If you have symptoms of trichotillomania you have a neurotransmitter imbalance. This means that serotonin (the main inhibitory neurotransmitter) and dopamine (the main excitatory neurotransmitter) are out of balance with one another, which causes you to experience an urge to pull.
One of the products we use to help bring those neurotransmitter levels back into proper balance is called NeuroReplete. NeuroReplete was developed by Martin Hinz, MD, and is sold exclusively through CHK Nutrition to licensed health care professionals. It provides the amino acids 5-HTP and L-tyrosine along with the necessary co-factors (vitamins, minerals and amino-acids) to give the body everything it needs to make serotonin and dopamine in a balanced fashion. This is extremely important, as research has shown that administering only 5-HTP or L-tyrosine will lead to depletion of neurotransmitters, creating further imbalances.
Providing only 5-HTP will increase the amount of serotonin in the brain. In response to this, the body increases the amount of enzymes to break down some serotonin to maintain balance. However, these enzymes also breakdown dopamine, which is the main excitatory neurotransmitter that needs to be kept in balance with serotonin in order to keep everything working well. Because no dopamine precursor was given (i.e., L-tyrosine), relatively more dopamine than serotonin is broken down, so the imbalance between them becomes greater. This often leads to additional issues over time.
It works something like this: let’s say I have two bank accounts, both with $100 in them. I put $1,000,000 in one of them (which is like taking just 5-HTP), but leave the other one where it is. Now let’s say I take $90 out of both accounts (which is equivalent to the enzymes breaking down serotonin and dopamine non-selectively). The account with $1,000,000 isn’t affect much, but the account with only $100 in it is affected a great deal. Moreover, the imbalance between the two accounts has also gotten a lot more lopsided. This is similar to what happens if one takes only 5-HTP with no l-tyrosine (or vice versa, taking only l-tyrosine and no 5-HTP) – it can create greater imbalances over time and really deplete the competing system. This can lead to the development of other health issues over time.
The bottom line is that net effect of giving improperly balanced amino acids is neurotransmitter depletion and further neurotransmitter imbalance. Even though some people may initially see some positive results due to the increase in either serotonin (if 5-HTP is given) or dopamine (if L-tyrosine is given), they will eventually develop other symptoms as the two systems become imbalanced. Creating more problems is definitely not going to help you over the long haul.
NeuroReplete contains the precise amounts of 5-HTP and L-tyrosine to assist the body in achieving proper neurotransmitter balance. For many people suffering from trich, NeuroReplete provides all the building blocks their bodies need to completely eliminate the urge to pull. Even for those that do not achieve a complete resolution of symptoms with NeuroReplete alone, taking it establishes the foundation necessary to attain proper neurotransmitter balance in the future.
