5-HTP, GABA, l-Tyrosine etc

[Pen]

If you have either positive or negative experience with any of these sorts of supplements, particularly as related to brain function and getting things done, would you share it with me. 

I am asking for an adult who I mentioned the idea of brain “squirrels” to, who replied that she herself has brain squirrels, and something about brain squirrels getting in the way of cleaning off her counters. 

Then I thought I recalled something on here, maybe from @PeterPan about 5-htp and wiping counters. ...

[mamashark]

I've taken 5-htp and saw no appreciable difference even at larger doses. I've also tried st. john's wort and had a nerve reaction to it (my nerve endings became hyper- a simple scratch would feel like it burned)

I found the best thing for me personally was a prescription for more immediate (immediate in the sense that after several weeks they had kicked in and provided relief) relief of anxiety and then a really amazing counselor who has taught me how to change my thinking patterns. I'm not saying the brain squirrels don't ever try to bother me anymore (haha! I love the term brain squirrels! I never thought about it like that before!) but I know how to kick them out now and I throw their nuts out after them whenever I find one! And I am not on meds anymore either. 

[PeterPan]

GABA is pretty strong stuff. I'd be cautious with that. The 5HTP is better (to my mind) when it's genetically indicated. And as you raise those levels, you can push down the dopamine in the pendumlum. The l-tyrosine should, in theory, bring back up the dopamine, but functionally it's been too complicated for me to figure out. Like it's not really that simple. The one seems to undo the other.

So run genetics? It's always challenging to know if your issues are EF or being 40-something or low thyroid or this or that, sigh. In a lot of ways Flylady is right, that just setting a timer and saying you can do anything for 5 minutes or 10 minutes will often get you there. If you're trying to work for 5 minutes or 10 minutes (creating your own structure, EF supports, motivators, positive self-talk) and you're STILL having problems, then I agree that can get back to that medical question. 

[Pen]

@mamashark @PeterPan  

 

for myself, I am quite susceptible to both tryptophan and 5-htp in terms of them helping with sleep taken prior to bedtime   Also to turkey which makes me feel zonked.  

were you taking the 5-htp at night or during day when it either has done nothing in mamashark’s case or been helpful in PeterPan’s?

 

@mamashark could you say anything more about changing your thinking patterns?

and, @PeterPan what did it seem to change for you with the 5-bro?

  I don’t exactly understand the squirrels the person I am asking for is experiencing, but seems like maybe off in all directions thoughts. Like being distracted from the counter or whatever by the squirrelly thoughts which lead to going somewhere else and starting another task instead of completing the first one.  I am not sure that they are anxious squirrels so much as chattering and racing about squirrels. 

[PeterPan]

The TPH2 defect I have and ds has makes you not convert tryptophan to 5HTP well, glitching that step. So yeah, people without that defect would see nominal benefit, I assume. 

If we move on from the squirrel thing and get honest, we're talking ADHD. When you say will l-tyrosine improve ADHD, there's actually some data to pursue on that. I just couldn't strike a sustainable balance with my ds. I'd love to, sure, because he's very, very hard to work with. 

She could pursue a diagnosis and meds. She could use a small amount of caffeine. She could pursue something like SKLAR or Flylady. She could do mindfulness. 10 minutes of mindfulness will bump her EF 30%. It's not like you just take xyz and it all shazam happens. EF strategies, cognitive strategies, making your efforts more intentional WORKS. 

Is this woman already using caffeine? Tea, coffee, pop, anything? 

The 5HTP is not improving the dopamine levels, as least afaik. It's just improving the person's ability to stay calm and tackle an overwhelming task. You still have to have EF, still have to break it up into steps, still have to have personal discipline and tell yourself how long to work and to get up and actually do it and when to stop. 

Once you start saying do you want meds for adult ADHD, that's really personal. I think at the very least you want to know yourself, begin noticing how fast your motor is running, and have cognitive strategies. You can tell her though that the squirrel farm she's going going would respond well to ADHD meds, yes. If she's at that point, where she's tried all the cognitive strategies and wants meds, they would work. Will l-tyrosine work as well? Can't say. It's an amino acid and sometimes there are side effects when you just take one piece like that. I haven't had dd try it. There are studies looking at l-tyrosine vs. Vyvanse (common stimulant med), yes. 

[mamashark]

Regarding the 5-htp - I took it both at night and in the morning. If, as @Peterpan suggested, it can be genetically indicated, then maybe it just is not genetically indicated in my case.

Regarding thinking patterns - I know I read somewhere before starting therapy that cognitive therapy can be as effective as medication and I went in determined to find out if I could really change my thinking patterns enough to not need meds. There were several things that I worked towards. First, I learned to identify what my stress thoughts/patterns were, and then find the fallacy in those thoughts and focus on positive thoughts or affirmations. So for example, when something would not go as I expected it to, I would instinctively think "I'm terrible at this. I screwed it up, (or I am going to mess it up!), I should never have tried this". Now I instinctively think *deep breath* "there is a solution to every problem." 

If I am working on something outside (garden, hanging clothes, whatever) I might have thought "what will the neighbors think, am I messing this up? I shouldn't have come outside wearing this..." now I block those thoughts and focus on RIGHT NOW. How does the air feel against my skin, the sunshine hitting my back/face, the sound of the bug coming to the nearby flower, The subtle colors on the developing squash plant, the slight movement of the bug burrowing in the dirt, the feel of my breath entering my nose and exiting as I breathe back out. Awareness of any tension in my back, neck, shoulders. Correct to proper posture, relax my jaw, find joy in the gentle sway of the pine trees in the breeze, notice the chickens clucking and not allow my thoughts to stress or worry about things that don't matter right now.

A lot of what I do now is to bring my awareness back to stillness, quietness, my breath. Still the chatter in my brain. Quiet the worries and focus on now. Awareness of now, not of future or past. And I've taken favorite scripture verses and turned them into my favorite affirmations to focus my thoughts on during the day. A huge pattern in them is peace - and that is kind of my goal, to focus on the peace that can surround me if I just focus on this - this one thing - the next thing and not EVERYTHING.

It's been a multi-month job of daily practice and effort to identify thoughts that need to be changed and then replace them with appropriate thought patterns but I've noticed a HUGE shift in my mental wellbeing. And for me it was not ADHD. It was pure anxiety.