Anyone have any success with neurotransmitter support?

[ERO]

I am curious to see if anyone on this forum had had success with neurotransmitter support? Specifically in case where guys are not feeling any benefits from TRT? I understand the concept of using supplements such as L-Tyrosine or NALT to provide a dopaminergic/adrenergic boost, but all I have read are theories explaining why it may or should help vs. any real success stories.

I have been using L-Tyrosine 1000 mg twice daily now for a few weeks and it is doing nothing that I can notice or feel.

 

[Vince]

ERO, is are you adding L-Tyrosine to your pre-workout supplement, I know some do add it.

 

[ERO]

I do that in the AM (because I always workout in the AM) and then I take my second dose before bed. Perhaps it takes more time to work? Not sure, I am about 3 weeks into it so far.

 

[Vince Carter]

N-Acetyl L-Tyrosine has better absorption than L-Tyrosine, it crosses the Blood-Brain-Barrier better. I use it twice per day along with Mucuna Puriens (L-Dopa).
I can't quote my dosing specifically but it's 1.5g-2g of NALT and 1/4tsp of Mucuna @ 0600 and then again in my preworkout drink @ 1100.
I also take 1 capsule of Now Foods "True Calm" in the AM....I believe that this has Serotonin support.

I think without a doubt those have helped me, my mood is brighter, i'm more "up", I don't quite have this tired feeling through the day...not energized, but more motivated, more interested. No negative sides to report.

 

[ERO]

Thank you. I will try the NALT and in larger dosing like you are doing and try Mucuna again as well. I would love to not feel like I need a nap every afternoon despite sleeping well at night. My father-in-law takes a nap every afternoon but he is 87 - I dont have that excuse.

 

[Someguy]

I tried l-tyrosine 500mg 2x per day. I stayed on it for a couple of weeks then stopped because it was giving me diarrhea. I thought I noticed some improvement in mood and alertness but it's hard to know for sure since my t and e2 levels were also adjusting during that time.

 

[trt4me]

Budspar is something that has helped on the past some.

 

[ERO]

I tried that a few years back. Even though it is an anti-anxiety and antidepressant drug, it gave me some weird and rather nasty anxiety feelings.

 

[HarryCat]

I had short term success with bupropion. It only lasted a few weeks.

 

[Re-Ride]

N-Acetyl L-Tyrosine has better absorption than L-Tyrosine, it crosses the Blood-Brain-Barrier better. I use it twice per day along with Mucuna Puriens (L-Dopa).
I can't quote my dosing specifically but it's 1.5g-2g of NALT and 1/4tsp of Mucuna @ 0600 and then again in my preworkout drink @ 1100.
I also take 1 capsule of Now Foods "True Calm" in the AM....I believe that this has Serotonin support.

I think without a doubt those have helped me, my mood is brighter, i'm more "up", I don't quite have this tired feeling through the day...not energized, but more motivated, more interested. No negative sides to report.

*ALCAR, aceyl L-carnintine

NALT- 350mg/day .
Powder City, $7/100g. MyProtein, $15/225g (1/2 pound)

*Pospahatidylserine aka PS-100- I perceive a definite noticeable benefit rom PS-100 caps. PowederCty is 87 cents/g 20%. powder. Cheaper in larger packets

*French Maritime Pine V Bark

GABA

I take the starred ones daily with perceived boost in cognition.

 

[trt4me]

I haven't found anything that actually continues to work after some time.
I really believe that receptors desensitation is a big issue even with trt.
I think that we mistake the body seeking homostesis vs actually achieving it.
The body seems to be adjusting most hormones all day thus receptors are never at a certain level long of any hormone then we try hard with trt to get everything stable.
There are far more stories of libidio struggles after the first month or two on trt than others maintaining a libidio boost.

 

[Vince Carter]

I added some choline and inositol and I find that I don't quite need the nap I so enjoyed early and mid-day so I call that a plus.

 

[madman]

regarding neurotransmitter boosting supplements they should be used temporarily for short periods as like trt4me stated that the body will eventually adapt and they become less effective.

I also believe too many people on trt get caught up on the muscle building potential of having higher testosterone levels and a lot of people seem to want their levels to be at the top of the range or slightly over and their are many who are dead set on injectable to achieve these levels walking around with troughs in the 800-900s and experiencing LIBIDO/ED issues and they wonder why.

Injectable help you achieve a steady state of constant high serum levels which is far from natural as the body eventually adapts to those constant levels especially the longer you are on therapy and the natural ebb and flow is not there like what the body would produce naturally.

I understand many people do not respond well to topical but the main advantage is they mimic the natural circadian rhythm and are designed to release testosterone in a varying level over 24hr period to mimic the natural UNEVEN pattern of a healthy young man with peaks and lows throughout the duration producing circulating testosterone concentrations that approximate normal levels.

Sorry to get off topic just wanted to add that.

 

[trt4me]

regarding neurotransmitter boosting supplements they should be used temporarily for short periods as like trt4me stated that the body will eventually adapt and they become less effective.

I also believe too many people on trt get caught up on the muscle building potential of having higher testosterone levels and a lot of people seem to want their levels to be at the top of the range or slightly over and their are many who are dead set on injectable to achieve these levels walking around with troughs in the 800-900s and experiencing LIBIDO/ED issues and they wonder why.

Injectable help you achieve a steady state of constant high serum levels which is far from natural as the body eventually adapts to those constant levels especially the longer you are on therapy and the natural ebb and flow is not there like what the body would produce naturally.

I understand many people do not respond well to topical but the main advantage is they mimic the natural circadian rhythm and are designed to release testosterone in a varying level over 24hr period to mimic the natural UNEVEN pattern of a healthy young man with peaks and lows throughout the duration producing circulating testosterone concentrations that approximate normal levels.

Sorry to get off topic just wanted to add that.

I agree and since I have never tried creams I might just do that. I wonder if varying injections can achieve the same effect. Like for 120 mg a week, take it eod with different amounts to get some ups and downs but still have the same amount for the week.
The body naturally never has a stable amount of hormones constantly so I don't know why we attempt this.

 

[HarryCat]

Injectable help you achieve a steady state of constant high serum levels which is far from natural as the body eventually adapts to those constant levels especially the longer you are on therapy and the natural ebb and flow is not there like what the body would produce naturally.

I understand many people do not respond well to topical but the main advantage is they mimic the natural circadian rhythm and are designed to release testosterone in a varying level over 24hr period to mimic the natural UNEVEN pattern of a healthy young man with peaks and lows throughout the duration producing circulating testosterone concentrations that approximate normal levels.

Sorry to get off topic just wanted to add that.

While this is certainly true in theory, and even Dr Crisler says as much in his book, I don't recall seeing anyone on the forums claim success switching from injections to transdermals. The closest I've heard of was a couple of guys who said they did better on a single larger IM injection per week instead of 2 smaller injections.

 

[Vince Carter]

regarding neurotransmitter boosting supplements they should be used temporarily for short periods as like trt4me stated that the body will eventually adapt and they become less effective.

I also believe too many people on trt get caught up on the muscle building potential of having higher testosterone levels and a lot of people seem to want their levels to be at the top of the range or slightly over and their are many who are dead set on injectable to achieve these levels walking around with troughs in the 800-900s and experiencing LIBIDO/ED issues and they wonder why.

Injectable help you achieve a steady state of constant high serum levels which is far from natural as the body eventually adapts to those constant levels especially the longer you are on therapy and the natural ebb and flow is not there like what the body would produce naturally.

I understand many people do not respond well to topical but the main advantage is they mimic the natural circadian rhythm and are designed to release testosterone in a varying level over 24hr period to mimic the natural UNEVEN pattern of a healthy young man with peaks and lows throughout the duration producing circulating testosterone concentrations that approximate normal levels.

Sorry to get off topic just wanted to add that.

You weren't even in the zip code for this topic.

 

[Re-Ride]

I haven't found anything that actually continues to work after some time.
I really believe that receptors desensitation is a big issue even with trt.
I think that we mistake the body seeking homostesis vs actually achieving it.
The body seems to be adjusting most hormones all day thus receptors are never at a certain level long of any hormone then we try hard with trt to get everything stable.
There are far more stories of libidio struggles after the first month or two on trt than others maintaining a libidio boost.

Further discussion, perhaps a survey, on this "receptor desensitization" theory would be welcome. Who is achieving sustained benefit of improved cognition, mood from various supplements administered continuously or on cycle?

 

[Re-Ride]

http://www.nutritionexpress.com/showarticle.aspx?articleid=1629

ERO, You are familiar with these no doubt. Posted for the benefit of others. Neurotransmitter support might be accomplished indirectly with supplements such as curcumin, ALA and,

Magnesium Threonate which I omitted above. I like this one.

I'd scratch from this list: fish oil extracts ( I've discussed my reasons elsewhere), Lecithin, astaxanthin, ginkgo. Claims for efficacy should always be questioned.

Age, health issues, genetics, past and current exposure to toxins are huge factors when deciding which are appropriate. As Nelson points out its sad how folks will spend $$$ on supplements and not enough on quality food. Only supplement where necessary.

 

[Re-Ride]

https://www.nap.edu/read/9620/chapter/19#297
Scholarly article with study references

[ Under certain conditions, it appears that administration of tyrosine can affect brain neurotransmission. Specifically, it has been hypothesized that when central catecholaminergic neurons are very active (as occurs during exposure to acute stress), they will become precursor sensitive (Wurtman et al., 1981). Although these neurons are not normally believed to be affected by the availability of tyrosine, they may require additional tyrosine to function optimally when they are firing frequently (Lieberman, 1994; Wurtman et al., 1981)... ]

 

[ERO]

http://www.nutritionexpress.com/showarticle.aspx?articleid=1629

ERO, You are familiar with these no doubt. Posted for the benefit of others. Neurotransmitter support might be accomplished indirectly with supplements such as curcumin, ALA and,

Magnesium Threonate which I omitted above. I like this one.

I'd scratch from this list: fish oil extracts ( I've discussed my reasons elsewhere), Lecithin, astaxanthin, ginkgo. Claims for efficacy should always be questioned.

Age, health issues, genetics, past and current exposure to toxins are huge factors when deciding which are appropriate. As Nelson points out its sad how folks will spend $$$ on supplements and not enough on quality food. Only supplement where necessary.

Yes, that is a comprehensive list and those are all great supplements that are well studied. My question refers to the notion that somehow neurotransmitter support would help regain lost libido on TRT as opposed to just being solid supplements for brain health. I have never read of anyone that actually had that work for them (regain lost libido on TRT) though I do use some of those and find that they help overall cognition. My 2-cents is the idea that neurotransmitter support can regain lost libido for anyone other than the odd outlier is a "lets throw everything we can find against the wall and hope something sticks" hypothesis. I say that because I have read about it fairly often on here and other TRT forums, but I have yet to read anyone that said it worked for them, or worked for longer than a few days. (again, for libido only, not for overall cognition improvement)