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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 8 of 8. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by paulk on October 27, 2005, at 10:36:58
- about this:
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/505203
"...tryptophan content of 4.8 g per 100 g increases.."
"... 2 milk shakes enriched with 20 g of A-LAC..."or in other words 0.48G/G * 20 = 0.96G of tryptophan at bedtime? Or depending on how you read it it might be twice that - in 2 shakes?
The original Tryptophan studies I read about (Dr. Wurtman MIT??) used 2-4G of tryptophan to treat depression - I don't remember if it was more than once a day.
I take about 1G of tryptophan at bedtime (an empty stomach helps it work as there is a competitive transport across the blood brain barrier) that I get in purified form from a veterinary supply at bed time and find it helps my dysthymia/Limbic-ADD more than any pharmacological treatment ever has.
I think there are some side effects - sometimes it may be causing sweating and if I take too much I feel foggy in the morning. The side effects seem to be similar to SSRI except there is no sexual side effects except right after taking it. I don't experience poop-out which makes sense - tyrptophan does not increase the serotonin in the whole brain as a SSRI and is only increased as expressed by the upstream neuron. Also, I think the increase being once a day might also help avoid the down regulating of receptors.
I've also tried different Benzodiazapans to help with sleep and found that while they help cause sleep the quality of the sleep was still poor. Using SSRI didn't seem to help overall as I would be foggy headed all the time. MAOI's worked a bit better, but not as well as Tryptophan.
Tryptophan helps me get restful sleep. I used to swim 2 miles a day at 5PM and found the extreme work out helped produce restful sleep similar to what I'm experiencing with Tryptophan - I still walk a mile or more every day in the morning.
The banning of Tryptophan by the FDA (within 2 weeks of Prozacs introduction) is suspect and historic. If a drug was found to be contaminated it would be off the market temporarily. If a batch of Tofu was found to be contaminated it would not be banned - perhaps inspected.
There are no $Billions to be made in the use of tryptophan as a way to improve sleep/depression so it has not been studied much. I have not met any doctors that used it in treatment and most remember that it is not as effective for major depression based on one study. I think I remember the dosage for that study being quite low?
I read somewhere that there is a pharmacological source of tryptophan - expensive and silly 250mg capsules - taking 4 would be very expensive.
Posted by nolvas on October 27, 2005, at 21:47:00
In reply to tryptophan, posted by paulk on October 27, 2005, at 10:36:58
This is the only site that I know of that sells Tryptophan capsules which aren't a veterinary source. There must be other sites but I don't know any.
http://www.qhi.co.uk/list.asp?r=841
I've ordered from them in the past(not tryptophan though)and found them to be reliable.
Posted by JLx on October 28, 2005, at 20:32:22
In reply to Re: tryptophan, posted by nolvas on October 27, 2005, at 21:47:00
Capsules and bulk: http://www.iherb.com/tryptophan2.html
100 grams, pharmaceutical grade, for $32 seems like a good deal.
When I tried tryptophan, the horse variety that everyone here was taking, it gave me a terrible stomach ache. And it felt too much like an SSRI to me -- I was too draggy.
JL
Posted by paulk on October 29, 2005, at 19:42:53
In reply to Tryptophan available at iHerb now » nolvas, posted by JLx on October 28, 2005, at 20:32:22
>When I tried tryptophan, the horse variety that >everyone here was taking, it gave me a terrible >stomach ache. And it felt too much like an SSRI to >me -- I was too draggy.
The key for me is to use a smaller amount and take it only at bedtime. If I feel hung over the next day I reduce my dosage. It feels a bit like a SSRI if I take a lot - there were studies that showed it was effective for the treatment of major depression in dosages the ranged from 2-4G/day - but I don't how the dosage was spread out over the day. I just need good sleep and it helps with my dysthymia
You can get pure tryptophan in Canada see:
http://rxcarecanada.com/Tryptan.asp for the monograph.
As for the healthfood links - I don't think they have tryptophan - they might have something that contains some tryptophan - AFAIK it is not legal to sell pure tryptophan for humans in the USA.
There are whey products that have a lot of tryptophan in it - as in the medscape article.
Posted by JLx on October 30, 2005, at 5:09:12
In reply to Re: Tryptophan available at iHerb now, posted by paulk on October 29, 2005, at 19:42:53
> The key for me is to use a smaller amount and take it only at bedtime. If I feel hung over the next day I reduce my dosage. It feels a bit like a SSRI if I take a lot - there were studies that showed it was effective for the treatment of major depression in dosages the ranged from 2-4G/day - but I don't how the dosage was spread out over the day. I just need good sleep and it helps with my dysthymia
I was taking it at bedtime, taking less than a gram, about 750 mg I figured, on an empty stomach and after a few days, waking up with the most terrible stomach ache and like an SSRI, it produced more anxiety in me. I think I just don't need the serotonin boost that much. When I think I do, I eat potatoes.
I'm very glad it works for you though! It's always encouraging when people find efficacy in alternative med. Magnesium was the thing for me that brought me a long way out of the deepest depression, helped me sleep, fixed my thyroid and dry skin too.
> You can get pure tryptophan in Canada see:
>
> http://rxcarecanada.com/Tryptan.asp for the monograph.
>
> As for the healthfood links - I don't think they have tryptophan - they might have something that contains some tryptophan - AFAIK it is not legal to sell pure tryptophan for humans in the USA.Yes, it's legal. See Larry Hoover's post from a couple years ago: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/alter/20031003/msgs/271979.html
I think manufacturers may be somewhat afraid of it, but there have been other sources on the web for a while now but seeing it on iHerb was new to me. And "Doctor's Best" is an ok brand, AFAIK. Probably better than the horse variety I tried, which was not 100% pure. I wondered if it was the other 13%, or whatever it was, that bothered my stomach.
JL
Posted by tealady on October 30, 2005, at 6:35:38
In reply to Re: Tryptophan is legal in U.S. » paulk, posted by JLx on October 30, 2005, at 5:09:12
" wondered if it was the other 13%, or whatever it was, that bothered my stomach. "
could be.. tempted to say "you mean the hay part?"
SSRI's always bothered my stomach though, so could be the tryptophan itself too :-)
Jan
Posted by JLx on October 30, 2005, at 6:45:48
In reply to Re: Tryptophan is legal in U.S. » JLx, posted by tealady on October 30, 2005, at 6:35:38
> " wondered if it was the other 13%, or whatever it was, that bothered my stomach. "
>
> could be.. tempted to say "you mean the hay part?"
>
> SSRI's always bothered my stomach though, so could be the tryptophan itself too :-)
>
> JanHay you, don't get smart! ;)
I don't recall SSRIs giving me a stomach ache but I do recall feeling like food sat in my stomach like a lump and all the carb cravings I had from them.
Maybe one day I will try the pharmaceutical grade just to see how it feels.
JL
Posted by paulk on October 31, 2005, at 12:32:49
In reply to Re: Tryptophan is legal in U.S. » tealady, posted by JLx on October 30, 2005, at 6:45:48
> Maybe one day I will try the pharmaceutical grade just to see how it feels.
On digging up and seeing that tryptophan _IS_ legal now I've ordered some of the pharm grade (pun intended).
My biggest problem with Tryptophan is being careful not to eat for 4 hours before bed time. It make a big difference on how it works.
To me Tryptophan has been a wonder drug for the treatment of my dysthymia/Limbic-ADD . Anyone else taking it for this?
This is the end of the thread.
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