2021-05-18, Tuesday
Sleep… need it… dead tired… 
- at the moment my fibro seems to be mainly a “sleep disorder”, since I got the pains down last year, GABA has resolved a lot, esp. most stiffness, sleep is better, but not anything like right yet. All other problems like energy, exhaustibility, tiredness, feverishness seem to be a consequence of the weird sleep.
Glutamic acid had caused 
a bit more frequent seizures. 
:
So I tried to replace it, first with ashwagandha ( terrible GI 
),
then 5-HTP ( too awake 
),
now tryptophan ( GI and dead tired; serotonin-overload 
):
So I’ll 
bring it all down first for a few days, just Mg & readjust GABA to 1-3 small doses of powder.
Then 
try levodopa (RLS), first lowest dose, then slightly higher.
Since I’ve used up the 
passiflora, I want to order & try that again too.
To revisit tryptophan, I need lower dose, powder or capsules instead of pills, with meals / drink.
And 
serrapeptase is still on my list.
Found out one cause of my tooth problem: Food gets between two back teeth which I can’t get out by flossing, but I’ve now found I can get it with a mini-brush.
FEELING Well % / Pain 0-7 
DOING
Sleep: 90%/1 9h20, up 4x (55’)+1h45=11h05 - again: head tired, body pretty good upon waking, but feverish-tired during & after live work
Activities: 60%/1 3h55 (live-work 2h25 sports 1h TT 6:?3, shop 30’) TIRED 
(+GI, everything else is OK) I played TT well, but using a great deal of energy to get over the tiredness - not too knackered after, considering.
Treatment: 1h (self) 
Effects of GABA+3 (Mg, passiflora, tryptophan): Hungry at 3:15: Tryptophan? liquid (= alcohol) passiflora? But if so, why not yesterday? Another 100mg GABA in the mouth at 3:15 - like my sleep lab psychiatrist suggested - was great, think I’ll go that way more.
If GABA and tryptophan are amino acids - are the acids hyperacidifying my stomach? Bottom line: Tryptophan CAN lead to stomach pain & diarrhea, I need to get capsules instead, go down with the dose, take it before meals and with lots to drink...
Erstverschlimmerung bei der Einnahme von L-Tryptophan: Die wichtigsten Fragen und Antworten | Sundt Nutrition (This page doesn’t inspire confidence.) Sleepiness can get worse for the first 3 days (sure?) There are 450mg of tryptophan in 100g of soy beans (sure?), so I get quite a high dose every day already, as I eat at least that amount either in tofu or soy joghurt or both.
Tryptophan: Wirkung, Dosierung, Mangel & Nebenwirkungen - VitaminExpress If you only get it via food, other amino acids may be ‘faster’. No habituation. Taking more than a certain amount of tr., it cannot all pass the BBB, so is converted to serotonin in the liver, which can have adverse effects such as upset stomach. Best then to take 500-1000mg 3x a day in smaller or increasing doses. Improves mood in women not men (2006 study). Improves stamina.
PharmaWiki - Tryptophan some may be oversensitive to it? Can interact with levodopa (which I’d also be wanting to take, but my doc says that’s OK…)
Psychological and Sleep Effects of Tryptophan and Magnesium-Enriched Mediterranean Diet in Women with Fibromyalgia - PubMed 2020: This study concludes that tryptophan and magnesium-enriched Mediterranean diet reduced anxiety symptoms, mood disturbance, eating disorders, and dissatisfaction with body image but did not improve sleep quality in women with fibromyalgia.
How important is tryptophan in human health? - PubMed 2019: The literature strongly suggests that Trp has a significant role in the correct functionality of the brain-gut axis and immunology.
Tryptophan Intake in the US Adult Population Is Not Related to Liver or Kidney Function but Is Associated with Depression and Sleep Outcomes - PubMed 2016: Tryptophan intake was inversely associated with self-reported level of depression and positively associated with (self-reported) sleep duration.
L-Tryptophan: Dosierung ✔ Wirkung ✔ Nebenwirkungen ✔ Studien ✔ 590mg / 100g soy beans. Good for IBS (Fitzgerald P et al.: Tryptophan catabolism in females with irritable bowel syndrome: relationship to interferon-gamma, severity of symptoms and psychiatric co-morbidity; Neurogastroenterol Motil 2008 Sep 17). Can be combined with GABA or glutamic acid.
Tryptophan: gesundheitliche Vorteile + Gefahren eines Tryptophan-Mangels - Natural Doping Can lead to constipation.
Tryptophan: gesundheitliche Vorteile + Gefahren eines Tryptophan-Mangels - Natural Doping Careful with social anxiety, as you may have too much serotonin. (but what about Trudy Scott’s anxiety page?) Normally 500mg, but up to 8g for 8 weeks seems well possible.
https://tryptophan-dosierung.blogspot.com/ Taken up best on an empty stomach, e.g. before breakfast. Or after sports. For sleep up to 1g is good, 3 weeks is sufficient.
https://www.natur-zentrum.com/tryptophan/ Can decrease effectiveness of levodopa. Cashews as much tryptophan as soy beans, almonds 170mg.
Effects of melatonin and tryptophan on healing of gastric and duodenal ulcers with Helicobacter pylori infection in humans - PubMed sounds as if tryptophan helps gastric ulcers…?
Tryptophan Advanced Patient Information - Drugs.com Take with a low-protein, carbohydrate-rich meal or snack to prevent an upset stomach.
L-tryptophan Uses, Side Effects & Warnings - Drugs.com stomach pain mentioned, here too: What Is Tryptophan? Uses, Benefits, and Foods
How to Safely Take 5-HTP to Avoid Digestive Problems | Livestrong.com 5-HTP: Simply swallowing a pill aimlessly can often lead to stomach health becoming impaired, especially if a history of digestive problems exists. Better: Moderate dose, Step : Select capsules instead of tablets. As the contents of the capsule will already be broken down into a fine powder, this makes ingestion a lot less demanding on your digestive system. In comparison, far more stomach acids need to be stimulated to assimilate a hard tablet into an equivalent state. Step Take with food. Sometimes the directions for use printed on the product label are vague regarding this often important issue. If you are experiencing digestive problems and feel that 5 HTP is not entering your system as safely as it could be, this alone may well rectify the situation. Eat a main meal straight after having your supplement—the more substantial it is, the better.
Step Drink plenty of water. Have a full glass at the same time as swallowing your capsule, instead of just a minimal amount. This will help to mobilize the supplement through your stomach more comfortably.
My experience with Melatonin and Tryptophan
Forum, not qualified: OTOH helped for heartburn etc., OTOH: Tryptophan can have plenty of health benefits, but the supplement can cause a number of unpleasant side effects in people. The most common are gastrointestinal side effects, which include: heartburn stomach pain - seems copied from healthline: What Is Tryptophan? Uses, Benefits, and Foods
Also diarrhea, which is what I now also have a bit.
Effects of acupressure yesterday: Worked on (ear &) belly scar tissue → stiff knees instead of stiff elbows as usual. Relaxed, energy & good after, but didn’t prevent stomach burn etc. at night, which it was aiming at. (Despite continuing feverish-tiredness from sleeping too short the night before (Sat → Sun 7h50 due to 5-HTP) and having to get up “too early” (7:15 Mon), despite good long sleep). She asked about lasting effect the last times, I wasn’t sure, but now it’s safe - I have no lasting today, sleep is overbearing.
Feeling/Action-details
(Well in % / Pain incl. Gut 0-10) (Sleep, Fibro-‘Work’, Work Digi & Live, Activity, Treatment)
Sleep 21:30- 22:45lbu (hmm, pretty short sleep cycle time; lbu (= RLS?) is what my psychiatrist wants me to try the Restex for). 2:15 (p) sore throat (why? t-shirt too tight?! different one) → Marigold. 3:15:40’ burning stomach/hungry, slightly nauseous - Tryptophan? The alcohol in the fluid passiflora? → Gastritol & eat. hot / feverish → clothes off. Slightly itchy, incl. scalp, despite hair being washed. Putting a different long sleeve on whilst eating was better, altho both were organic cotton - the one from aldi is treated somehow tho, feels synthetic/elastic.
Strong bowel movement from eating. Slight headache → drink & breathing ex. Dared to open a GABA capsule and take another 100mg (like my psychiatrist suggested), which was dead easy, despite my wife warning me that it isn’t. Back to sleep quick after belly and AuTr. 6:50p -7:45 (alarm clock) 2h30+7h45-5-5-40-5=10h15-55=9h20, up 4x, 55’ - again: head tired, body good upon waking.
nap: 15:35-17:20=1h45
Improving self-treatments: Timing, hunchback-pillow 15’, Palpate 2’, AuTr 5’, Belly 3’, back 6’, Workout 6’, cold shower “10’”, Yoga 4’, Neck 1 2’, Neck 2 2’, loins 5’,
marionette-hang ', breath-hold ’ =60’
Fibro-work: Night: 22:45:05’ 5’ 3:15:35’5 6:50:5’ 13:40:60’ 14:45:15’ 20:50’? = 2h55
Development: see above…
Abbreviations (new: time, 'loins', neck 1 vs. 2, why I'm counting cold showering as 10')
’ = mins = minutes, ‘’ = secs = seconds, h is hours as time length, 3h is 3 hours long, 3:00 is 3am, 15:00 is 3pm. 18:10:40’ means 40 minutes, starting at 18:10, = 10 minutes past 6pm up to 10 to 7pm
AT = Autogenic Training, cold/FCS = Flash Cold Shower (20’’) , ex = exercises, HWB = Hot water bottle, breath-hold/WHM-B-H = Wim Hof Method Breath-Holding, slp = sleep.
Reasons for getting up w = awake, lbu: lower back unrest (‘RLS’?), p: pee, i: ideas. PsA = Psoriatic Arthritis-suspicion
fw = fibro-work
Pain 7 = crying (/out) point
TT = table tennis, 5:1 = score, usually showing how well I’m feeling: energy, relaxedness & alertness if the first number is much higher than the second.
Cold showering itself only takes 20’’+40’’=1’, but I now count it as 10’.
Neck 1 is stretching in the various directions, neck 2 is pressing my head against my hand “without moving”.
loins = loins/groin = stretching the ligaments there.