Originally Posted by SueC (Post 1207595)

Hello TryingMyBest,

No, I don't mind at all. I just want to give this disclaimer: Dosages will be different for different individuals. Unfortunately, adding to the expense of this protocol, it is essential to work with a doctor who is trained by Dr. Hinz.

Her current dosages are: 28.8 g mucuna, 8 NeuroReplete, 6 CysReplete, 1 RepleteExtra, 800 mg B6 and 52.5 g tyrosine.

It has been a process getting to this dosage and my sister is still fine-tuning her dosages to find the "sweet spot," as she calls it. It took ~2 months to see changes initially (although the anxiety that she suffered as a result of a toxic reaction to the antibiotic Cipro resolved within weeks!) and another 2 or 3 months for her to get to the point of independence. I would imagine with lesser symptoms that the dosages would be much less and, perhaps, the time for the switch to flip would be shorter - but I am not sure of these things. I do know that my sister's doctor, Dr. Stein, had said that he wished he had heard from her sooner.

I hope this helps. As I have said in other posts, the cost is high and it is not convenient all the time, (my sister takes her mucuna mixed with water in 6 separate doses throughout the day,) but it has given my sister her life back.

Blessings to you and yours,
Sue

Originally Posted by TryingMyBest (Post 1207651)

Hi Sue,
I understand the balancing concept and that it is individualized. But I can't seem to get past the idea that these are still at toxic levels. My concern is what are the effects of high amounts long term? Will it hurt your sister long term like I believe l-dopa does. Just wondering.

Originally Posted by rainbow676 (Post 1207758)

Hi Sue --

Was your sister on Sinemet before starting the Hinz protocol, and if so, did she titrate off Sinemet.

Many thanks for sharing your experiences.

Originally Posted by rainbow676 (Post 1207758)

Hi Sue --

Was your sister on Sinemet before starting the Hinz protocol, and if so, did she titrate off Sinemet.

Many thanks for sharing your experiences.

Originally Posted by SueC (Post 1186317)

Soccertese,

You are right. This is expensive - although I would not say all that complicated. My understanding, however, is that without insurance, PD meds run ~$1000/month. At least that is what someone I met who has to pay for his meds pays. The supplements for Amino Acid Therapy are not nearly that much.

Dr. Hinz publishes the knowledge he has gathered. Traditional medical practices will never embrace this treatment; it is too time-consuming and most people just want the quickest fix, which this is not. And Big Pharma can't make money selling supplements so, of course, they are not interested in doing any research into this treatment. (If you look at published drug studies, by the way, you usually don't have to look too far to find significant conflicts of interest.)

It has been encouraging for me to read of others ("anonymous patients," as you call them) who have been helped by this approach. No treatment is perfect for everyone. In the case of my sister, however, Amino Acid Therapy has been nothing short of miraculous! (This after trying every other option we could find and actually being harmed by prescription meds.) It has given her quality of life again! I will continue to tell everyone I meet about it in hopes that it might help someone else.

Best regards,
Sue
(the sister of a REAL patient who has TRULY been helped in a marvelous way using Amino Acid Therapy)

Originally Posted by Dottee (Post 1211687)

Did your sister have parkinsons ?

Originally Posted by SueC (Post 1212124)

Hello Dottee,

I'm afraid I can't give you a simple answer on this. My sister's actual diagnosis was originally dystonia. (You may or may not know that dystonia can be its own entity or be a symptom of Parkinson's.) Things progressed slowly for her over time. Her symptoms (tremor, rigidity, slow movement, etc.) were made worse by Cogentin, an acetylcholine uptake inhibitor. All of her neurological symptoms were exacerbated by a toxic reaction to Cipro, a fluoroquinolone antibiotic. Prior to Amino Acid Therapy, the last neurologist that my sister saw labeled her as having parkinsonism. (Her symptoms looked like late PD, with minimal ability to do anything for herself - but walking for short distances with a lot of freezing.)

Dr. Stein, the doctor with whom we have worked for the AAT/Hinz protocol, said that she would be "uncharted territory" for him - as she didn't have a diagnosis of pure PD. Evidently, in her case, as in with PD, the root cause of her symptoms was a relative nutritional deficiency with a resulting imbalance in the neurotransmitters.

Sorry if this is more than you asked for, Dottee. I just wanted to be clear that, while my sister presented as someone with PD, that was not her actual diagnosis.

Blessings,
Sue

Originally Posted by made it up (Post 1212129)

Hi Sue,
Apologies for chiming in so late on this topic.
I have the patience of a 2 yr old so correct me if I'm wrong here and your sister has taken this but has a neurologist or movement disorder specialist given her what we call here a Sinemet challenge test?
It fairly swiftly gives an answer when there's a question mark on a diagnosis of P.D.
By Sinemet challenge it can mean Madopar or any other generic tablet which consists of approx. 50 to 100mg Levodopa.
The relief of PD symptoms can be remarkable with this test and if it does bring relief you at least know then and have a firmer though still not 100% accurate diagnosis.
Best wishes

Originally Posted by SueC (Post 1212138)

No problem! My sister had been offered Sinemet. Because of her history with meds and what we have read about the evils of Carbidopa, she opted not to take the Sinemet - not even for a challenge test. (Here's an article by Dr. Hinz: The Parkinson’s disease death rate: carbidopa and vitamin B6.) Given the truly remarkable turn around she has had using mucuna, (as part of the Amino Acid Therapy protocol,) no doubt a dopamine deficiency/imbalance was at the root of her problems. Like you said, there is no 100% accurate diagnosis.

I hope this answers your question.

Blessings to you and yours,
Sue