Oh gosh and thyroid too!

hugs Sissy. You must be one tough cookie to have all that and still type.

I think you are tougher than most. I sincerely believe that! You can tackle this, I know you can. You have spunk, if I ever read spunk!

 

PeteZa, you are so sweet. You get it. I love my family and friends, but most don't understand why I am struggling. I am working full-time and just don't feel like I do a very good job most days. I have to work...if I didn't, I would definitely go crazy. I have some personal stuff going on and I am actually more comfortable at work than I am in my own house. It is a sad reality, but I will probably need to make some hard choices once I am feeling better.

 

 

Posted 10/31/2016 11:41 AM (GMT -5)
You might want to look at the health food store for something to help your hormones naturally.

Ashwagandha, medicinal mushrooms, rhodiola and holy basil are adaptogen herbs that help with hormonal issues along with many other issues.

What an adaptogen herb does is balance. It gives upping or downing help to the system.

Kava Kava tea is so awesome for taking the edge off of "life." I would definitely get some of that too.
Posted 10/31/2016 11:45 AM (GMT -5)
Remember it is hard to think objectively when we are hurting. You have a lot of things that are hurting and you need to not make any major decisions now.

Time for you to be super nice to you. I know that if you had a loved one that was sick, you would cater to them.

Time to do this for yourself. Baby yourself. Treat yourself as nice as you would someone else. You are so super worthy!!

And here's a hug ((((Sissy))))
Posted 10/31/2016 11:50 AM (GMT -5)

PeteZa said...
Remember it is hard to think objectively when we are hurting. You have a lot of things that are hurting and you need to not make any major decisions now.

Time for you to be super nice to you. I know that if you had a loved one that was sick, you would cater to them.

Time to do this for yourself. Baby yourself. Treat yourself as nice as you would someone else. You are so super worthy!!

And here's a hug ((((Sissy))))

 

Thanks PeteZa! If I had any enemies, I would not wish this on them. It definitely shows you what you are made out of!

I have two brothers that are great and supportive, but I try not to lean on them very much. I know it can be tiring for other people and since that don't understand what I am going through, we all just end up frustrated.

I agree, I don't feel I am in any position to make any big decisions right now. I just kind of have to move all the personal stuff over to the side for now and figure I will deal with it at a later date. Maybe it will resolve itself by then and all will be good...that is my prayer at least.

 

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