Looking to add an amino acid to my suppliments

[sharks]

I am already taking
Vit D 2000
B complex
Zinc 25 mg
Magnesium 350 mg
Probiotic

I am looking to add an amino acid. I am currently experiencing "wired but tired symptoms"
Cortisol high at night low in the morning.
Hormones out of wack.
Elevated heart rate.
Hair is falling out.
Over heating and not sweating.
Retaining water
Feeling thirsty .

My tests are normal, but the lack of deep refreshing sleep is making things worse.

I am looking at NAC, 5-mthf, 5-http.

What's the difference between these? What else is out there?

 

[Basilico]

Have you considered Theanine? I've read of people on other forums using this in the evening and getting a calming effect. I haven't used it myself, so I've got no personal experience to share.

I also know that magnesium taurate should have a calming effect due to the taurine, so perhaps you might want to consider Taurine.

My husband also has the same cortisol imbalance you have. A previous doctor years ago tried to correct this by having him take phosphatidylserine at night and some hydrocortizone in the morning to get his body back in the right pattern. It didn't work for him, but you might want to consider phosphatodylserine because you might have a better response to it.

Have you gotten your ferritin checked recently by any chance? One of the times I started losing a lot of hair, it was due to extremely low ferritin. After doing a good iron protocol that I devised, I got my levels up and the hair stopped falling out. I now have hair loss again, but it's not due to anemia anymore, now it seems like it's autoimmune because it stops when I apply topical hydrocortisone.

I am looking at NAC, 5-mthf, 5-http.

What's the difference between these? What else is out there?

5-mthf is L-methylfolate, which is a B vitamin, not an amino acid. This is a great supplement to take, but make sure you start low and go slow. Are you doing a methylation protocol? You might want to read on some of the methylation threads about what to expect with folate.

5-http -> I think you mean 5HTP, which is a precursor for serotonin. Some people use it to improve their sleep, others have either no effect or negative experiences. Could be worth trying.

NAC is N-Acetyl Cysteine, another supplement worth trying. I've seen a lot of people on this forum using NAC and having some good results. I haven't yet tried it, but it's on my list. My husband has taken liposomal glutathione and NAC was mixed in with it. This supplement is one of the few things that can prevent him from getting a PEM crash if he's feeling like he overexerted himself, or thinks one is about to come on.

 

[sharks]

Have you considered Theanine? I've read of people on other forums using this in the evening and getting a calming effect. I haven't used it myself, so I've got no personal experience to share.

I also know that magnesium taurate should have a calming effect due to the taurine, so perhaps you might want to consider Taurine.

My husband also has the same cortisol imbalance you have. A previous doctor years ago tried to correct this by having him take phosphatidylserine at night and some hydrocortizone in the morning to get his body back in the right pattern. It didn't work for him, but you might want to consider phosphatodylserine because you might have a better response to it.

Have you gotten your ferritin checked recently by any chance? One of the times I started losing a lot of hair, it was due to extremely low ferritin. After doing a good iron protocol that I devised, I got my levels up and the hair stopped falling out. I now have hair loss again, but it's not due to anemia anymore, now it seems like it's autoimmune because it stops when I apply topical hydrocortisone.




5-mthf is L-methylfolate. This is a great supplement to take, but make sure you start low and go slow. Are you doing a methylation protocol? You might want to read on some of the methylation threads about what to expect with folate.

5-http -> I think you mean 5HTP, which is a precursor for serotonin. Some people use it to improve their sleep, others have either no effect or negative experiences. Could be worth trying.

NAC is N-Acetyl Cysteine, another supplement worth trying. I've seen a lot of people on this forum using NAC and having some good results. I haven't yet tried it, but it's on my list. My husband has taken liposomal glutathione and NAC was mixed in with it. This supplement is one of the few things that can prevent him from getting a PEM crash if he's feeling like he overexerted himself, or thinks one is about to come on.

I was previously on prednisone and it didn't really help that much. I am going to look into Phosphatidylserine.

 

[deleder2k]

Does any of the things you take actually make a difference? If not I would consider stop taking them.


You could try out 5 g l-arginine daily with 200 mg l-citrulline. Fluge and Mella mentioned this in a patent application for a nitric oxide donor in ME/CFS. It could be worth trying. I know several people that experienced a positive effect. It is based on the theory that we suffer from some sort of endothelial dysfunction where the blood vessels doesn't dilate properly. It is pretty cheap from iHerb.com

 

[Carl]

I would recommend that you avoid NAC, many people do not get along with it. It degrades biofilms which can have very negative effects, ie it can result in more undigested food molecules entering the blood stream.

If you want something to promote Glutathione production then I would suggest L-Cysteine which is a little less common than NAC and works a little different from NAC without the negative effects. I can tolerate this whereas NAC has very negative effects. I only use NAC when attacking the biofilm.

Glycine can be calming, anti inflammatory and also helps with Glutathione production.
Article on Glycine
A possible cause of hair falling could be poor protein digestion, check your stomach function. This might be what is prompting you to investigate amino acids which do not require digestion and therefore bypass the problem.

Overheating could indicate inflammation. Glutathione would help this.

 

[sharks]

Fluge and Mella mentioned this in a patent application for a nitric oxide donor in ME/CFS. It could be worth trying.

Huh? Nitric oxide donor? What is that?

 

[sharks]

I would recommend that you avoid NAC, many people do not get along with it. It degrades biofilms which can have very negative effects, ie it can result in more undigested food molecules entering the blood stream.

If you want something to promote Glutathione production then I would suggest L-Cysteine which is a little less common than NAC and works a little different from NAC without the negative effects. I can tolerate this whereas NAC has very negative effects. I only use NAC when attacking the biofilm.

Glycine can be calming, anti inflammatory and also helps with Glutathione production.
Article on Glycine
A possible cause of hair falling could be poor protein digestion, check your stomach function. This might be what is prompting you to investigate amino acids which do not require digestion and therefore bypass the problem.

Overheating could indicate inflammation. Glutathione would help this.

Thanks for your reply. I'm looking into Glycine and essentially it comes from Vitamin D3 which I already take. Do you have any articles on NAC sending undigested food molecules to the blood stream? I would be interested to see a little more on that

 

[Valentijn]

I am looking to add an amino acid. I am currently experiencing "wired but tired symptoms"

NAC takes care of that for me, and I sleep pretty well unless having pain issues. NAC combines with glutamate and glycine to form glutathione, and probably helps reduce glutamate levels, which could be what causes the "wired" sensation. I haven't had any apparent side effects while taking 600mg sustained release NAC 3 times per day for the past 5 years.

 

[deleder2k]

Huh? Nitric oxide donor? What is that?

Nitrates. It comes in a spray/tablets. http://forums.phoenixrising.me/inde...ith-or-without-b-cell-depletion-in-cfs.36592/

 

[sharks]

There's so much out there! I got amino essentials @ Whole Foods to start and go from there.

 

[Basilico]

Huh? Nitric oxide donor? What is that?

You might be interested in reading about the Nitric Oxide/Peroxynitrite cycle (commonly called NO/ONOO). It's a bit of a rabbit hole, but many CFS specialists are focusing on this pathway in their attempt to help patients. If it's too overwhelming, save it for later.

This link below has a summary of various specialists' protocols and views on the NO/ONOO cycle. I created a protocol using a bunch of things I read about on this website, and while the results were a bit inconclusive, overall my husband did seem to be a bit better as a result. I'm not sure exactly which of the supplements it was due to, which is very frustrating!

http://www.medicalinsider.com/cardiac3.html#pall