Acetylcholine - How do POTS sufferers maintain good levels of it ?

[Bansaw]

As a POTS sufferer I am trying to maintain a good level of acetylcholine to help boost cognitive function.
I've found Acetyl-l-Carnitine plus a source of choline to be really helpful.

However, my body seems to have developed a tolerance for it, even though I do 3 days on, 3 days off to avoid tolerance! I have to take more and more acetyl-l-carnitine to achieve that initial boost I enjoyed.

Does any POTS sufferer here have a protocol which has helped them?

(I tried Alpha-GPC, HuperzineA, Vinpocitine with limited success. I've not tried vitamin b6 yet, or any racetam. I just got Phosphatidylcholine which I'm trying out now. To much choline gives me a headache )

 

[marcjf]

Mestinon

 

[Mary]

However, my body seems to have developed a tolerance for it, even though I do 3 days on, 3 days off to avoid tolerance! I have to take more and more acetyl-l-carnitine to achieve that initial boost I enjoyed.

@Bansaw - I'm not sure that we develop a tolerance for amino acids. I easily and quickly develop a tolerance for herbs and some drugs, but not amino acids - e.g., I've been taking the same dose of BCAAs for about 8 years and it's still just as effective as when I first started it. I do have to take it every day. And there are a couple of other aminos that I take, and, again, I don't have to increase my dose though I do have to take most of them every day.

So you're taking the acetyl-l-carnitine every 3 days - I wonder what would happen if you just took it every day?

Though I just remembered something - in 2002 I discovered that l-carnitine was supposed to be very good for energy etc. and I took 2000 mg a day and I think after about a week or so I had an amazing 10 days - no crashing, normal energy, I was over the moon, thought I'd found the solution. And then it never did that for me again. I don't think it was a tolerance issue, because I've stopped l-carnitine at various times and then re-started, and again, I never had that result again, and if it was just an issue of tolerance, it should have recurred.

The same thing happened with NADH - amazing 10 days and then nothing. And even when I stopped it for a significant length of time - 6 months or more - it never did that for me again, and if it was just an issue of tolerance, then I should have had the same result after being off of it long enough. I hope that that's not the same issue with you and acetyl-l-carnitine. I am curious though to see how you would do if you took it every day.

Just FYI, the BCAAs cut my pem recovery time from 2 - 3 days down to 1 - this first occurred after taking them for 5 or 6 days. This was in 2014. I was stunned when this happened - I wasn't expecting it, but my PEM recovery time has remained for the most part at one day. A few times I've gotten low on BCAAs for various reasons, and within a short period of time, maybe 3 or 4 days, I start to crash easier and take longer to recover so I just take them every day and won't be without them.

 

[Bansaw]

So you're taking the acetyl-l-carnitine every 3 days - I wonder what would happen if you just took it every day?

I first took ALCAR six years ago and for a few weeks it really helped my cognitively. Then it seemed to wear off so I stopped it.
Three months ago I became aware of the need of a cognitive boost and thought I'd try it again. It worked great for the first week, then didn't do much after that. I looked on some nootropics forums and tolerance is a thing, so I decided to try what the nootropics guys were doing - that is 3 days on, 3 days off to avoid tolerance, and every 'x' weeks, take 1 week off. Doesn't seem to have worked in terms of tolerance.

I must read up on acetylcholine receptors in the brain. I read somewhere that overstimulating them for a while leads to us having less of them in the long term. (Don't quote me on that, I have to read up and verify. Anyway, that makes me nervous of overstimulation. I think there's an appropriate encouragement of acetylcholine needed for POTS sufferers since we have problems with acetylcholine.)

Thanks for sharing your story on BCAAs. You know I've never tried NADH, or NAC actually. I might give them a try.
My latest trial is of ORS to keep me hydrated (which is an issue of mine - and other POTS sufferers too, as you know)

 

[Shanti1]

I use lecithin as a choline source. Its not a game changer, but I notice a difference if I don't take it for a while. Neurotransmitter precursors have less risk for tolerance/dependence since the body is still in control of conversion and the amount of neurotransmitter that is produced. I found huperzine to be too strong for me. Reportedly, mestinon doesn't cross the BBB, so it prob would not be too helpful for mental function, although when I tried it, I did feel clearer mentally.

 

[kangaSue]

Parasym Plus maybe which is supposed to be less inflammatory to the system than taking Mestinon. A bit pricey though.

 

[wastwater]

Can POTS disappear,as in only be present at the beginning of illness or is it constant