Comments on: GABA Benefits: Sleep, Anxiety & Mood

By: Verna Townsend

Verna Townsend — Tue, 14 Apr 2020 17:27:16 +0000

Thank you for an informative and well researched article! Your emphasis on combining holistic and standard medical care supports my research. I just discovered GABA and will experiment with it for side effects of a traumatic brain injury. Adequate medical care has been difficult to find but you thoroughly explained GABA. I look forward to experimenting. Please continue your excellent work!

By: Anne

Anne — Sat, 21 Mar 2020 14:13:54 +0000

I took about 250 mg in water, just to see if it helps with my workday anxieties. Almost instantly, I felt dizzy and strange. I don’t have any underlying conditions, am not on any meds – any idea of why this might happen? Thank you :)

By: Denis L

Denis L — Thu, 23 Jan 2020 20:24:04 +0000

Its called MRS — Magneto-Resonance Spectroscopy. Actually, GABA was the very first substance, that was possible to identify and measure, with this technology. So it’s a piece of cake to measure GABA :)

By: Denis L

Denis L — Thu, 23 Jan 2020 20:20:05 +0000

you might need to take a dopaminergic corrector. For example, if the person would get decent dose of haldol and 600 of lyrica (pregabalin), then it can cause strong anxiety and muscle spasms, because of strong dopamine suppression. However both haldol and lyrica, suppose to decrease anxiety and panic. But I would recommend to decrease GABA, to a smaller dose. Lowest possible. And to go from there.

By: Petra

Petra — Fri, 10 Jan 2020 16:21:52 +0000

Thank you for this article. I have an untreated sleep apnea, which according to the study leads to a GABA deficiency and a glutamate excess. And that’s how I feel: panicked, restless, unable to concentrate, etc. I also have a lot of extrasystoles. Then I found this study: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31116911 I am not a doctor and my English is not very good, but is it possible that this study could be an indication for the first time that massive GABA deficiency could trigger ventricular extrasystoles. Thank you very much for your thoughts.

By: Jesse

Jesse — Mon, 14 Oct 2019 21:54:26 +0000

Hi Ana,
Great article, thanks for taking the time.

You mention newer brain imaging techniques can measure brain neurotransmitter levels.
Which imaging technique is this? Sounds exciting.

By: CD

CD — Thu, 04 Jul 2019 18:50:37 +0000

There are GABA receptors in the peripheral nervous system and on pericytes*, so oral GABA doesn’t need to cross the BBB to have some physiological effects (though perhaps not all the effects people want).

* pericytes are involved in maintaining the BBB, so it is possible oral GABA could alter BBB permeability

By: Sunil

Sunil — Sun, 28 Apr 2019 11:32:58 +0000

Nice

By: Joanne

Joanne — Sat, 20 Apr 2019 22:20:38 +0000

GABA’s important role in ATTENTION is just beginning to be appreciated, specifically top-down attention, via a pathway from the hippothalamus to prefrontal cortex: I think of that as GABA enabling the hippothalamus to direct the prefrontal cortex. I have severe ADHD and attending to anything is very difficult. I’d noticed a link between taking GABA, and having much better success at actually sticking, mentally, with the work I’ve set before myself, but did not take this seriously, even tho it was a very strong effect, until I learned of this study: Tan, Z., Robinson, H., et al. “Dynamic ErbB4 activity in hippocampal-prefrontal synchrony and top-down attention in rodents.” Neuron. doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2018.03.018 That’s GABA signaling they are talking about.
GABA really does do more than inhibit and calm. What works for me is taking theonine with it as well (more of it than the GABA ) and a fairly low but frequent GABA dose through my morning. I haven’t had a chance to really fine tune it yet. But I kept ignoring the effect because of my understanding of GABA as inhibitory of the stress response. That too, but this is an attention effect.

To Dave, who found GABA made him anxious: I suspect the dosages that it usually comes in are too high for most people, and that it needs to be spread out as well. And this is in part because it will affect a lot of other NT (neurotransmitter issues) just by it’s change in concentration. I’ve had that effect too, but later found 200mg capsules which were better for me – I might have been taking 100mg when I ran out, unfortuneately as soon as I read about that study. I also got it in powder form so I could adjust it, but I need smaller measuring spoons! That’s why I haven’t “fine-tuned” yet. I’m out of capsules, and the locally available are higher dose for starters, and then my GABA-dependent top-down attention pathway isn’t working so everything is off-track. LOL. I also take a lot of L-glutamine… very helpful. It would be ideal if GABA can be addressed by taking or increasing theonine instead, but it may be worth trying low doses, earlier in the day or spread out. I used to consider the effect you describe as a “rebound effect.” It’s kind of like, “but that’s what I was taking the GABA for!” Unfortunate.

By: David Ramsey

David Ramsey — Thu, 15 Nov 2018 20:17:08 +0000

Is it considered safe to take gingko supplements which also include GABA

By: erik

erik — Thu, 18 Oct 2018 20:36:46 +0000

In reply to Dave. you must use something else its react with gaba

By: Alison G

Alison G — Fri, 08 Dec 2017 10:09:13 +0000

From what I’ve read it sounds like you are taking too much.

By: Dave

Dave — Mon, 21 Aug 2017 21:16:46 +0000

GABA tends to make me anxious and keep me up at night. Is there any explanation for that?

Thanks,
Dave

By: Don Paladin

Don Paladin — Mon, 01 May 2017 03:42:48 +0000

Does avoidance of glutamic acid found in food like casein and gluten, increase Gaba production?