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GABA & Adrenal Fatigue

GABA is a neurotransmitter produced in your brain¹. It is also supplement sold for the anxiety treatment.

This article is about what happens to your own GABA levels during adrenal fatigue.

GABA is a neurotransmitter that inhibits your nervous system. It very important for the control of anxiety.

 

One of the most widely accepted mediators known to play a central role in the pathophysiology of anxiety disorders is the g-aminobutyric acid (GABA) system².

Elevated GABA?

If GABA is intended to control anxiety, you would think that is would normally be low with adrenal fatigue. It isn't.

GABA levels are usually high with adrenal fatigue.

The following yellow block was sniped from the website of Dr. Sandra Sleszynski, DO. She used to have a great adrenal fatigue article on her site.

It is a list of what she observed happens with hormones and neurotransmitters during different stages of adrenal fatigue. Note how GABA is elevated.

My Own Elevated GABA

My own neurotransmitter tests agree with the observations of Dr. Sleszynski.

The following is a snip of one of my labs from 2010, back when I had full blown anxiety. The optimal range for GABA was 1.5 to 4.0.
Mine was 4.3 ....Elevated.

Here is the complete test report: 2010-Saliva and Urine Test

Here is a snip of a 2008 test. The optimal range for GABA was 1.5 to 4.0.
Mine was 5.4 ....Elevated.

Here is the complete test report: 2008-aliva and Urine Test

High GABA and Anxiety?

So what could possibly explain the anxiety with adrenal fatigue, even though GABA is high?

But taking herbs or drugs that replicate GABA, or enhance it's affectiveness at receptors helps with anxiety?

The following quote is from Dr.Lam's site, a prominent adrenal fatigue doctor:

  Taking in more GABA when laboratory levels already show high GABA levels may produce clinically positive results of relaxation for reasons not known ^{8. Dr Lam}

So it seems that a lot of GABA is needed to control anxiety for those with adrenal fatigue.

But why? Is there something wrong with receptors?

One possibility is Copper Toxicity.

Copper blocks GABA receptors^4,5,6....and individuals with anxiety do have higher levels of copper⁷.

For more information about how copper accumulates with stress and adrenal fatigue, as well as how it is related to anxiety, please see the following articles:

• Copper & Adrenal Fatigue
• Copper & Anxiety

Summary

GABA is a neurotransmitter known to play an important role in the control of anxiety.

However, lab tests usually show that GABA is high with adrenal fatigue.

GABA receptors blocked by copper may the reason that already high GABA does not seem to have the affect that it should.

More Articles

References

1. GABA
2. The role of GABA in the pathophysiology and treatment of anxiety disorders
3. Crossroads PHC
4. High-affinity copper block of GABA(A) receptor-mediated currents in acutely isolated cerebellar Purkinje cells of the rat.
5. Interaction between copper and zinc at GABA(A) receptors in acutely isolated cerebellar Purkinje cells of the rat.
6. Cu2+ suppresses GABA(A) receptor-mediated responses in rat sacral dorsal commissural neurons.
7. Decreased zinc and increased copper in individuals with anxiety.
8. Dr Lam: Neurotransmitters