GI upset (98% of start up problems) and other problems that occur on starting the amino acids can be managed properly and easily. With GI upset the typical scenario is that the subject experiences GI upset with the first dose of amino acids. The GI upset then builds until day 3 at which point the subject quits the amino acids.

  From our work we know that start up GI upset occurs in the subjects that are most depleted of neurotransmitters, the subjects who need amino acid therapy the most. Subjects who have recently (in the last 18 to 24 months) been on certain drugs that deplete neurotransmitters can experience this problem at an increased rate. A nutrient poor diet can also contribute to this problem as well as other mechanisms of action.

  So how do you manage this? FIRST you need to tell all subjects starting amino acids, “If you have problems with upset stomach as you start the pills, quit the pills until you can get back into the office for instructions on how to manage the problem. Simply doing this will keep new subjects from stopping amino acids permanently if GI upset is encountered.

  In 1999 as we pushed the dosing of amino acids higher we began to get reports of subjects who were experiencing GI upset several weeks or months into after starting. Initially we thought this was from neurotransmitter depletion, but it did not make sense. How could subjects under treatment for several weeks or months now be experiencing depletion problems? It took us seven months of intensive research to find the answer. These subjects all were fully adjusted out on their amino acids to obtain the desired level and the answer was that they were experiencing problems with “carbohydrate intolerance”. These were primarily subjects who need higher levels of neurotransmitters and amino acids to obtain the desired response. As the subjects amino acids are adjusted in many subjects the physical response is to food changes. In this case it was their response to be carbohydrates. We found that it was not all carbohydrates but highly selective and usually involved just one carbohydrate. Typically the GI upset occurred in the morning about 2 to 3 hours after breakfast, although the problem could be seen anytime during the day. Most common foods were breads, noodles, and cereals, although rare cases were seen such as the woman who ate fried chicken almost every day and the problem was tracked down to the breading on the chicken. The treatment is to simply remove or change the food involved. For example, a 54 year old male was complaining of GI upset when I saw him in the morning. I asked him, “What did you ear for breakfast?” He said, “Two eggs and two pieces of white bread”. I immediately said, “It is your bread.” He changed from white bread to whole wheat bread and never had another problem until a month later when he ate a piece of white bread.

GI UPSET FROM CYSTEINE

  All subjects taking a combination of amino acid precursors of the serotonin and catecholamine (dopamine, norepinephrine and epinephrine) systems need to take proper amounts of cysteine two pills three times a day) each day to prevent depletion of the sulfur amino acid system. It has been observed  that 20% of subjects taking cysteine in the early morning experience GI upset. The mechanism of action of this problem is unknown but the approach is to instruct subjects at the start of taking amino acids to take the cysteine at noon, 4 or 5 PM, and bed time. From time to time you will run into a subject who did not understand the instructions and is taking cysteine in the AM with no problems, this is fine.

  Drugs that work with neurotransmitters do not work if there are not enough neurotransmitters to work with. Drugs that work by redistributing neurotransmitter from one place to another in the brain such as reuptake inhibitors and execrators deplete neurotransmitters in the long run in most patients. When this happens drugs quit working and symptoms return.

  In people who start amino acids who are taking prescription drugs that work with neurotransmitters and have found diminished effects of prescription drugs is started on amino acid therapy, the side effects of the drugs also become evident. This occurs in approximately 5% to 10% of people and is more prominent in people taking a dosing of drugs that is higher than the starting dose. If early on you experience symptoms not list above under side effect profile and you are on prescription drugs, the work with neurotransmitters, contact your doctor. Odds are you are experiencing a drug side effect and the treatment is to lower the daily dosing of the drug or stop it.