GABA As A Supplement?

griesburner

Member
Joined
Sep 29, 2017
Messages
142
Hey,

As I am suffering from anxiety, i have tried many supplements and herbs and nutritional strategys to help but havent found something really helpful yet.

I researched and read a lot about neurotransmitters and i am sure that i lack GABA. I know there are a lot of peat friendly supplements that should act on GABA receptors but i have tried many of them and no one really helped.

Things i tried so far:

- taurine: tried it 2 times. Very tiny doses gave me actually more anxiety cause of a very strong heart pounding sensation that scared me. (i dont thing it was blood sugar related cause i always took it with food cause i know that could be a problem)
- glycine: Again only a very tiny dose gave me a kind of anxiogenic feeling of beeing disorientated
- beta-alanine: worked sometimes, but not everytime. Dosage was 800mg
- niacinamide: worked sometimes, too. Dosage was 150-300mg
- valerian: Every night i brew a strong tea - Works better than all other things. Doesnt make me sleepy, just bit more relaxed. But is too mild, too.

I've tried a couple more things but these are the things that came instantly to my mind.

But back to topic.
I've heard that the typical GABA supplements doesnt cross the Blood Brain Barriere, but in a lot of studys i saw that it had an impact somehow (lowered blood pressure etc.). So i guess it does work somehow, even if not in the brain directly, maybe peripheral GABA is important too?

Before i take something i always read some studys and experiences in forums. The studys seem to say that its very safe substance to take, but the reported side effects in forums scared me a bit. There are 2 common side effects:

- Shortsness of breath
- Increased heart rate

The question is: How could something as simple as GABA cause so dramatic side effects? What could be the mechanism behind it? Sounds pretty dangerous to me, but i would love to try it myself, cause on the other side the positive experiences sound very promising and i dont know of any other supplement i could try to increase GABA. But my anxiety is very heart-related. As i am constantly scared of having heart attacks or something and i would not like to experience something like these side effects then :D

But maybe someone could explain why GABA as a supplement could cause these side effects. Maybe its harmless and explainable. Then i would feel a bit safer to try a tiny dose and see how it works :)
 

walker_in_aus

Member
Joined
Oct 17, 2016
Messages
349
I had terrible anxiety and tried GABA and L-Theanine. I didn't notice any dramatic effects personally, in fact they did pretty much nothing. I know the feeling of heart attack fear - when you think its going to burst out of your chest!

My advice and what really cured me of most of my problems was improving my liver health and red light/LLLT therapy. When you are saying supplements like Taurine and Glycine aren't helping and are making it worse, it's a sign that there is something wrong there.

I did Reishi Mushrooms, and a quality milk thistle supplement, as well as plenty of honey/fruit and low Pufa. Caffeine used to make anxiety worse, I'm 29 years old and I never drank it until now. It makes me warm and relaxed.

Anxiety is a symptom of some energetic/metabolic failure and of waaaay to much estrogen. Red Light Therapy really lowered the stress on my body and made me feel ecstatically happy and energetic all the time.

I also found hypnosis really helpful.

Sorry I don't have more positive news but with broad things like mental health, there is likely not a simple supplement to take that will cure it, and having anxiety tended to make me obsess over finding "the magical cure". Really it's not in a pill it's in improving overall health :)
 

Frankdee20

Member
Joined
Jul 13, 2017
Messages
3,772
Location
Sun Coast, USA
Hey,

As I am suffering from anxiety, i have tried many supplements and herbs and nutritional strategys to help but havent found something really helpful yet.

I researched and read a lot about neurotransmitters and i am sure that i lack GABA. I know there are a lot of peat friendly supplements that should act on GABA receptors but i have tried many of them and no one really helped.

Things i tried so far:

- taurine: tried it 2 times. Very tiny doses gave me actually more anxiety cause of a very strong heart pounding sensation that scared me. (i dont thing it was blood sugar related cause i always took it with food cause i know that could be a problem)
- glycine: Again only a very tiny dose gave me a kind of anxiogenic feeling of beeing disorientated
- beta-alanine: worked sometimes, but not everytime. Dosage was 800mg
- niacinamide: worked sometimes, too. Dosage was 150-300mg
- valerian: Every night i brew a strong tea - Works better than all other things. Doesnt make me sleepy, just bit more relaxed. But is too mild, too.

I've tried a couple more things but these are the things that came instantly to my mind.

But back to topic.
I've heard that the typical GABA supplements doesnt cross the Blood Brain Barriere, but in a lot of studys i saw that it had an impact somehow (lowered blood pressure etc.). So i guess it does work somehow, even if not in the brain directly, maybe peripheral GABA is important too?

Before i take something i always read some studys and experiences in forums. The studys seem to say that its very safe substance to take, but the reported side effects in forums scared me a bit. There are 2 common side effects:

- Shortsness of breath
- Increased heart rate

The question is: How could something as simple as GABA cause so dramatic side effects? What could be the mechanism behind it? Sounds pretty dangerous to me, but i would love to try it myself, cause on the other side the positive experiences sound very promising and i dont know of any other supplement i could try to increase GABA. But my anxiety is very heart-related. As i am constantly scared of having heart attacks or something and i would not like to experience something like these side effects then :D

But maybe someone could explain why GABA as a supplement could cause these side effects. Maybe its harmless and explainable. Then i would feel a bit safer to try a tiny dose and see how it works :)

I’ve gone as high as 2-3 grams on it, needless to say, wasn’t worth rebuying
 
OP
griesburner

griesburner

Member
Joined
Sep 29, 2017
Messages
142
thank you very much for your reply :) . i forget, i tried theanine too and it caused some strange feelings, dont know why and how to explain.

By the way I am only 28, so not very old, too.

You say if glycine and taurine make me worse i could have some liver issues? I thought glycine and taurine would improve liver health itself, so i would imagine they would help then. could you explain that please?

red light therapy sounds good. I only tried it a few times with a very small red bulb heat lamp. dont know if i should call that a therapy. Could you tell me what kind of lamps you used and how long you have to use them to get an effect?
 

Frankdee20

Member
Joined
Jul 13, 2017
Messages
3,772
Location
Sun Coast, USA
So you mean you had no effect at all? But none of this scary side effects they often report from taking gaba?

That shallow breathing was experienced with too high a dose. The good effects were tough to notice
 

Frankdee20

Member
Joined
Jul 13, 2017
Messages
3,772
Location
Sun Coast, USA
I meant OP brah, though I'm surprised, I thought you've tried everything.

Best GABA effects I get are from nervine teas, Valerian, Passionflower, Chamomile, Lemon balm. These are short lived though.
 
Joined
Nov 26, 2013
Messages
7,370
GABA supplements can't enter the brain

Even if you had a "GABA deficiency" adding more would be a very short term solution, your body would lower production even more.
 

Frankdee20

Member
Joined
Jul 13, 2017
Messages
3,772
Location
Sun Coast, USA
GABA supplements can't enter the brain

Even if you had a "GABA deficiency" adding more would be a very short term solution, your body would lower production even more.

Yes, that’s why things that help inhibit the GAD enzyme theoretically increase production. Pure agonists aren’t what we want. Who knows how raw precursors work too - Glutamic Acid.
 

Frankdee20

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Joined
Jul 13, 2017
Messages
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Location
Sun Coast, USA
Valerian is unique in that it inhibits this enzyme, and also agonizes receptors
 
Joined
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Messages
7,370
Unless it’s leaky
384091604794867714.png
 

Wagner83

Member
Joined
Oct 15, 2016
Messages
3,295
I had terrible anxiety and tried GABA and L-Theanine. I didn't notice any dramatic effects personally, in fact they did pretty much nothing. I know the feeling of heart attack fear - when you think its going to burst out of your chest!

My advice and what really cured me of most of my problems was improving my liver health and red light/LLLT therapy. When you are saying supplements like Taurine and Glycine aren't helping and are making it worse, it's a sign that there is something wrong there.

I did Reishi Mushrooms, and a quality milk thistle supplement, as well as plenty of honey/fruit and low Pufa. Caffeine used to make anxiety worse, I'm 29 years old and I never drank it until now. It makes me warm and relaxed.

Anxiety is a symptom of some energetic/metabolic failure and of waaaay to much estrogen. Red Light Therapy really lowered the stress on my body and made me feel ecstatically happy and energetic all the time.

I also found hypnosis really helpful.

Sorry I don't have more positive news but with broad things like mental health, there is likely not a simple supplement to take that will cure it, and having anxiety tended to make me obsess over finding "the magical cure". Really it's not in a pill it's in improving overall health :)
Can you share more on your red light therapy? What benefits did you get from milk thistle?
 

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