GABA???

[DanielsMom]

???Gosh, it's been quite awhile since I've been here. Anyone have any suggestions about what to give my son (9yrs. 56lbs) to calm him down alittle? The problem in school is he's standing or walking around the room alot. Also, does anyone know the right amount to give in GABA. I heard this could help. Any information you can give would be greatly appreciated!!

[catatonic]

I tend to approach the entire GABA issue with a great deal of caution. Research on it is contradictory, and there are indications that both LOW levels of GABA and HIGH levels play a part in a number of neurological disorders. For example, if you follow the link below, you can view the full text of a study that purports to have discovered a link between autism and elevated GABA concentrations in the brain:
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=12165753

And to further confuse matters, other research seems to indicate that in behavior disorders without accompanying mood disorders, GABA levels are elevated, but in mood disorders without behavior disorders, GABA levels are depressed, and in anxiety disorders, GABA levels were not affected. You can plow through this info if you'd like, here:
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=9466235

Here's a basic explanation of GABA from Dr. Ray Sahelian:

"GABA or gamma-aminobutyric acid, discovered in 1950, is the most important and widespread inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain. Excitation in the brain must be balanced with inhibition. Too much excitation can lead to restlessness, irritability, insomnia, and even seizures. GABA is able to induce relaxation, analgesia, and sleep. Barbiturates and benzodiazepines are known to stimulate GABA receptors, and hence induce relaxation. Several neurological disorders, such as epilepsy, sleep disorders, and Parkinson’s disease are affected by this neurotransmitter.

GABA is made in the brain from the amino acid glutamate with the aid of vitamin B6. GABA is available as a supplement in vitamin stores, but taking it in pill form is not always an effective way to raise brain levels of this neurotransmitter because GABA cannot easily cross the blood-brain barrier. Companies are searching for ways to place GABA in an oil base in order to ease its entry across this barrier. "

What does all this mean? It means that GABA definitely appears to play a role in ADHD and other neurological problems...and that adding more GABA may result in improvement, or may make matters worse. If you'd like to experiment with it, there's information on appropriate use and dosing here:
www.wholehealthmd.com/refshelf/substances_view/0,1525,10027,00.html

I know that OhMama is more familiar than I am with GABA and its effectiveness, so hopefully she will add her thoughts here, too.

[lisle]

Hi,
We tried GABA and it made my son more hyper and impulsive every time, at 500mg. or 250 mg.
I guess that isn't what he needs.
lisle

[DanielsMom]

Well, just from the two replies so far, I will NOT be using GABA on my son. Thank you for your help. So, any suggestions on what I could do to calm him a little?? He's not totally out of control by any means but he is very disruptive to the class when he cant sit still. HELP!

[DanielsMom]

Well, just from the two replies so far, I will NOT be using GABA on my son. Thank you for your help. So, any suggestions on what I could do to calm him a little?? He's not totally out of control by any means but he is very disruptive to the class when he cant sit still. HELP!

[ohmama]

My experience with GABA led me to the conclusion that it did not cross the blood-brain barrier. I tried every dose possible and had high hopes for this so I wouldn't have to resort to meds.

We ended up using Depakote. Even that didn't work fast though and took several months till he was what I would call very stable. We started at a low dose but once he was built up with it... Wow, it was great! Of course I'm dealing with more than adhd and anxiety here. My son is more toward bipolar.

Because it took so long to see any effect from the Depakote I thought maybe I didn't give the GABA enough time to work?? These natural alternatives usually take longer than meds to see an effect. But, now that I read what Cat quoted about not crossing the blood-brain barrier it confirms what I had suspected. There are other amino acids that are said to be more effective like L-Theanine.

Also, I would suggest the omega 3 fish oil and magnesium if you're not already using them.

[catatonic]

Shannon, is your son taking any supplements (or medications) at this point?

[DanielsMom]

Currently he is on:

DMAE 300mg. X 1
Fish Oil 180mg. X2
Vitamin E 200I.U. X1

Once we can get him to calm down abit the teacher wants him tested for the gifted program at school. Any ideas what else should be included here would be greatly appreciated.

What are the benefits to adding magnesium? What would be the dosage for 56lbs.?

Thanks!

[catatonic]

Magnesium is...well, if your neurons are highways, then magnesium is the guy in the toll booth controlling the gate that lets neurotransmitters through. Clinical studies have provided estimates that upwards of 90% of children with ADHD are magnesium deficient. (It has a number of non-ADHD health benefits as well.) For your son a therapeutic dose of magnesium would be 3mg/kg which is about 300mg total, half given in the morning and half in the evening. This is well within recommended guidelines for a 9-year-old, where tolerable upper limits have been set at 350mg per day. There's a lot of general information -- and ADHD-specific information -- on magnesium here:
www.mgwater.com

Something else that might be successful for you is the amino acid tyrosine, which increases levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine (which Ritalin also does). This will noticeably help some children -- particularly "classic" ADHD -- and it it doesn't, you may want to try adding a serotonin-increasing supplement like 5-htp. Or replacing the tyrosine with 5-htp if the tyrosine seems to worsen symptoms. My 10-year-old takes 750mg twice daily (a basically tasteless white powder mixed in a glass of water).

The other thing that seems to help my son (definitely a "classic" case of ADHD) is lecithin. Lecithin is not only of physiological use to the brain itself -- since its a phospholipid and that's pretty much what your brain is made of -- but it increases levels of the neurotransmitter choline, and that seems to be a very good thing. I like the lecithin granules mixed in a breakfast shake because it's easy to get enough that way. There are capsules, which may be more convenient, but you need to take a LARGE number of them (6-12, depending on their strength and on whose research you're looking at).

You might want to consider upping the fish oil as well. In "The LCP Solution", Dr. Jacqueline Stordy cites research findings indicating 480mg DHA daily is the target dose for ADHD. (Which may be cut back by about half after 12 weeks, as long as cutting back does not bring a return of symptoms. We aren't able to cut back.)