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Traveler q. about yucca/ammonia- or anyone else...

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Posted 7/12/2015 10:26 PM (GMT 0)
In terragram's post you mention yucca for ammonia, Traveler

For two weeks I've been taking a product called Ammonia Scavenger and actually my headache and anxiety is worse and I have occasional nausea. I talked to the nutritionist at the place that recommended it and she said to back off and start slower.

It's a proprietary label, so don't know the amounts, but it has B6, golden larch, l-ornithine, l-citruline, yucca root, alpha-ketoglutatate, l-lysine. total of 1700 mg.

if this is a scavenger, I wonder why it's making everything worse? Didn't think to ask that. Seems it should be going into my urine and be gone.

Through genetics and organic uric acid testing, it shows I have an ammonia problem. But I don't know what to believe anymore!

Anyone else experience this with yucca?

Post Edited (Korissa) : 7/12/2015 4:29:50 PM (GMT-6)

Posted 7/12/2015 11:32 PM (GMT 0)
I would suggest you see if you can contact Razzle - she's the one that I got that from and I've seen it mentioned quite a few times on other Lyme forums. (Google search results forf this: /goo.gl/Qc1p04)

Although I never used yucca, because I couldn't function well enough to be on the forum when I was having the most trouble with this.

You could be allergic to one of the other ingredients though.



I did find this: " so far, the only studies that show alpha-ketoglutarate can reduce ammonia toxicity have been performed in hemodialysis patients."
goo.gl/cBF0UL

And Golden larch is sometimes used as a fungicidal medicine - www.naturalmedicinalherbs.net/herbs/p/pseudolarix-amabilis=golden-larch.php

And I found this: "Pseudolarix amabilis Rehd. extract had antibacterial effects on Staphylococcus aureus, Candida albicans, and Streptococcus pyogenes; however this antibacterial effect varied with the temperature at which and conditions under which Pseudolarix amabilis Rehd. was extracted." - www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15467260

So that could be contributing to your reaction to this as well.

L-citrulline is a substance called a non-essential amino acid. Your kidneys change L-citrulline into another amino acid called L-arginine and a chemical called nitric oxide.

L-arginine can trigger a reactivation of EBV in some people (like me. eyes)

But I use L-lysine to get the EBV back under control, so that shouldn't be an issue, since both are in the supplement - unless you are allergic or sensitive to one of these ingredients.


www.webmd.com/vitamins-and-supplements/l-citrulline-uses-and-risks


I hope this helps and that others will chime in with their own experiences!!
Posted 7/13/2015 12:56 AM (GMT 0)
If you're not already using one, in my experience using the sauna is a fantastic way of getting rid of excess ammonia.

Mainstream medicine is generally skeptical of detox methods but even they consider sweating out ammonia proven science:
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1845745
link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF00705070
Posted 7/13/2015 2:33 AM (GMT 0)
I've never tried a combination of things to get rid of ammonia - I only used Yucca Root. But I did notice that if I took the Yucca Root too many days in a row, that my nausea would get worse.

So I have several ideas that may shed light on your situation:

1. You could be allergic or sensitive to one or more of the ingredients (including fillers, binders, coatings, etc. - the "excipients" in supplements; includes things like silicon dioxide, stearates/stearic acid, cellulose, rice powder, etc.).

2. Too many different things all trying to detox the ammonia, thus mobilizing too much ammonia and overwhelming your elimination systems (skin, lungs, kidneys, bowels).

3. You may have other metabolic imbalances that are further imbalanced by taking some of the ingredients in this supplement - e.g., if the alpha-ketoglutarate is pushing the Krebs cycle one way that is already over-done (seen in some kinds of methylation blockages and some other situations), then an imbalance is made worse and thus symptoms could get worse...

4. Die-off from viruses - L-Lysine inhibits viral replication, and if a virus can't reproduce, it dies. When bugs die, they give off toxins that can make you feel worse...
Posted 7/13/2015 3:09 AM (GMT 0)
Wish I had started on only yucca Razzle, so I would have known for sure. But I'm grateful to the person who "prescribed" this because if not for the tests he had me do, I wouldn't know about the ammonia issue.

On a scale of 1 to 10, I was at 8.5 for estimated ammonia and glutamate production.

I'm on 7 other supps recommended that are all combinations. One is for Krebs cycle support. And the L-lysine in the Ammonia Scavenger has be thinking it could be viral die-off too.

It really helps to know that someone else has experienced the nausea. It's been 2 days since I stopped and I'm still a little queasy.

I'm familiar with herxing because I've been through the abx route in the past, but didn't expect it with supplements.

It's been 86 and humid in my house--just got the AC going--so right now a sauna doesn't sound too good!
Posted 7/13/2015 3:17 AM (GMT 0)
Oh Trav--I just read your post again and the info about the citruline could be part of it! I have high EBV titers and my fatigue has increased scarily these last two weeks.

Thanks all!
Posted 7/13/2015 10:09 AM (GMT 0)
Dr J told me he hasn't seen anything work on ammonia like his Neuro-Antiox. If your ammonia and glutamate levels are high, you need to decrease nitrogen intake. All proteins contain Nitrogen and L-lysine certainly falls into that category. By reducing Nitrogen intake, that should help reduce ammonia formation. Eat mostly alkaline foods should help cystathionine conversion to alpha keto-glutarate instead of ammonia. I would take Molybdenum and possibly low dose Manganese for this. I'd bet you were low on other transition metals as well.
Posted 7/13/2015 3:49 PM (GMT 0)
I've googled Dr J's Neuro-Antitox and plan to try it when I slowly use up the Ammonia scavenger.

I also took the VCS test on that page which I did a few years ago and it again said that I might have lyme disease. That's been confirmed!
Posted 7/13/2015 5:31 PM (GMT 0)
I've been battling high ammonia for almost a year now. Was winning the fight gradually --started at 136 (high end of normal range on Quest scale is 47) last fall, and slowly got it down into the 50s in June. Unfortunately I started babesia meds two weeks ago and just got results this morning that my ammonia spiked back up to 95. Scary, as it probably explains why my extreme fatigue and neurological issues (brain fog etc) have returned, and hopefully is just due to die-off from killing the babesia.

Interestingly, I was recommended Ammonia Scavenger by a naturopath after a Skype consultant, but I chose not to take it since I had been having slow success with my prior protocol.

For what its worth, my ammonia protocol has been:
- L-ornithine, L-aspartate (LOLA), 2 teaspoons 2x day on empty stomach. My LLMD says this is the best for ammonia levels because it is very safe and it crosses the blood-brain barrier so helps with neuro issues. It gets pricey quick, unfortunately (about $50 a bottle, which lasts me less than two weeks).

- Water. My LLMD says this is the most underrated and easy way to help. I have switched to drinking only Deer Park bottled water, because most city water has ammonia added to it with the chlorine to reduce contaminants (see here: http://nutristart.com/ammonia-toxicity-part-1/). Not sure if that helps much, but I figure every molecule that I don't ingest is a molecule I don't have to detox.

- Green tea. Dunno if it works, but my LLMD said to try and drink 4 cups per day to help with ammonia detox.

- Celery and beets. Great for liver and kidney function.

- Charcoal, 280 mg pill 2x per week.

- FIR Sauna. Also gets pricey but always makes me feel better. I've heard other people say they can smell the ammonia in the air and on their clothes after they use the sauna, so surely it works.

I do a bunch of other things but not sure if they reduce ammonia (burbur, lemon water, etc).

That said, take this advice with a grain of salt because I still haven't been able to keep my levels down into the normal range (though I do believe LOLA and the other methods have helped)....
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