Posted by Larry Hoover on June 29, 2003, at 8:38:36
In reply to Re: Amino Acids are Helping Me--Capri, posted by ROO on June 25, 2003, at 9:31:50
> Re: The test....I know! that's what I thought (that it
> would be years down the road that they could test), but apparently
> not. The test is expensive, however, so if you don't have insurance
> or a doctor that will word it in such a way that it gets covered...it's
> alot to pay out of pocket. The doctor gave me a kit to take home
> and I had to give urine and saliva samples at certain times of the day...
> then I sent it to this place called NeuroScience, and the tests are
> performed by a lab called Pharmasan Labs. There's a website for Pharmasan Labs.
> I think NeuroScience is a separate facility, and I didn't get any hits when I put
> it in Google. My p-doc said normally they test these levels through spinal fluids...
> I don't know if she was questioning the validity of the test or not. (I went to a different
> doctor other than my pdoc for this stuff). All I know is I feel better and I'm glad.Very kewl!
> All I have with me right now is a number for Technical Support at NeuroScience, but if you called
> them, maybe they could direct you to a doctor in your area that is into this stuff.
> I can give it to you if you want. Not sure if they could help you.
>
> I also noticed some sites on the web once I started to research this stuff where you can
> buy these neurotransmitter testing kits....but I really wouldn't do any of this without a
> doctor....
>ROO, I'm really happy you're feeling better. I have great faith in nutritional supports for mental illness.
However, your description of the testing and treatment you received raises some red flags for me. Permit me, please, to present a cynical view....
Unless your doctor has discovered a novel testing procedure, and kept the information to himself, there is no test for neurotransmitter levels which does not sample cerebro-spinal fluid (via a spinal tap). Even that test is inferential, by which I mean there is no neurotransmitter present in the fluid, but instead, breakdown products (metabolites) of the neurotransmitters are present. Their concentrations can be related back to the amount of individual neurotransmitters being released in the brain as a whole, but don't tell you if the brain is functioning normally. Some parts of the brains are over active, and some under active, in depressed people. These would obviously cancel each other out when you're looking at sums.
Urine tests will tell you an even more "distant" measure of brain neurotransmitter release, because the waste from the cerebro-spinal fluid eventually makes it into the urine. However, the rest of the body uses the same neurotransmitters for other purposes (e.g. the rhythmic contraction of the gut that moves food through from stomach to intestine to bowel is regulated by serotonin). The waste from these other processes also enters the urine. So, the urine has less "information" about brain function than even cerebro-spinal fluid has.
Saliva tests can determine e.g. cortisol and DHEA levels, which are important diagnostic measures, but symptoms might possibly reveal the same information. Still, a good test, if that's what the saliva was used for.
Now, another "red flag" for me is that the doctor provided, or made available, the supplements you were to add to your diet. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with that, but he's surely profiting all over the place. I'm sure he gets a cut from the testing, and from the supplements.
The best thing you can do, for a long-term plan, for your own well-being, is to find out exactly what's in those supplements you're using, and take control of your intake of these substances. You don't need fancy premixed brand-name supplements (expensive). You need nutrients.
I know it's complicated, but everyone learns things a bit at a time. With the success you're experiencing, I hope you begin the path to understanding why it works for you.
All the best,
Lar
poster:Larry Hoover
thread:236910
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030624/msgs/237859.html