GABA

GABA helps a stressed young boy with episodes of “choking” or tightening in his throat

December 25, 2020 By Trudy Scott 34 Comments

Earlier this year I blogged about how the calming amino acid GABA is often a solution for both anxiety and globus pharyngeus (lump in the throat) and a mom shared this about her son’s episodes of “choking” or tightening in his throat (to the point that he cannot swallow), especially when school stress gets high:

My son, (8 y.o.) has a history of public school use of physical aversion intervention for behaviors that result from a significant language impairment often reports “choking” or tightening in his throat to the point that he cannot swallow. When school stress gets high, he ceases to swallow his saliva which creates a long period of “spitting” out substances including food and natural spit as he is fearful of “choking” to death. During panic attacks he immediately reports “choking” which furthers his panic. You are the first practitioner I have come across that has explained the relationship between globus pharyngeus, stress reaction and low GABA levels. I always felt his throat tightening (involuntary muscle response) was a stress response but was not aware of it’s connection to GABA levels. Thank you for this informative piece!

I voiced my concern for what her son was going through and how I can’t imagine how scary it must be for someone his age, asking her to keep us updated on his progress.

And just over a month later she reported the success her son was having with GABA:

We started a GABA supplement which has positively impacted my son. While he still struggles with hypersalivation when in distress or anxious, his self-reports of feeling like he is “choking” or his throat is closing, has not been present since GABA has been started. We are about a month in and I am inspired that we will continue to have progress. I have been referring to your work as a source to everyone I know that struggles with anxiety. Thank you for all that you do from a very grateful parent.

What wonderful results for her son! Getting feedback like this warms my heart and I appreciate her for sharing so I can share here.

I did ask what GABA product he was using, how much/how often he uses it and how quickly he noticed an improvement but did not hear back. My recommendation is 125mg to start for adults and less for children and I like the GABA Calm product as it’s a sublingual form and easy to use for kids.

I also commented on the fact that he still has “hypersalivation when in distress or anxious.” I would focus on trying to reduce the anxiety with higher doses of GABA and also consider addressing low serotonin because of the anxiety, panic attacks and being “fearful of “choking” to death”.

The anxiety could trigger hypersalivation but the hypersalivation could also be as a result of a food sensitivity like gluten or dairy. Both these and other food sensitivities could also contribute to low GABA/low serotonin and be a trigger for anxiety.

Of course, bullying at school should always be considered and so should the social anxiety condition pyroluria, speech therapy, gut health and vagus nerve support.

Could this be a case of laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR)?

I always like to try and connect the dots and wonder if this could be a case of laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR)? I don’t know but it’s possible. This paper, Laryngopharyngeal reflux: A confounding cause of aerodigestive dysfunction, states that LPR is “defined by the retrograde passage of gastric contents beyond the upper oesophageal sphincter, with contamination of the larynx, pharynx and lungs” and states that “half of the laryngeal complaints referred to ear, nose and throat (ENT) services are ultimately diagnosed as LPR.

It also mentions globus pharyngeus and dysphagia (which is difficulty swallowing), sharing that changes in pH suggest reflux occurs in “50% of patients with hoarseness, 64% with globus, 55% with chronic cough and 35% with dysphagia.”

This same paper reports that “30% of patients with LPR-like symptoms report anxiety, compared with 6% of healthy controls.”

Prevalence of reflux disease in children and LPR symptoms by age

This paper, Laryngopharyngeal Reflux Disease in Children, reports that “Although the exact prevalence is unknown, it is estimated that nearly 1 in 5 children likely suffers from reflux disease.” This 1 in 5 number is for both GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease) and LPR.

The authors also share that it usually presents with a different set of symptoms depending on age:

Infants typically present with regurgitation, vomiting, dysphagia [difficulty swallowing], anorexia, failure to thrive, apnea, recurrent croup, laryngomalacia [softening of the laryngeal structure], subglottic stenosis [narrowing of the airway], or chronic respiratory issues.
School-age children tend to demonstrate chronic cough, dyspnea [shortness of breath], dysphonia [hoarseness], persistent sore throat, halitosis [bad breath], and globus sensation.
Older children may also complain of regurgitation, heartburn, vomiting, nausea, or have chronic respiratory issues.

Low levels of GABA, a calming neurotransmitter

In case you’re new to GABA: low levels of GABA, a calming neurotransmitter can lead to anxiety, fears and panic attacks. With low GABA, the anxiety is a physical kind of anxiety with muscle tension or muscle spasms. Low GABA may be one possible root cause of globus pharyngeus, which leads to a rather scary golf-ball-like lump or constriction in the throat – or as this young boy describes, episodes of “choking” or tightening in his throat.

The amino acid GABA raises GABA levels and in this instance helps ease this tightening, choking or throat muscle spasms.

To be clear, there is no research (yet) on the use of the amino acid GABA for these types of symptoms, however in one study gabapentin was compared to baclofen for the treatment of gastro-oesophageal reflux-induced chronic cough and in another study there were improvements with both proton pump inhibitors and gabapentin for globus pharyngeus. If GABA works I’m all for it, rather than these medications, which do have a long list of side-effects.

Has your child been diagnosed with globus pharyngeus or laryngopharyngeal reflux disease?

Have you observed episodes like this in your child, personally or with clients/patients and has GABA helped?

Have you found other contributing factors like low serotonin, food sensitivities, gut issues, vagus nerve issues or pyroluria?

Feel free to post your questions here on the blog too.

PharmaGABA eases physical anxiety in a young man who has recently given up Adderall, alcohol and nicotine

December 11, 2020 By Trudy Scott 45 Comments

Today’s blog is about a young man diagnosed with ADD (attention deficit disorder) in his early twenties and prescribed Adderal (a stimulant). He was a cigarette smoker and drank alcohol too. His mother shared this encouraging feedback about the recent changes he has made and the benefits he reports with pharmaGABA on a recent blog. She aslo has a question about the GABA timing.

If you’re new to the low GABA type of anxiety, here is a recap: with low GABA the anxiety is the physical anxiety type with stiff and tense muscles and there is often the need to self-medicate with alcohol in order to relax, feel calm and fit in socially. Cigarettes can also be calming for many folks. Anxiety can cause poor focus issues and the inability to focus can drive up anxiety.

Here is her feedback and question:

I have a son that just started GABA after I recommended it from following you all these years. He has given up Adderall, alcohol, and nicotine all this past six months and is feeling so much better than the past ten years of his life. He is 32. He had been diagnosed with ADD in his early twenties.

He has symptoms that fall under low GABA and tried a chewable PharmaGABA 100mg tablet yesterday. He took 2 tablets (200mg total) with his meals three times the past two days and said he felt it work immediately. I told him I thought perhaps on a podcast I heard dosing 30 minutes before meals or an hour after was best?

This was my feedback for this mom about the timing of the pharmaGABA:

It’s wonderful to hear that the chewable pharmaGABA worked immediately to ease his low GABA physical anxiety symptoms
The amino acid GABA is best used away from protein so, yes, 30 minutes before meals with protein or an hour after is best.
Your son will likely find he needs less GABA doing it this way and it’ll be more effective.

I had this encouragement and feedback about quitting and using GABA:

Good for him getting off Adderall and quitting alcohol and nicotine. It can be tough when using just will-power alone.
The amino acids actually make it easier to quit because of the self-medication aspect and alcohol and nicotine are often used as a way to ease anxiety.
Even so, addressing low GABA levels after the fact will make it so much easier for him to stay away from nicotine and alcohol without having to use will-power.
There is also research showing that GABA may offer gut protection after alcohol consumption
As I mention above, anxiety can cause poor focus issues and the inability to focus can drive up anxiety. GABA can help improve focus and reduce anxiety)

Imbalances of other neurotransmitter (like low serotonin and low endorphins)

If I was working with young man I would also consider imbalances of other neurotransmitter too (like low serotonin and low endorphins) especially because alcohol and nicotine addictions are so often replaced by sugar and carb addictions.

In this randomized, double blind study, The use of a food supplementation with D-phenylalanine (DPA), L-glutamine and L-5-hydroxytriptophan in the alleviation of alcohol withdrawal symptoms, amino acids were “used to replenish a lack in neurotransmitters and alleviate the symptoms of alcohol withdrawal.”

In the study 20 patients were given these amino acids before quitting alcohol and this combination was found to alleviate withdrawal symptoms. Based on my experience even when will-power is used to quit (as in this case), many of these withdrawal symptoms linger.

Another reason to look at all the neurotransmitter imbalances is that low blood sugar and gut damage is often a factor with drinkers so glutamine may also be helpful for blood sugar stability and gut healing.

Finally, poor focus can also be caused by low catecholamines, so looking into this and considering a trial with tyrosine may also be worthwhile. This may also prevent the caffeine addiction we see once someone quits alcohol too.

Addressing his diet and probable nutrient deficiencies would be the next step for him. Also looking into adrenal health, possible candida and gut issues and food sensitivities.

Additional resources when you are new to using GABA and other amino acids as supplements

As always, I use the symptoms questionnaire to figure out if low GABA may be an issue. The low GABA symptoms include: physical tension, overwhelm, fears, anxiousness, stiff and tense muscles, sleep issues, feelings of panic and stress-eating and drinking.

If you suspect low levels of any of the neurotransmitters and do not yet have my book, The Antianxiety Food Solution – How the Foods You Eat Can Help You Calm Your Anxious Mind, Improve Your Mood, and End Cravings, I highly recommend getting it and reading it before jumping in and using amino acids on your own so you are knowledgeable. And be sure to share it with the practitioner/health team you or your loved one is working with.

There is an entire chapter on the amino acids and they are discussed throughout the book in the sections on gut health, gluten, blood sugar control (this is covered in an entire chapter too), sugar cravings, anxiety and mood issues.

The book doesn’t include product names (per the publisher’s request) so this blog, The Antianxiety Food Solution Amino Acid and Pyroluria Supplements, lists the amino acids that I use with my individual clients and those in my group programs.

If, after reading this blog and my book, you don’t feel comfortable figuring things out on your own (i.e. doing the symptoms questionnaire and respective amino acids trials), a good place to get help is the GABA QuickStart Program (if you have low GABA symptoms). This is a paid online/virtual group program where you get my guidance and community support.

If you are a practitioner, join us in The Balancing Neurotransmitters: the Fundamentals program. This is also a paid online/virtual program with an opportunity to interact with me and other practitioners who are also using the amino acids.

Wrapping up and your feedback

I appreciate this mom for sharing and applaud her for telling her son about GABA. I also take my hat off to this young man for making these huge changes in his life and being willing to try GABA.

Have you successfully used GABA or any of the other amino acid to help quit alcohol or cigarettes? Or have you used them after you quit to prevent sygar cravings taking the place of alcohol or cigarettes?

Has GABA or pharmGABA helped ease the physical anxiety you experienced and also helped with focus issues?

Feel free to post your questions here on the blog too.

Since starting GABA my child sleeps for the first time in years and really notices a difference in his carb cravings

November 27, 2020 By Trudy Scott 37 Comments

Today I’m sharing a success story where GABA, used as a supplement, helps a teenage boy sleep for the first time in years and also helps reduce his carbohydrate cravings. This boy’s mom, Calle, shared their wonderful story on this blog post – GABA for ending sugar cravings (and anxiety and insomnia):

Got some GABA for our ASD [autism spectrum disorder] child. He has not slept well for years. We had tried all kinds of stuff. I am a healthcare pro and have studied and read and tried so much. But this stuff is a true miracle. For the first time in years my child sleeps. He sang and was all smiles from ear to ear for the first three days.

And then she posted this a few days later (and how shocked they both were!):

Our son has also really noticed a difference in his carb cravings since doing GABA. He went to grandma’s house and was not tempted by 6 pies, tons of cookies, sweet rolls etc. We were both shocked. This is a kid who would mow through tons of cookies, rolls and pastries.

I love getting feedback like this and am so happy for them!

There is no study on the use of GABA as a supplement for helping sleep problems in those individuals with ASD/autism spectrum disorder. Here are two papers for further reading until such a study is done:

Sleep in autism: A biomolecular approach to aetiology and treatment

Studies indicate that between 50% and 83% of individuals with ASD have sleep problems or disorders.

This review approaches sleep in autism from several perspectives: Sleep-wake mechanisms and problems, and brain areas and molecules controlling sleep (e.g., GABA and melatonin) and wake maintenance (e.g., serotonin, acetylcholine and glutamate).

Tactile hypersensitivity and GABA concentration in the sensorimotor cortex of adults with autism

GABA concentration in the sensorimotor cortex of adults with ASD was lower than in neurotypical adults (decrease by 17%). Interestingly, GABA concentrations were positively correlated with self-reported tactile hypersensitivity in adults with ASD.

If you’re new to the amino acids here is a quick summary about GABA: low levels of GABA, a calming neurotransmitter typically leads to anxiety, fears and panic attacks, with the anxiety showing up as a physical kind of anxiety with muscle tension or muscle spasms. Low GABA levels can also affect sleep especially when there is muscle tension. Folks often describe that they lie awake feeling stiff and tense. And as with all neurotransmitter deficiencies there is also the carb/sugar and/or alcohol (in adults) cravings as a way to self-medicate.

In this instance low GABA only resulted in sleep issues and carb cravings for Calle’s son. No mention was made about anxiety but it’s possible he was not able to articulate that he felt anxious. I don’t know if Calle’s son experienced tactile hypersensitivity (common in ASD) but if he did this may have factored in with his sleep issues.

In her comments Calle also shared this and it’s so true: “Healing is like learning to dance, you stumble, step on toes and learn to trust your body.”

I appreciate Calle for sharing her son’s story and I’m sharing it here so you can see yet another way GABA can address symptoms and improve someone’s life (and improve things for the rest of the family too). If her son can now sleep after years of sleep challenges then anything is possible.

Keep in mind that this blog goes beyond a teenage boy with an ASD diagnosis who has sleep issues and craves carbs. It could be applicable to anyone – male or female, adult or child – who has low GABA levels that contribute to his/her sleep issues and carb cravings (and often physical anxiety symptoms too).

How have you used GABA as part of your own healing journey or for your child or other family member and have you found the journey to be like a dance?

If you’re a practitioner, do share how you have helped your clients/patients by using GABA.

Feel free to post your questions here too.

GABA is the answer after 40 years of a lump-in-the-throat sensation, nervousness and muscle tension at work

November 20, 2020 By Trudy Scott 18 Comments

Earlier this year, I published a blog post on the sensation of having a lump in the throat when you feel anxious. It’s called globus pharyngeus which is defined as “the painless sensation of a lump in the throat and may be described as a foreign body sensation, a tightening or choking feeling.”

Globus means globe/sphere and it can actually feel like you have a golf-ball sized object in your throat. It’s very uncomfortable and quite terrifying outside of the anxiety that is often the trigger. I share my lump-in-the-throat story and my success with GABA in this blog: Anxiety and globus pharyngeus (lump in the throat): GABA to the rescue?

Pam recently shared her wonderful success with GABA on the above blog, after having dealt with what she calls “her throat thing” for 40 years!

I have dealt with this throat thing since I was a teenager. I’m now 57. It was only when I saw what you wrote about how yours came back after a scary airplane incident that I made the connection that GABA could help me. I saw that in the summer of 2019, so I spent about 40 years dealing with this until I found the GABA answer!

Mine comes up when speaking in front of others, such as work meetings, or even just one-on-one work discussions, and it was getting consistently worse. I would be swallowing constantly and trying to talk. Absolutely awful. Of course everyone could see it happening.

GABA solved this for me, and I can’t even describe how grateful I am!

How wonderful are these results! I am so happy for her and thanked her for coming back and sharing in the comments. I also asked some follow-up questions so I can continue to learn and so I can share so you get to learn too:

How much GABA helps and how do you take it (when you know you’ll be in this situation or a few times a day to get your levels up)?
Did you ever use a prescribed medication or were recommended something?
Have you seen any other benefits from using GABA – improved sleep, reduced anxiety in other situations, reduced cravings?
Have you made other changes too – like dietary changes such as gluten/sugar/caffeine/alcohol removal?

She shared this about timing and how GABA helps with anxiety-related physical/muscle tension and nervousness:

I take GABA Calm … one upon waking, 1 mid-morning, and 1 mid- afternoon. I take an extra one right at the time of a meeting.

That is the only change I made. I’ve never been on any prescription medication.

Other than the specific throat issue, I notice I’m generally less physically tense, with muscles not getting so knotted up in my face, scalp, neck, shoulders, and back, which is wonderful.

I work at a computer job, which causes lots of muscle tension, but I feel that anxiety-related muscle tension has reduced.

I notice that my muscles have less of that “immediate tightness” upon seeing someone whom I’m nervous to interact with.

This timing and dosage of GABA Calm is typically what I use with clients and what works so it was great to hear that it’s working for her. I was also so pleased to hear the anxiety-related muscle tension and nervousness has reduced too. This is also to be expected.

I did remind her to keep in mind that the amino acids are intended for short-term use. This could be a few weeks up to 6-12 months depending on each person. While using the GABA, I have my clients start to address all the dietary changes, gut health, nutritional deficiencies (zinc and B6 are needed to make neurotransmitters and key with pyroluria), toxin exposure (like BPA, phthalates, pesticides, fluoride etc), infections (like Lyme and co-infections, parasites, PANDAS/PANS) etc. and everything else that may be causing low GABA levels (as we covered in The Anxiety Summit 6).

Vagus nerve support is also key. I cover what I did for my vagus nerve in this blog that Pam referred to: Vagus nerve rehab with GABA, breathing, humming, gargling and key nutrients

Globus pharyngeus or this sensation of the-lump-in-the throat is way more common than most people realize and mainstream medicine seldom has a solution. Medications that are commonly prescribed for globus pharyngeus are benzodiazepines, antidepressants/SSRIs and sometimes PPIs/proton pump inhibitors. Cognitive behavior therapy has some success in some instances but it’s always best to get to the root cause of low GABA and address that with the amino acid GABA. And then figure out why GABA is low and address that too.

If you’re new to the amino acids here is a quick summary about GABA: low levels of GABA, a calming neurotransmitter can lead to anxiety, fears and panic attacks. With low GABA, the anxiety is a physical kind of anxiety with muscle tension or muscle spasms. I propose that low GABA may be one possible root cause of globus pharyngeus.

I appreciate Pam for sharing her story and I’m sharing it here in order to give you practical solutions and hope. If she can find a solution to her 40-year the-lump-in-the throat and physical tension issues then anything is possible.

Please also share your lump-in-the-throat story and what has helped you. Or if you’re a practitioner, do share how you have helped your clients/patients who experienced this sensation.

Feel free to post your questions here too.

ADHD and psychiatric meds in children/teens on the rise, and benzodiazepine use increases mortality in adults (including suicide)

October 7, 2020 By Trudy Scott Leave a Comment

Registration for my Anxiety Summit 6: Toxins/Meds/Infections is now open and in the spirit of continuing to share valuable snippets leading up to the summit, here goes for today.

(If you’ve already registered I do hope you find these snippets of value and they help you figure out more about which interviews to tune into first. If you’re only hearing about the summit for the first time, you can register here)

Today I want to highlight some aspects from two of the interviews on psychiatric medications.

In the interview Psychiatric Medications in Children and Teens with Dr. Nicole Beurkens, we discuss these results from a 2019 paper:

Our study indicates that the rate of presentation to child and adolescent psychiatry outpatient clinics is increasing, and rates of diagnosis and initiation of psychiatry drugs are high among the presented children.
The prevalence of ADHD shows an increase in males and females in our country, and psychiatric polypharmacy has reached significant rates.

Polypharmacy means concurrent use of multiple medications by a patient. The fact that psychiatric polypharmacy is increasing in children and adolescents is most concerning. There are safer solutions that address the root causes of ADHD, anxiety and depression.

Here is what we cover in this interview:

Increasing ADHD, anti-anxiety, SSRI and antipsychotic meds and discontinuation syndrome
Disparities in BIPOC communities;
Psychiatric side effects of acne, constipation and asthma medications
Nutritional psychiatry/targeted nutrients/gut, sleep, movement, screen time and play

In the interview SSRIs, Benzodiazepines, Alcohol and Amino acids with Dr. Hyla Cass, she shares how benzodiazepines (a class of antianxiety medications that include Xanax, Ativan, Valium and others) are:

strongly associated with all cause mortality, including suicide (even when used for short durations of treatment
the cause of many accidents even if taken the previous day

Here is what we cover in this interview:

SSRI and benzodiazepine side-effects
Discontinuation syndrome, pre-taper protocols and tapering
The harmful effects of alcohol and the impacts on sleep
The dangers of combining alcohol with benzodiazepines, and the risks of antabuse (commonly used in alcohol addiction treatment plans)
GABA, tryptophan, 5-HTP, glutamine, DPA, CBD and key nutrient co-factors for medication taper, alcohol addiction, carb cravings and anxiety

Dr. Nicole Beurkens’ interview is focused on children and adolescents, and Dr. Hyla Cass’ interview is focused on adults but both are invaluable resources if you want to learn more about psychiatric medications, discontinuation syndrome, tapering and addressing the root-causes with nutritional other non-medication solutions.

Other related medication interviews of interest would be:

GABA and Tryptophan vs Meds for Hormone Balance – one of my 3 interviews (I also cover the birth control pill and more about using the amino acids)
Benzodiazepines: Short-Term Benefits, Long-Term Harms – Catherine M. Pittman, PhD, HSPP
5-HTP: Anxiety, Depression, Insomnia and Liver Protection – Michael Murray, ND (he shares studies comparing 5-HTP to SSRIs)
Neuropsychiatric Toxicity from Fluoroquinolone Antibiotics – Lisa Bloomquist
Your Brain on Food: Anxiety, OCD and PTSD – Uma Naidoo, MD, PCP (she also shares studies comparing psychiatric meds to NAC and inositol)

In case you missed the first few emails about the summit … as you know, anxiety can be related to your daily life experiences BUT it can also be triggered by:

foods you eat and what you drink (like wheat, oxalates, alcohol and more)
environmental toxins (like lead, plastics, fragrances, insecticides, fluoride and more)
many types of medications (like the benzos/SSRIs, birth control pill, acne medication, fluoroquinolone antibiotics and more) and/or
chronic infections (like Lyme disease, PANDAS, parasites, candida and more).

Once you identify the root causes and understand anxiety’s mechanisms you can support the liver/gallbladder, detox, address infections, implement targeted and supportive solutions, and get relief!

This is my 6th Anxiety Summit, featuring all new topics and the latest research related to anxiety and toxins, medications and infections.

Over the course of the next 6 weeks you’ll be seeing frequent emails from me with snippets and highlights from various interviews – like this one. I do hope you continue to enjoy them and get excited about the summit! Please do share if you know someone who has anxiety!

You’ve heard me say the Anxiety Summit has been called “a bouquet of hope!” My wish for you is that this summit is your bouquet of hope!

I hope you’ll join me and these incredible speakers, be enlightened and find YOUR solutions!

Here’s to no more anxiety and you feeling on top of the world again!

If you’re already familiar with some of this information and practice some of this already please share how it’s helped you. That way we can all learn.

If you’d like to ask a question, please post in the comments below.

I’d also love to hear from you once you’ve listened to this interview. Please do come back and comment about some of the highlights of this interview and what changes you plan to make.

The liver/thyroid/serotonin and liver/GABA/progesterone connections: The Anxiety Summit 6

September 30, 2020 By Trudy Scott 10 Comments

Dr. Ameet Aggarwal is one of my guest experts on The Anxiety Summit 6: Toxins/Meds/Infections!
and our topic is Liver Function and Bile: Anxiety, Detox, the Gut and Hormones. Here is some of what we cover in our interview:

The liver/anxiety connections: thyroid/serotonin, microbiome and GABA/progesterone
Foods and nutrients like NAC, triphala, turmeric, taurine and lycopodium
Gilbert’s syndrome and schizophrenia; misophonia; family constellations therapy; giving and endorphins

and much more.

We discuss a number of the mechanisms as to why poor liver function affects your mood. There is the liver/thyroid/serotonin connection, and the liver/GABA/progesterone connection.

In the discussion on the liver/thyroid/serotonin connection and anxiety, Dr. Ameet shares from this paper – The Relationship between the thyroid gland and the liver (paraphrased as I don’t yet have transcripts):

Thyroxine and tri‐iodothyronine are essential for normal organ growth, development and function
These hormones regulate the basal metabolic rate of all cells, including hepatocytes, and thereby modulate hepatic [liver] function
The liver in turn metabolizes the thyroid hormones and regulates their systemic endocrine effects.
Thyroid dysfunction may perturb liver function
Liver disease modulates thyroid hormone metabolism.

The catecholamine and thyroid interrelationship is well recognized but less is known about the serotonin and the thyroid. Dr. Ameet shares the synergy between the thyroid hormones, serotonin and mood:

animal studies shows that the thyroid economy has a modulating impact on the brain serotonin system
studies in hypothyroid patients have shown that thyroid replacement therapy improves serotonin production

In summary, if we have compromised liver function and/or low thyroid function this may impact serotonin levels and lead to increased anxiety.

Here is a snippet from our discussion on the liver/GABA/progesterone and anxiety:

We often think about mental health as being neurotransmitters alone but it also depends on hormones. Progesterone affects how GABA works in the brain.
GABA is your anti-anxiety neurotransmitter but it requires progesterone to work well in your brain and your liver metabolizes all your hormones through phase 1 and phase 2 detoxification
If your liver is compromised then you’re likely to have lower progesterone levels and estrogen dominance.
With low progesterone GABA won’t work as well as well in the brain, leading to anxiety and insomnia.

Again, if we have compromised liver function this may impact progesterone levels, having an effect on how GABA works and causing increased anxiety.

If you recall, I shared this GABA/progesterone snippet a few weeks ago before the site was ready and now it’s ready for you to register.

This interview is one of the registration gifts so you can listen to it right away as soon as you register (there will also be a complimentary transcript made available as soon as it’s completed.)

Here is a little about the summit… as you know, anxiety can be related to your daily life experiences BUT it can also be triggered by:

foods you eat and what you drink (like wheat, oxalates, alcohol and more)
environmental toxins (like lead, plastics, fragrances, insecticides, fluoride and more)
many types of medications (like the birth control pill, acne medication, fluoroquinolone antibiotics and more) and/or
chronic infections (like Lyme disease, PANDAS, parasites, candida and more).

Once you identify the root causes and understand anxiety’s mechanisms you can support the liver/gallbladder, detox, address infections, implement targeted and supportive solutions, and get relief!

WHY ATTEND?

This is my 6th Anxiety Summit, featuring all new topics and the latest research related to anxiety and toxins, medications and infections.

I’ve also experienced many of these health challenges myself – lead and mercury toxicity, gluten issues and candida – and I’m currently dealing with chronic Lyme disease and dietary oxalate issues. You’ll hear some of my healing journey and my solutions in a few interviews too.

WHAT SETS THIS ONLINE EVENT APART?

What sets this apart from other events on toxins and infections is being able to make the many connections to GABA (the main calming neurotransmitter) and serotonin (a happy and calming neurotransmitter) AND how to use the amino acids GABA and tryptophan to ease your anxiety right away while you are dealing with the other underlying root causes – which take longer to address.

You will see this woven into each of the expert interviews (just like this one with Dr. Schaffner) and also addressed in detail in my 3 interviews where I do a deep dive into specific applications.

For example, in my toxins interview, I share how GABA reverses fluoride-induced anxiety and hypothyroidism, and how tryptophan and vitamin C ease anxiety symptoms associated with lead toxicity (I’ll be sharing more about this in the future so stay tuned….)

It’s been wonderful to get all the emails saying how excited you are and seeing so many of you signing up. These last few months have been full-time on research and interviews and I’ll shortly get to share it all with you!