Amino Acid - L-Lysine - New Treatment for Schizophrenia - Has it Helped You?

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Please let me know if you have tried this and what your experiences have been with it. You need to take quite a bit of it for it to be effective. If you haven’t tried it - perhaps try it and report back.

In this new research study:

Each person was taking: 6 grams of L-Lysine every day for four weeks

Please try it folks - and report back to the discussion forums after a few weeks of using it.

Here is where you can easily it online ($14 per pound / or 454 grams - enough for 2 + months at 6 grams a day):

http://www.iherb.com/Now-Foods-L-Lysine-Powder-1-lb-454-g/653#

or for more selection - here:

https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=L-lysine&safe=off&tbm=shop

Research Information:

Schizophrenia is a serious mental disorder that currently affects about one in every 200 people. Most patients find some relief from their symptoms by treatment with antipsychotics, however they may still suffer from cognitive and negative symptoms. These include poor concentration and memory, apathy, or a reduced ability to cope in social situations. Preliminary research published in BioMed Central’s open access journal BMC Medicine shows that patients who received L-lysine alongside their normal medication found some reduction in the severity of their symptoms.

In a cross-over study, ten patients with schizophrenia were given either 6g of L-Lysine or a placebo every day for four weeks. Each of the patients had been on a stable dose of medication for the past three months and had been free from psychotic episodes for the two months before the study began. They were tested for blood levels of lysine as well as the severity of their symptoms (PANSS) and functional ability (including the Wisconsin Card Sorting and Trail Making tests) at the start, after four, and after eight weeks.

Eight of the patients responded to L-lysine treatment, as shown by an increase in blood lysine levels. For these eight there was a general trend, over most of the symptomatic and cognitive tests, for improvement due to treatment with lysine.

More details here:

Full Study Information:

L-lysine as adjunctive treatment in patients with schizophrenia: a single-blinded, randomized, cross-over pilot study

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So I just wrote a post describing the full effects and experience, then realized I was thinking of L-theanine.:stuck_out_tongue:

I haven’t tried L-lysine by itself, however I have had it in a mix(free form amino acids), which I would recommend to everyone, even non-sz. http://www.vitaminshoppe.com/p/solgar-essential-amino-complex-30-veggie-caps/sl-1011 When I was in Kentucky, I was taking this while working at Pizza Hut. I would be happy to list the full effects if anyone wants to know, but in short, it was like drinking water after walking through a desert. That’s the best way I could describe it imaginatively. Specifically there was a great improvement in memory, decreased anxiety(it really took the edge off)… overall, it was brain food. On the flip side, all the sz and psychotic thoughts were still there. They just had much less impact.

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Yes I take l-lysine! woo!

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How was the effect of taking I-Iysine? Did it give you insomnia?

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I only take it periodically truthfully. And it sure wasn’t 4 grams lol. When I feel a cold sore outbreak coming (yes people I get them), the L LYSINE can help.

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I see, you don’t take it regularly as a food supplement. a lot of people take it for memory and focus problems.

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Truthfully I don’t take it regularly yet maybe I should try I have 2 1200mg tablet bottles. Fish oil…any ideas on this stuff too?

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Fish oils are supposed to improve cardiovascular conditions, for better heart and clearer mind.

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I’m on Cenovis Men’s Multi which has 5mg of Lysine. Together with Nature’s Way Brain and Memory Booster. Wasn’t enough to keep me out of hospital last year relying on them instead of my meds. Works great combined with my meds though. Which the sups take a lot off the negative symptoms but I’m still very much a social introvert

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2000mg a day is the recommended dose for SZ. Although the body can’t absorb the processed stuff that well. I think that’s why many swear by flax seed oil. It will also help with the mood disorders of SZA as well.

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Hi - this is way, way too little L-Lysine (according to this study) - you need to have 6 grams a day. If you can - please try this higher level and report back to our community.

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Hi - So - you would need to take 5 of these tablets each day - for a month. This would be a resonable test of this supplement (according to this study). Could you try this and get back to the community on whether you think it helps you?

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I am unsure as to whether there’s a months worth yet I can get more. I’ll begin the study though, it sounds interesting…

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Hmmm but this is the full list of sups I’m on…

nature’s way brain and memory booster…

Fish oil natural 1000mg
Providing beneficial Omega-3 triglycerides 300mg as:
Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) 180mg
Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) 120mg
Pyridoxine hydrochloride (Vit B6) 10mg
Glutamine 100mg
Folic acid 100mcg
Cyanocobalamin (Vit B12) 100mcg

Ginkgo Biloba (Ginkgo) extract:
Equiv. To dry leaf 3000mg
Equiv. Ginkgo flavonglycosides 14.4mg
Equiv. Ginkgolides and Bilobalide 3.6mg
Fish Oil -Natural 633mg

cenovis men’s multi…

Betacarotene 1.2mg
Retinyl Palmitate 20001U
Cholecalciferol 2001U
di-alpha - Tocopheryl Acetate 30mg
Thiamine Nitrate 4mg
Riboflavine 4mg
Nicotinamide 36mg
Calcium Pantothenate 13mg
Pyridoxine Hydrochloride 5mg
FolicAcid 300mcg
Ascorbic Acid 120mg
Iron 5mg
Calcium 170mg
Magnesium 50mg
Zinc 15mg
Iodine 150mcg
Copper 1mg
Chromium 25mcg
Manganese 1mg
Selenium 25mcg
Cyanocobalamin 5mcg
Citrus Bioflavonoids Extract 2mg
Biotin 150mcg
Phytomenadione 36mcg
Boron 1mg
Lysine 5mg

Is one more mg going to be a fair test on the Lysine?

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Hi - a milligram (mg) is one thousandth of a gram - so you are taking about 99% lower dose than they did in the study.

In the study they used 6 GRAMS of L-Lysine.

There are 1,000 milligrams in each gram.

You are currently taking 5 Milligrams (5 mg).

So - to reach the level they had in the study - you would need to take 5,995 milligrams (5.95 Grams) more.

You are getting very little L-Lysine right now - almost nothing, compared to the amount they used in this study.

OK?

People make this mistake all the time - so I understand it. But you need a lot more L-Lysine if you want to see if it helps you.

6,000 milligrams, or 6 Grams, per day.

More info here:

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Yeah I missed the grams bit but foods such as cheese, nuts, eggs, meat and soybeans are good sources of L-lysine so will be a hard one to judge how much I’m taking each day/week. But will start googling and mention it to my doctor.

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Food doesn’t contain meaningful amounts of L-Lysine according to this table:

You would have to eat something like 45 ounces of hazelnuts a day to get the 6 grams of Lysine a day (and you’d probably gain a ton of weight at this level).

But yes - I encourage you to talk with your doctor about it:

Here are some of the studies:

Here a the full study:

L-lysine as adjunctive treatment in patients with schizophrenia: a single-blinded, randomized, cross-over pilot study

Four-week L-lysine treatment of 6 g/day caused a significant increase in blood concentration of L-lysine that was well tolerated. Patients showed a significant decrease in positive symptoms as assessed by PANSS in addition to self-reported symptom improvement by three patients. The NO-signalling pathway is an interesting, potentially new treatment target for schizophrenia; however, the effects of L-lysine need further evaluation to decide the amino acid’s potentially beneficial effects on symptom severity in schizophrenia.

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How do I unpin these two posts?

Jayster

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@Jayster Click on the pin it will unpin it. It will move on it’s side to show it’s unpinned.

To keep on topic only found 500mg bottles of L-Lysine so far locally. Marketed as a anti-virus mainly for cold sores. But far from finished searching for it. But means finding more specialist shops that carry it in larger doses to keep the cost down.

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