I had a follow up today with an 11 year old client and her mom. We have been working with Karla for about 3 months to help her eliminate her urges to pull. Her mom said that she was about 75% better and that she was pulling a lot less, but that she still occasionally had urges to pull, especially after stressful events, and that during those times, she often pulled out most of the new growth that had been coming in over the months. School was going to start soon and she asked, “Why is this taking so long?” My reply may help shed some light on common misconceptions and pitfalls when using amino acid therapy.
First, I had to point out that we had only been working together for a few months and that Karla had been pulling for several years before we started amino acid therapy. In addition, I reminded her that to date, this was the most successful therapy they had ever tried (they had used several medications as well as counseling and behavioral therapy previously with no benefit) and that we were making great progress.
Once more, Karla’s mom had not been following our recommendations about conducting urinary testing in a timely manner. As noted in another post, it does no good to wait longer than 7-10 days to complete urinary testing after starting a new amino acid dose (assuming no doses are missed). Neurotransmitter levels reach equilibrium in most people within 3-7 days after starting a new amino acid dose; waiting any longer to conduct testing only prolongs the process. Karla’s mom usually waited 3-4 weeks between tests, which meant wasted time and energy.
Lastly, and probably most importantly, achieving proper neurotransmitter balance in many cases is not a straight forward process. Yes there are many cases where we give someone a set dose of amino acids and they have a complete resolution of symptoms within days, but unfortunately, that isn’t the case with everyone. However, we can determine the correct amino acid dose for everyone with proper testing; it just takes time in some cases.
Karla has already achieved a significant reduction in her urge to pull in just a few short months and I am confident we will have her dialed in and symptom free in a very short time. Everyone’s amino acid needs are different and unique to them. However, with time and testing a solution can be found – and we will do everything we can to find it as quickly as possible.
