GABA, L-Tyrosine question

[patience]

Hi again

In Dr Amen's books he refers to using GABA and L-TYrosine for some types of ADD but then here I have read that these are not very effective so I am curious as to why he suggests these and if it more a case of these working for some people and not others.

BTW I tried L tyrosine for ds aged 9 and had no great results and also GABA which seemed to help but hard to tell.

Also I am worried about using a number of different supplements like these when there are multiple ADD types present.

Love

patience

[Mayleng]

It is a matter of what works for which type of ADHD. I think Gaba is supposed to have a calming effect more for the Ring of Fire type ADHD. I don't think it would work for the inattentive type.

Cat, will be away till Monday, I am sure Ohmama will give you some input. By the way, her child has been to the Amen Clinic.

[ohmama]

Patience,
I have nothing but the deepest respect for Dr. Amen since going to one of the Clinics and reading his books. I think he is brilliant and his methods of diagnosing brain disorders is what has saved us years of stumbling around in the dark trying to find the complete diagnosis. Once I went to the clinic I discovered that there was so much more to my sons brain disorder than I could ever figure out or realize from reading one of his books. The books are meant to educate you on the workings of the brain and the checklists are only a starting point. These cannot take the place of a diagnosis and treatment plan.

I strongly believe that any results from using natural alternatives AND/OR medication depend entirely on getting the correct diagnosis to start with. Unfortunately, this is not an easy thing for many doctors to do as overlapping disorders do not present themselves clearly. Often side effects or lack of results are not so much from using the medication or the natural alternative but are because of using them incorrectly due to not having the accurate and complete dx. This is just my opinion based on common sense, which I found is not really so common after all.

I don't know what to think about the GABA. I have used this on my own without supervision for my Ring of Fire ADHD, Bp, anxiety disorder, OCD boy. Wow, that's a lot to deal with, isn't it! I have heard so many people claim that it works for them that I can't discount it entirely. It didn't work for us and I suspect it is because of all we are dealing with in the diagnosis. I found that the medications used for the disorders we are dealing with have been much more effective.

Having found the right medication, I stopped my research on GABA. I was disappointed to discover that I could not use a "do it yourself" approach and be able to help my boy. If you want to use GABA or L-Tyrosine as recommended by Dr. Amen then I think the best way to do that would be to have such a professional working with you after you are sure of your diagnosis. His staff at the clinics are very knowledgeable in the use of these amino acids and other supplements. I was given the choice of natural alternatives or medication for a treatment plan and when I saw what the real diagnosis was I chose medication. I still use supplements and would not be without them, together this is what makes up our very effective treatment plan.

[patience]

You are so right

I think I have been trying to second guess what is going on, I read on Dr Amen's forum board that there is a psychiatrist here in Australia who is aware of his method and I think that I need to get a proper diagnosis made so i know e3xactly what we are dealing with rather than assuming from the symptoms.


Thanks patience

[ohmama]

That sounds like a good idea. Did you know that Dr. Amen reads scans from all over and can view them via email? As long as they are done a certain way, with the right scan equipment and according to his instructions he can do this for a fee of a few hundred dollars (last I checked). I'm sure you could find out about this on his website.

[patience]

I contacted a pyschologist here who is familiar with Dr Amen's work, she informed me that it is very unlikely that i would be able to get SPECT done in Australia for the purposes of getting a more specific ADHD profile.

So it is back to the drawing board. SIGH !!


Patience

[coach1]

You have to be carefull giving supplements not knowing what the levels of neurotransmitters are at. If your child has anxiety and stress and hyper ,Tyrosine will worsen the issues. Dopamine can be high already and Tyrosine will make it even higher. Plus Norepinephrine is made from Dopamine so you could be raising Norepinephrineeven high. It causes anxiety and stress and impulsiveness. Plus kids with these issues alot of time are put under a microscope of observation , kind of a nit picking trying to correct their issues. This extra attention and extra stickness is used in hope of fixing the issues but it only worsens their stress and anxiety. Alot of this goes on in schools that think a child with issues needs more discipline. A kid walking around with these chemical issues , is ready to act out at anytime due to the high levels of stress hormones/neurotransmitters. Helping the child to approach life in a more laid back fashion and deal more appropiately with the issues will help lower the stress chemicals. The Adrenal glands are a big part as the produce norepinpehrine and epinephrine which are you fight or flight hormones/neurotransmitters. Once these are elevated by prolonged periods of stress from the pressures to be a good kid it can take 6 months to get them lowered using the appropiate nutritional supplements. Kids need to be happy, have no worrys, feel a parental attachement of a parent thats not always judgemental but a parent that is understanding and a friend, not by words but by actions. You need to remove school stress from their lives and demphasis the importances of the issues of schools. Schools in the USA are putting to much pressure on kids to meet NCLBA state testing. Its getting to kids that are border line and causeing them to swing into full blown ADHD from the chemical imbalances that the stress causes.