macuna dopa , increase dopamine??

[heapsreal]

The last few days i have been using macuna dopa to help increase dopamine and to see if it helps with energy etc Im taking 1 pill of this supp which is said to contain 50mg l-dopa. I dont know if im experiencing a great deal but unsure of the sort of doses people use of this supp. This morning took it with some acetyl tyrosine and it seems to have help with cognitive energy abit more then acetyl tyrosine itself.

What sort of doses are others using of macuna, specifically l-dopa amount?

cheers!!

 

[Sparrow]

I don't use l-dopa, but just wanted to mention that I've heard that the body is very prone to adjusting to enhanced dopamine levels as a new "normal" (meaning that your body will likely adjust to the dose and require more and more as time goes on to keep the same effect). In low levels, it might not be an issue, but at higher ones it can make it very difficult to ever take it away (because now that enhanced dopamine is normal, less than that can cause some nasty side effects). Not trying to warn you off, just might be something to be aware of as you go (even if just so that you'll recognize if it poops out on you and needs an increase).

 

[nanonug]

What sort of doses are others using of macuna, specifically l-dopa amount?

I have used L-dopa in the past. It works for the first few days but then your body just gets used to it, After that, you either increase the dosage or start cycling (a few days on followed by a couple of days off). The problem with the first method is that you need to keep increasing the dosage until you die of a heart attack. In the case of cycling, you are in a true deficiency state for thos "off" days and feel like crap. In my opinion, aminoacids as precursors are mostly worthless.

 

[beaverfury]

I havent used macuna. I tried eating lots of broad beans, which have l-dopa. Didnt help.

I'm not having much luck with my dopamine experiences. I've been on deprenyl 5mg/day for about a month.
It gave increased motivation and a brief glimmer of libido for a few days, but then it all just faded again.
Now my head is quite clouded and fuzzy. Makes me wonder if i'm missing a few conversion enzymes along the dopamine pathways.

Next experiment is to bypass dopamine and try to lift noradrenaline with something like moclobemide. In fact, i might try moclobemide!
I tried mirtazapine years ago and that gave a huge motivation boost. Unpleasant side effects though.

 

[heapsreal]

Thanks for all the responses, my idea isnt to use it all the time but just something one can use as a pep pill. Acetyl tyrosine i have used in the past i have found good for this but more options is always a good thing. At the end of the day if your absolutely buggered nothing is going to help but rest, im looking at these things as something to take when we have something on and we feel sluggish, not buggered. Increasing dopamine is also an option to help with muscle pain/stiffness.

 

[nanonug]

Next experiment is to bypass dopamine and try to lift noradrenaline with something like moclobemide.

Wouldn't something such as methylphenidate be preferable? Irreversible MAO inhibitors are much more dangerous...

 

[beaverfury]

Wouldn't something such as methylphenidate be preferable? Irreversible MAO inhibitors are much more dangerous...

Ritalin. Hadnt considered that. Sometimes my old prejudices sit in a corner of my mind like a dusty book.
Might be a good short term or occasional option for me.

I've gone off the idea of any MAOI's altogether. Even my moclobemide idea. It doesnt sound that great from testimonials.

All things considered, the more au naturale i can go, the better. Even before cfs, i was never a driven individual, so maybe thats just me. The best i can do is get maximum nutrition, (and a very small dose of tianeptine)

 

[Rand56]

Wouldn't one also run into tolerance issues with Ritalin? That's what happened to me years ago when I took it. Had to keep taking more of it to get the same effect.

beaverfury, I also tried Deprenyl awhile back and it didn't do anything for me. I have also read that Olive Leaf Extract because of it's hydroxytyrosol content, can be an MAOI-B....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydroxytyrosol

It says "potent" MAOI-B. Who knows what kind of dosage one would have to use for it to become potent.

Also, according to the info on this site...the OPC's in Grape Seed Extract and Pine Bark Extract <GSE is cheaper> can be of help....

"........in one report scientists suggest the use of OPCs derived from a mixed extract of grape seeds and pine bark is as effective as the most common agent methylphenidate - generic name Ritalin - employed in treating ADD affected adults and children. This natural compound would be very beneficial as a cure for attention deficit disorder, not to mention being cheaper than the generic drugs currently used to treat this disorder. Though, confirmed to have a beneficial alleviating effect on ADD, there is still a mystery surrounding the actual way in which OPCs affect the brains of Attention Deficit Disorder patients. The biochemical basis behind the cure is not precisely worked out as yet. However, in the course of laboratory studies, results have suggested that OPCs may be helping the brain improve its regulation and use of two excitatory neurotransmitter compounds - the neuro-hormone dopamine and the hormone norepinephrine. This factor suggests oligomeric proanthocyanidins (OPCs) to have an antidepressant effect on the brain of ADD affected people. As well as benefiting patients affected by chronic fatigue syndrome without in any way disrupting the functioning of the nervous system in the rest of the body. If this is the actual mechanism, then, there is a lot of hope for ADD and CFS affected patients."

http://www.herbs2000.com/h_menu/opc.htm

Rand

 

[nanonug]

Wouldn't one also run into tolerance issues with Ritalin? That's what happened to me years ago when I took it. Had to keep taking more of it to get the same effect.

My kid has ADHD and takes Concerta (12-hour extended release methylphenidate.) Once we get to the right dosage, this stuff just works, day after day.

Were you taking the immediate release methylphenidate?

 

[nanonug]

An interesting study:

Use of methylphenidate in the treatment of patients suffering from refractory POTS

 

[Rand56]

My kid has ADHD and takes Concerta (12-hour extended release methylphenidate.) Once we get to the right dosage, th stuff just works, day after day.

Were you taking the immediate release methylphenidate?

hi nanonug

It was immediate release. This was 12 years ago thereabouts, and I don't even know if they had the extended release version at that time.

Rand

 

[heapsreal]

im not using it every day but i am finding macuna and acetyl tyrosine together giving me a good energy boost more the tyrosine alone. I just finished my working week and it was very busy, i woke up feeling quite buggered. I took the macuna and tyrosine on an empty stomache and an hour later my energy feels good. this is happened a couple of times now, so im happy with the effects so far.

 

[triffid113]

I have problems with dopamine due to 3 genes (containing 6 mutations) that slow making, and speed up using, BH4. Two BH4's are used to make dopamine from phenylalanine. Only one BH4 is required to make it from tyrosine. My doctor put me on 1g/day tyrosine (for my thyroid) and I avoid phenylalanine. But I also take these steps to raise BH4:

• Solgar Metafolin (whatever dose)
• Whatever metafolin dose is in 2 thorne basic B/day
• 2g mineral ascorbates (Vitamin C) **

**Note - Some evidence exists that C>500mg / day can cause kidney stones, but it never did in me. I take my calcium in citrate form and there are also studies which indicates calcium citrate spares kidneys. I can feel the difference (in a weird way - calcium citrate "feels friendlier" than other forms of calcium to me...be aware that it also requires BH4 to get rid of ammonia and make urea (so a BH4 deficiency affects the kidneys)).

Anyway, I am low-ish on dopamine but not to the point of depression as the result of above. I do have some motor skill difficulties (genetic clumsiness). No one thinks anything of it except now and then to note that I'm a bit of a klutz.

Also note that I am COMT +/+ so I retain the dopamine I make better than some. Those who are not should do a web search for COMT inhibitors to likewise retain their dopamine. For instance, rhodiola is a COMT inhibitor.

 

[Gavman]

Triffid good info - tests show my urea cycle is crap, can't eat meat proteins at all anymore due to that.
lll work on methylfolate. I take now foods dopa mucuna and it makes me want to communicate when normally I want to avoid it as besti can. I'm comt+/+ and Mao-a +- but I have been on effexor for 6 years.. which maybe pushed my dopamine lower. Going to see the psychiatrist and talk about it. They do take months to get in to see though.

My dopamine seems to have been low considering all the symptoms - I remember falling over as a 5 year old cause I couldn't move my legs, they diagnosed cellulitus but I see lots of other low dopamine symptoms. I fell over a lot as a teenager.

 

[Lotus97]

I've heard of Dopa Mucuna/Mucuna Pruriens/Velvet bean extract being used to boost human growth hormone (HGH). No idea if it works, but it's usually taken either before bed or before a workout along with other GH boosters. Again, no idea if it actually works

 

[heapsreal]

I find dopa mucuna does give me a mood lift and abit of energy but does seem to work better when i take acetyl tyrosine on an empty stomache with it. I find it also helps with pain especially muscle stiffness i get from certain sleep aids like tricyclic antidepressants, antihistamines and low dose seroquel etc. I think these may cause muscle stiffness possibly through maybe lowering dopamine, so adding dopa mucuna helps raise dopamine levels and reduces this stiffness/pain. I also find if i use mucuna or tyrosine everyday it loses its affectiveness, so i use it when i feel i need that extra lift or muscle stiffness.

It would be nice if it does increase GH but hard to tell going by the feel of it.

 

[Lotus97]

I've been curious for awhile about GH boosters, but I'm skeptical. For one thing, a lot of them boost NO which I'm learning from some of the posts here might not be a good thing in excess. Probably increasing the duration of sleep is one of the best ways to release growth hormone. There is a homeopathic HGH supplement I've been considering. It's got some mixed reviews. Some people say they have more energy and/or improves the quality of their sleep. Some say it does nothing. Some say it's like drinking too much coffee (which would be bad for sleep). A lot of the combination HGH formulas do have the mucuna in it though. Did you ever try that ZMA? I'm not sure if it boosts gh, but it is supposed to improve quality of sleep.

 

[heapsreal]

I think most GH stimulating substances that are taken orally arent really affective, things like amino acid combo's etc But there are peptides that people inject that help your body to make more Gh etc and these treatments are alot cheaper then GH therapy. I dont have any personal experience with this but would like to increase my GH levels somehow?? Although i have used baclofen to help sleep and its suppose to increase GH, although it does improve sleep quality i didnt notice and GH type benefits??

 

[Lotus97]

I've heard bad things about growth hormone injections. That the all the benefits reverse and you're actually worse off than before you take them and possibly causing cancer. But the peptides might be different. I don't know if sleeping longer increases growth hormones or not, but I did make a recovery during a period where I was getting at least 10 hours of sleep. There is an interesting customer review about a gh product that has mucuna dopa in it.
http://www.iherb.com/Olympian-Labs-Inc-NuSoma-Magnum-Growth-HGH-NO-150-Gelatin-Capsules/10373
I notice a difference in my husband when taking this. Make sure you take it at night on an empty stomach. He looked like he has worked out and is more pumped. Even though he doesn't! Now getting him to actually work out and then we'd be talking! Haha! I would recommend this product to any guy that want to build up! Will buy again form iHerb!

This is the one I'm considering though, but I'm hesitant even though it did get some good customer reviews. It's homeopathic and includes Hepar Suis 6X, Human growth hormone 30X, Pituitary Porcine 30X.
http://www.iherb.com/Liddell-Vital-HGH-with-Human-Growth-Hormone-1-0-fl-oz-30-ml/3900

 

[Shoesies]

I think most GH stimulating substances that are taken orally arent really affective, things like amino acid combo's etc But there are peptides that people inject that help your body to make more Gh etc and these treatments are alot cheaper then GH therapy. I dont have any personal experience with this but would like to increase my GH levels somehow?? Although i have used baclofen to help sleep and its suppose to increase GH, although it does improve sleep quality i didnt notice and GH type benefits??

heaps - I have been on humanatrope for a little over 12 months. Recommended by a Dr to "rebuild the immune system" I thought there was progress with immune system as I had a 5 month period of relative health after years of relapses. However, I am currently two and a half months bedridden in relapse. My growth hormone levels were almost unmeasurable in blood levels. There have been obvious side benefits. Huge amounts of new hair growth. Wrinkles appear less obvious and after about ten months my entire body composition has changed to one of a more muscular appearance. I never would have tried it for just the cosmetic reasons, but there are obvious benefits in that area.