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My kids and I used GABA to get through Hurricane Helene – I recommend it for everyone’s 72-hr kit now

By Trudy Scott 2 Comments

gaba in hurricane

My kids and I used GABA to get through Hurricane Helene. Freeways broken in 3 directions, no comms, no gas, no power, etc. GABA noticeably kept us calmer even as the days went by. It helped us stay calm enough to think about our escape plan and jump on opportunities to find gas and water.

So grateful we learned about it [from you years ago] and had it on hand… I recommend it for everyone’s 72-hr [emergency preparedness] kit now.

Alecia shared her wonderful results with GABA on a Facebook post. I’m sorry they went through this but I am so happy GABA helped. I also wish everyone had GABA on hand for situations like this.

She now also uses a manual device for vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) and feels a combination of “GABA and VNS would have been incredible.” I’m a big fan of a B complex too and zinc and extra B6 if you have pyroluria because the added stress depletes these nutrients and makes things worse. And serotonin and endorphin support can often be helpful too. More on all this below and details about the GABA product she used and what dose helped her.

Which GABA product helped her and her family and how much did she use?

I asked Alecia to share how much GABA helped during and after the hurricane and which product worked for her? And if she had been using it before for day-to-day low GABA symptoms of feeling anxious, stressed, overwhelmed with physical tension and sleep issues.

We use the pharmaGABA by Natural Factors. I usually only need 100 – 200 mg in my regular life. During the hurricane I needed 300 mg pharmaGABA a couple of times a day. And more when waiting in a gas line. Such intense stress. GABA really took the edge off.

It’s always helpful to know your baseline dose i.e. what you use on a day-to-day basis. And to expect that dose to increase in times of the added stress in the midst of the hurricane and the immediate aftermath – as it did for Alecia. She needed a higher dose and used it more frequently.

You may often find you need to continue with the higher dose for a few weeks to months after the disaster, especially during the clean-up and rebuilding period.

One other factor to consider is the form of GABA. She used pharmaGABA with much success and many do very well on this form but I find more folks do better with GABA. GABA works best when used sublingually, capsule-opened, powder (all held on the tongue 1-2 mins) or cream, and a low starting dose is used, and increased to find the optimal dose.

Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) as an added benefit

Alecia now also uses a manual device for vagus nerve stimulation (VNS). She had it during Hurricane Helene but had not yet used it:

A combo of GABA and VNS would have been incredible. I found out my mom was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer the next week and finally started using both GABA and VNS. Game changer combo.

She has the Hoolest veRelief Prime device and says this:

I love the Hoolest VNS. It helps with anxiety, sleep, digestion, and higher performance. I like level 4 but my kids prefer level 1.

I used it daily for about 4-6 months and then I started to heal deeply. Now I only need it once every week or two.

(I did hear that her mom’s treatments are working)

Vagus nerve stimulation, anxiety, GABA and the potential with VNS devices

This paper, Vagus nerve stimulation: a physical therapy with promising potential for central nervous system disorders, discusses how “vagus nerve stimulation influences the central nervous system through the GABA system” and the fact that “VNS has been shown to alleviate anxiety symptoms”, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), panic disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Much of the research has been done with implantable vagus nerve stimulation (iVNS) but the potential with non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation devices is really exciting.

What is so interesting is that “Vagus nerve stimulation influences the central nervous system through the GABA system” and it’s “speculated that part of VNS’s therapeutic effects …might involve the GABA system.”

VNS benefits are also seen via impacts on serotonin and dopamine, BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor), by reducing inflammation and the secretion of inflammatory cytokines and promoting neuroprotection.

You can read more about vagus nerve support on this blog: Vagus nerve rehab with GABA, breathing, humming, gargling and key nutrients. I share my vagus nerve/throat issue and how manual vagus nerve support exercises and GABA helped me.

Using a good B complex and the pyroluria protocol too

I told Alecia that I’m a big fan of a good B complex and the pyroluria protocol too. I share more in this blog – Nutrition solutions for psychological stress after a natural disaster.

If this is all that can be managed it would be my first choice for everyone. In fact, if you live in an area prone to hurricanes, floods, fires etc. I’d recommend being on a B complex all the time.

My colleagues Bonnie Kaplin and Julia Rucklidge published this paper in 2015: A randomised trial of nutrient supplements to minimise psychological stress after a natural disaster. Those consuming a B-Complex and a broad-spectrum mineral/vitamin formula showed significantly greater improvement in stress and anxiety than study participants consuming a vitamin D supplement.

It is well known that pyroluria symptoms are made worse in times of heightened stress. If you are on protocol for pyroluria, additional zinc and vitamin B6/P5P is likely going to be needed short-term too.

In addition to GABA I also mention serotonin and endorphin support:

  • Serotonin support with tryptophan or 5-HTP, especially if you’re feeling sad, worried, imagining the worst, feeling fearful and having problems sleeping. More on tryptophan products.
  • Endorphin support with Lidtke DPA if you’re feeling especially emotional and weepy and grieving the loss of your home and community. More on endorphins here.

And I also include some resources for disaster preparedness and things to consider after the fangers have passed (like mold toxicity).

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 or low serotonin or other neurotransmitter imbalances may be an issue.

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. You can sign up to be notified when the next live launch is happening.

If you need serotonin support, the Serotonin QuickStart Program is a good place to get help. This is also a paid online/virtual group program where you get my guidance on using tryptophan and 5-HTP safely, and community support during 5 LIVE Q&A calls. You can sign up to be notified when the next live launch of this program is happening.

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 Alecia for sharing her story and giving me permission to share on the blog.

Do you have GABA on hand all the time and include them in your 72-hr emergency preparedness kit?

Have you found vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) to be helpful – either manual exercises (which ones help you) or using a device (which one helps you)?

What about B vitamins and the pyroluria protocol – do they help too?

If you’re a practitioner do you recommend GABA, VNS, B vitamins and the pyroluria protocol?

Feel free to share and ask your questions below.

The importance of addressing pyroluria with chronic Lyme disease (and co-infections), MCAS (Mast Cell Activation Syndrome) and other chronic illnesses

By Trudy Scott 27 Comments

addressing pyroluria

Pyroluria is a social anxiety condition that responds well to zinc, vitamin B6, evening primrose oil and a few other key nutrients, typically resulting in resolution of social anxiety symptoms within a few weeks with the correct combination and dosing. However there is much more to pyroluria than meets the eye. Addressing this biochemical imbalance is crucial for recovery from chronic Lyme disease (and co-infections), MCAS (Mast Cell Activation Syndrome) and other chronic illnesses caused by heavy metal toxicity, mold toxicity, multiple chemical sensitivities and Ehlers Danlos syndrome (amongst others).

Dr. Neil Nathan, MD, author of Toxic: Heal Your Body from Mold Toxicity, Lyme Disease, Multiple Chemical Sensitivities, and Chronic Environmental Illness (2018), shares this about pyroluria and chronic illness:

This biochemical imbalance is surprisingly common in chronically ill patients, and missing this diagnosis (by neglecting to test for and treat it) also denies us the opportunity to provide a simple, benign treatment that can help quiet down patients’ already overstimulated nervous systems.

(Here is my Amazon link to his book, which is excellent)

For over 15 years Dr. Dietrich Klinghardt has been saying you won’t see success with Lyme disease without also addressing pyroluria. He has seen a correlation with all his patients with chronic illness and pyroluria.

Let me quote from an article by Scott Forsgren, FDN-P and Dr. Dietrich Klinghardt, MD PhD: Kryptopyrroluria (aka Hemopyrrollactamuria): A Major Piece of the Puzzle in Overcoming Chronic Lyme Disease (a Townsend letter article published in 2017):

Based on testing with a lab in Holland, Klinghardt has found the incidence of KPU [Kryptopyrroluria or pyroluria] in Lyme disease to be 80% or higher; incidence of KPU over 75% in patients with heavy metal toxicity (lead, mercury, aluminum, cadmium, and others) and in children with autism over 80%.

These are very significant percentages of the patient population with chronic illness that may benefit from a treatment program that addresses KPU.

They also state what has long been known when it comes to pyroluria: symptoms are made worse by stress and “chronic infections, such as Lyme disease, may themselves serve as a trigger for the condition (of pyroluria).”

When it comes to MCAS, an updated version of this same article states that:

Klinghardt has worked with biochemists in Germany that are beginning to link KPU with mastocytosis or mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS).

They have observed that KPU treatment repairs the heme molecule, which notably stabilizes the mast cells and lowers the response to these relative rises in histamine.

I use the term pyroluria in this article, throughout my blog and in my book. It was coined by Carl Pfeiffer, MD PhD in the 1970s (after its discovery by Abram Hoffer in 1958). You’ll see these other terms used in various articles and in some of the older research: kryptopyrroluria (KPU), hemopyrrollactamuria (HPU), pyrrole disorder, mauve factor and sometimes malvaria.

As I shared in my interview with Dr. Kelly MCann on the summit, The Many Manifestations of Mast Cell Activation, it would be wonderful to get the terminology standardized and to get some case studies published. This would allow it to gain more acceptance in the mainstream and in functional medicine.

These papers, Discerning the Mauve Factor, Part 1 and 2, highlight some of the mechanisms as to why addressing pyroluria is so important:

  • “Treatment with nutrients – particularly vitamin B6 and zinc – reduces urinary excretion of HPL and improves diverse neurobehavioral symptoms in subjects with elevated urinary HPL.
  • Heightened HPL excretion classically associates with emotional stress, which in turn is known to associate with oxidative stress.
  • HPL correlated inversely with plasma glutathione
  • HPL is a promising biomarker for oxidative stress. HPL is known to cause non-erythroid heme depression, which lowers zinc, increases nitric oxide, and increases oxidative stress.”

The Forsgren/Klinghardt article above, covers additional mechanisms. With regards to MCAS specifically, the pyroluria supplements – zinc, vitamin B and evening primrose oil – all play a role in reducing histamine, providing immune support and reducing inflammation. And they provide nutritional support for the anxiety and mental health aspects of the condition – directly for pyroluria and indirectly via neurotransmitter support (since they are necessary cofactors for making serotonin and GABA).

Here is some of the research I gathered on some of the ways zinc, vitamin B6 and evening primrose oil (EPO) may help when it comes to MCAS:

If you’re new to MCAS, Dr. Jill Carnahan has an excellent overview here: Mast Cell Activation Syndrome: Here’s What You Need to Know When Histamine Goes Haywire and I’ve blogged about PharmaGABA often being an issue and making anxiety worse when you have MCAS or histamine issues.

The ramifications of this biochemical imbalance are far-reaching

Here is the pyroluria questionnaire / symptoms list (from my book, The Antianxiety Food Solution). It has been updated with recently with additional conditions. You can read about pyroluria prevalence and associated conditions here.

Here are some of my pyroluria blog posts you may find useful (click each of the linked articles to read further). As you will see the ramifications of this biochemical imbalance are far-reaching:

Feel free to use the search feature on the blog to find additional information about pyroluria. I have written about it extensively. I have it myself and it’s really common – I see it in about 80% of my community – so I am pretty passionate about the topic.

Resources if you are new to pyroluria

If you are new to pyroluria, there is an entire chapter on the topic in 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 the pyroluria supplements on your own. And be sure to share it with the practitioner/health team you or your loved one is working with. We need the wider practitioner community to be aware of this condition and the importance of addressing it.

I use individual amino acids such as GABA and tryptophan with all my anxious clients and we always layer in the pyroluria protocol. There is also an entire chapter on the amino acids and they are discussed throughout the book in the sections on gut health, gluten, blood sugar control, sugar cravings, self-medicating with alcohol and more.

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 and pyroluria supplements that I use with my individual clients and those in my group programs.

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

Have you used the pyroluria protocol as part of your recovery from chronic Lyme disease or MCAS (or another chronic illness)?

Did you learn about this from your practitioner or elsewhere? (please share where)

If you’re a practitioner, is the pyroluria protocol part of your  plan for clients and patients? And has it been a game-changer for them?

If you have questions please share them here too.