Saliva/Urine Neurotransmitter Testing (+Supplementation)

[Overcoming]

Hi All,

I had a question regarding neurotransmitter testing. I am suffering from mental illness (depersonalisation-derealisation/dissociation/sexual addiction/compulsivity), and am currently taking Pregbabalin and started Mirtazapine. I may change medication or whatever. My point is that I will be taking psychiatric medication. For the first time ever, things that have happened in my life have made me realise that I need to think about the long-term game....i am going to be alive (hopefully) for a while. And that means that if things go wrong, that is a lot of time to suffer.

When I come off medications, what happens to my neurotransmitter levels? Is this affected in the long-term?

I spoke to a well-known naturopath the other day, who told me that he offers a saliva/neurotransmitter test offered by an American-based lab called Sabre sciences. Based on my values, he can give me a tailored array of supplements and amino acid powders.

Are these tests valid/accurate? Are there even well-established ranges for each neurotransmitter, that can indicate if I am above or below the desired range? Or is this all bullshit?

I appreciate any help.

thanks.

 

[WSH]

Neurotransmitter like NEP, dopamine and serotonin for example don't pass the BBB, which means that they stay in your brain, so both urine and saliva can only test the peripheral levels of these neurotransmitters/hormones, which are completely irrelevant for the behavioral effects.

The best way to measure brain neurotransmitters is microdialysis, which involves holes in your skull and is pretty much only done in rodents and not humans.

It's a scam, don't pay!

 

[sekio]

You can measure urinary excretion of metabolic products of neurotransmitter degradation, but that will tell you very little about central neurotransmitter levels.

 

[WSH]

You can measure urinary excretion of metabolic products of neurotransmitter degradation, but that will tell you very little about central neurotransmitter levels.

Yeah, stuff like HVA and 5-HIAA, but like you said the correlation between these (actually BBB-passing) metabolites and the central neurotransmitters is extremely low.

I saw a study that used PEG to measure brain neurotransmitters, it doesn't involve a hole in your skull like microdialysis, but then again it involves a hole in your spine!