Targeted Amino Acid Therapy

[rock on]

Hi all!

It's been a long time since I've posted. For those of you who don't know me, I'm often here inquiring about things for my husband.

Anywho, he's been on a strict gluten free diet for over a year now for several reasons, but the main one being psoriatic arthritis.

He has gone off of his methotrexate (about 4 mos ago) and has been feeling relatively ok, except for some aches & pains here & there. His psoriasis is very mild & not having to take the pills has greatly improved his quality of life.

But, a new problem has arisen pretty severely over the last few months regarding anxiety, some depression & bad anxiety attacks.

An internist prescribed him ativan which has helped quite a bit, but we know isn't an answer to his problems.

A psychiatrist rx'd an antidepressant & a stronger anti-anxiety pill which my hubby hasn't filled the prescription for because he's nervous that taking those could cause another ride down a slippery slope.

Just yesterday we saw a D.O. & for the first time ever felt like we found a doctor who would actually listen...who actually cared about all of the issues that we feel are pertinent to my husband's medical history & who gave some hope to us that he could help my hubby get himself onto a track of health rather than simply masking all his various symptoms with pharmaceuticals. He sat with us for over 2 hours & really got specific about things that other doctors just wrote off. We are hopeful.

The first thing that he wants to do with my husband is start him on a Targeted Amino Acid Therapy to help to stabilize his neurotransmitters.

I've done some research & it seems to make sense (especially concerning my hubby's medical history)....but, I figured I would post here to see if any of you fine folks have had personal experiences with it or have known anyone who has tried the therapy.

As always, I thank you in advance for any info you all may be able to provide for us in our trek toward health for hubby (& our relationship!!)

Best~

RO

[Cinnamon]

I have a son with ADHD and dyspraxia, both of which are problems with dopamine in certain areas of the brain. I tried giving him tyrosine to boost his dopamine, and it worked amazingly well for a few days, then stopped working.

I tried giving him a higher dose, and that worked for another day or two, then stopped working. I was afraid to increase the dose any more, so I took him to the doctor, and this is what he told me. He said the brain is an amazing thing, it constantly monitors what comes in and makes adjustments accordingly. If you keep on giving it a high dose of only certain amino acids, it will make adjustments in order to dump it. But he said it depends on the plasticity of the person's brain. He said he's seen it work in a few adults, but not many. And he said it will never work in a child because their brains are so very plastic, constantly adjusting and changing.

It's worth a try, though. You never know, it might work and continue to work depending on the plasticity of his brain, which is less in adults. It sure did work for my son for those few days. Nothing including ADHD medication or gluten-free diet did as much to alleviate these problems.

I hope it works for you!

[rock on]

Thanks Cinnamon. That's interesting that tyrosine helped him (even if it was for short periods).

I am certainly hopeful that this helps my guy. He's on the 2nd day of treatment...and treatment includes several types of amino acids in varying doses throughout the day.

We'll see. He says that he can feel that something is happening. He had some GI upset from it yesterday & the doctor lowered the dosage. He seems to be doing a little better today.

Perhaps something more comprehensive in an amino acid approach could help your son. So many things in our bodies rely on synergy...so many vitamins and minerals need to be balanced, so it figures that you should have to balance amino acids too.