We help a lot of people resolve their symptoms related to neurotransmitter imbalances using amino acid therapy. Occasionally, a person whose symptoms have been under control for several weeks or months will find that their symptoms have returned. There are usually two common reasons for this.
Why Symptoms Return When Using Amino Acid Therapy
There are two common reasons that symptoms return when using amino acid therapy. The most common reason is that the person misses one or more amino acid doses. For many people, the amino acid dose that alleviates their symptoms is the exact dose that they need to optimize their neurotransmitter function; if they miss even one dose, their neurotransmitter levels will fall and their symptoms will return. It takes 3-5 days of consistent dosing for neurotransmitter levels to rebalance, so it can take up to 5 days of consistent/recommended dosing before symptoms will once again disappear. Naturally, if a person misses doses regularly, they may never achieve the required level necessary to improve or alleviate their symptoms.
The other reason that symptoms return is that a person’s amino acid dosing needs may change; this doesn’t happen often, but it does happen. Usually this occurs because of stress or the addition of a new prescription medication, although there are a number of reasons why neurotransmitter levels can become imbalanced that may require dosing adjustments.
Ways to Manage the Return of Symptoms
- First and foremost, it is important to rule out the possibility that you missed a dose of amino acids. In order to do this, you need to keep an exact journal (i.e., record the times that you take each amino acid dose as well as what products are taken at each dose). Do this for 7 days. If your symptoms are better after 7 days of consistent (recommended) amino acid dosing it is very likely that you had accidentally missed a dose, which caused the brief return of symptoms.
- If your symptoms are not better after 7 days of consistently recording all your required amino acid doses (and you haven’t missed any doses), contact your care provider to discuss potential dosing changes. Do not change your amino acid dose without your healthcare provider first recommended the change – your care provider is trained to assess the best course or action and you could do more harm than good by altering your dosing.
An Additional Thought
People with depleted neurotransmitters need amino acid therapy. Missing just one dose can cause symptoms to return. Therefore, the best defense to preventing the return of symptoms due to neurotransmitter imbalance is finding a consistent way to keep track of when you take all of your recommended amino acid doses – the benefits to your health will be worth the additional effort required.
