You have convinced me to give this a try, I remember reading about it in Dr. A's book also. I hate to take pills but I must get out of this stall! The energy benefit sounds good too. I'm off to order now. Thanks for the info!

Glad I found this post. I just had 1500mg of L-Carnitine (3xday), and felt great today after being sluggish for sometime. Will have to see if fat loss picks up.

Fabulous post, I think I'm going shopping tonight...

I would recommend for those
still in weightloss phase to try
L - Glutamine too. It will cut
cravings and seemed to pep me
up when I was exercising.

I probably make all the L -Carnitine
I need from the massive amounts
of Amino Acids I get in my Protein
Smoothies everyday or I would be
doing that stuff too. If you don't get
enough Aminos, I would highly recommend
L Carnitine. But better even would be to buy
a bottle of Essential Amino acid supplements
at a health food store. But that can get pricy.
As I recall, the bottle I had cost $60 and lasted
for 2 months. I just get the aminos in the whey
protein now and feel just as good or better.

And the Canadian government strikes again! Seems I can't buy L-Carnitine here any more due to the new legislation.....figures...

I have been on a 6 week stall and after reading this thread yesterday I went to the drug store today and bought a bottle of carnitine and took one this evening. It recommends one a day 500 mg. I dont know if I should take more or not. I am just getting discouraged after no loss except maybe a pound in over 6 weeks, and that one pound keeps coming and going. I am cheat free, keeping it under or at 20 carbs a day and working out 4 days a week for 45 min a day so I just dont understand. I bought some ketostix today and tested and it showed negative, I am at my wits end. I am happy with the weight I have lost since November and my body fat has gone down and inches too, but I am not doing anything anymore and still have 30 more pounds to go, any suggestions?

Are you still losing inches?

It is recommended to start with 500mg 3x each day with meals. If you do not notice an increase in energy (meaning you body is mobilizing fat), it is suggested to increase in 500mg increments until you feel better. You cannot overdose, it is very safe. Some people require 4g! It is expensive though.

thanks for the info, no Jodie, havent lost inches in awhile, but I was losing inches well up until about a month or more.

I know I just posted earlier but thought I would put this in. I took one L Carnitine last night, then today I decided to up it to 3 a day so I did. Tonight when I put my PJs on I honestly felt like they were looser. I asked DH and he agreed. I didnt feel any extra energy really after taking 3 today, but I just "feel" a little smaller, havent weighed yet (my scales are at work). Is it possible to drop a little after taking 3 in just one day?
The only thing is, the darn things are 21.00 for 30 at my pharmacy, that's $60.00 for a month! But....if they pick up my weight loss again it's worth it.
I am sooooooooo desperate to get this last 30 pounds off!

And you won't need to take them forever, boree....

You can get them from allstarhealth.com I buy Twin Lab mega-L-carnitine (500mg) 90 tablets for $27.74

Just an old dig that I pulled up, I had asked some particular ?'s about several supplements. Random discussion throughout this post about L-Carnatine. The lady supplying the information is a Medical Examiner in Ohio
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quote:
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Originally posted by My_3_Sons:
dumbfox-

Can you elaborate a bit more on the risks of taking Wellbutrin and L-Carnitine and/or L-Tyrosine.

Also , your opinion on CO Q10 WITH L-Carnitine AND D-ribose. Are there any restrictions with these combinations (and combining other supplements with them).

I've just purchased many more supplements after some research and now I'm curious that maybe I shouldn't be taking them all together.

Thank you
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L-Carnitine is supposed to help control 'blood sugar' and slows down the absorption of carbs to be stored as fat. This all has to do with insulin levels. Carbs are stored in cells and can only be released by insulin. Once carbs are released, they become the glucose the body and brain runs on. If insulin receptors become desensitized though different means, carbs don't get released, don't get used for energy production, and end up getting stored as fat, causing a high free insulin blood level, blood sugar spikes, hypoglycemic symptoms, anxiety, fatigue, mental duhhhh, weight gain - sound familiar?

L-Carnitine does some other nifty stuff. It works on dopamine hard time. It increases the release of dopamine, which is normally a good thing. Dopamine is one of the 5 happy brain chemicals and it also helps with satiety which makes it good for controlling appetite. Wellbutrin also affects dopamine. It prevents the reuptake, which means it basically lets your brain soak up what dopamine you have available a lot longer. Also a good thing. But, what happens when you've got a lot of dopamine floating around that can't escape naturally (because of the Wellbutrin)? You brain gets overactive. Every lobe that's affected by the excess dopamine starts working overtime. Too much dopamine usually causes some bizarre sensory symptoms - being able to see, hear and imagine things that aren't real.

L-Tyrosine also affects dopamine. It also affects norepinephrine (another happy brain chemical). It is actually converted to both of these chemicals when the body processes it. Wellbutrin hit norepinephrine hard. It doesn't make more, but it keeps it in your brain longer. If you have too much norepinephrine can cause mania, but you'll notice extreme anxiety, jitteriness, etc...first.

How likely any of this is to happen depends on the dose of Wellbutrin and the version (IR or SR or XL). Wellbutrin has a screwy half-life. Most drugs get metabolized into one metabolite and that's what acts on your brain. Often it's not the drug you take that does the work, it's the metabolite. Some drugs get metabolized twice, so you have two things working on your brain. Not Wellbutrin, it gets metabolized into three metabolites and they in turn get metabolized again and all of that is what acts on your brain. So Wellbutrin itself has a half-life of 12-30 hours, and each of its metabolites have half-lives of 15-25, 23-43 and 24-50 hours. For this reason, it's not a good idea to take L-Carnitine or L-Tyrosine with Wellbutrin because it's metabolites are just too unpredictable. They both may be fine with the first metabolite, but whoops, you take it when the 4th one is hitting your system and it could be too much.

Does that make sense about the Wellbutrin with these supplements? L-Carnitine and L-Tyrosine (even 5-HTP) all work really well as antidepressants. If anyone wants some of the research articles and studies I have on their effectiveness, just let me know and I can email them. I know several people that weaned off their AD's after getting good effects from supplements.

Ok, moving on to the CoQ10 questions...(Sorry, this is long again, I can't stop myself, lol.)

A physician recently published a book - The Sinatra Solution - which outlines the use of CoQ10 with D-Ribose and L-Carnitine. D-Ribose increases energy production in every cell, including your muscle. It's often added to energy supplements, bars, shakes, etc... CoQ10 works in a similar way. But, both of these supplements need to be transported using long-chain fatty acids (LCFAs) across the inner mitochondria (the energy hub of a cell) into the matrix (where enzymes are made and held) to be made into energy.

L-Carnitine is the only known LCFAs transporter in the cells. It's like the fuel pump in an automobile. Your body can have all the fatty acids necessary to make energy, but without L-Carnitine, it cannot get them into the matrix of the mitochondria where the conversion of energy takes place. LCFAs are the preferred source of energy for the heart and provide 60-70% of its total energy requirements.

CoQ10 supplements with D-Ribose and L-Carnitine (you have to look at the labels, not all have this combination) are excellent for the cardiovascular system. You can combine this with all supplements and medications. The amount of L-Carnitine is usually around 65 mg, which is not a therapeutic dose for depression, it's simply enough to perform it's job in transporting the LCFAs. I've got more studies and research articles on CoQ10 than any person should be allowed to keep, if anyone is interested and wants me to email them.

This is another question I posed to the Medical Examiner
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DF
Thanks so much!!
I asked about the trio, L-Carnitine D-Ribose and COQ10, because I just finished the exact book you mention The Sinatra Solution.

May I ask, I promise one last question lol:

First my L-Carnitines are 500mg each, I currently am taking one a day, as recommended on the bottle. Now I also watched a long seminar with Dr Perricone. He stresses aceteyl L-Carnitine instead of 'plain' L-Carnitine....why? what is the difference? AND (ok 2 questions) can I take all these supplements together (aside from the Biotin with them, I take it seperate)

1 Prenatal
1 L-Carnitine 500mg
1 Vit C 500mg
1 magnesium 250mg
1 chitosan 1000mg (which doesnt dissolve easily in vinegar)
1 Calc+D 1200mg and 400IU
1 Chromium Piconolate 200mcg
Birthcontrol

and biotin I take midday.
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AND HER ANSWER
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Uhhh, here I go again (you can thank 3 for this one, lol).



The difference between Acetyl-L-Carnitine (ALC) and L-Carnitine (LC)? I'm going to try to explain what exactly Acetyl is and it's role, so bear with me.

Acetyl is part of a molecule, composed of carbon, oxygen and hydrogen. It's a transporter that's converted to Acetylcholine.

Acetylcholine is a neurotransmitter, the most abundant in the body. It's needed to move the L-Carnitine into the cells. It's been argued that ALC works better than LC in absorption and activity, but nothing has been proven. In studies of old rat brains, both worked equally.

Acetyl is found in all supplements and every food you eat. Your body gets more than enough, especially if you're taking supplements. Too much acetylcholine can cause depression and sleep disturbances.

I've personally taken both and found them equal in benefits. However, after about 3 weeks on ALC and phen, I was waking up a lot in the night and just generally cranky, so I switched. This is my personal experience, some people have no problems. You can certainly take the ALC if you want. They are also about the same in cost.

You can take all of the supplements you listed together without any problems. One thing though - you are aware that phen decreases the effectiveness of birth control right? Just a heads up.

KFZ - You can take 5-HTP if you wish. You'll probably need a higher dose (try 100 mg 3x a day). But, start off slowly and increase. 5-HTP can take a couple of weeks to reach it's full effectiveness, though you might notice some nausea right off the bat if you dose to high.

I have been taking L Carnitine now since Thursday, 3 a day since Friday, I weighed today and am up 1/2 pound, guess I am never going to break this darn stall.