Posted by dj on August 25, 1999, at 20:56:06
In reply to Re: SAMe, posted by dj on August 25, 1999, at 17:36:19
Further to my previous post found the following, though still VERY keen to hear about anyone's experience with TMG. BTW, also an interesting link on 5HTP from the following url:
http://lef.org/magazine/hotlines2.html"Trimethylglycine (TMG) is the most effective methylation enhancing agent known. ...TMG converts toxic homocysteine into methionine and SAMe...
There are no reports of side effects with TMG other than brief muscle tension headaches if it is taken in large quantities without food.
Fortunately, the cost of 99% pure trimethylglycine is low, ...
A minimum effective dose of TMG for homocysteine reduction is 500- 1,000 mg a day. Optimal doses for methylation enhancement and SAMe elevation are about 3,000 mg a day. In some studies, 6,000 mg a day of TMG were used...
We suggest that most people start off with 500 to 1,000 mg of TMG a day with food and work up to 3,000 mg a day.
If you suffer from diagnosed clinical depression, you should seek the advice of your physician if you are going to attempt to discontinue your antidepressant perscription medication in order to try either TMG of SAMe. You should be especially careful if you suffer from severe depression or bipolar manic-depression. Once you start taking TMG, it will probably take several weeks before you see results within four weeks, you should consider increasing the dosage of TMG to 5,000-to-6,000 mg a day.
If you suffer from acute liver failure, consider taking 5,000-to-6,000 mg a day immediately with the cooperation of your physician.
The basis for suggesting TMG as a treatment for depression and liver disease is that it is inexpensive, nontoxic therapy that has been demonstrated to raise SAMe levels significantly, and because SAMe has been documented to be highly effective for both depression and liver disease. Right now, there is no direct evidence that TMG is an effective treatment for either depression or liver disease. SAMe, on the other hand, is effective for both conditions, but is quite expensive."
http://lef.org/magazine/hotlines3.html
"Here's why 5-HT will not work for most Americans and could be lethal to some people: The blood-brain barrier does not allow signficant absorption of serotonin from the blood. The brain does have a large neutral amino acid pump that freely allows tryptophan and 5-HT into the brain for conversion into seratonin.
The process by which 5-HT is converted into serotonin is called decarboxylation. If decarboxylation occurs before 5-HT absorbed by the brain, then blood levels of serotonin will elevate significantly, but very little serotonin will enter the brain.
When Europeans take 5-HT, they are often prescribed the dopa decarboxylase inhibitor carbidopa that prevents 5-HT from being converted into serotonin until it reaches the brain. Americans do not take carbidopa with 5-HT and the result is possible serotonin overload in the blood, with virtully no serotonin reaching the brain....
Based upon Dr. Harris' report, the Foundation had its analysts conduct an extensive review of the medical literature and have come to the following preliminary conclusions:
1.For 5-HT to boost serotonin levels in the brain it is necessary to:
a) Take 50 mg of carbidopa before each 5-HT dose. Carbidopa is a prescription drug.
b) Limit vitamin B6 supplementation to a small dose taken at least before or after 5-HT/carbidopa dosing.
c) Have a urinary test to metabolite of serotonin called 5-hydroxy indoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) regular basis. As long as 5HIAA levels are normal, than 5-HT intake would be safe.2.Those with existing cardiovascular disease, including atrial fibrillation, coronary artery disease, congestive heart failure, cardiomyopathy, valvular disease or pulmonary hypertension want to avoid 5-HT completely. One Foundation analyst felt that 81 mg of aspirin and 500 mg a day of magnesium would reduce the risk of 5-HT inducing a heart attack.
3.The effects of 5-HT by itself elevating blood serotonin are extremely individualistic. Some people may not experience any blood serotonin increase, while others could suffer from lethal serotonin peripheral overload.
4.Despite the potential dangers of 5-HT, most FDA-approved drugs to treat depression and obesity appear to be more toxic.
5.At the time of this printing, we have not been able to verify whether 5-HT serotonin overload would cause fibrosis of the aortic valve and destruction of the heart muscle.
> Andrewb wrote in another exchange:
>
> > I take TMG (trimethylglycine), an inexpensive supplement that is converted into SAMe. I take this supplement with vitamin B-12. This is a cheap way to get the various benefits of SAMe...This warning applies only to 5-hydroxy tryptophan (5-HT), not tryptophan itself. Published studies show that tryptophan does not readily convert into serotonin blood, but that 5-HT does, since 5-HT convert directly into serotonin tryptophan has to go through one additional metabolic step which protects against serotonin overload."
>
> Anyone else have any experience with or knowledge of TMG and its effects???
>
> > Anyone having success with SAMe?... Afraid I'm going to go broke in order to get to a dose that works for me. By the way... absolutely no side effects.
poster:dj
thread:10560
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/19990829/msgs/10666.html