My treatment for anxiety and poor sleep

[Jasen Bruce]

By Jasen Bruce

For many years I have battled with anxiety in various forms which can result in poor sleep. Sometimes I cannot fall asleep, and sometimes when I do I cannot remain asleep. I have been diagnosed with PTSD but do not believe my symptoms are the result of this, I tend to feel that this is more of a genetic pre-disposition.

Over the years I have experimented with various nutrients and medications to help alleviate these symptoms which seemed to have manifested in my late 20s (never had any anxiety before then). I also notice many patients presenting the same symptoms during their consultations. It seems there are many people who suffer from some sort of anxiety or sleep disturbances. Its not surprising when you see all the prescriptions for anti-depressants, benzodiazapines, sleep meds, and the like. Its a billion dollar pipeline for big pharma. My theory is that anxiety/sleep disturbances are more prevelant due to the one-size-fits-all high stress society we have developed for ourselves and are forced to live by (that's a whole other conversation lol).

I wanted to share my protocol which has worked very well for me over the years. I have also used it successfully in people I have personally assisted through withdrawals from pain meds, alcohol, and other drugs which leave the former addict with screaming anxiety and insomnia.

Here is the protocol:

5-Hydroxytryptophan 400mg before bed
DL-Phenylalanine 750mg three times per day
CALM injection 1-2.5ML before bed (additional dosage can be given during the day as needed for anxiety).

This can be done daily for more sever anxiety and/or sleep disturbance. For maintaining you can use 5htp 200mg+DLPA 750mg before bedtime. CALM can be used as needed. For example, when I am not struggling with anxiety I take the CALM 2-3 times weekly (if even needed) to help with sleep. It also assists with muscle relaxation.

Here is a link to the CALM: http://defymedical.com/services/83-calm-injection-therapy

Dr Lenese Lawson and I developed CALM while I worked at a compounding pharmacy. Even though the link leads to my clinic website, you do not have to order it from Defy. You can ask your local compounder to make the same formula if you have the ability to do so. Keep in mind you will still need a prescription since its an injectable. If you do not have access, you can contact Defy to place your order. The cost of the CALM includes your prescription. 10ML is $35.

The 5-HTP and DLPA can be purchased over the counter.

Of course there are many other items which help people, such as SAM-E and St Johns Wort, but the above protocol has done well for me and my friends.

 

[GettingAnswers]

Is there a benefit with the CALM injection over taking them orally? I assume better utilization. I take those ingredients orally but would consider this.

 

[paco]

Personally, I was having a very tough time staying asleep throughout the night. I would usually wake up at least once and sometimes twice to go to the bathroom. On top of that, the last one to two hours were frequently interrupted by multiple awakenings for no apparent reason. A few months ago, I added L-tryptophan to the mix, and my sleep has never been better. I rarely wake up even once, and I don't feel groggy in the mornings. Here is what I do each night before bed:

30 mg zinc picolinate
400 mg Mgnesium glycinate/lysinate chelate
1.5 mg melatonin (I have heard others take anywhere from .5 mg to 10 mg)
*2,500 mg L-trytophan

*The bottle recommends 1,500 mg. Life Extension Foundation recommends "a strong initial dose (1,000 to 4,000 mg) for the first week, followed by a lower maintenance dose (500 mg to 1,000 mg)". I titrated the dose and found that 2,500 mg nightly worked best for me, almost without fail.

 

[Jasen Bruce]

Paco-

L-Tryptophan is great. I do notice a more sedating effect from Tryptophan than with its analogue 5-HTP, although 5HTP seems to work better for depression. I also add Melatonin 6mg time release when traveling or if my sleep is not consistent, like when I was in the military and had to "work" at night I would use melatonin to help get back on track. Unfortunately for me melatonin leaves me groggy in the morning unless I get 8h of sleep.

I do believe the ingredients in Calm can work well orally but you will need to take considerably more since your body absorbs much less this way than when injected. For me, taking the injection is much easier than combining all the ingredients to take orally but that's just me.

Of course, exercise is the BEST medicine for anxiety/depression but for some of us its almost impossible to find time to be consistent.

 

[Jasen Bruce]

Now that it Is becoming legalized, it will be interesting to see *** cannabidiol used to treat anxiety along with inflammation and other ailments. *** isolated will not cause the mind altering effects of THC and is proven safe and useful for many ailments in which doctors prescribe dangerous synthetic drugs to treat.

 

[Marco N Cognito]

Jasen -

I plan on using both the CALM and Tri-Amino to help manage both anxiety and hypertension as an alternative to meds. I have taken these substances orally, but, as you say, to get any effect, they have to be taken in such high doses, some of them can produce unpleasant sides effects such as diarrhea and nausea.

Can you share with me any experiences from others for these ailments, and does Defy have any other specific injectable formulations other than these for managing hypertension or would you recommend these? Experimenting with large oral doses of taurine (at least 4g), for example, seems to work to help reduce BP and here is a lot of research to support this.