Recover GABA receptors??

[vh1]

Is that any thing to do to recover GABA receptors??

I've heard to take L-Glutamine but does it work?

 

[sekio]

Nope, the premise is too vague.

The brain will heal itself if you let it do its thing.

 

[dopamimetic]

Using anti-excitatory agents like low-affinity NMDA antagonists (memantine for example) or calcium channel blockers during the recovery period can be a good thing. Don't know if it actually protects you, as excitotoxicity doesn't seem to happen anytime soon in healthy adults, but it will certainly help you to avoid mental suffering and maybe negative learning effects ...

Benzodiazepine dependence

The increased GABAA inhibition caused by benzodiazepines is counteracted by the body's development of tolerance to the drug's effects; the development of tolerance occurs as a result of neuroadaptations, which result in decreased GABA inhibition and increased excitability of the glutamate system; these adaptations occur as a result of the body trying to overcome the central nervous system depressant effects of the drug to restore homeostasis.

Maybe you're right with that it's too vague everything, but I feel we should be a bit more creative when we have all this exciting new science and possibilities available these days, and hey, it's a neuroscience forum - the only public one I know of btw! So where should people ask and find the answers they look for, if not here? (no offense intended!) In the end it's up to everybody what he/her'll do with the information, but knowledge is power and this is what the internet is all about.

Edit: I know about the no-what-should-I-take-threads rule ... this is often on a borderline probably. Where should this exactly get limited? Memantine is really non-toxic, problems are said to begin at 400mg upwards and will probably help much more than it could ever hurt (it can actually protect against seizures from glutamate rebound too).

 

[Cotcha Yankinov]

Only thing I can think of in the theoretical spectrum is ganaxolone, a GABA neurosteroid. Other than time and sobriety of course, which will heal slow and steady. Exercise (cardio) also builds new brain cells and can help you recover after drug abuse, especially with sleep if you exercise early in the day. If someone is having problems with sleep there's a billion and one things I can recommend but specifically recovering GABA receptors- it just takes time for them to up regulate again.

 

[belfort]

Nope, the premise is too vague.

The brain will heal itself if you let it do its thing.

ehh not fully in many cases..i know a few long term benzo users that quit who are a mess even after years clean..scary

 

[dopamimetic]

There's a difference between the neurological 'healing' and what you experience mentally. Negative learning processes and such. There isn't real cell death happening probably (so no 'toxicity') but a shift towards more excitation and this over an extended period of time together with the rebound anxiety can and does lead to similar states as you see in otherwise-induced mental disorders, especially chronic anxiety, sensitivity to stress and depression but also overall lability and more adverse effects from taking other drugs etc.

That's why I'm promoting these anti-excitatory agents so much (and neuroleptics / dopamine antagonists aren't exactly anti-excitatory agents). To prevent this sort of learning effect.