SPECT scanning to direct treatment decisions for mood disorder of unclear etiology - worth considering?
I have a 22 yo son who had vacuum assist delivery (double nuchal cord) and a fall down a flight of stairs as a toddler. There was a question of ADHD (hyperactive impulsive subtype) as a child (vs. anxiety). He's 22 now and has struggled with mood instability throughout his life (worsening throughout his teenage and early adult years). He has depression for sure and a question of hypomania at times. He had multiple concussions during his teenage years (2 sporting related and 2 syncopal related). I have spent endless hours over the years trying to understand my child. My med school and psych internship training didn't prepare me for this. My son is now seeking medication to help him get his mental health and life on track. He's talked to multiple psychiatrists that have leaned in different directions regarding diagnosis and this makes medication treatment decisions complicated. I took a deep dive years ago into the Amen Clinics, and, specifically, using SPECT scanning to help diagnose and treat mental health struggles. I get mixed responses from doctors in the field as to whether SPECT is a legitimate screening tool. I'm willing to pay the money to help my son but want to make sure I'm doing the right thing. I trust your opinion and can't tell you how much it would mean to me to be able to listen to you speak for a few minutes on this topic.
Difference between Theanine vs L-Theanine for caffeine jitters and can Huperzine A increase focus?
Thank you for your work and contributions! I'm curious as to the difference between Theanine vs L-Theanine for the use of curbing the jittery effects of caffeine. You mention Theanine, but not L-Theanine. I tend to be sensitive to caffeine and have been taking L-Theanine prior to consuming regular caffeinated coffee for several years. I also found pairing the L-Theanine with Huperzine A seems to enhance my focus, especially when playing a sport such as Pickleball first thing in the morning. Do you think that Huperzine A can actually have an impact on focus? If so, do you believe pairing it with other substances can reduce or enhance its effects?
Recharging mental energy after work
Is there any protocols/supplements that can help with recovering mental energy after work, in order to pursue other endeavors? I work as a software developer, which eats my mental batteries, and also do resistance training before work, very early in the morning (6:00-7:30ish). The workouts, though they're intense (mostly resistance training with kettlebells at a steady zone 2 pace) I don't think they take much of my drive, as I really enjoy them, and look forward to do them. I sleep around 6.5 -7 h and usually wake up pretty fresh and ready to go without even taking caffeine. Then I work 09:00-18:00 (usually I have to do at least half an hour more, with as many as 4 hours extra, unpaid) My goal, is to take the rest of the afternoon until 22:00ish to study and work on my main passions, which are music composition, and playing guitar. The problem is after work, I'm just in some sort of zombie state, in which I can't even procrastinate efficiently. Is there some sort of protocol or thing I could take to at least function at a minimum? I don't really need much to get going, so I'm not expecting some sort of miracle that makes me completely lucid like if I was just waking up from a full night's rest. I barely eat any carbs, as they make everything worse. I only eat bananas mangoes occasionally, and honey. And I eat them at night close to mi wind down time before bed. I avoid seed oils as I have noticed they not only contribute to the mental clogging, but they also affect my skin. So my diet is pretty much red meat, fish sometimes, fermented dairy, eggs and use ghee to cook. I do also eat half an avocado a day, as I love them. Hopefully you can shed some light into this. Thanks a lot for all you share with us!