11 replies to this topic

[HeyItsMeLC]

Hey so I just started theanine yesterday for anxiety = 150mg

Started feeling the effects at 30 minutes and peak at around 60 minutes.

Did NOT work, felt very weird. My mind was calm, kind of sedated (perhaps increase in alpha waves) but I felt increase in anxiety, hard to describe, kind of a physical anxiety.

Also noted a marked increase in libido, but again in general I did not feel good and eventually just fell asleep. WTF?

(side note - currently taking Turmeric and Fish Oil with great success. Brand of Theanine was NATROL, and yes it is suntheanine)

Edited by HeyItsMeLC, 01 February 2013 - 04:44 PM.

[protoject]

"suntheanine" is not uncommon, actually L-theanine is pretty widely manufactured as far as I'm concerned. But ya i kind of agree with you about theanine it seemed to be a mixed bag for me, caused worsened anxiety at times and it was very hard to sleep.

[jadamgo]

I too am no fan of high-dose theanine, it makes me sedated and unhappy. Sort of like codeine. I bought one bottle of Theanine Serene when I was suffering from an anxiety disorder, and it helped me survive through some really terrible times, but I never bought another bottle.

Now, low-dose theanine like you can actually get from drinking a cup of tea, that's great.

[Absent]

If I take theanine and I do not drink enough water, I find it greatly increases my anxiety, though with drinking plenty of water, the opposite is true. Also make sure you are eating enough food because L-Theanine can make certain caloric defiencies stand out more, cause you to feel that lack of energy more, and that lack of energy can lead to increased anxiety. Though this is just my experience. I have been using L-Theanine on and off for 3-4 years.

[HeyItsMeLC]

Also did not mention I woke up with some depression next day, not sure if related or not. I just thought this was totally harmless being an amino acid....

Anyways, thanks for the tip. Guess ill try it one more time with lots of water!

[Introspecta]

Some people have weird reactions to it most likely due to the increase in dopamine. For me its subtle and relaxing. Even doses up to 1 gram there are no side effects for me. Once in awhile a high dose will put me to sleep but never have I ever got anxiety from it and I am very prone to anxiety. It must just be some peoples brain chemistry don't work well with it.

[krsna]

l-theanine is my favourite nootropic/mood brightener. I don't find it helps with anxiety, in fact it can exacerbate it, I think it does so in creating anxiety through the change in perception one experiences - which can sometimes be almost profound. Sometimes the effect is almost sublime, the world disappears around me and my focus becomes centered on whatever it is I'm doing, all external thoughts dissipate and a cold serenity washes over me. This is very similar to the feeling after a long meditation, but I think it's such a feeling of detachment from grounded beta-wave waking reality that it can exacerbate anxious feelings in those predisposed to anxiety (who generally will get anxious over just about any little thing). Higher doses get even better and can push you over the brink of those anxious feelings as the strong GABA brain kicks in and you can experience an almost drunken state, all the relaxation, social inhibition removal, all the creativity of marijuana, the verbal fluency, but with focus, energy, motivation, a calm motivation, like a kung fu master, centered, grounded, in control. You can go to a job interview and feel in complete control, unafraid, confident, not knee-jerk reacting to stimuli but being so on top of your game that you can take your time to formulate what you wish to say or what you wish to do, all the external static completely turned off, pure eye contact upon the other person as your brain assesses the situation for best outcome. Ever watch videos of Osho? That's what you feel like. The same way he is in control, takes his time to respond, speaks very precisely and deliberately, a meditation master like him just a sweet powder away. I just bought a 1kg of this stuff and intend to dose at 10grams a day, previously I was using up to 5grams with great results, so we'll see whether 10 provides any increase or not, so far it's been all uphill.

[krsna]

Here's a nice collection of recent studies on theanine:

http://herbalexplore...g-theanine.html

[yborcity]

hi guys, 

i hope i do not arrive too late since this thread is from april 2013.

Concerning L theanine, do you have datas as of how l theanine is intefering with serotonin levels? 

the reason for the depression/anxiety after taking it could possibly comes from lowering of serotonin levels and the reson for relaxation/mindclarity could come from increase dopamine.

 

Any thoughts on that? 

 

[zeddy]

my experience with l theanine is that it did what most people said it does which is a really good anxiolytic but after a couple of days i get mania where i get random thoughts popping in and out my head and its really unsettling, its like a really bad caffiene buzz and it might last for a couple of days. i dunno maybe im taking too much? (500mg)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mealz13]

Theanine did zilt for me except make it really hard to get to sleep.  But I just thought I was weird...guess not.

[yborcity]

@ zeddy: 500 mg/day begins to be a pretty hefty dosage imho, do you take other medications while on it? 

 

i would not go beyond 200-300 mg/day

 

I am not an expert just a layman  but i have the tendancy to think that l theanine somewhat raises dopamine levels and decreases serotonin levels to same extent but i am not so sure about that, still have to do my homework on this matter.  if someone savvy could shade some light on this, it would be welcomed.