Hi and welcome,

that is a good supp plan you are using! Similar to what has helped my son with tics/OCD from tourette syndrome.

mine takes his P5P on waking and sometimes has breakfast within 20 min or so of taking it, depending on his hunger level. I dont think it has to be too long before...more just that one needs to talk on an empty stomach for best absorption I think...but mrsD and others here will have better details on that

I am sure it will not be harmful taking it with food....it is just more efficient when taken before

Welcome to NeuroTalk!
I agree with Chemar.... See if you can get him to take it when he first wakes up. The stomach should empty within 20 minutes with just water in it. It is not super critical on an empty stomach.
But with a huge fatty meal that wouldn't empty for hours.. and could break down by then.

I am not sure SAMe will work for you for him. It has been my experience that younger people get irritable on it. SAMe is more effective in the older patient who is getting neurotransmitter let down.

If you really want to try it, don't go over 200mg a day for a month. Usually by the end of the first or second week, you'll see the anxiety or irritability starting if it is going to happen. It can cause hyper behavior and insomnia, and needs to also be taken on an empty stomach with water. (it is also enteric coated).

To increase serotonin, l-tryptophan is available now, and could be used instead of the 5-htp. It is a bit gentler and slower than 5-htp, if he has reactions to the 5-htp.

Watching the sugar intake, especially fructose will help too.
Mood swings with sugar crashes are very confusing and sometimes just getting rid of the sugar will fix some mood issues. (no sugared sodas, or fruit drinks to start).

You've come to the right place. There are many of us who have done natural nutrients for neuro problems. My son has ADHD and did well on fish oil, magnesium and Bcomplex. He was able to get rid of all his Ritalin!

P.S... if you get timed out making a long post here, you can avoid that by checking the little box, "remember me" when you log in. Then the time limit is not active any more and you won't lose your work.

just an FYI, so far my son (now 20yo)seems to be doing well with samE for his OCD

he used to be on the 5HTP but it began to make him edgy and he said he got a weird reaction from the l-tryptophan.

he was on Inositol high dose for a while but tapered off as he felt it was no longer giving the same control and again making him edgy

he had done well on methionine before so we decided to try the 200mg samE and he seems to like it.

for future reference tho, why do you think it causes the irritability, mrsD?

I know someone once said reaction to methionine was homocysteine level related??

Thank you both! I have posted on latitudes and got much or our plan for you Chemar, but I also know MrsD is the Queen of supplement knowledge.

I'll start the p5p this weekend, as I can delay breakfast on those days. I hope he may notice some improvement in 2 days, if so, then I'm sure I can get him to take it M-Fri asap upon waking.

I think I will hold off on the SAM-e, especially with the school year ending soon. I have not noticed any side effects from 5htp, but I know he thinks it is working, whether it is or a placebo effect, I'm not sure. I plan on stopping the 5htp for the summer too and starting up again a week or so before school starts.

I wouldn't classify him as moody or having mood swings either. He's very level mooded overall, but on the lower end/less lively. He's an excellent student, does everything that is expected from him, always does his homework, never skips school, wears his retainer nightly etc...but kind of like the forgotten kid...doesn't get much attention, but doesn't ask for any attention either. Does that make sense? Perhaps it's part of his personality and he just needs to learn to be more exuberant to find his own happiness. I heard SAM-e was energizing, so I thought that might be helpful for him, I know I shouldn't always look for answers in a pill.

I'm glad to hear your son did well on supplements. I would love to incorporate Bcomplex and fishoil, but they are so large that I know my son would complain. When the gummy omega runs out, I plan on trying a liquid fish or flax oil. I'm trying to avoid a cupboard of half used containers!

I did also by NOW D3 2000iu, and hope to get the whole family started on that. When is the best time of day to take D3?

Thank you both again for all you do.

Oh, I have had a chuckle on that one... The Queen of Supplements! LOLOL I am tickled and flattered! hee hee. You are too kind, and I appreciate the thought.

I take my D3 in the morning. We use NOW brand too. I like the liquigel formula.

You might investigate Krill oil. These caps are smaller, and supposedly have more potency with less, because of solubility issues. I am still testing that for myself.

There are also Smart foods. Flax oil in peanut butter, which I use --Smart Balance.(peanut butter toast makes a nice breakfast) Smart Balance is normal in taste, very good and one would never know it is a health food!...I love it! Smart Balance spread, milk now, and Omega-3 eggs (Eggland's best). There is Smart Balance Mayo, and Zone bars with Omegas in them too (for snacks).

Sometimes kids blossom out at their own time. They are surprising that way. My son sort of did that in the last half of college. They are on their own time frame you know...

Chemar.... SAMe is a methyl donor for neurotransmitter synthesis. Most of the time, younger patients have pretty good
homocysteine chemistry, and it is only when the people get older, that the system fails.

When people with pretty good methylation take SAMe , they just get overloaded. But you know the Pfeiffer institute has a complex explanation of when SAMe will work and when it does not. I've never quite understood that explanation, and I think it is based on their testing results.

My son initially liked SAMe, but after a couple of weeks, he just can't stand it anymore! He's tried it 3 times. Same thing happens. I've watched the depression forums at other places and have seen younger posters with the same reactions.

Even our old cat Sheba, was given SAMe by the vet ..90mg feline dose (as she is lame). And for just over a month she was doing really well, then she had a seizure! So we took her off it, too. It really perked her up tho.
So I am a bit suspect about SAMe. When it is obvious that people have a deteriorating medical problem, like brain fog, arthritis, etc, SAMe is good. But for others, it is just too stimulating many times. I took 600mg for over 10 yrs, and I finally stopped it too. My knee is now better, and I was getting tense sometimes myself. It just didn't mix well with the Vit D as I increased THAT.

So just warn your son, that if he gets too tense, neck tension, insomnia, etc...to back off. At lower doses, it may be less of an issue, but my son bottomed out at 200mg a day.

Here is a new study:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100615/...lung_nutrients

Since Yahoo links often close, here is another:

http://www.medpagetoday.com/PrimaryC...tiveCare/20697

Also a link was found to methionine... an amino acid found in animal source foods. Vegetarians can be low in this amino acid which is from animal sources.

This looks very promising. So I think we'll be hearing about this more in the future!

I am looking for information about enteric coated P5P -- how necessary is it that it be enteric coated? It really drives up the cost.

Thanks for any info!

Janet


*edit*

I should say that I am interested in taking P5P to address symptoms of Pyrroluria or Pyrrole Disorder. The supps are expensive so I ordered the non-coated P5P.

I started out in July taking a B100 complex, 50 mg enteric coated P5P and 50 mg of Zinc Picolinate, as well as 500 mg of Natural Calm Mg Citrate. Within three days I could feel a difference in sleep and felt less anxiety, which had been an increasing problem. I have been under a lot of stress
due to unemployment so the idea that taking supplements could do this much for my sleep and building anxiety is amazing to me.

I am now to the point, 7 weeks later, of adding a few more supps, gradually,
to see how I feel. I have just received my order of Niacinamide, Biotin, Mn, B12 SL and Activated Folate (FloaPro). I have increased sources of Omega 6 in my diet but have not ordered Borage Oil yet, because of the heat.

Would love to hear from others who have worked with the Pyrrole Disorder
treatment protocols.

Thanks,

Janet

NOW brand is very affordably priced. Some large health food stores may carry it, but it is also on iherb.com

I believe acid cleaves the phosphate off...returning the P5P to
pyridoxine. I read years ago that one should only take enteric coated ones for that reason. I'll look around later in the week as I just returned from vacation and have 2 cars to unpack!