L-tyrosine is a free-form amino acid (protein building block) that the body synthesizes from phenylalanine, another amino acid. It is available as a dietary supplement.
L-tyrosine is the precursor of several neurotransmitters, including L-dopa, dopamine, norepinephrine, and epinephrine. It also plays role in synthesis of hormones in thoroid and adrenal glands.
Through its effect on neurotransmitters, L-tyrosine may affect several health conditions such as depression, mood disorders and increase pain tolerance. As such, some migraine patients might be tempted to supplement with it.
There's no reliable information whether L-tyrosine is a migraine trigger available.
The goal of this experiment is to answer this question. Since the lab-mice are expensive, I decided to conduct the experiment on myself. For 3 days I've taken 500mg of L-tyrosine and recorded the results:
07/30/08 After about 15 minutes, slight nausea. Eyes become very sensitive after about 30 minutes. It took almost 3 hours for a full-blown migraine to develop. The headache is on the right side. I've taken one doze of Imitrex + Naproxen. The migraine is aborted withing an hour.
07/31/08 Very similar to the previous day. The eyes hurt more. The headache is on the left side. One doze of Imitrex + Naproxen aborted the migraine inside two hours.
08/1/08 Similar to the previous experience. The headache, once again, is on the left side. One doze of Imitrex + Naproxen failed to abort the migraine. OTS painkillers failed to work either. On a hunch, took 500mg of calcium supplement. The pain is somewhat relieved. Was able to fall asleep which aborted the migraine.
The conclusion:
Three days in a row single dozes of 500mg of L-tyrosine were able to trigger the migraine in this single patient with classic migraines with aura. The intensity of the pain was escalating with each day which might imply a cumulative effect of L-tyrosine inside the body.
Everyone's biochemistry is different and it is unknown whether L-tyrosine will produce the exact same result in other migraine patients. Another question that is left unanswered is whether lower dozes of L-tyrosine will produce similar results.
However, the results are pretty clear.
I move to consider L-tyrosine a primary (acting by itself, not dependent or in combination with other factors) migraine trigger.
Saturday
Migraine Experiment: to Determine whether L-Tyrosine is a Primary Migraine Trigger
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3 comments:
I have experienced tyrosine being a trigger for migraines at much lower doses. I've had that experience with products that contain tyrosine even when I didn't know that they contained low doses and later ---after having the migraine--found out that they did. It's tough because I also have low thyroid and tyrosine is beneficial for that and most products for low thyroid contain tyrosine.
Isn't it ironic though? Tyrosine helps a lot with migraine's comorbidities and yet we can't really take it.
BTW, I found that I can take some N-Acetyl-L-Tyrosine in small doses without too much of side effects. GABA CALM has it as an ingredient.
i have the opposite reaction. ive had bad migraines since 4th grade. severe and very painful. i also have epilepsy. i found cannabis to be sort of a panacea for many issues, including appetite, sleep, nightmare prevention, and the aforementioned maladies. now im 29 and i decided to stop self medicating 3 months ago, but in the process have had to deal with all these issues once again. most have begun to subside but the migraines and extreme fatigue for the first 4-8 hours after waking up were not getting much better. for a while i was using tyrosine in the past but i suspected it was making me overly emotional and stopped so i decided to give it another go now that im sober. i take one l-tyrosine 500mg tablet each morning upon rising and i notice a considerable improvement on many things, including headache, fatigue, appetite and motivation. we may look similar but we really are quiet different as humans...
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