Dopamine Deficiency: the Cause is the Cure - Dr. John Bartemus -

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that functions in the brain and the body. Dopamine is needed to produce the other catecholamines: Norepinephrine and Epinephrine. A deficiency in Dopamine will lead to depression, lack of motivation, lack of pleasure. Catecholamine deficiencies will lead to ADD/ADHD.
Dr. John Bartemus
Functional Medicine Charlotte
20723 Torrence Chapel Rd
Suite 201
Cornelius, NC 28031
704-895-2240
www.FunctionalMedicineCharlott...

[@adamhonestyanddecency5054]

People with dopamine deficiency might have a hard time listening to a nine minute video.

[@VictorVGeiGer1]

Great video John. Thank you so much. I've struggled with ADHD and depression all my life. I believe this may be the root of my addictive behavior as well. I am vegetarian so in summary I need: Phenylalanine - Beans, spinach Iron - Beans, spinach Folate - Beans, lentils, chickpeas, spinach Vitamin B6 - Seed mix, spinach, avo, banana copper - Seed mix, soy Vitamin C - Supplement Sam-e - Supplement

[@lisaa6099]

This is brilliant. I was wanting some technical info and this is it !! Thanks v much.

[@FunctionalMedicineCharlotte]

+Lisa Archibald you are welcome. Please share widely!

[@oakstrong1]

I understand that symptoms of ADHD could be due to lack of dopamine receptors, so that even if there is enough copamine "floating around", the brain cannot take advantage of it.

[@alanroberts983]

smoothly delivered, Dr. - thank you

[@FredoCorleone]

Doctor Trapezious

[@candaceb9336]

Thank you so much for the information.

[@spitama764]

You are great Dr. THANK YOU.

[@TheSubzero1991]

i think i have ADD i have lost motivation to work .i spent my time without understanding how the time passed i am gettting distracted and i also i am lazy to study and i difficult learn new things and follow instructions.also

[@danielledamours3174]

very informative and great presentation.

[@FunctionalMedicineCharlotte]

+Danyella D thank you. Please share widely.

[@hugoortiz5411]

Brillant information!!! Thank You, very much

[@FunctionalMedicineCharlotte]

+Hugo Ortiz you are welcome. Thank you for the kind words. Please share widely.

[@prodigalson2670]

Great value offered, you made biochemistry simple jet true

[@johnsullivan8360]

thank you for this in depth look

[@FunctionalMedicineCharlotte]

John, you are welcome. Please share.

[@y0urSJ]

HI doc is there a correlation between DHT and dopamine levels in male bodies???

[@chea7z913]

Hi John, you have been extremely helpful for understanding how dopamine works and all the processes involved. After watching, I would like to throw in a request for a follow up video. You've definitely sparked my interest in obtaining these vitamins and amino acids, but I wouldn't even begin to know which are the best foods to take, when to take it, how much, or what to take it with. I'm sure there's plenty more to know, if you could make a practical video for how to make use of what we learned here that would be invaluable. Thanks!

[@FunctionalMedicineCharlotte]

+Chea7z good question. You have to know what your SPECIFIC cause to your issue is before you can know how to best address it. Is it insulin issues? Is it iron metabolism? Is it a genetic mutation of COMT? It could be any number of things. This is where testing is important from a functional medicine perspective. Instead of giving you a "protocol" which is based on hoping you fall into the "typical" presentation, testing tells us your specific cause(s) and allows us to address them so you get the plan and result that is individualized to you.

[@sl-st8mv]

Thank u very much, u saved me！！

[@andrewhirons2262]

Hi I have ADHD I'm 27 can't take ritalin or stretta or any of meds that can cause heart rate to change as I have bad heart palpitations and had ambulance out because my heart rate was 3x faster then it should of been. I've been with my partner nearly 12 months but she's struggling to cope with my ADHD

[@jasonnguyen2299]

thank you

[@vvdv3444]

I have low dopanine not sure why. 0 libido. I took finasteride. Started after that.

[@donkeybus]

Hi Dr. Bartemus, thanks for the very informative talk... I have a question though....a few months ago I took a l-tyrosine supplement, and within about 30 minutes I was severely drowsy and couldn't keep my eyes open (it was 11am!) luckily it was a saturday but I then took a 2 hour nap and couldn't have woken up if the building was on fire.... any idea what could cause this? I'm 99% sure it was the tyrosine as i didn't take anything else or eat anything that morning before taking it... thanks!

[@Oterces]

thank you for Tha info

[@FunctionalMedicineCharlotte]

+Peterjgomez1 You are very welcome. Please share widely.

[@Cammedhemi]

+Dr. John Bartemus if u could please wright me from beggining to end all these supplements so i can right them down in my journal so i can start this right away as i have awful stress an anxiety caused by my cocaine abuse releasing so much dopamine ive been clean for almost 2 years now i have lost everything it has caused me to be on suicidal watch i been on ati=depressant s witch made things worse if u could please show some mercy and spare some light this way my family and i would really appreciated doctor. Thank you so much

[@elsewherehouse]

I had a doc tell me that he was 95% positive that I have a dopamine deficiency. I looked into it and I thought he was pretty accurate. So where do I go from here? Is it possible to overcome this condition?

[@elsewherehouse]

***** What does p5p do?

[@chea7z913]

+ValurViljaSigurdsson Why the low carb meal? Don't you want a healthy insulin response to carbs so it can cross the BBB?

[@johnny_baccarat5150]

Will low levels of dopamine cause anxiety?

[@elsewherehouse]

If I am trying to concur this on my own(without any testing done), what would be a good resource/site/book/etc. to use as a frame of reference or checklist to hopefully make it to the other side of this thing. I cant believe that -lack of motivation -inability to experience pleasure -moodswings -memory loss -inability to focus/concentrate -inability to connect with others -low libido -sugar and/or caffeine cravings -inability to handle stress .....can all be directly linked to the same source. Thanks for your help!

[@FunctionalMedicineCharlotte]

+John Kempf , without examining you, I cannot tell you what your specific cause to your challenge is. What I can say is that the list of symptoms you are experiencing does require testing to determine whether it is a true dopamine deficiency or a systemic physiologic issue such as dysglycemia, adrenal insufficiency, etc. I recommend you work with an experienced doctor who focuses on Functional Medicine to help you achieve your goals.

[@elsewherehouse]

Dr. John Bartemus thank you

[@FunctionalMedicineCharlotte]

+John Kempf , it's my privilege. Let me know if I can help you further.

[@chea7z913]

+John Kempf Wow. You've described my problems exactly. Have you made progress in treating this? I wouldn't even know where to start.

[@traviskutzorik1644]

Hello. Thank you for making this video. Very informative! I started taking l-tyrosine and l-phenylalanine five days ago and noticed immediate changes in my dopamine levels right away. Unfortunately, I think i hit a plateau. I keep needing to increase the tyrosine to get the same "high". Were those other supplements you mentioned required to keep the dopamine steady? Also, should these supplements be taken with or without food? Any specific dosage I should take?

[@FunctionalMedicineCharlotte]

+Travis Kutzorik, thank you for reaching out. The fact that you noticed an immediate boost by taking the amino acids tells us that you were probably insufficient in them. Now that you have "plateaued", it is likely there there is another issue that needs to be addressed. This could be a metabolic issue (insulin issues, iron issues, other cofactor issues) and/or a genetic issue (maybe you have a COMT SNP. Without examining and assessing you, I can only guess.

[@traviskutzorik1644]

+Dr. John Bartemus I appreciate your reply. I have tried reaching out to a functional doctor in my area but the waiting list is over a year! I have also suspected insulin issues myself, that is why I have been cutting back on carbs and sugar for a about a month. I hope that with time my insulin levels will return to normal. Recently, I have been supplementing with the other minerals and vitamins you had mentioned. I will do some research on COMT SNP as well! Can you think of any other good starting points? You have already given me a lot of good information.

[@FunctionalMedicineCharlotte]

+Travis Kutzorik you should definitely get your insulin levels/blood sugar regulation checked. Make sure the practitioner runs HbA1c, LDH, and C-peptide. Also, you may want to consider BCAAs because they can act as carriers for tyrosine across the blood brain barrier. A good way to check if you have the COMT SNP is the genetic test from www.23andMe.com.

[@traviskutzorik1644]

+Dr. John Bartemus Thanks!! Can any doctor test my insulin levels? I will for sure ask him or her to run HbA1c, LDH, and C-peptide. Also, do you do phone consultations? I can't afford a flight to NC right now :P

[@FunctionalMedicineCharlotte]

+Travis Kutzorik yes any doctor doing lab work can run insulin levels.

[@matikramer9648]

Thank you, doctor I think I have it this deficiency But I'm taking psychiatric medication 26 years, and my body is quite exhausted at age 63. So it's not wonder

[@FunctionalMedicineCharlotte]

Youre welcome

[@joadhenry]

Great video...thank you....so if you were trying to design a smoothie for an 86 year old man with Parkinson's what would you include in it?

[@lisaa6099]

+Lisa Archibald and mucuna powder

[@joadhenry]

sadly my dad passed away Feb 26 from "complications due to Parkinson's" meaning..as an advanced Parkinsonian he had started aspirating bits of the food and water in his diet on a fairly regular basis...this..over time created infection that lead to pneumonia that took him in less than a week...I was not aware this was a possibility..I was so intent on looking for things to make his life better I didn't fully focus on the ways his disease was, in the future, going to make his life worse..and what happened to him is fairly common apparently....he ate his food pureed and I was giving him smoothies with berries and raw veg and hemp oil and stuff..also coconut oil by spoon...but it always made him cough...but it was working...it had brought him back significantly...mentally...but he was so weak physically still...I'll tell you though..and some people probably won't want to hear this..but I was giving him cannabis in butter in his smoothies..and that is what brought him along the most and made him so strong he started outwalking his walker....but I only had a limited supply from a friend as I don't grow and we didn't have a license....but the times when he had that in his drink..the next day his eyes looked like they did when he was in his forties...clear and piercing and full of life..and he was getting really strong..but when I ran out about eight months ago maybe more...he slipped back and started needing more care again....so..the smoothies with the berries and supplements I was giving him were definitely helping him..but..in my experience the cannabis was doing incredible things for him mentally and physically....looking back I didn't give it enough merit and should have aggressively sought out more of it for his smoothies...I'm heartbroken I didn't as I watched him take his last tiny sip of air after 28 excruciating hours in palliative care.. wanting to live and not being able to take in enough oxygen because of that damn infection...so look into cannabis please..I am diving deep into the literature and what I'm finding is going to make a difference in my own life and that of my families...

[@misterpk92]

You never really told us what to do to fix ourselves

[@FunctionalMedicineCharlotte]

misterpk92, I did. You have to determine where in the pathway you are having issues and address that. Or, is it an issue outside the pathway (ie Insulin issues, etc) that is the problem. This is where patient-specific evaluation comes in. It's not as easy as "take this pill and you'll be cured".

[@markshields5015]

I just fond out I'm anemic, and low ferritin levels, that explains why my iron is lacking and maybe intercepting my dopamine production from my amino acid supplements. I've had Parkinson's since Sept 2013, and currently getting my urine tested for the neurotransmitters, but without iron I'll probably be wasting my money on more supplements? Right now I suffer from tremors in left hand and foot, and my body always falls in the fight or flight state... it's awful.

[@FunctionalMedicineCharlotte]

+Mark Shields you must get your anemia and ferritin addressed before anything else. Without iron, you cannot produce ATP (energy). Without energy, you cannot heal. And yes, iron is also a cofactor for neurotransmitters and many enzymes.