Many women find that they need additional nutritional support i.e. tryptophan for serotonin support (and often GABA too) around their periods. Today’s case study highlights the hormonal shifts that may lead to a situation where it appears tryptophan doesn’t work, then it does work, and then sometimes it doesn’t work as expected. The variable results and the need to switch between lower and higher doses on an ongoing basis can occur with PMS (premenstrual syndrome) PMDD (premenstrual dysphoric disorder, a severe, sometimes disabling extension of premenstrual syndrome). The variable results can also be more pronounced while recovering from trauma.
This case study is a follow-on from a blog I recently published: Tryptophan doesn’t work, then it does and then it doesn’t: could it be hormonal shifts, dietary factors and/or parasites?
Here is Kimberley’s feedback on the Facebook post that discussed these variable results. She shared how her hormonal shifts led to a need for additional tryptophan and 5-HTP:
Around my period I definitely feel the need for extra tryptophan. My PMDD symptoms have decreased since I started using tryptophan/5-HTP, but sometimes I need a bit more if I’ve had some extra heavy emotional stuff come up that I need to process (since that always happens with my period!).
I thanked her for sharing and said how happy I was for her. I also asked what symptoms have decreased and how much? I also asked how much tryptophan and 5-HTP she uses before her period and then around her period?
I was also curious if she just experimented with different doses until she figured it out or had she heard me talk about the PMDD tryptophan study: A placebo-controlled clinical trial of L-tryptophan in premenstrual dysphoria. In this study tryptophan was found to reduce symptoms of PMS when used in the luteal phase or second half of the cycle (i.e. after ovulation).
Her low serotonin symptoms have decreased as much as 75-80 percent
Kimberley confirmed that she had read the above study and related blog post – Tryptophan for PMS: premenstrual dysphoria, mood swings, tension, and irritability – and more about her symptoms:
I had read the blog you referenced, which is one of the reasons I tried tryptophan in the first place.
I was experiencing a lot of emotional distress, feelings of downright despair that left me miserable both during my period and ovulation (half the month, every month, which was truly awful). Those have definitely decreased, sometimes as much as 75-80 percent, other times they’re worse and I feel like I need more support.
I usually take 1x Lidtke 5-HTP (50mg) mid-afternoon and 1x Lidtke Tryptophan (500mg) at bedtime, but yesterday I increased to 2x Lidtke Tryptophan and do feel an improvement in my mood this morning.
I experimented to get the right dose of both amino acids, initially increasing to the maximum you recommend, and then slowly decreasing to what I’m taking now when I found I didn’t feel well when I took too much.
I just reread the blog you linked above and realized I should be using GABA every day to support progesterone (instead of just as needed for anxiety). Thanks for the reminder!
I love that after reading the blog she was inspired and motivated to experiment with different doses when she is/was feeling so bad. I encouraged her to continue trialing different doses at various times of the month especially in the second half of the month. I also reminded her that some folks do better with tryptophan and some do better with 5-HTP when it comes to low serotonin symptoms. And to continue to look at why serotonin is low and address that. Low GABA (related to low progesterone) can cause increased anxiety at this time and is a common issue with PMS/PMDD.
(You can see the entire list of low serotonin and low GABA symptoms here.)
She plans to continue experimenting with tryptophan and 5-HTP and may also try switching over to just 5-HTP and see if that changes anything. It’s unlikely that she would benefit from much higher doses of either as she shared “I don’t seem to be able to take more than 2 caps of either one without getting uncomfortable symptoms, though.”
Exercise and yoga for her low serotonin and PMDD
She did share how much exercise helps her mood, why she isn’t able to exercise as much:
The biggest thing I know to do to address low serotonin is add more exercise into my life, but this has been hard lately because I’ve had a couple of different viruses recently that left my exercise intolerance worse than it had been. I’m trying to support my mitochondria right now and add light exercise back in slowly.
Exercise is a wonderful way to raise serotonin levels and aerobic exercise has been shown to reduce the symptoms of PMS too. Yoga may be an option while she is recovering. In one study, yoga was found to be beneficial for PMS: “Alpha-brain waves production due to regular yoga practice are directly related with state of peace, creativity, mood elevation, relaxation, and release of serotonin, thus leading yoga practitioners feel more relaxed.”
Trauma: cortisol, serotonin, dopamine and estradiol
Kimberley also shared how how trauma plays into her situation:
I think some of the reasons for my health issues, low neurotransmitters, etc., are trauma related and I’ve been working through Dr. Aimie Apigian’s programs for that. But that’s another story.
I respect Dr. Aimie Apigian’s work in trauma and somatic experiencing and acknowledge this aspect must be addressed too. I love that Dr. Aimie brings this together with a functional medicine approach, looking at biology/biochemistry too. Recent trauma research confirms that there are major biochemical mechanisms involved in PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder). These can include impacts to cortisol, serotonin and dopamine levels. And women are more vulnerable to these effects.
A 2021 paper, Estradiol, stress reactivity, and daily affective experiences in trauma-exposed women discusses high cortisol and more severe symptoms around their periods when estradiol (one of the estrogens) is low. As I mentioned above, estrogen and serotonin are closely related. The authors state this:“For women who are cycling, it may be useful to understand how the menstrual cycle affects their symptoms. When you can explain what’s happening biologically, it often becomes less threatening.”
Yoga may provide added psychological benefits as she works through her past trauma too.
Kimberly gave me permission to share her story and this is always something I appreciate so others in my community can learn from these types of experiences. If needed, I hope this her story gives you confidence to experiment with different doses and combinations around your period.
She also benefits from the comments from others on Facebook and the comments here on the blog, our back and forth, and this blog post.
She promised to keep me posted on how she goes and I’ll be sure to share when I hear back from her.
Resources if you are new to using tryptophan, 5-HTP and GABA and the amino acids as supplements
If you are new to using the amino acids as supplements, here is the Amino Acids Mood Questionnaire from The Antianxiety Food Solution (you can see the low GABA symptoms here) and a brief overview here, Anxiety and targeted individual amino acid supplements: a summary.
If you suspect low GABA or low levels of any of the neurotransmitters and do not yet have my book, The Antianxiety Food Solution – How the Foods You Eat Can Help You Calm Your Anxious Mind, Improve Your Mood, and End Cravings, I highly recommend getting it and reading it before jumping in and using amino acids so you are knowledgeable. And be sure to share it with the team you or your loved one is working with.
The book doesn’t include product names (per the publisher’s request) so this blog, The Antianxiety Food Solution Amino Acid and Pyroluria Supplements, lists the amino acid products that I use with my individual clients and those in my group programs.
Have you found you need additional tryptophan/5-HTP or GABA around your period? How have you experimented and how does it help you?
If you’re a practitioner, have you seen this with clients or patients?
Do you also feel better with exercise and/or yoga?
And are/were your variable results more pronounced while recovering from trauma?
Feel free to ask your questions here too.
Dorothy says
I’m 83 yrs old and don’t have a history of trauma but do have stressors in my life which I think contribute to sleep issues. Several family members including one who lives with me , have severe anxiety. I’m hoping to learn more about amino acids to help myself and possibly the others although they have psychiatric care so I may speak to their providers before suggesting these.
I took tryptophan in the early 8’s for food cravings and had success but stopped when there was notice of contaminated doses from China causing leg cramps and even death.
Can you speak to that?
Also, my current sleep regime is Trazadone 150 mg, melatonin 20 mg, and 1-2 x / week .25 mg Xanax. Which supplement should I start with, and would there be any interactions w the above or my Losartan bp Rx or glaucoma gtts?
Trudy Scott says
Dorothy
When you are new to the amino acids (and other anxiety nutrition solutions like gluten/sugar/caffeine removal, blood sugar control, gut health, pyroluria etc) my book “The Antianxiety Food Solution” is a great place to start. More here https://www.everywomanover29.com/blog/the-antianxiety-food-solution-by-trudy-scott/
It’s a comprehensive approach – amino acids AND diet. What is your diet like right now – gluten-free, sugar-free, caffeine-free, eating protein at breakfast for blood sugar control, real whole foods, grass-fed red meat, wild fish, fermented foods etc?
As far as where to start with the amino acid it depends on your symptoms. The best way to determine if someone may have low GABA/serotonin is to look at the low GABA/serotonin symptoms, rate them on a scale of 1-10 with 10 being worst, do a trial of the respective amino acid and rate the symptoms again right afterwards (in the next 2 to 30 minutes). Here are the symptoms https://www.everywomanover29.com/blog/amino-acids-mood-questionnaire-from-the-antianxiety-food-solution/
There is a risk of serotonin syndrome with tryptophan and 5-HTP with Trazadone. GABA is fine to use with these medications but best to always discuss with the prescribing doctor.
And yes tryptophan was taken off the market as a result of a bad batch that caused EMS. Prior to that it was commonly prescribed/recommended by doctors.
Here is some information on this: “The eosinophilia-myalgia syndrome (EMS) outbreak that occurred in the USA and elsewhere in 1989 was caused by the ingestion of Showa Denko K.K. (SD) L-tryptophan (L-Trp). “Six compounds” detected in the L-Trp were reported as case-associated contaminants. Recently the final and most statistically significant contaminant, “Peak AAA” was structurally characterized.”…. “The structural similarity of these homologs to case-related contaminants of Spanish Toxic Oil Syndrome (TOS) is discussed.” https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29800716/
Jeffrey Smith writes about the backstory in chapter 4 of his book “Seeds of Deception.”
The EMS outbreak was serious but I have not seen any issues with EMS in the 13 years I have been doing this work. My mentor Julia Ross, author of “The Mood Cure”, has not seen any issues for over 20 years. Neither of us have had feedback from colleagues reporting issues either. And tryptophan is now freely available but quality is key. We both only recommend Lidtke products (although I am now starting to vet other companies).
Jane says
Hi Trudy
Sorry for going off topic, but can I ask what you recommend for tinnitus? After a dental appointment I woke the next day feeling dizzy, it passed after 4-5 days, but the ringing the ears is bad at night, I can’t sleep. My Dr gave me a script for sleeping meds but I’m reluctant to take them.
Thank you
Jane
Trudy Scott says
Jane
A full functional work up is the usual approach but when there is an obvious trigger we start there – some of the materials/meds used at the dental appointment or something structural that caused it? I’d discuss with the dentist and visit a massage therapist, cranial sacral practitioner, DO, acupuncturist, PT?
When someone has sleep issues and tinnitus I have found both GABA and serotonin support to be helpful but it depends on each person’s underlying biochemistry. This paper states that “…any imbalance of neurotransmitter-related chemistry could disrupt auditory processing in such a way as to produce tinnitus.” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25477858
Melatonin helps eliminate tinnitus too https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21859051/
Keep in mind tinnitus is common with prior or current benzodiazepine and/or SSRI use, NSAIDs, some antibiotics.
Kimberley says
Hi Trudy,
Thanks for this great blog post. I wanted to update you on how I’m doing after increasing my amino acids. After seeing your posts on Facebook that some people might need to increase tryptophan and GABA during the winter months I decided that maybe the problem wasn’t that I needed more support around my period, but I might just need more support during the winter. I doubled my doses of both tryptophan and GABA about a month ago and have felt remarkably better. I’ve had very little PMS to speak of and am just a happier human in general. Thanks so much for that suggestion, as I wasn’t aware of the seasonal changes to these neurotransmitters. Knowing that my levels can fluctuate both around my period and with the seasons gives me a lot more confidence to experiment with my dosages instead of feeling miserable and wondering what on earth is wrong with me. Thanks again for the way you continue to educate us. You make our lives better.
Trudy Scott says
Kimberley
Thanks for sharing this update and glad to hear you’re doing remarkably better! Did you continue experimenting with tryptophan and 5-HTP and did you switch over to just 5-HTP? Can you share the before and after of the tryptophan/5-HTP and GABA?
And a reminder that adjustments down will be needed in spring/summer.
Sharing those 2 recent blog posts here for other blog readers:
-The seasonality of GABA: worsening anxiety, insomnia and intrusive thoughts in winter (and the need for increased GABA supplementation) https://www.everywomanover29.com/blog/the-seasonality-of-gaba-worsening-anxiety-insomnia-and-intrusive-thoughts-in-winter-and-the-need-for-increased-gaba-supplementation/
and
– Increasing tryptophan or 5-HTP temporarily when a winter dip in serotonin causes more severe anxiety, OCD and/or the winter blues https://www.everywomanover29.com/blog/increasing-tryptophan-or-5-htp-temporarily-when-a-winter-dip-in-serotonin-causes-more-severe-anxiety-ocd-and-or-the-winter-blues/