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Completely eliminated my severe anxiety symptoms with three supplements!

Hip

Senior Member
Messages
17,824
Is N-acetyl-D-glucosamine the same as N-acetyl-Glucosamine? Im having problems finding it in the netherlands
Yes it's is the same. See here.

Ok i did find one source. Its kind of weird on the front it sais: n-acetyl glucosamine 1500 mg, and in the text on the back it sais:contains per tablet: 750 mg N-Acetyl Glucosamine, of which 610 mg elementary glucosamine. What do they mean by this, is this ok?
(translated from dutch)
Do they mean there is onky 750-610=140 mg n-acetyl glucosamine, and the rest is 'elementary' glucosamine (what is that?)... But what about the 1500 mg statement on the front then?
N-acetyl-glucosamine combines an acetyl molecule with a glucosamine molecule. All they are saying is that if you have 750 mg of N-acetyl-glucosamine, then by weight 610 mg of that is glucosamine, and 140 mg of that is acetyl. (It's incorrect to call glucosamine an element though).

Glucosamine is an anti-inflammatory compound, but cannot cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and get into the brain. By attaching an acetyl molecule to glucosamine, it allows it to cross the BBB. So N-acetyl-glucosamine is likely having an anti-inflammatory effect in the brain, which I think may be the basis of its anti-anxiety action. My biochemical guesses as to why NAG seems to work so well as an anti-anxiety agent are given at the bottom of this post.


And when I weigh them: little more that over a gram (1030 mg per tablet). Am I misunderstanding something here, or did they really screw up with what they put on the bottle?

A tablet will usually weigh a little more than its stated contents, because of the filler and binder materials placed into the tablet to hold it together.

By the way, I tend to buy my NAG from iHerb in the US. They have very low prices, and it takes just 3 or 4 days to get to the UK.


Where did you find arginine pyroglutamate powder, and why/how does it help? I can't seem to find it, only arginine (freeform). Does it have other names as well?

Arginine pyroglutamate in bulk powder can be bought at very good prices from these bulk sellers: purebulk.com and www.bulksupplements.com. I don't know of any other suppliers.

I have found other arginine-containing amino acid powders (such as arginine, di-arginine malate, or arginine alpha ketoglutarate) also have potent anti-anxiety effects, when taking doses in the range of 5 grams of powder. However, arginine pyroglutamate crosses the BBB more easily than other arginine powders, so it is more potent in the brain.

I am not really sure on the mechanism of action of the anti-anxiety effect I observed with arginine powders. One study found L-lysine and L-arginine together have an anti-anxiety effect in rats. And this study suggests that arginine may potentiate GABA neurotransmission. Note that drugs or supplement s that work on GABA tend to have a tolerance build-up (ie, after some days, their effects get less). So arginine pyroglutamate may best be used as a short term boost to an anti-anxiety regimen.
 
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Hip

Senior Member
Messages
17,824
If you have herpes, watch out for your arginine/lysine ratio.

Whether arginine promotes or possibly inhibits herpes simplex virus appears to depend on methylation status. If you are a bad methylator, arginine may actually inhibit herpes simplex. See this post for details.

Arginine is definitely antiviral for enteroviruses.
 

end

Messages
263
Curcumin is extracted from turmeric with a solvent. Also, there are many other beneficial components in turmeric that probably work synergistically. I also have heard that commercially prepared turmeric spice is processed in some potentially harmful way? I dunno.

I prefer to buy fresh turmeric root when in season and dry/prepare it myself for later use.


Not sure. But in Australia most food grade Turmeric is irradiated by the Government body's AQIS/Customs when coming through the border.

I completely agree that whole Turmeric has cofactors for better utilisation by the body.
 
Messages
8
@Hip Can you tell me how much flaxseed oil to take in mg if I buy it in softgel caps? I order it from the EU so to lower shipping costs I won't order the flaxseed oil in its liquid form...thanks in advance, you're a legend :)
 

Hip

Senior Member
Messages
17,824
The 15 ml dose of flaxseed oil I suggest taking weighs 12 grams. That means you'd need to take 12 x 1000 mg capsules. So capsules are not going to be anywhere near as economic as buying flaxseed oil in a bottle.
 

CFS_for_19_years

Hoarder of biscuits
Messages
2,396
Location
USA
@Hip Can you tell me how much flaxseed oil to take in mg if I buy it in softgel caps? I order it from the EU so to lower shipping costs I won't order the flaxseed oil in its liquid form...thanks in advance, you're a legend :)

Flaxseed oil will weigh the same whether it's in caps or the straight liquid. It can't be concentrated into a dried form.

An alternate method for obtaining flaxseed oil is to consume flaxseed itself, which can usually be found in jars at health food stores or probably multiple places online. The seeds can be ground and added to cereal.
 

Hip

Senior Member
Messages
17,824
Do you still feel the same today as 2 years ago?

If I don't keep taking these supplements daily, my anxiety quickly returns. So in this respect I am the same now as I was two years ago. I get the impression that my basal level of anxiety may have lowered slightly over the last two years, but I have never stopped taking my anti-anxiety supplements for longer than a day or two, so I have not been able to observe my pure untreated basal anxiety state. Anxiety disorder is really horrible, so there's no way I am going to stop taking these supplements, just to see how bad my anxiety gets without them. It already starts to get unpleasant just after a day or two without these supplements.

In generalized anxiety disorder there is some variation in anxiety levels from day to day. Sometimes I will have a day in which the anxiety level is higher than normal, and on such days the supplements I usually take are not enough on their own to dowse out the anxiety. So I then need to add two or three more additional anti-anxiety supplements to my regimen just for that day. The additional supplements I add on bad days are usually: taurine 4 grams and arginine pyroglutamate 5 grams. These will usually then eliminate the anxiety even on the worst days.
 
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Tired of being sick

Senior Member
Messages
565
Location
Western PA USA
I definitely have anxiety but it is caused by my illnesses along with the medical and societal lack of understanding of it all.

I can only focus through obsession which creates anxiety as well..

all the above overworks my adrenaline gland..

Adrenaline is my lifeblood sad but true..
 

Hip

Senior Member
Messages
17,824
Generalized anxiety disorder frequently arises as comorbid condition to other illnesses. Anxiety commonly appears with IBS, and also commonly appears with ME/CFS. I have both IBS and ME/CFS, so this might be why my anxiety is so bad.
 

Tired of being sick

Senior Member
Messages
565
Location
Western PA USA
IBS is common in POTS as a secondary cluster of symptoms to CFS/ME or any autoimmune disease for that matter..

Every bodily function the Vagus nerve is responsible for regulating in me, is absolutely haywire ..
 

MeSci

ME/CFS since 1995; activity level 6?
Messages
8,231
Location
Cornwall, UK
Generalized anxiety disorder frequently arises as comorbid condition to other illnesses. Anxiety commonly appears with IBS, and also commonly appears with ME/CFS. I have both IBS and ME/CFS, so this might be why my anxiety is so bad.

If I have too much sugar or grain, I get a temporary increase/return of anxiety, sometimes just a slight feeling of unease, sometimes an adrenaliney, shaky feeling. These are often quite brief - e.g. 10 minutes, sometimes longer. Even eating just 2 apples a day tends to do this, so I have to stick to one. I'm sure my anxiety is all gut-related, and I am so much calmer since starting my leaky-gut diet and supplements. My IBS is much much better too.
 

Hip

Senior Member
Messages
17,824
@MeSci
If there is inflammation in the gut, this can be sensed by the vagus nerve, and the vagus will then transmit a signal to the brain, informing the brain, and the brain in turn will instigate an inflammatory response within itself. I think the brain instigates such inflammation as a precaution, as I explain below.

It's this neuroinflammation in the brain that I suggest is causing anxiety disorder, via the the release of the stimulatory neurotransmitter glutamate, which is released in brain inflammation. For an explanation of this vagus nerve gut-to-brain link, see this paper:

From inflammation to sickness and depression: when the immune system subjugates the brain


One of my early successes in reducing my anxiety symptoms was taking prebiotics (like inulin or FOS), which promote the growth of beneficial bacteria in the gut, and have an anti-inflammatory effect. If you can reduce gut inflammation, you should in turn be able to reduce brain inflammation.

The trigeminal nerve can also transmit an inflammatory signal to the brain. This is why I think people with sinusitis (inflammation in the sinuses) often experience anxiety states, because when the trigeminal nerve, which runs from brain to sinuses, detects inflammation in the sinuses, it can transmit a signal to the brain, which just like the gut case, will instigate neuroinflammation.

It seems that the body it set up such that when there is inflammation in peripheral areas, such as the gut or sinuses, this inflammation is detected by sensors in the peripheral nerves, and a signal is transmitted to brain to initiate an inflammatory state in the brain. Since such an neuroinflammatory state can be seen as the brain's immune system on high alert, I think the body may work in this way as a survival strategy, because if you have inflammation in the body, this is likely due to an infection in the body, and in order to prevent that infection spreading into the brain, a crucial organ, neuroinflammation is switched on in the brain as a precaution, keeping the immune system on high alert in the brain.

Perhaps this infection alert system works well normally, without any negative effects such as anxiety; but in conditions like ME/CFS, where there may well be a chronic viral infection in the brain (coxsackievirus B has been shown to infect the brain), then you will find the brain is already in a state of inflammation fighting that viral infection. So then when the brain receives a signal from the vagus or trigeminal nerves, instructing the brain to ramp up neuroinflammation because of another peripheral infection, that pushes the neuroinflammation levels too high, such that negative symptoms like anxiety appear.
 
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Messages
8
@MeSci
If there is inflammation in the gut, this can be sensed by the vagus nerve, and the vagus will then transmit a signal to the brain, informing the brain, and the brain in turn will instigate an inflammatory response within itself. I think the brain instigates such inflammation as a precaution, as I explain below.

It's this neuroinflammation in the brain that I suggest is causing anxiety disorder, via the the release of the stimulatory neurotransmitter glutamate, which is released in brain inflammation. For an explanation of this vagus nerve gut-to-brain link, see this paper:

From inflammation to sickness and depression: when the immune system subjugates the brain


One of my early successes in reducing my anxiety symptoms was taking prebiotics (like inulin or FOS), which promote the growth of beneficial bacteria in the gut, and have an anti-inflammatory effect. If you can reduce gut inflammation, you should in turn be able to reduce brain inflammation.

The trigeminal nerve can also transmit an inflammatory signal to the brain. This is why I think people with sinusitis (inflammation in the sinuses) often experience anxiety states, because when the trigeminal nerve, which runs from brain to sinuses, detects inflammation in the sinuses, it can transmit a signal to the brain, which just like the gut case, will instigate neuroinflammation.

It seems that the body it set up such that when there is inflammation in peripheral areas, such as the gut or sinuses, this inflammation is detected by sensors in the peripheral nerves, and a signal is transmitted to brain to initiate an inflammatory state in the brain. Since such an neuroinflammatory state can be seen as the brain's immune system on high alert, I think the body may work in this way as a survival strategy, because if you have inflammation in the body, this is likely due to an infection in the body, and in order to prevent that infection spreading into the brain, a crucial organ, neuroinflammation is switched on in the brain as a precaution, keeping the immune system on high alert in the brain.

Perhaps this infection alert system works well normally, without any negative effects such as anxiety; but in conditions like ME/CFS, where there may well be a chronic viral infection in the brain (coxsackievirus B has been shown to infect the brain), then you will find the brain is already in a state of inflammation fighting that viral infection. So then when the brain receives a signal from the vagus or trigeminal nerves, instructing the brain to ramp up neuroinflammation because of another peripheral infection, that pushes the neuroinflammation levels too high, such that negative symptoms like anxiety appear.
I've noticed that after a meal my anxiety decreases significantly...I also don't seem to have any anxiety late at night, not sure why that is. Do you have any idea?
 
Messages
42
Location
Wales UK
Yep, can totally relate, and also I think I have experienced the 'anxiety psychosis' not nice when you are so suspicious of the ones you love. That's what wrecked my relationship. :/ Will def try this! Thanks so much.
 

Leopardtail

Senior Member
Messages
1,151
Location
England
Whether arginine promotes or possibly inhibits herpes simplex virus appears to depend on methylation status. If you are a bad methylator, arginine may actually inhibit herpes simplex. See this post for details.

Arginine is definitely antiviral for enteroviruses.
do you have a source for that Hip? I'd like to read up on it...