Could you elaborate please InstantCoffee?
The amino acid therapy I'm using has done great things for my anxiety, but it's very important that it's followed strictly and you take everything they say, you absolutely cannot pick and choose.
I'll post the basics of the protocol, what you'll need, how much etc. but I encourage you to do your own research before you try it and understand why and if you think it's good for your son. I'll also share my experience with it.
First of all is the amino acids themselves, Tyrosine and 5-Htp. Each one when taken raises one neurotransmitter level and depletes the other so it's important you take them together to prevent a deficiency in either one.
The proper ration is 10-1 tyrosine:5-htp.
A patient should not attempt to home dose great than 1500 : 150 twice a day.
Do NOT use n-acetyl tyrosine - it's not 100% the same in activity and may alter your results.
Also with this you'll need to take other cofactors. These cofactors provide the fuel your body needs to absorb, convert and utilize these amino acids.
The most important is L-cysteine, take 1500mg with each 1500-150 dose of aminos.
Selenium 150ug
folic acid 150 ug
vit c 1000 mg
vit b6 75 mg
calcium citrate 220 mg.
Again this is the dosing per 1500-150 tyrosine-5htp. If you take one dose at 8 am and one at 4 pm you'll need to repeat all the cofactors.
Higher doses should only be taken under medical supervision.
I'll throw up some links but I'd encourage them to do their own research.
http://amino-acid-therapy.com/proper-neurotransmitter-production/
http://amino-acid-dose.blogspot.com/2013/02/dosing-for-beginner.html
Unfortunately it looks like Dr Hinz has password protected most of his website which described the protocol in depth.
My experience:
I followed his medical protocol and exceeded the recommended safe doses, I do not recommend it. I'm currently maintaining at 1500-150mg a day and feel like I may be able to come off the therapy soon.
I was going through a tough emotional time, I suffer from social anxiety and depression and was being mistreated by a girl I was talking to. This therapy helped keep me level and focus, improved my quality of sleep, and blunted my negative emotions without making me feel empty / robotic. After the initial adjustment phase during which I experienced extreme sleepiness it improved my awakeness during the day.
Initially the patient may experience great sleepiness if they have accumulated a sleep debt from under-sleeping, so they should start this on a friday night.
Risks of mis-dosing your amino acids include anxiety attacks and depression. If you take 5-htp without the tyrosine you may experience melanin-steal which causes anxiety attacks. Your initial expectation would be to think it's too much tyrosine since tyrosine stimulates dopamine, the awakeness hormone carried in adrenaline, but this is not correct. This is why you ALWAYS take 10-1 ratio.
I took up to 4000-400 3x a day, as per his therapeutic dose, and it resulted in worsening of depression and anxiety, I went back to the 1500-150 dose and felt much better.
I'm don't know the reason why but the doctor recommends taking the L-Cysteine 4 hours after your initial aminos, possibly due to competition for absorption. It's necessary because the aminos deplete thiol production and l-cysteine replenishes it. Glutathione is very important for those with Crohn's, so you can't afford to not supplement it with this therapy.
Do NOT buy N-Acetyl Cysteine, it's not chemically the same and may cause diarrhea.
Remember as far as 'natural' this is all stuff that's already in your food, just in small amounts. If you have an imbalance in your neurotransmitter levels it's unlikely to be something you can correct with food alone.
