Depression, Anxiety, Fatigue, Insomnia, Headaches...Which Medication Is Best?

Our nervous system is a master controller of so many things when it comes to health, wellness, vitality, coping, and so on.  Within the brain and nervous system exists chemicals called neurotransmitters which control so many life sustaining functions such as sleep, breathing, digestion, energy, and immunity to help us out when our body is in need. But what if something goes haywire or a traumatic life event occurs which causes our system to short circuit? The answer is that symptoms such as anxiety, headaches, poor sleep, fatigue, and depression can result. Anti-depressant and anti-anxiety remedies can be helpful to a person, but often trial and error processes take place in trying to find the right medication or therapy for a person and their symptoms. This can delay benefit and improvement and sometimes cause unwanted side effects. 

Did you know that neurotransmitter testing exists? I am a provider of a testing kit that you can do affordably and conveniently from your own home. 

Let me highlight some of the neurotransmitters and their associated symptoms. You can certainly do some reading on each of them individually as it would be difficult to cover their details in a short blog such as this.  Here's a listing of some of the BIG symptoms (connected to neurotransmitters) that people struggle with:

Poor Sleep: Serotonin, Taurine, GABA, Glutamate, Histamine, Phenylalanine(PEA), Norepinephrine (NE), and Epinephrine (EPI)

Fatigue: Glutamate, Histamine, NE, and Epi

Anxiety: Taurine, GABA, Glycine, Glutamate, PEA, NE, Epi

Depression: Serotonin, Glycine, Glutamate, PEA, and NE

Attention Deficit: PEA, Dopamine, and NE

Excessive Energy: Taurine, GABA, NE, and Epi

Cravings: Serotonin, Glutamate, and Dopamine

Intestinal Complaints: Serotonin

Poor Cognitive Performance: Glutamine, PEA, and Dopamine

Weight Management: Serotonin and Epi

Excess Stress: Serotonin, Glycine, NE, and Epi

Headaches: Serotonin and Histamine

Immunity: Serotonin, Glycine, Glutamate, Histamine, and NE


A profile test to determine deficiencies of one (and often more) of these neurotransmitters can help in matching up a correct therapy for a person.  Who knew this option existed right?  It does, and let me tell you that it's been very critical to some of the patient needs that I have had the opportunity to take part in with caring physicians who want to discover more about the symptoms their patients are describing.  Various anti-depressants exist and their neurotransmitter connections vary from class to class. Knowing which one to pick as a better match to a person's deficiencies is certainly the best approach to take in my opinion. It's a win-win!   That's simply GOOD MEDICINE!


To your good brain health,
Dr. Sonja