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My neurotransmitters test is back and my GABA levels are normal. What?!


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I did this test during the time of the most DP/DR, depression, inability to feel pleasure, poor memory, inability to focus (not even watch TV). I was SURE my dopamine would be low and that my GABA would be low. Those are the only 2 neurotransmitters that are fine.

 

I am not surprised by glutamate being high and also by histamine being WAY out of range high.

 

I am, however, surprised by serotonin being low. When I take any serotonin supplements or medications, I get very sick (physically) and even psychotic (manic). So my serotonin definitely doesn't need to be any higher.

 

All in all I am questioning the "normal range". It's all quasi-science anyway.

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Normal ranges:

 

Serotonin 175-225

Dopamine 125-175

Norepinephrine 30-55

Epinephrine 8-12

Norepi/Epi Ratio 3-6

GABA 550-750

Glutamate 5-15

Histamine 20-45

Creatinine 10-250

 

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I'm curious. What type of facility or service conducted this type of test? Was it a medical Doctor, or an on-line based holistic medicine type of service?
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I got a test kit on Amazon and then a lab analyzed it.

 

I am yet to find a doctor who would agree to do testing like that. Even psychiatrist don't test neurotransmitters, but just randomly prescribe meds.

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I got a test kit on Amazon and then a lab analyzed it.

 

I am yet to find a doctor who would agree to do testing like that. Even psychiatrist don't test neurotransmitters, but just randomly prescribe meds.

What’s the link to said kit?

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It is my understanding that there is no way to measure brain levels. Only body levels due to the blood brain barrier. I could be wrong!
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I actually wonder if my GABA levels are normal, because there's too much GABA floating around and not binding to GABA receptors?

 

High glutamate does indicate GABA-glutamate imbalance, I suppose.

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Well, your histamine is high and your glutamate is high. Those are certainly markers.

 

My norepinephrine is completely off the chart, very high.

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Well, your histamine is high and your glutamate is high. Those are certainly markers.

 

My norepinephrine is completely off the chart, very high.

 

Yeah, those don't surprise me at all.

 

My norepinephrine is low, I wonder if that's because it was too high for too long or because of taking Remeron for 3 years.

 

Where have you done your test?

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So these tests are mostly bullshit, for example you have not seratonin in the gut than the brain. The half life of a seratonin molecule is half a second so getting an accurate consistent reading is almost impossible. A serum dopamine levels is really the only thing you can actually measure an even then there is a lot of debate about how accurate it is.

 

First and most importantly, the only true way to measure neurotransmitter levels in the brain is through cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). The lab tests that have become so trendy at this time are most often utilizing urine, but may also use blood (plasma) or saliva for analysis. None of these methods have proven to correlate with test results acquired through CSF. Blood (platelet) testing results correspond very closely to CSF, but only for dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin.

 

Neurotransmitters are produced in the gut in addition to the brain. The enteric nervous system, sometimes referred to as the gut-brain, has 100 million neurons and manufactures more than 30 neurotransmitters that work independently from the brain to regulate gastrointestinal functions. However, only neurotransmitters produced in the brain can be accessed and used by the brain., “as such, a urinary serotonin test is more likely a measurement of the neurotransmitter produced in the gut than serotonin produced in the brain.” I would add this would be true of any neurotransmitter, not just serotonin.

 

On the other hand, although neurotransmitters in the gut cannot be used by the brain, they do send signals to the brain via the vagus nerve, which can influence our mood, appetite, cognitive functions, memory, decision making, stress levels, and more. From birth to death, all microbes in the gut communicate with our brain, and may actually influence how our brain is wired. Therefore, changing the gut biome may change the way the brain is wired.

 

Furthermore, not only does our gut produce neurotransmitters, but so can the microbes that inhabit our gut. Microbes (both friendly and pathogenic) can create false neurotransmitters that can interact with neurons and impair enzymes needed for breaking down neurotransmitters. Thus, each of these scenarios can artificially influence levels that may be present in a urine test.

 

Neurotransmitter levels vary greatly from day to day and even go up and down throughout the day in response to numerous other factors like our stress levels, the food we’ve eaten, blood sugar levels, exposure to environmental toxins, emotional conflict or trauma, demands of life, medications, herbal supplements, recreational drugs, alcohol, caffeine or nicotine use, and microbial overgrowth. Depending on the impact inflicted, this could lead to elevations or depletions at various times.

 

A neurotransmitter test provides results based on a particular moment in time when the sample is collected. Neurotransmitter levels could be vastly different minutes or hours after the test, even if we had a test that measures neurotransmitters in the brain effectively.

 

 

Neurotransmitter levels vary greatly from day to day and even go up and down throughout the day in response to numerous other factors like our stress levels, the food we’ve eaten, blood sugar levels, exposure to environmental toxins, emotional conflict or trauma, demands of life, medications, herbal supplements, recreational drugs, alcohol, caffeine or nicotine use, and microbial overgrowth. Depending on the impact inflicted, this could lead to elevations or depletions at various times.

 

A neurotransmitter test provides results based on a particular moment in time when the sample is collected. Neurotransmitter levels could be vastly different minutes or hours after the test, even if we had a test that measures neurotransmitters in the brain effectively.

 

The biggest advocates for neurotransmitter testing are the laboratories that produce the tests and the nutritional supplements that are recommended based on the results received, and health care providers who are getting commissions for sending them clients. So there’s a serious conflict of interest to consider. Other health care professionals may simply be following the crowd without doing their homework to determine whether this is truly an effective method of assessment.

 

One of the most well-known labs promoting neurotransmitter testing is Neuroscience, which is part of Pharmassan Labs. You should be aware that Neuroscience (Pharmassan Labs) and CEO Gottfried Kellerman were fined 6.1 million dollars for “violating laboratory testing requirements and manipulating testing data.” They’ve also been found guilty of Medicare fraud.

 

NeuroScience admitted that it “intentionally reported neurotransmitter test results as high or low based not on a properly validated reference range, but based on a narrowed range that had not been subjected to method validation. Then recommended products to patients that fell outside of this narrowed and unvalidated range. These practices were not disclosed to CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services).”

 

“Pharmasan, NeuroScience, and Kellermann agreed that the United States could demonstrate that their violation of CLIA regulations resulted in the submission and payment of false claims under the Medicare and TRICARE programs.”

 

Other labs providing this type of testing may not be unscrupulous, but they are misleading and clearly, have not done their due diligence in acquiring the facts.

 

Best Way to Test Neurotransmitters

 

The best way to test neurotransmitter levels is with your symptoms.

 

By understanding the purpose of key neurotransmitters and what happens when there is a problem with production or function in each one, we can make a very good educated guess about what neurotransmitters are high or low. Most individuals can make this assessment on their own simply by educating themselves on the role of neurotransmitters.

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The test you took is a holistic scam. Neurotransmitters are beyond the BBB and cannot be measured in blood or urine.
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So these tests are mostly bullshit, for example.....

Thank you very much for taking the time to post this.  I was thinking of getting tested, but now I will not.  -Jeff

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I do agree that it's most likely a scam.

However I am still wondering if there is any meaning behind urine levels of neurotransmitters.

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I am not highly educated about this topic; only from what I've read in the Ashton Manual.  Isn't it correct that in benzo withdrawal, we aren't necessarily deficient in GABA; the problem is the GABA has no where to go?  If the receptors have atrophied, or have been absorbed into the neuronal axis, (or wherever they go), most or much of our GABA is just wasted.  I wonder if there is a way to test a person's receptor assembly.  If there were such a test, I think I would have it done at once.  -Jeff
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I am not highly educated about this topic; only from what I've read in the Ashton Manual.  Isn't it correct that in benzo withdrawal, we aren't necessarily deficient in GABA; the problem is the GABA has no where to go?  If the receptors have atrophied, or have been absorbed into the neuronal axis, (or wherever they go), most or much of our GABA is just wasted.  I wonder if there is a way to test a person's receptor assembly.  If there were such a test, I think I would have it done at once.  -Jeff

 

I found this article, but it's too hard for me to understand with my foggy brain at the moment:

 

https://www.drugabuse.gov/news-events/nida-notes/2012/04/well-known-mechanism-underlies-benzodiazepines-addictive-properties

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Here's a simpler explanation. But I still don't understand if it means that GABA levels would be elevated in the absence of benzos or not.

 

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Here's a simpler explanation. But I still don't understand if it means that GABA levels would be elevated in the absence of benzos or not.

 

I don't know either.  Thanks for the link.  -Jeff
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I found this article, but it's too hard for me to understand with my foggy brain at the moment:

 

https://www.drugabuse.gov/news-events/nida-notes/2012/04/well-known-mechanism-underlies-benzodiazepines-addictive-properties

Wow, I've never actually seen this article in its entirety!  Dr. Jennifer Leigh responded to it very harshly in this interview: http://prescription-drug.addictionblog.org/what-your-doctors-or-alexander-zaitchik-wont-tell-you-about-benzo-withdrawal/

 

I'm sorry about your brain fog state, and I hope it subsides into the evening.  I know that feeling very well.  Thanks.  -Jeff

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Simonbarsinister, thank you so much for the article!

 

I like this: "Benzo withdrawal makes craving heroin look like child’s play."

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