Posted by nosher1 on May 16, 2011, at 0:54:44
Hello,
I have had treatment resistant depression/anxiety/anhedonia for many years.
I started taking L-Phenylalanine and I am feeling much better at times! I started at 1 gram per day for a few days and I have worked my way up to 4 grams per day (2 grams on an empty stomach, twice per day). I have been taking it for a total of 3 weeks and my mood is not perfect but MUCH improved, and I feel like I am still improving. I am very pleased because I tried L-Tyrosine in the past and that made me feel better for maybe a day or two and then stopped working. The Phenylalanine is working WAY better than Tyrosine, I'm guessing due to the fact that Phenylalanine crosses the blood brain barrier more readily.
I have a couple of questions I was hoping I could get help with:
1. Is L-Phenylalanine the best form of Phenylalanine for mood? I asked a doctor experienced with supplements and she said that the L form is best for depression/anxiety/anhedonia and she only recommends the DL form if someone has chronic pain. Since I don't have chronic pain, she recommended the L form. Does anyone have experience or advice regarding using the L versus DL form for treating mood problems? Also, what dosages work best?
2. I am experiencing severe sexual dysfunction on L-Phenylalanine, which was totally unexpected. I am experiencing both impotence and anorgasmia (numbness). I would say the severity is close to what I have experienced on SSRIs such as Prozac, which I think is very strange since Phenylalanine supposedly does not directly act on serotonin. When I search online I am unable to find any discussion whatsoever of Phenylalanine causing sexual dysfunction. Has anyone heard of or experienced this? Am I a freak of nature? I am 100% certain that my sexual problems are being caused by Phenylalanine. It's the only change I have made. I am not going to quit, though, because my mood is better. I am going to wait it out and hope the sexual issues will get better over time.
Thanks!
Norman
poster:nosher1
thread:985436
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/alter/20110512/msgs/985436.html