BH4, COMT, Anxiety, Low Thyroid

[racerbiker39]

I have Anxiety issues for years now along with SIBO, Leaky Gut, Low body temperature, Low Serotonin, viral infections, hair loss etc.. I recently did the amino acids test and found that the Tyrosine/Phenylalanine ratio is 1:3 .

Tyrosine value is 26.97 and the normal range is 36 to 112 while Phenylalanine value is 66.07 and the normal range is 36 to 85

Based on all of the reading on various internet forums it looks like I may have low values of BH4 (sapropterin) in my body and that may hinder the conversion of Phenylalanine to Tyrosine. I also have low Nitric oxide and low Serotonin as well due to this.
Further, due to less Tyrosine I may have a deficiency of thyroid hormones which may have caused my SIBO issues. I am not able to take Royal Jelly as it contains Polyphenols and this causes anxiety due to my homozygous COMT H62H mutation.

I am looking for ideas and suggestions on how I can improve my anxiety issues to high Phenylalanine and low Serotonin/Dopamine.

 

[NotThisGuy]

if you have the money taking bh4 as a supplement might be something to consider.

 

[Learner1]

BH4 is difficult to get as someone patented it and made it into a $3,000+ a month drug, Kuvan, for children with PKU. Before that it was around $95 a bottle. My doctor and his colleagues had tried it on patients but didn't feel it was effective.

It sounds like you might benefit from jyst taking tyrosine. I had been low on it and felt extremely depressed and unmotivated and my doctor had me taking 6g a day and I feel much better. You'll see recommendations for 1g for depression but thst can be low for some people. I still am taking 2-4g a day which is quite helpful.

 

[racerbiker39]

@Learner1 Thanks. Taking Tyrosine will help my hypothyroidism and increase dopamine. That still does not solve the problem of phenylalanine. All protein foods convert to phenylalanine and high levels of phenylalanine can cause anxiety.

I do also have CBS, BHMT and NOS hetero mutations. As well as high Aluminium, chronic sore throats due to high IGG numbers of Epstein barr virus and CMV. So I am trying to connect all these together. Vitamin C 1000 mg per day seems to help for sure. Maybe it helps create BH4(?).

Any help would be great

 

[Learner1]

Seems like you're only working with a few data points. The reality is that there are many other genes and biochemicals involved. I have a bunch of similar SNPs, but environmental factors can change how they are expressed.

For anxiety, GABA, taurune, or theanine might help. If you want to increase serotonin, 5-HTP might help, though I'd be very cautious about taking too much.

Treating your viruses with a good antiviral, like valganciclovir, etc. would be a foundational step. Artemisinin, vitamin C, and oxygen therapies can help, but my experience has been that they didn't do much for entrenched viruses alone.

Doing a nutritional test, like a Genova Diagnostics NutrEval that shoes status of antioxidants, minerals, lipids, B vitamins ND aminos is worthwhile and could help you put together a balanced protocol to support your biochemistry. This illness and the viruses put a load on our systems and sap resources, so it's likely you have more nutrient deficiencies or imbalances than you're aware of, like methylating nutrients, antioxidants, and trace minerals.

Also, many of us burn aminos for fuel, according to a recent study by Fluge and Mella. I had to increase my protein intake to about 1.8g/kg to not be deficient all the time - I eat protein, but take a custom amino blend as well.

Attached are some articles that may give you some insight. As you haven't shared a full picture, I can't tell what is going on in your situation, but see what fits and come back with questions.

And, how's your gut health?

 

[racerbiker39]

@Learner1 You make some good points. I have not tried 5HTP as I am on a SSRI. I do feel that I can take a low dose of 5 HTP to increase gut movement as well as to increase serotonin in the body. My gut health is not great as I cannot tolerate sulphur, sulfates, nightshades, gluten and diary. I eat a carbohydrate diet and that makes my SIBO worse. For a while I went low on proteins (due to phenylalanine causing anxiety) however with Vitamin C I see that I am able to eat foods high in proteins. Again all of this is trial and error method. One thing, my amino acids on a blood test are low and I am trying to get a amino acid formula that does not contain phenylalanine. Maybe increasing amino acids like Tryptophan and Tyrosine may help increase Serotonin and dopamine. Thanks again. Will go through the links you provided. Please let me know what amino acid product you are using.

 

[Learner1]

My doctor sends a custom amino acid order to Personalized Nutrients in Sisters, Oregon. You'd be able to get a blend without phenylalanine.

Improving your gut would likely go a long way to solving some of your issues. Reacting to that many things speaks to a problem that needs working. A good self-help book is "The Food Intolerance Bible" by Anthony Hayne. Getting rid of your SIBO and any Candida or parasites should be a top priority. Most of your serotonin is made in your gut.

I'm a big fan of tests rather than trial and error. With a complex illess like this, it helps to figure out what your problems are, see what is driving what, prioritize the things that will get you the farthest and do those things. A DNA stool test would be useful. You might look into some of the Cyrex tests for food allergies and autoimmunity, and you might look into mast cell activation syndrome which many of us have.

Unless you have a genetic issue with phenylalanine, it's not likely it's at the root of your problems...so getting a fuller picture of what's going on and solving those problems might help you more.