glutamate/GABA regulation - supplement or not?

[sf_mom]

I have not had time to read the post entirely so apologize if I am repeating anything that has already been posted.

 

I wanted to add you can test for Glutamine Levels via SpectraCell Labs.

 

SpectraCell Labs will test inner white blood cell utilization of Glutamine.... very different than serum levels.

 

Here is a good article.

 

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2004/05/01/glutamine.aspx

 

 

Edit: Older DS serum levels via Dr. Data is normal but high based inner white blood cell utilization via SpectraCell

Edited March 3, 2014 by sf_mom

[Rachel]

Thank you for posting this article. Glutamate may affect the esphogas (sorry spelling). Which got me to thinking about something else, I wonder if this would cause my son's vocal tics. Does glutamate affect the Vagus nerve which in return affect the esphogas. More research to do.

[sf_mom]

I've posted about the Vagus Nerve previously (check history) and had a great article. However, in general the Vagus Nerve can be impacted by infection. Our older DS definitely had problems and was picked up on an X-Ray when being fitted for expander. Tongue did not rest correctly in mouth. He has continued to have frequent urination.

 

In our situation, I feel the mold/yeast had an impact. When we treat for these things his chronic cough clears and frequent urination subsides.

 

Below is a brief explanation on how Lyme can impact the nerve. However, I do not believe Lyme is the only infectious trigger impacting the Vague Nerve.

 

 

 

Chronic Lyme can cause inflammation of the vagus nerve, one of the longest and most complex nerves in the body. Common symptoms of this nerve impairment include: high blood pressure, shortness of breath, palpitations, vomiting, hoarseness, frequency of urination, difficulty swallowing and GI motility dysfunction.

If vagal nerve impairment is ruled out, I would focus on treating the liver and gallbladder. The origin of the nausea must be assessed such as gastritis, gall stones, cholecystitis, enlarged liver and/or underlying gut infections. Nausea is often caused by congested detox pathways in the liver and consequently toxic bile in the gallbladder. I also look at dysbiosis (microbial imbalance) and intestinal permeability. My intent is to increase bile production, flush the gall bladder and improve liver detoxification. Often this treatment has to be introduced gradually as it will cause the liver to back up even more, increasing nausea. However, if the patient finds the right dosage, nausea usually begins to decrease and will disappear over time.

An underlying bacterial/fungal/parasitic infection may be contributing to the problem and must be dealt with by treating the infection with natural or prescription medicines. A “Leaky Gut” with increased permeability due to infection causes the bacterial/fungal/parasitic endotoxins to be absorbed into theblood stream increasing the filtration needs of the liver. It is important to reduce this toxic load as well as support the liver and gallbladder. Often the place to begin is the gastrointestinal tract. Underlying infections create disturbances in the gut ecology and liver.

Edited March 3, 2014 by sf_mom

[3bmom]

Thanks for the article! We have hypoglycemia issues and wonder if this is our connection. Rowingmom talked about reactive hypoglycemia too so I have some reading to do. Of interest to me also is the Quinolinic acid with relation toviral encephalitis. That is what happened with our last flare. Liver and brain issues is interesting too since pesticides highly effect the liver.

 

Gatorade has flame retardant as an ingredient that is also mentioned on the Forum article about chemicals and neuro issues in children. I cringe at the amount my kids have consumed after sports games. They are suppose to phase it out but may be in other colored drinks. Food dyes are also excitotoxins in the brain. We now drink coconut water.

[lynn]

With regard to taurine, when I gave it to DS many years ago, I found it made him much calmer, however it increased his tics by a frightening amount (tried stopping and restarting several times because it was so irritating that something that helped also messed things up so bad.) Same is true of fish oil in any guise whatsoever--they all help his attention, mood, and accuity, but they all turn him into a ticcing mess. Low and slow, and I 100% agree with the comment that you can be skipping along, thinking you are helping, and then find that your "best" supplement is the one that is causing the new problem.

 

Really wish that if DS had to have this problem, he could have been born about 15 years later so that research would have figured out how to deal with it. Of course, then I would be even older than I am now...

[Rachel]

So far so good with the Taurine. No additional vocal tics or other symptoms. Blood pressures are staying up and Taruine helps balance Electrolytes. The effects have been good on my son so far. There are several PDF studies on Taurine and it's benefits. I'll post the articles, if someone wants to read them.

 

3bmom The gatorade that is already made up has those chemicals added to it. I use the powered version and understand that it does not have those chemical added. However, I will double check the label. Are you using the Quinolinic Acid? I have not heard of it. I will be doing some more research.

[JuliaFaith]

You all are way over my level of medical expertise but here is a product that two of our doctors are now prescribing. Both my ds and dh take this now. Ds usually just takes at night but sometimes in the morning if needed. This cream has a lot of ingrediets that you all are discussing.

 

Calming Cream by-- www.neurobiologix.com

 

Their Neuro-Immune Stabililizer is also prescribed quite frequently. Dh takes it every day (methylation issues) and I take 3xweek for 'cellular reasons.'

 

They are both creams so easy to apply. Cost is around $53 for a bottle.

[3bmom]

I would love the articles on taurine being the info junkie I have become. I also will look into the cream.

 

In the Mercola article on glutamine and glutamate it mentioned Quinolinic acid as a powerful excitotoxin which accumulates when there is viral encephalitis. That is what my DS Dr said he had his last flare since he was so severe, and out of three infections, strep, myco, and HHV-6, the herpes was sky high. The article also talks about hypoglycemia which effects him too. More so lately since he is started running track. Didn't someone here have issues when their son did wrestling?

 

Catch 22 I guess is glutamine is good for healing the stomach.

[Rachel]

Here are the Taurine articles that I found helpful.

 

 

http://members.upnaway.com/~poliowa/Taurine%20Exercise.pdf

 

http://www.nutri-spec.net/articles/PDF/taurine.pdf

 

http://www.jbiomedsci.com/supplements/17/S1

 

http://www.rlcure.com/glutamate2.html

[Rachel]

3bmom

 

Thanks for the information on Quinoline Acid. I have made another connection. My ds has high Kynurenic Acid and this is connected with Quinoline Acid. Here is an article that made this easy to understand. It also block the anti-NMDA receptor antibodies. I will post some more articles later on but here is a very easy one to understand. http://www.corporamed.com/documentos/organix/articulos/Quinolinate-Kynurenate.pdf

[3bmom]

THANKS...The articles have great info in them. The first one about the liver and taurine. GMO fed animal studies out of Australia shows a disintegrating liver and dissolving intestines...Leaky Gut anyone?

 

The liver effect on taurine which acts as a neuromodulator would correlate with larger amounts of calcium and glutamate in the brain effecting our children. It also explains vision, which my DS had issues with crossed eyes, reactive hypoglycemia too. My middle son with dyslexia was just found to have a heart arrhythmia also mentioned in the article. Electrolytes which I have always wondered and you know. I wonder if it would effect fibromyalgia too in regards to nerves and skeletal muscle which has appeared epidemically only since GMO's were introduced.

 

The second article explains his last horrible flare because in addition to OCD, anorexia, anger he lost his ability to do math (always our flag even though gifted) along with reading etc like regressive Autism they mentioned. It talks about toxins in the Hypocampus and seizures. Some of us have activity in the frontal lobes where seizures are located without actual seizures. This makes so much sense. Dr T says in a sample of patients he found Parkinson's markers more than MTHFR.

 

Besides the pesticides in food I used to be a major water bottle person, keeping a case in the car for my kids instead of juice....so many layers.

 

I am going to try the taurine myself low and slow. I think I probably have that CBS mutation LLM talks about in regards to sulfur. I am looking for a Dr who would do the 23 and me. Seems so overwhelming for me like a foreign language but since our foods strip essential vitamins we need to figure out our individual tapestry to replenish without harm.

 

Thanks again!

[3bmom]

Another thought is that Taurine is a microbial component of our innate immune system which according to my DS Dr is collapsing. This would explain the myriad of infections that have reared their ugly heads. He has talked about this before the entero polio virus which is also a result of innate immune system. I am going to send him this info.

[cara615]

All very interesting! We give L'glutamine but now i am considering removing it. I have given ds taurine and it made him tic more so that is not an option. i have given GABA supp in the past (which they say is useless) and it has had an effect on both me and my sons. For me, it calms me down tremendously and for my sons, it helps them grow! My boys are extremely small and have never been on a growth chart. Their father is 5'3" and I am 5'0" and when ever i give them GABA before bed (I do it in bursts for 4 days at a time) they grow 1/4 inch. They say that GABA helps stimulate the pitutary to release HgH. So maybe GABA supp doesn't increase the overall GABA in the body but it certainly does something!

[Rachel]

3Bmom

 

I have ordered the 23&me testing kit for my son. I'm really nervous about getting back the test results but I need to get my son's illness figured out. My husband I do not think the doctors are doing enough for his medical condition. I have seen some old post and have found the site for the gentic genie. Hope you decide to take this plunge with the testing. This test seems like it would offer a lot of valuable medical information. There seems to be several people on this forum that are familiar with this testing. Hope they can help me out when I get stuck.

[3bmom]

I think you are right about testing. What works for one doesn't seem to work for others. Maybe we have stripped our bodies so much they become hypersensitive because there is no longer any balance. How we have a medical paradigm that puts medical conditions in little boxes is crazy. Everything is so interconnected, if I wasn't trying to heal someone I love I would find it very fascinating.

 

Cara have you done 23 and me? You found taurine making things worse. It is all so frustrating! Now I understand why my Dr doesn't do supplements only diet. If you don't know your personal tapestry you can do more harm than good.