ENDOMETRIOSIS: STRESS-REDUCTION TIPS

Tryptophan is found naturally in cow’s milk, turkey, tuna and some carbohydrate-high foods like apples. Breast milk, too, is especially high in this amino acid—one reason why Infants fall asleep after feeding. Supplying tryptophan to the adult body, though, is more than a matter of ingesting any of these foods before bedtime or taking it in concentrated form in capsules.

Does tryptophan realty work as a natural mood regulator? In his book The Brain, Richard Result, M.D., describes a number of experiments with volunteers, some of whom took serotonin and some of whom took placebos. Tests were inconclusive. Yes, serotonin improved signs of depression in one test, but no, there was no overall difference in mood alteration in another, “Relating a subtle disorder of the emotions to disruptions in certain key brain neurotransmitters” Is helpful. Dr. Restak reported, but, he added, a decrease of serotonin, for example, can be the result of several causes. “Perhaps,” he says, “not enough of the substance is being synthesized, or too much is being broken down. Or perhaps, it isn’t being released from its storage vesicles. Or the Uptake mechanisms may be overworking.” Each of these ideas opens a host of possible explanations as to why all volunteers did not uniformly feel better, and why some felt no change whatsoever.

Can tryptophan work for you? Body chemistry is unique and tryptophan is not an absolute mood elevator for everyone. If a low serotonin level signals the onset of depression, then it may be worth your while to increase your intake of tryptophan and see if you are improving on it. The results of Dr. Restak’s experiment, in effect, mirror my own observations of tryptophan’s effectiveness. Some of my patients respond to tryptophan supplements and others report that they red no better for having taken them. It is then a matter of experimentation for you, depending on the severity of your menstrual cramps, the degree of sleeplessness, and the extent of mood change.

For the most effective results, take tryptophan forty-five minutes or so before bedtime. Though the tryptophan in milk can help you relax, you’d actually require about six or seven glasses of milk to get the same effect as from a standard dosage in supplement tablets. Keep the dosage within reasonable limits. You can safely rake two 500-mg capsules of tryptophan midcycle if you suffer from mittelschmerz pain; with the familiar stirrings of PMS symptoms or depression that is harder to cope with, increase the dosage up to twice that, or tour capsules a day. Take the first two capsules with a balanced B complex formula pill, whether in tablet or dissolvable brewer’s yeast powder, lake the second two with a warm caffeine-free drink like Pero or Postutn (which are grain-based beverages).

Linking depression or mood swings to a brain chemical as specific as serotonin has not been proved true in all cases in the way that insulin, for example, is irrevocably connected to blood sugar levels. Brain chemistry is still arcane territory, and experiments continue. Meanwhile, many sufferers of endometriosis, unaware of the natural approach, turn to drags.

Many sleep disturbances have led women to rely on chemical palliatives, like sleeping pills, tranquilizers, and antidepressants. For a while Valium was the catch-all pill for PMS and for women who were diagnosed (or undiagnosed) as having endometriosis. Although low-dose tranquilizers may be helpful for chronic sleep disturbances related to pain, I would not recommend them for dairy use. Tranquilizers may become addictive for some women and in others may induce the very symptoms they are meant to relieve. Antidepressants—used for treatment of deeper psychological problems—need not be a consideration at all when women follow the vitamin and mineral guidelines and dietary changes.

If you try the natural approach and you reel yon still need medical assistance in falling asleep, your doctor may prescribe Halcion, a mild insomnia tablet; dosage should be one .25-mg or .5-mg tablet. A mild tranquilizer with the palindromic name of Xanax (alprazolam) can be prescribed in .25-mg and .5-mg tablets.

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