Thoughts On Gabapentin To Raise GABA

Frankdee20

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Seems to not be a direct agonist like Benzodiazepines...... Has many off label uses, and has quite some controversy behind it.... May work through voltage gated sodium channels, but seems to raise GABA in the brain..... Any withdrawal symptoms you guys may have experienced ?
 

aguineapig

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I've heard of individuals saying that tapering off benzos was easier than stopping gabapentin. I'm not sure if it has the problem of dosage tolerance, which if not is a big advantage. Both of my parents take it. People seem to think it makes them fat.
 
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Frankdee20

Frankdee20

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I've heard of individuals saying that tapering off benzos was easier than stopping gabapentin. I'm not sure if it has the problem of dosage tolerance, which if not is a big advantage. Both of my parents take it. People seem to think it makes them fat.

Yeah I read up on this further and the withdrawal or discontinuing syndromes are on par with benzodiazepines.... totally not worth it for me
 
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Seems to not be a direct agonist like Benzodiazepines...... Has many off label uses, and has quite some controversy behind it.... May work through voltage gated sodium channels, but seems to raise GABA in the brain..... Any withdrawal symptoms you guys may have experienced ?

Pregabalin is safer iirc.Low Dose Benzo if Anxious is also plausible long term,the Anxiolytic effect seems to hold steady,whereas stuff like sleep induction or musclerelaxation wear off.
 

lampofred

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GABA takes a lot of work to increase. I think there's no free lunch (in terms of drugs) when it comes to this neurotransmitter. The only way to really increase it is to either increase thyroid, which takes prolonged PUFA depletion or moving to a high altitude or getting a job where you work all day in the sun, or to lower PTH, which requires a prolonged high calcium intake relative to phosphate and sucrose consumption instead of starch.

Increasing gelatin intake might be an easier way to increase inhibition and reduce chronic muscle contraction than increasing GABA. It should increase testosterone too.
 
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Frankdee20

Frankdee20

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GABA takes a lot of work to increase. I think there's no free lunch (in terms of drugs) when it comes to this neurotransmitter. The only way to really increase it is to either increase thyroid, which takes prolonged PUFA depletion or moving to a high altitude or getting a job where you work all day in the sun, or to lower PTH, which requires a prolonged high calcium intake relative to phosphate and sucrose consumption instead of starch.

Increasing gelatin intake might be an easier way to increase inhibition and reduce chronic muscle contraction than increasing GABA. It should increase testosterone too.

I agree this one is tough to increase with drugs, and not have consequences .... Although maybe taking Valproic Acid ... There’s so many ways you can do it naturally - GAD enzyme, Transaminase, Direct Agonism, Succinate..... I wonder if one could take Glutamine or Glutamic Acid orally and have it convert to GABA ?
 

jyb

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Seems to not be a direct agonist like Benzodiazepines...... Has many off label uses, and has quite some controversy behind it.... May work through voltage gated sodium channels, but seems to raise GABA in the brain..... Any withdrawal symptoms you guys may have experienced ?

For this Reddit has a nice collection of lyrica (gabapentin) users who report what could possibly be permanent side effects, while using the prescribed dose under medical "supervision".
 
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Frankdee20

Frankdee20

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For this Reddit has a nice collection of lyrica (gabapentin) users who report what could possibly be permanent side effects, while using the prescribed dose under medical "supervision".

Yeah, I’m not going to touch this medication as I’m already convinced... Lyrica is classified as a Gabbapentinoid, but is not the original Neurontin
 

lampofred

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I agree this one is tough to increase with drugs, and not have consequences .... Although maybe taking Valproic Acid ... There’s so many ways you can do it naturally - GAD enzyme, Transaminase, Direct Agonism, Succinate..... I wonder if one could take Glutamine or Glutamic Acid orally and have it convert to GABA ?

I think GABA is tightly regulated based on thyroid function. GAD enzyme depends on temperature (thyroid), glutamic acid conversion into GABA depends on B6, but B6 retention in turn depends on thyroid function (it seems like high PTH, from high estrogen, wastes B6 and zinc). So there's no quick way to raise it via supplement (except maybe slightly vitamins A and D), unless either you are severely deficient in a certain nutrient, which is bottle-necking the process, or your health is so bad that your blood-brain barrier is weakened and allows oral GABA to be directly absorbed into the brain via the bloodstream.

I've been trying to raise GABA for a while too. It has been quite an endeavor unfortunately, not something simple at all.

I think aspirin and coffee (once you no longer feel an adrenaline surge from it) increase GABA temporarily but they are for the most part just consuming your future energy reserves, not increasing your resting baseline GABA tone.
 
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Frankdee20

Frankdee20

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How does vitamin A help ? I know D helps because of PTH regulation
 
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Frankdee20

Frankdee20

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Also, I never felt I got any GABA effect from p5p or B6..... They were more like an antidepressant than anything...
 

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