Technical Question about 5htp and DLPA supplementation

[glower]

Hi, this is my first post ever. I sincerely appreciate any help in better understanding how these drugs work, or don't work.


Background: I bought some DLPA and was taking 2000mg in the morning the last four days in a row. I was looking for something to boost my mood and help me feel sharper and more focused. The first couple of days i noticed an improvement in both mood and cognition, however, the following couple of days left me with a worse depression and anxiety than I have felt in a while.

I was reading about how amino acid supplementation needs to be balanced to be effective, or else it can worsen ones symptoms. I know DLPA breaks down into Tyrosine which gets converted to L-dopa and ultimately to Dopamine. According to Wikipedia, the enzyme necessary for converting L-dopa to Dopamine is, "Aromatic L-amino acid decarboxylase"(AAAD) which is the same enzyme responsible for converting 5htp to serotonin. Therefore, supplementing with Tyrosine can affect the amount of AAAD available to convert 5htp to serotonin, causing serotonin levels to drop.

But my question is: If there is a finite amount of Aromatic L-amino acid decarboxylase(AAAD) available for these important metabolic conversions, than how is this problem solvable? If supplementing with tyrosine causes less AAAD to be available to convert 5HTP to serotonin, then the moment i add 5htp to my supplement regiment, won't that take away from the AAAD available to convert the Tyrosine to dopamine. Or perhaps if i take both 5htp and l tyrosine simultaneously, some other unlucky amino acid will not have enough AAAD available for its conversion (such as tryptophan to tryptamine, Phenylalanine to phenethylamine, or L-Tyrosine to Tyramine.) Are these not important conversions, or will concurrent supplementation with 5htp and Tyramine cause a new set of problems by limiting the AAAD available for these other conversions.

Btw, Wikipedia states: "Phenylalanine uses the same active transport channel as tryptophan to cross the blood–brain barrier. In excessive quantities, supplementation can interfere with the production of serotonin and other aromatic amino acids." Does this mean that both dopamine and serotonin precursors compete for an active transport channel to the brain in addition to relying on the same enzyme necessary for conversion into dopamine and serotonin, respectively?


According to the Wikipedia page for Aromatic L-amino acid decarboxylase:

It catalyzes several different decarboxylation reactions:

L-DOPA to dopamine - a neurotransmitter
5-HTP to serotonin (5-HT) - also a neurotransmitter
tryptophan to tryptamine - a precursor to many alkaloids found in plants and animals
Phenylalanine to phenethylamine - trace neurotransmitter
L-Tyrosine to Tyramine - trace neurotransmitter

Thanks again for any and all help!

 

[InterestingFACT]

Admittedly, I am sitting on a bottle each of 5htp and l-dopa. I use both of them, on occasion, but not together.

But, quite frankly, this is why people don't use neurotransmitter precursors in real medicine. It's just less effective than the alternative (direct agonists or reuptake inhibitors at the relevant neurons). L-dopa supplementation in people with Parkinson's is actually noted to cause depression--and some doctors put their patients on SSRIs when they start giving them l-dopa.

Bottom line is this. I wouldn't look to precursors as a cure all. Furthermore, DLPA is pretty far downchain to get much in the way of good results. If you want to increase dopamine, get amphetamine. If you want to increase serotonin, get an SSRI. Otherwise, consider making healthy lifestyle changes that will support your mood and focus. Spend time outside in the sun. Exercise. Really, exercise. Get enough sleep. Eat 3 good meals a day of healthy brain-supportive foods. Consider a good multivitamin and take fish oil. You'll feel better in no time! But precursors are a good way to screw things up that really don't have much to offer in the way of advantages.

 

[sekio]

Just eat a balanced diet and let your body deal with protein synthesis like it usually does... taking individual amino acids in anything but a condition of malnutrition is pretty much a waste. Go eat some legumes and grains. Beans and corn, y'know. Any sort of meddling with dopamine/serotonin levels via amino acid precursors will get expensive pretty quickly.

Also remember that there's a lot more factors involved in mood than levels of dopamine and serotonin.