dopamine supplements do they work for your brain

[riderjay253]

i was looking into supplements like mucuna, dpla, l dopa, tyrosine or even meds like carbodopa-levodopa and i found a post saying they wont work because they wont cross the brain barrier with out some prescription med he also claims 5htp is the same and only increases serotonin in the blood.
Also when looking at dopamine supplements some claim it helps to sleep or relax some say its energizing,
so what does increasing dopamine supposed to fell like?
i hate and dont do well with uppers coffee makes me sick an green tea at all makes me throw up, the first time i used caffeine i overdosed on it pills my whole body cramped up very painfull, first time useing meth was 1994 and the dealer said to use 2 lines in each nostril, really dumb advice way to much, so perhaps these events made it so stimulating drugs or herbs just make me ill and jittery
im fully dependent on smokeing h to sleep, i only sleep a hour or 2 at a time , ive had insomnia issues off and on sense i turned 19 and started working construction full time and the stress and working nights and days off and on got to me and also i smoked allot of bud constantly couldnt stand to have lunch with out a bowl and cig after!
been haveing mild rls for years also even before opiates

 

[d1nach]

mucuna, no
dpla, strong no
l dopa, no
tyrosine no
or even meds like carbodopa-levodopa only if you have parkinsons

 

[sekio]

Most people fundementally misunderstand what dopamine actually does in the brain, it's a lot more than just a "happy chemical"...

most "dopamine supplements" end up excreted in your piss and the effect is exclusively placebo based.

 

[BurritoJimmy]

My psychiatrist has me on lmethylfolate which is very helpful. Its probably useless if you have normal enzymes tho.

 

[riderjay253]

i do have ropinole, but i heard someone saying not to take, unless you have real rls ,i don't recall why, i have a friend thats been to rehab 5 times and they use it along with seraquil which im also scared to try, it could make me sick or depressed or weird feeling for weeks,
Ive been trying to see how i react to meds before quitting, i tried gabapentin while i was clean for a year and hated it
i only took one 300mg pill and it took 2.5 weeks to feel normal again it was like a anti euphoria and kind of felt like when i used zoloft has a teen. i was a beer drinker and everyday cannabis user and it made them not work for my pain and nausea while on it
used kratom for 4 days i liked the numbness and it helped me sleep actualy felt noddy like subs do to me, but it gave me a feeling in my lower throat kinda like gerd but different , gave me terrible chills that last 2 or 3 weeks after useing it too, i made tea with leaf n stem red da kind

 

[riderjay253]

im tempted to try gabapentin again sense benzos work well for me, i dont understand why gabapentin did that to me and it didnt make me sleepy just slight nausea, and during this time taking ibuprofen would make me sleep good i know its off topic but if ya have tried gaba and benzos before can ya tell me your feelings from it and any similarity, ive read it has bad withdrawals it self and i wonder how they compare to klonopin and how many days it takes to get hooked

 

[riderjay253]

what section of bluelight is for asking about opiate withdrawal? or is this not the forum for that?

 

[Keif' Richards]

I'm not going to close this, but I really want you to listen to me OP. These supplements and pretty much all "nutritional supplements" ever invented tend to follow a pretty unscrupulous advertising scheme, in that they often claim to cure and/or treat a variety of conditions and symptoms, when in truth, they often don't do shit. Advertising something as a "dopamine replacement" supplement to a drug addict, as Sekio has covered, can have a major pull for a drug addict.

I see a lot of supplements out there, for instance, that tout their inclusion of GABA (Gamma Amino Butyric Acid) as being a life-changing thing, when in reality, GABA really doesn't have the ability to even cross the BBB and produce effect. I'm not a pharmacist or a doctor, so please forgive me if I'm reaching, but my understanding was that the Gabapentinoids (Gabapnentin, Pregabalin, Phenibut etc.) were essentially tweaked GABA, with varying abilities to cross the BBB.

In general, supplements can help, but you cannot count on them to make serious improvements in your life like in this instance. You can't count on a Dopamine supplement to make you happy or cure your anxiety. There are certainly supplements of value out there. I take Melatonin at night, a multivitamin in the morning and Vitamin D in the winter. I've tried other supplements in the past; St. John's Wort (Hypericum Perforatum) {sic?} 5-HTP and others, but never actually noticed an effect that I could completely associate solely with the supplement I took, unlike when you take a pill and feel effects within minutes.

This all goes without even mentioning the fact that these large, chain supplement/vitamin stores are routinely pinched for having fake/counterfeit supplements or even selling supplements that do not contain any of the stated ingredients. If you are looking to go the natural route, consulting a naturopathic Doctor might be a good thing. They typically seriously vet the products that they recommend.