Summary: An older woman suffers from fatigue and finds some relief in taking basic amino acid supplements.

History: A 55-year-old female with extreme fatigue. She also suffers from osteoporosis, fibromyalgia, depression and headaches. The patient starting taking free formed basic amino acids after her first test, and has noticed some improvement.

Description of Results: The patient took a blood spot amino acid test in 8/06. All essential amino acids were low, derivatives were primarily adequate. The patient started taking the recommended basic amino supplement.

8-18-06 Blood Spot Amino Acid

3-16-07 – Blood Spot Amino Acid
On the second test the essential amino acids went down instead of up. This is not unusual with initial supplementation. Research shows essentials will initially go down, while derivities go up.

7-16-07  Blood Spot Amino Acid
The patient continues on amino acid supplementation and the essentials begin to rise.

Recommendations:
This case shows how slowly amino acids begin to be replete. It is important to go by symptoms/assessment. Often the downstream proteins begin to build up first. There can also be other considerations, such as other metabolic issues. It may be wise to look at other tests, such as glucose, A1C, fatty acids etc. The clinician should consider factors that can affect protein absorption and breakdown, such as a high fiber intake or adequate stomach acid. The patient may feel better because of the increased amino acids or because the increased amino acids has lead to better detoxification. The patient could stop the supplementation and take notice to any changes in symptoms. The goal should be for the patient to obtain adequate amino acids from diet and discontinue supplementation.