Amino Acid Therapy

Paxil, Prozac, Effexor… antidepressants of today that affect Serotonin. My reasons for wanting to stop paxil were simple enough: I was very sleepy all the time, I gained 50lbs in the last 3-4 years, my anxiety was not totally controlled, I wanted to have a baby. However, the options were scary. Anxiety is painful, debilitating and in my case disabling. On the height of anxiety I cannot do anything, not even sleep or watch a movie. My brain does not let me think, concentrate not even eat. I just live and survive moment after moment. So, dropping Paxil was a serious consideration all around. What if I become disabled? What if I cannot quit the thing and I continue gaining weight? What if I become so scared that I think about killing myself?

After months and months of research in books, internet, talking to other users, I found Amino Acid Therapy and it took me another couple of months to decide to sign up for it. Two relevant websites http://www.neuroassist.com/ and http://www.neurogistics.com/, to take a look. I went with neuroassist simply because it was the first one I found. I learned of neurogistics much later when I was already in treatment. Relevant about the treatment:

• There are only a handful of doctors who know about it and use it with their patients. Neuroassist partners with psychiatrists who are willing and able to go through specialized training. In Los Angeles, there where only two of these in January 2010 when I started looking. They both are 1 ½ hours away from me given Los Angeles traffic.
  
• It is expensive mainly because insurance will not cover the supplements/medications. I had to switch my insurance to a PPO so it covers the visits to the doctor. The switch resulted in $45.00 off my paycheck per month. I still have to shell $20.00 co-payment and in the early stages of treatment you might have to see the doctor every week. The supplements can cost anywhere from $120 to $250 a month.
  
• The therapy works faster than any antidepressant. You will see results in 5-10 days. Hence, you need to see your doctor after that short a time to see about continued dosage, increase or decrease. This adds to the cost of course as seeing my doctor every week means $80.00 just in co-pays plus $15.00 in gas and 2-3 hrs lost wages.
  

Just like with any other method to quit antidepressants, amino acid therapy requires that the antidepressant be tapered off VERY SLOWLY. I quit after about eight months but compared to horror stories of discontinuation syndrome and withdrawal, my experience was sort of “mild" (although at the height of it i really thought i was going to die):

• The side effects of the amino acids are diarrhea, headache and nausea. But these definitely go away after you learn how to time the amino acids and food. Also, your stomach gets used to the substances and the initial pains go away.
  
• I had a severe headache for about 10 weeks, non-responsive to any OTC medication like aspirin or aleve. It was discontinuation syndrome, not a side effect of the amino acids. The headache I experienced from the amino acids was much milder and a lot more responsive to simple things such as a slow walk and fresh air.
  
• Two weeks of full blown anxiety symptoms after the final discontinuation of the paxil. Doctor counteracted with an increase on the amino acids and I am doing much better. The two weeks were really scary but I have read of people with symptoms for 4-6 months!!!

I am off Paxil and lost 18lbs in these 8 months. It might not seem like a lot but given that I haven’t lost one pound in 6-7 years (except when I attempted the low-carb diet disaster), the weight loss is actually remarkable. One main drawback of the therapy is the fact that I have to take 22 pills a day at various times of the day. Add to my other supplements I favor such as fish oil, a multi vitamin, vitamin b-3 for anxiety and vitamin E, my total is a whooping 30 pills a day. I have 6 different pill containers on my purse at all times and food timing is really important. I carry water with me and make sure I look at my watch every 3-4 hrs so that I time the supplements. But for those of us who have battled mental illness with prescription drugs and have seen their side effects, taking 30 pills a day is a walk in the park.

My next question to my doctor is whether the result will stand the test of time which according to the websites is a resounding yes. Also, what will be the change if I decide to get pregnant?

What are your questions?

Have you read “Prozac, Panace or Pandora” by doctor Ann Blake Tracy? If you are not afraid of antidepressants yet… this book will scare the hell out of you. But when our health system gives us no real alternatives what to do? Amino Acid therapy is an alternative that might not be within reach of people on regular health insurance on regular incomes. Our government needs to quit big pharma in favor of real natural alternatives to our health problems. Paxil costs about $200.00 a month anyway. Why not pay for scientifically proven natural choices.