Royal Jelly and Serotonin

[AddDICKted]

Does anyone how if Royal Jelly affects serotonin? I tried to look on google but could not find direct answer and I am not really pharmaceutically inclined to decipher the trial reports

I tried to take royal jelly (RJ) yesterday (2 caps of 3:1 extract 167mg and label says Equivalent to 500mg RJ so that would be 1g of RJ total) and felt very similar to when my doctor tried to put me on SSRI (cipralex 10mg). I got darker (or tunnel vision and a bit spaced out and no motivation).

I remember when I tried SSRI, it was actually good for the first couple of days, then it changed to this state (seems like vision is darker or tunnel (the best way I can describe it as if you loose your side vision), lack of motivation, and emotionally unstable). Then, finally, on day 5 or 6 I got to the point that I did not care about anything and just sat in front of my PC for the whole day without being able to force myself even do the things I like. I stopped taking those the very next day. That was some few months ago.

Now, RJ yesterday felt kind of like day 3-4 on SSRI, maybe not as intense but quite noticeable for me. Later yesterday, when I felt RJ effects started to wear off (about 5-6 hrs after taking RJ), I took some Gotu Kola (400mg powder, not extract) which helped to get my normal vision and motivation back but also caused some maniac behavior (I was so pissed by the fact that 2 McDonald's I stopped by would not serve me cappuccino because they are cleaning the machine) - I started driving so carelessly and stupid with my daughter in the car that since yesterday I feel ashamed for my stupid actions. Although I was already a bit upset due to the fact that someone backed up into my wife's car that same evening...

I did take RJ for mental clarity and energy (that's what people report in their reviews), it was well within recommended dose. I really liked L-Tyrosine but I think it causing my gum to not heal properly so I had to stop that for now. So RJ was supposed to "carry" me through few weeks or maybe a month until my gum heals and I can start taking L-Tyrosine.

I am skipping RJ for today. I am considering trying it again, but either just one cap so it would be half dose or 2 caps at night before going to sleep.

I think this could be related: I did abuse MDMA before - was on average a weekly user for over a year. Stopped that probably a year or year and a half ago and trying to recover. I lack of mental clarity and motivation.

I always thought I had problems with serotonin but now started to incline that I am deficient of dopamine (lack of motivation, anxiety, confidence). Also the fact that SRRI did make me feel worse and amphetamines (vyvanse at 10mg) make me better but do not last for me for the whole day and have a hefty loads of side-effects, thus trying alternative ways to improve dopamine production and receptor up-regulating)

L-Tyrosine was great and I loved it but need to wait until my gum is healed (possibly a brand - will try another brand and see if it also causes my gum to swollen). My other options are DLPA (if other brand L-Tyrosine does the same to the gum) and I also heard of Phosphatidelsyrine but have not tried it yet.


So, what I am trying to understand:

1. Is this normal reaction to RJ in the initial doses and it will go away later after few days?

2. Should I continue or stop taking it and what is best time to take it?

3. What recommendations could you give me on up-regulating my dopamine receptors (taking l-tyrosine or DLPA, which are precursors to dopamine is great and I will be doing it but..... I think this is just one side of my problem and up-regulating dopamine receptors is another side I need to be working on - some suggest DXM but please tell me what is the best way so the results will stay and not diminish after some time following the treatment)

4. What recommendation could you give me to increase dopamine production (either long-term with no or minimum side effects or short-term but sustainable results) L-Tyrosine 500mg a day first thing before breakfast was working great for me for about a week until I realized it causes problems with my gum healing). I heard of other options: LDPA, L-Dopa (this will deplete your dopamine rather than rebuilds it I heard), lecithin, whey protein etc). If someone with long-term experience could give some input that would be awesome

Thanks to all. Enjoy the weekend!!!!!

 

[sekio]

Royal jelly is not psychoactive, it's more food than anything else.

Royal jelly is 67% water, 12.5% protein, 11% simple sugars (monosaccharides), 6% fatty acids and 3.5% 10-hydroxy-2-decenoic acid (10-HDA). It also contains trace minerals, antibacterial and antibiotic components, pantothenic acid (vitamin B5), pyridoxine (vitamin B6) and trace amounts of vitamin C, but none of the fat-soluble vitamins: A, D, E or K.

It's certainly not active as a SSRI.

What recommendations could you give me on up-regulating my dopamine receptors

aerobic exercise, engagement in mentally challenging.novel activities, proper diet

Tyrosine etc does not increase central brain dopamine levels as most of it is destroyed outside the BBB ... remember that tyrosine is naturally produced by the breakdown of protien.

Also also, "more dopamine" is not really a productive end goal, as there is no reliable non invasive test for brain (e.g. NAcc) dopamine levels. It's unnecessarily reductive thinking to assume that "more dopamine = more happy".

 

[AddDICKted]

Thanks Sekio.

RJ does make me a bit "lethargic" so after testing with different doses and times I decided to take just one cap (half a dose) before going to sleep. I think it does help to sleep better (got to confirm this yet) and feel better next day. Not sure if coincidence or not but I noticed my gum started to heal much much faster as I started taking RJ (this could also be a combination or RJ and Gotu Kola though).

Also, I do get some exercise (about 30 mins just as wake up) every day and go to the gym once or twice a week on top of that. My diet was very lean and I think it is/was a little under calories (I been doing this unknowingly for the last 2 years or so - noticed I feel much better in terms of mental focus, better mood, overall well being etc when I am hungry, just recently read on some site that under calories diet is one of few ways to increase dopamine levels naturally; got myself to a point that I lost a sense of hunger and it took me some time to realize that when I am getting tired it meant I was getting hungry... went from 96 to 67 kilos in about a year though and feel cold a lot of times .

Went through some family related stress and my doc tried to put me on SSRI that I could not tolerate... then she put me on Vyvanse and that was really helping but I would prefer more natural way if it is possible at all.....

So above two points led me to believe that I need to work on rebuilding my levels of dopamine. It's funny and I did read before as well that L-Tyrosine does not cross BBB but it definitely does give me a great stamina, clears (although not completely) my brain fog, gives me a huge boost of confidence etc and I only take 500mg cap (feel it even next two days but effects are not as strong as in beginning). I know it sound strange with such a small dose but maybe it is my body's unique reaction, who knows... I got another brand of it and planning to try it on Saturday as I will have training classes at my work from 9 till 4pm Sat and Sun and it will definitely be a great help. Hopefully it does not affect my gum in negative way.

Thanks for the tips though!