What Your Doctors DON'T Tell You About Why Your Psychotropic Medications
Aren't Working!
All too often patients are prescribed medications for anxiety, depression, insomnia, and other concerns to control chemical imbalances, without their neurotransmitters ever being tested! This can create many more problems as you can imagine, and one reason why eventually patients begin on one medication then are led to many more as they desperately try to control other imbalances that may arise.
Before you begin any psychotropic or supplemental regimen to regulate neurotransmitters, it is crucial that you first evaluate how your neurotransmitters are actually functioning, as well as understand the nature behind your symptoms since anxiety, depression, insomnia and other symptoms may also be coming from a physical cause or hormonal imbalance, or may be a trauma reaction. Sometimes there are multiple factors involved which need to be corrected in order to feel healthy and balanced.
Neurotransmitters are the chemical messengers of the nervous system, essential for relaying signals within the brain and communicating with all organ systems of the body.
A neurotransmitter imbalance is an underlying cause for the improper functioning of the communication system of the body. Recent medical surveys report that eight out of ten people are found to suffer from neurotransmitter imbalances that ultimately result in general disorders like obesity, migraine headaches, depression, ADHD, and anxiety.
Why should I have a Neurotransmitter Test?
A neurotransmitter test can identify and correct neurotransmitter imbalances before they become severe enough to cause symptoms. It can help determine which medication or natural treatment would be beneficial in treating existing conditions.
A neurotransmitter imbalance can cause or contribute to the following problems:
Depression
Anxiety
ADHD
Bipolar Disorder
Fibromyalgia
Insomnia
Weight Issues
Hormone and Adrenal Dysfunction
Memory Impairment
Migraines
The Nature of Neurotransmitter Testing
For nearly 60 years, scientists have been measuring neurotransmitters and their
metabolites as markers for a myriad of applications. Recent developments in this field have taken this technology from an academic to a clinical setting, where neurotransmitter testing can be used by clinicians as a non-invasive tool to address nervous system function. Neurotransmitter tests are available to determine the levels of major neurotransmitters including serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine and GABA.
Located within the capillaries that deliver blood to the brain, the Blood Brain Barrier is single layer of specialized endothelial cells referred to as BCEC's (brain capillary endothelial cells). These cells play a protective role, selectively allowing molecules into the Central Nervous System (CNS) while preventing harmful molecules from entering. For this reason, it is a commonly held misconception that neurotransmitters from the CNS cannot move to the periphery (out of the brain). In fact, BCEC's possess transporters whose function is to regulate the passage of neurotransmitters in and out of the CNS.
There are a number of facts related to neurotransmitter tests that are discussed as below:
Studies have demonstrated direct neurotransmitter transport out of the CNS, into the periphery, via blood-brain barrier transporters.
It is a more efficient way to establish the response an individual is having towards medicines and supplements taken for conditions such as depression and anxiety.
Neurotransmitter testing may identify the underlying neurochemical imbalances that affect mental disorders.
Researchers have repeatedly demonstrated that urinary neurotransmitter measurements correlate with neurological conditions