Anxiety/depersonalization triggered by L-Glutamine?

[joshuabrownie]

30M. 170 cm mixed/latino. Suffered from hepatitis A around 4 years ago, and weeks before this episode happened, had a slight increase in acne in my back and face (not huge pimples, but small ones). Just adding extra context on what was happening to me health-wise before this happened. When healthy, I also consumed considerate amounts of alcohol (often beer), let's say, 3 weekends per month.

I would really appreciate your insights since I’m feeling a bit lonely on this. My family is with me but so far they think this is a HB pressure issue (more context below).

So, the episode started three weeks ago, around 1 hour after taking l-glutamine. Had taken it for two (one month on, one month off, then one month on again until I felt like this) months (1g per training day, didn’t take over the weekends).

On Aug 18 I think made the mistake of taking it in the afternoon after work before going to the gym, since people say to take it in the mornings. I say this was a mistake because I read it can mess with your head if you are already stressed/excited, and I for sure was stressed that week when I was doing two people’s jobs.

I am kind of like a state in which I know what’s happening is real but it just feels “off”. Depth perception is weird, sometimes it feels like I’m hangover, and then it’s a cycle of anxiety because I keep thinking about how I feel. Is this what derealization feels like?

I can maintain a conversation and had, I think, three (NOT consecutive) good nights when I could LOL at some videos, and that led me to think I was going to wake up fine. I didn’t. I’m off work right now, since I thought I was going to improve over the days (not weeks/months!). I don’t want to get back to work like this. I want to feel myself again!

I had never experienced something like this, but I can say that I always, always had bad trips when trying cannabis, so my brain might just be really not tolerant to messy substances.

When I was feeling terribly off that day, I just thought it was hb pressure (hereditary from both my parents), it was up to 150/90. Paid a visit to a cardiologist and told me to take losartan potassium (from which I read some people get anxiety side effects, woohoo).

It came down to 130s/80s and although I don’t feel as awful, this “off” feeling does not go away, or it's going away at a REALLY low rate. I will have an echocardiogram done tomorrow and they’ll put me a heart monitor for 24 hours. However, I’m not sure hb pressure/heart disease is the cause of all these mental symptoms.

My questions:

Are there any similar experiences?

What medical specialists can help with this? Neurologist, psychiatrist? Someone who knows how supplements affect the brain?

Can that happen with such a dose (1g per gym day, not on the weekends)?

Could it be hb pressure that makes my brain release stress/anxiety hormones and have me in this state?

[specialmom]

I'm going to try to get through this epic long post. :>)  I appreciate how thorough you are but it's a lot. You are asking if your increased anxiety has anything to do with glutamate consumption. That is one supplement that crosses the blood brain barrier (many don't). But you know? It is actually often used to 'treat' anxiety. There is no true evidence that it affects things one way or the other.

I am a long standing hypertension patient. I have 'familial' hypertension which means it is genetic. It was discovered when I had my first child and my bp spiked substantially. From then on, it's gone up and down until about two years ago, I began blood pressure medication. I should have taken it sooner but that was a hard hurdle for me. I too tried to naturally treat it. I also had a lot of anxiety going on.

Alcohol does raise blood pressure. You no longer drink? When you say substantial and often, that can be a subtle form of binge drinking that may do to mask anxiety symptoms, depression symptoms, etc. I would consider a therapist if this is true for you. Alcohol is a no win and only lose proposition when used in this manner.

I personally think you are over focused on the  L glutamate. Why are you taking it first of all? And second, just stop it if you think it is contributing to issues.

I think you need a bit of a reset. What prescribed medications do you take?

[joshuabrownie]

Hello, thanks a lot for your response.

I read about the L-Glutamine crossing the blood brain barrier after I felt like this on Aug 18, before this, I just read that
it was good for muscle recovery and had really low probability of causing side effects. I wonder about the L-Glutamine because
I read many posts of people who experienced panic attacks and long derealization periods, that is why. However, it might not be it (1g
is such a low dose).


Both my mom and dad have hypertension, so I am most probably a hypertension because of it. Thing is, a good friend that is a physician is wondering how, at 30 yo, I had this spike in hypertension; and thinks there might be an underlying condition.

I had a really stressful job week and was in a rush to get to the gym after work that day, so I am wondering if all of that contributed to high levels of stress, leading to an increase of the high blood pressure. My friend still doubts this conclusion, but my cardiologist confirms it might be genetic.

Also, my bpm count is high even when relaxed. Rarely goes below 85 bpm. It is weird, because I went to the gym everyday, but I guess each heart body is different. Just delivered a holter I had for 24 hours for them to see what's going on. Had an echocardiogram done yesterday and heart looks normal.

To answer your questions in a more summarized way:

1. Didn't know about the blood brain barrier before taking l-glutamine
2. I don't drink since I feel like this, only home food and water. This mental state hasn't allowed me to go out so no drinking, and when I go out, I intend to not drink.
3. L-glutamine for faster muscle recovery/reduce muscle pain.
4. At the moment, I am taking losartan potassium, one daily, 50 mg.

I also think I need a reset, so I'm foscusing on my HB pressure and having a therapy session, because this might be that my brain entered in an autopilot mode when my HB pressure went up. Thank you, and sorry for the overwhelming message.



Both my mom and dad have hypertension, so this might be genetic.

[joshuabrownie]

(sorry for the typos/weird extra text, wrote everything in a notes file and then copied the text :) )

[AnxiousNoMore]

You can usually get enough glutamine without taking a supplement because your body makes it and you get some in your diet. Certain medical conditions, including injuries, surgery, infections, and prolonged stress, can lower glutamine levels. In these cases, taking a glutamine supplement may be helpful.
Dietary sources of glutamine include plant and animal proteins such as beef, pork, poultry, milk, yogurt, ricotta cheese, cottage cheese, raw spinach, raw parsley, and cabbage.
I would stop taking it, at least for now, if I were you.

[specialmom]

Check out familial hypertension It's common. I felt so much better when I started my angiotenson II medication, losartan. I don't know if you are ready for that. Things that help with bp control are exxercise and proper diet. Stress does impact both blood pressure at times especially for a chronic stress person as well as anxiety. Sleep plays a huge role. Improper sleep negatively effects us in many ways.

To understand the blood brain barrier. . . . it is there to protect us. But in order to have a true effect, something must cross it to work. It holds other things out to protect the brain and nervous system. So, what I'm saying is that a lot of supplements don't cross the blood brain barrier and couldn't affect something like anxiety. but this one does. So could. It is used for anxiety but I'd not take it if you are using it for that and it is increasing it. Are you opposed to actual anxiety medication like a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor?

***  and I just read you are on losartan too!  How long have you been taking that?