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Gaba supplements?

K

Koivy

Messages
35
I'm thinking of taking some Gaba supplements as sleep is one of my worst issues. I do take benzos and they help, but just not enough. Benzos also help a bit with pain too. No other sleep meds help. I feel that it is likely I have low Gaba levels and want to naturally increase them.

I'd like to hear people's experiences with Gaba (good or bad), as well as the brand they prefer.

Thanks!
 
K

Koivy

Messages
35
I agree, and I'm still gonna stay on my benzos....but they just aren't helping enough and I need to add something else to it. I was hoping something naturally. I was also under the impression that long term benzo use can lead the body to produce less gaba?
 
soxfan

soxfan

Senior Member
Messages
995
Location
North Carolina
I take Kavinace with my .50 of Klonopin. They work really well together and it (Kavinace) is suppose to support GABA. I buy mine from Neuroscience. You can read up on it before purchasing. It has given me the best sleep in 6 years. I still have to take Klonopin but it is only 1/2 milligram so I can deal with that. Check it out...
 
SickOfSickness

SickOfSickness

Messages
2,566
Location
US
Sometimes I really need GABA for anxiety and tension and that wired feeling. I have trouble taking it at night. Most relaxing supplements lead to nightmares for me :( Different ones do that in different people.
 
kurt

kurt

Senior Member
Messages
1,186
Location
USA
GABA is not enough for me, and I used benzos for 8 years but then found a bunch of alternatives that worked. Right now what works is a rice-based salty rehydration drink at night (this make a huge difference), cinnamon (a vasodilator), and d-Ribose. Also a little goji juice (supports mitochondria function). Took me years and years to discover the connection between nighttime dehydration and insomnia...
 
*GG*

*GG*

senior member
Messages
6,389
Location
Concord, NH
soxfan said:
I just had it done by neuroscience lab in Wisconsin...my doctor said that is the only lab he uses.
Click to expand...

I just had this test done also, never questioned my Dr about it, but I trust his judgement, but perhaps I will question him if someone posted an alternative, then I could say "Why do you use Neuroscience instead of "X"?

GG
 
adreno

adreno

PR activist
Messages
4,841
If you want to know what's going on in your brain, no neurotransmitter tests are useful. They measure only peripheral levels of neurotransmitters, not the CNS levels.
 
*GG*

*GG*

senior member
Messages
6,389
Location
Concord, NH
soxfan said:
GG- Do you have your results yet? I just sent mine out the 17th...
Click to expand...

Yes, had the appt this past Tuesday, forgot to get copies of labs (waited at least an hour before he saw me), was 8pm before I got out of the appt, and I was fried, after working my shift also!

He suggested Cymbalta, which had been suggested by my pain specialists, so I did not take it then (I already take an anti-depressant to get me good sleep, so do not want to mess with my brain chemistry more than I have to. What are the long term consequences of this? Not sure that is really known, but I will take a better short term "quality" of life over long-term suffering!), but I have been on it for a few days now, not noticing much change. I think he said my HIAA? was high. I had plenty of serotonin, but was excreting it.

He wants to recheck some lab work in a month, not the Neuroscience stuff, I hope!, I paid out of pocket due to lack of insurance coverage, hopefully I will get back some of that money?! Bad enough that due to Obamacare I cannot put as much money into my FSA. Tax the working poor some more! That's what we get with Big Gov't!!

GG
 
soxfan

soxfan

Senior Member
Messages
995
Location
North Carolina
GG- I probably won't have results for a few weeks. Every time I get this test done it is basically the same results even though it is done years apart. My cortisol is always bottomed out all day and my serotonin is basically non existent so it will be really interesting to see these results.
I really don't like messing with my brain chemistry either. I can tell just by taking Klonopin at night sometimes I wake up feeling strange and it lasts the entire day. I have no choice as nothing else will put me out.

I have a feeling based on the results that Dr. D will recommend Neuroscience products since Kavinace works pretty well for me. I really don't know what else to do at this point as all my symptoms seem to do with ANS dysfunction and nothing else.

I am not sure my insurance will cover it either. It did a few years back but who knows now. I swore I was done with testing because nothing ever shows up and I have already spent thousands on them.
 
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