I was researching Meds and read that Serotonin is produced from L-Tryptophan which is an essential amino acid (Essential are the ones you body can't make from other stuff).

Anyone know more info about this?

It was an interresting thought that SSRI can only block re-uptake, but your body can't produce more Serotonin without L-Tryptophan.

I have information on this, I will have to look it up and come back.

Inattentive,

Ive done a few MONTHS research and only now am I getting abse idea about neurotrasmitters and the way they work.

5 second summary: The Seratonin neuro transmitter group (multiple sub receptors) needs many things to work in order to be "normal"

1/ Tthey need enough ingredients (tryptophan => 5HTP => Seratonin) to make the base Seratonin.
2/ There needs to be enough receptors, in a working condition, to receive enough of the signals
3/ Once the Seratonin has performed it's task, there needs to be sufficient balance of the MAO enzyme so that it it breaks down sufficient Seratonin to prevent overload (Seratonin Syndrome), but not too much that it breaks down the Seratonin before it achieves it's task.
4/ The re-uptake process, similar to point 3, also serves to regulate the amount of Seratonin available.

So what does it mean??? Depending on which stage, and which recepter is not working properly (assuming one does have a problem), the solution can involve different actions.

If your body is not producing enough Seratonin, increasing the ingredients may help. This assumption can be wrong if the problem is in the conversion phase, as no amount of extra tryptophan is going to make a borken engine produce more 5HTP or Seratonin.

If the engine is working, but sluggish, more tryptophan may help. If the receptors arn't working properly, tryptophan is not likely to help, but a seartonin agonist would be better. Likewise, if you have too much MAO enzyme in your body, cutting down the seratonin before it can do its work, a MAO inhibitor may help. Warning here, MAO also breaks down Noradrenaline and Dopamine (depending on MAO-A or MAO-B inhibition). SSRI's work by blocking the re-uptake process (Seratonin only) and leaving more Seratonin around.

Some Meds act only on Seratonin, some work on Noradrenaline only and some meds on dopamine only. Some target specific receptors, some are more general.

So what does it mean regarding your original question??? If your tryptophan => seratonin engine is running poor it MAY help. If your depression is noradrenaline/dopamine related, and you have suficient seratonin; then taking tryptophan could lead in some rare cases to Seratonin Syndrome which can ultimately cause death.

I suggest you do LOTS of research before you try some of these alternative solutions, as they can also negate/increase the performance of ADD meds. Always speak to your doctor, and make sure you understand the impact of your choice.

Has this helped? Or did my hyperfocus take me out of the ballpark again..lol

Sleepz

Thanks sleppzalot. Makes sense. Obviously without knowing a real starting point it's all trial and error. I'm going to post a new topic in regards to Neurotransmitter level testing.

Heh, I don't have anywhere near as much information on this as Sleepzalot does, so I will bow out. :D :D :D

One question though. I thought Tryptophan put you to sleep, and it was the chemical in turkey and some other foods that was responsible for the effect. Am I off base with that?

Hi,
I understand the Nova Scotia mental hospital used to give tryptophan to patients by the shovelfull to calm them down before anti-depressants came along.
I was extremely anxious (was overloaded with input, had to diagnose everything). Took 8 500mg a day for a couple of years. By prescription. Worked like a charm. What a relief. Now take 4 when I think of it.

Tryptophan was used the same way Prozac is now, but when Prozac came out, the goverment found a reason to ban tryptophan in favor of their artificial alternative.