do neuroscience supps (adrecor and travacor) work?
 

does anyone have thoughts on the neuroscience brand supplements? specifically adrecor and travacor?

i have been diagnosed with adrenal fatigue and hashimoto thyroditis (hypothyroid) and my MD recommended a neuroscience protocol of adrecor and travcor.

the problem is, my neuropath dr. thinks the neuroscience science is unreliable. according to her, neuroscience tests measure markers of neurotrasmitters in the urine and claim that is a reflection of the action of these chemicals (serotonin, dopamine, acetylcholine, and a few others) in your brain, which is just not true.
the neurotransmitters are big molecules and they don’t freely pass between the body and the brain (unless there is a compromised blood brain barrier), so measurements taken outside the brain are not reflective of what’s going on in the brain.

what is a reliable test for these chemicals?

either way i'm now thoroughly confused and could use some insight if anyone has had success with these supplements for treating adrenal fatigue. i've read a lot of conflicting info from people using them for depression.

thanks.

I took my daughter to see my naturopath within the first couple of weeks of her concussion. Her recommendation was to put her on Travacor. We tried it for a few days and it made her headaches worse, so we stopped. I don't know if it would have helped long term. It sounded like a reasonable thing to try. She also wanted to get her neurotransmitter levels via the urine tests, but my daughter refused because she didn't like the naturopath.

My friend, who's daughter also had a concussion over the summer was put on a adrenal fatigue type supplement. I don't recall the name. She seemed to think it help some.

My concern about the Neuroscience protocols is very simple. The testing lab, Pharmasan Labs, Inc , that gives the lab results suggesting the Neuroscience products is owned, operated and located at the exact same facility address and phone number as Neuroscience.

I think they call this "The fox is guarding the hen house."

I would suggest starting with good nutrition including B vitamins (B-2 B-3 B-6 and B-12), D3, niacin, folic acid, Omega 3 oils including EPA and DHA, thiamine, and a broad spectrum of minerals and other vitamins.

A good assessment of hormone levels is also useful.

By giving your body the proper nutrients it needs, especially if the brain is damaged and struggling to heal, you allow your body to heal itself. The nutrition therapy should show improvement within about 2 to 3 months.

You also need to avoid the excito-toxins that can be counter productive. Specifically, aspartame (Equal no calorie sweetener) , Mono Sodium Glutamate, and caffeine. They can over-stimulate the brain cells to a point of cellular death.

Good sleep habits and reducing stress levels are also important.

You will find that the nutrition therapy will need to be a lifelong habit. Falling off the wagon will be evident within a few days or so.

There are other posts here about suggesting the value of good nutrition.

Travacor is a mixture of some simple vitamins in low amounts,
and a proprietary mix of 3 things:
taurine
5-HTP
Theanine

They lump these 3 together and give a final dose of 900mg!

So you do NOT know what you are getting. How much of EACH.

I never recommend that people consider products with this way of detailing the ingredients.

The taurine and theanine are not likely to cause headache or side effects. The 5-HTP is likely to be difficult to tolerate for some people. But we don't know how much of this is in this product!

I don't care WHO makes things like this....if this type of listing occurs on a label... proprietary mixture, then AVOID it.

Adrecor is similar, only it has FIVE ingredients listed in this combined way, so you still don't know what your are getting!

I tried Nueroscience and it's crap. Your MD is probably a distributor for them and that is why he is pushing their products on you. You can easily get cheaper forms of these supplements on the internet or at your local health food store. And, as MrsD pointed out, the individual ingredients come with side effects and you need to find out if any of them give you side effects. I was a big fan of them until I figured this out.

Also, how bad are you adrenal fatigued? If it is just minor - moderate adrenal fatigue, then supplements and rest will work just fine. If it is moderate - severe then you will need Hydrocortisone treatment to give your adrenals the much needed rest they deserve. Typically this comes in the form of Cortef and sometimes Isocort. Go to your local library and get Dr. James Wilson's book on adrenal fatigue. It has a lot of good info in it that you need to educate yourself on. He does have a program you can do and it is effective for minor-moderate adrenal fatigue, but this program is very expensive and regimented. So, unless you have the next 4-6 months to do nothing but lounge around without any stress, I wouldn't recommend it.

Also, you can get a very general and vague idea of your neurotransmitter levels from a urine test, but this test is not accurate for therapeutic purposes. The only way to accurately measure them is to get a sample of your cerebrospinal fluid, but this is obviously not feasible. There are also written tests you can do that will also give you an idea of what you are dominant in and deficient in. You can also raise your levels through diet. Google: "neurotransmitter, diet" and you should be able to find diets that raise neurotransmitters.

A qEEG can give you some info about your neurotransmitter levels. The P300 waveform is the one to have reviewed by a knowledgeable physician.

I still believe that getting nutrition up to par is the first step. Most of our brains have been polluted by the injury and resultant stress loads. You can treat the symptom ( low neurotransmitters) or treat the cause (poor nutrition). One the nutrition is up to par, then the neurotransmitter levels can be considered.

I had great results with Neuroscience and its supplements
I guess its on a per patient basis...

Is there any difference between these neuroscience products and antidepressants? From what I have been reading, these neuroscience products are used to raise your seratonin levels, which is what antidepressants do, correct?

The Neuroscience products are Vitamin compounds with some neurotransmitter supplements also. They do not act on your serotonin or norepinephrine system like anti-depressants do, especially SSRI's or SNRI's. They would likely have much less in side effects.

My main concern is they may cause an improvement that will need long term use of the Neuroscience products to maintain. They are very expensive compared to other more basic nutritional programs.

It is no different than the concept of using premium gas in a car that will run fine on regular.

As I said, if you can resolve the problem without the expensive and specialized product, it is the logical and advisable place to start. It is much easier to learn to eat a healthy diet with some vitamins and other common supplements added than it is to be constantly ordering expensive supplements that do the same.

If you were to take:

BalanceD @2x2 times per day 60 for $29.00 = $2.00 per day
Travacor @3 x 2 times per day 120 for $60.00 = $3.00 per day
AdreCor @ 3-5X2 times per day 180 for $50.00 = $3.00 per day

Your daily cost will be $8.00 plus tax and shipping.
times 30 days per month and your monthly expense is $240.00

That is awful expensive for something that my body will likely convert from a sound and nutritious diet with affordable supplements.
My 24 pieces of vitamins and supplements cost me about $1.00 per day. That includes glucosamine and condroitin for my joints, Vit D3, Vit E, Calcium, Niacin, Magnesium, Omega Oil, Garlic extract, Folic acid, and three times as much of the B vitamins than are included in the Neuroscience products listed above, plus a bunch of trace elements that we all need.

So, do you guys see why I suggest starting with a sound and nutritious diet with supplements?

But then, I need to survive on a disability check that is less than 20% of my previous income.

Maybe those of you who can continue to make the mega bucks can afford $240 per month. Many of us can't.

Just an FYI about vitamins supplements. Most of the multi vitamins, such as centrum and one-a-day, you can get at your local grocery store and/or health food store are not very good. Make sure that you are getting a quality multi vitamin that requires you to take 4-5 pills to get your daily dose.