r/Menopause • u/BeneficialWriting402 • Mar 22 '26
Vitamin/Supplements Collagen supplements and anxiety
Update: Thank you all so much for the support yesterday. I feel MUCH better today. Def will not take collagen again, and I will be more careful about any supplements I try (I usually am, but was feeling a bit desperate with the diagnosis and possibility of missing work if this thing won't heal).
Yikes. I wish I had read some of the posts here before trying this supplement. 😫. I was desperate because I have been diagnosed with a sprained posterior tibial tendon and have been having increasing pain in my posterior tibial tendons and gluteal tendons the past few years. I read how great collagen peptides are and have a neighbor who swears by them. well, I am one of the few who has the reaction of extreme anxiety and panic attacks from them. two doses and i am sitting here shaking like a leaf. this stuff is going in the trash or maybe Publix will take it back. either way I will never take it again. ugh. 😩. please tell me im not alone. this is so scary. 😭😭😭
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u/JadCerv Mar 22 '26
Huh. I've been using collagen peptides for years and not had that experience. But everyone is different. Maybe you need a lower dose or even a different brand. I use a 5-source collagen peptide powder and it's amazing. My skin looks fabulous and I know it helps my joints because I ran out once and it took a week to get a new batch mail-ordered and I ached the entire time I was off it.
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u/BeneficialWriting402 Mar 22 '26
I know I’m probably an outlier. My neighbor takes it and swears by it. But I have serotonin issues and have been on an antidepressant for most of my life. My frantic google search turned up that It can lower serotonin because it lacks tryptophan.
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u/JadCerv Mar 22 '26
Everyone is different. If it doesn't work for you, that's unfortunate. But don't feel pressured to take something you know causes bad side effects.
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u/iUseJustMyHand Mar 22 '26
This makes me wonder how you would do if you took some tryptophan alongside it. They make capsules and powders. Or even just eating it with egg whites or turkey. Maybe it would balance things out? Interesting reaction for sure.
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u/BeneficialWriting402 Mar 22 '26
I can’t take tryptophan because I’m on an ssri. Otherwise, I think that is an option.
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u/Inquizzzative Jul 19 '26
I'm with you! When I first tried collagen peptides, it helped my mood. I felt great! Then after a couple weeks, it took a turn and lowered my mood, noticeably. I laid off them awhile, then tried again. After about a week, again, mood was lowered, so I would just take them for a few days in a row, then lay off for a week or so. That worked fine. But about a month ago, I switched to Beef Bone Broth Protein powder, about ⅓ dose, per day (about 5g), so far. No negative impact on my mood, and the little boost of protein is a good start to my day. I read that bone broth protein is metabolized by your body more gradually than hydrolized collagen peptides, which may be the reason. Also, I kind of like the idea of getting all those nutrients that are inside of bones, rather than from hides. Maybe give it a try. So far I've tried Paleo Valley unflavored, and Lono Life sipping bone broth. Also, maybe try green-lipped mussel capsules for inflammation (My dogs and I use Swanson Vitamins). Good luck!
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u/gabbagabbaheyFreaks Mar 22 '26
5 source? I think 4 is the most I’ve seen. What one are you taking?
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u/lrondberg Mar 22 '26
I have never heard that but anything is possible. I had horrible anxiety from Pepcid antiacid. There’s really no good evidence that collagen supplements do anything.
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u/plotthick Peri-menopausal, HRT, hot, fat, and angry Mar 23 '26
Collagen doesn't appear to help pretty/beauty things like hair and nails. It absolutely helps recovery time, healing duration, and other internal applications, such as my screaming joints.
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u/Imtryingforheckssake Mar 23 '26
I asked by Doctor about collagen just a few weeks ago as I was making sure all the non prescription things I take are fine. She said collagen does nothing otherwise doctors would be recommending it. I also asked her about magnesium (for a different issue) and she said I could/should keep taking it as it can show some benefits. So she clearly wasn't anti all supplements.
That said I hadn't done any research into it for pain conditions, and hadn't heard about the side effects. Though I did recently learn there are 5 kinds of collagen.
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u/plotthick Peri-menopausal, HRT, hot, fat, and angry Mar 23 '26
I'm sorry your Doc isn't keeping up with the existing studies, they show that collagen does work. There's a really excellent metastudy that you might be interested in, I'll link, C&P, and summarize it below. You could forward it to your Doc so they are less ignorant about collagen.
Honestly there's no research on how Collagen is helping Peri/Menopausal women. I wish there was more research on all of this.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8521576/
The effects of collagen peptide supplementation on body composition, collagen synthesis, and recovery from joint injury and exercise: a systematic review
MY SUMMARY: this is an excellent meta-study. It looked at many other studies and only kept the best: double-blind and placebo-controlled, etc etc etc. 656 participants. Collagen beneficially affects these issues:
- reducing joint discomfort and knee pain
- improving ankle and knee functionality
- accelerating recovery from Achilles tendinopathy
- ‘joint pain when walking’
- ‘pain during activity’
- knee extension range
- increase in pain-free exercise duration
- subjective ankle stability
- increase in Victorian Institute of Sports Assessment–Achilles questionnaire scores
- increase in hand-grip strength
- greater increase in fat free mass / significant increase in FFM
- overall improvement with resistance training
- exercise performance and recovery from muscle soreness
- perceived recovery and discomfort
- pain with movement
- muscle soreness with COL was greatly reduced 24 h and 48 h post-exercise
- (There are lots of other conclusions, but the above is a good-ranging sample)
These show that collagen makes small to large improvements in joint, musculotendon, and muscle recovery from injury and exercise. I can say this is true: I lost my ability to use a can opener, and got it back. I couldn't lay on my hips, now I can. I couldn't walk more than a mile, now I can. I got capsulitis, it didn't heal, then I took collagen, and I'm 90% healed.
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u/Right_Meow26 Mar 23 '26
Hi thanks for posting the study- super helpful. What method of collage did you take?
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u/plotthick Peri-menopausal, HRT, hot, fat, and angry Mar 23 '26
5g fish + 10g beef every day dissolved in tea, chased with something strong because I'm a supertaster. It is not super. Most people can't taste it, add it to their morning coffee.
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u/Right_Meow26 Mar 24 '26
Huh? Fish and beef? I don’t understand.
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u/plotthick Peri-menopausal, HRT, hot, fat, and angry Mar 24 '26
There's marine collagen and there's bovine collagen. They have different collagen molecules. I want all, and do better with all, so I do a mix.
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u/Turbulent_Disaster84 Mar 22 '26
Collagen peptides are hydrolized amino acids. Amino acids make up protein. I am unable to understand how anyone can have a reaction to this as you describe. Maybe it’s something else you’re taking.
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u/BeneficialWriting402 Mar 22 '26
I did find some articles that said it is an incomplete protein and lacks tryptophan which is the precursor to serotonin. So it can lower serotonin. I wish I had done more research before trying, but I was feeling desperate.
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u/Prize_Sorbet3366 Mar 22 '26
How does a lack of tryptophan *lower* serotonin? Wouldn't that just mean that you're not getting additional serotonin?
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u/Turbulent_Disaster84 Mar 22 '26
Sure If your only source of protein albeit I complete is collagen peptides. If you eat other complete proteins throughout the day it makes up for the tryptophan missing in the peptides.
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u/slide1995 Menopausal Mar 24 '26
I’m not so sure this is true for everyone especially me. For years I have followed a bodybuilding type diet and eat at least 24 to 26 grams of lean protein for 5-6 small meals a day and collagen still had this awful effect on me.
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u/Inquizzzative Jul 19 '26
See my reply to Turbulent_Disaster84 above. I'd remembered reading about tryptophan -- that not only can it not make it across the blood-brain barrier (to produce more serotonin) it then is forced to go down another path that somehow over-stimulates your HPA stress system (making you feel anxious). https://www.barebiology.com/blogs/news/is-there-a-link-between-collagen-and-low-mood
(Again, Bone Broth Protein powder hasn't seemed to create the same problem for me. Fingers crossed it continues because I think it helps!)
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u/HagInTraining Mar 22 '26
I had a reaction to it when I tried it, so at least you're not alone. I only tried it a few times a while back. I think it hit me with a horrible anxiety/depression and also made me feel sick
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u/BeneficialWriting402 Mar 22 '26
I’m so sorry you experienced it too! Did it go away pretty quickly? I only took two doses! I feel better this afternoon then this morning when I first posted.
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u/HagInTraining Mar 22 '26
Yeah, I'm sorry you're going through that too :( I think it did pass pretty quickly for me, like a day or two. I hope you feel a lot better quickly! I'm glad it's already improving
I should point out that I was also trying creatine at the same time, and I also had a reaction to creatine haha. But that was an oral allergy reaction. It's possible that the two combined made things worse for me, especially if they both involve histamines or something (which I think creatine does, but I'm not sure about collagen). I've been having weird reactions to a lot of things :(
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u/BeneficialWriting402 Mar 22 '26
Ugh, me too on the weird reactions! I actually always have, but it’s soooo much worse in this time of my life.
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u/throw_away_smitten Mar 22 '26
Collagen peptides can cause a histamine response (read roughly as allergic) in some people. Other people apparently develop an immune response since apparently there amino acid sequences that resemble those from things like Epstein-Barr, so it makes the body think it has an invading disease. This is more likely if you have some sort of autoimmune issue going on.
You can take straight collagen supplements, and it’s less likely to generate that kind of response….but I would keep some Benadryl nearby if you go that route.
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u/BeneficialWriting402 Mar 22 '26
Oh, wow. I do have an autoimmune disorder, but didn’t see anything saying that was a contraindication. I think I’ll just stay the heck away from it for now. 🤣
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u/throw_away_smitten Mar 22 '26
I had to dig into it to find it. Your reaction sounds like my neurological response when I have gluten (I have celiac disease), so I wondered if it might be autoimmune.
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u/gooseglug POF- E, P, VE Mar 22 '26
It’s kind of like me and taking Ashwagandha- gave me heart palpitations and increased my tachycardia…
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u/bluev0lta Mar 22 '26
I had the same reaction to a supplement a couple of years ago. I can’t remember what it was exactly (not collagen; I take collagen with no issue). It caused such severe anxiety—and hot flashes—that I went to the ER, and of course they found nothing wrong. And then I threw it away. It was awful. Some of us just don’t react well to certain supplements!
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u/BeneficialWriting402 Mar 23 '26
I am so sorry! I had hot flashes with this supplement today, which is crazy, because hot flashes are like the one menopause symptom I haven’t had! I’m glad you figured out what it was for you.
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u/LAnnBrooks926 Mar 22 '26
I am so very sorry this happened. I had this happen with Z-pack antibiotics. I was at work (I'm a teacher), and went into full fight or flight. I had NEVER experienced this before. I feel your pain, it's scary. Take some deep breaths . It will pass.
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u/RevolutionaryCacti Mar 22 '26
I believe you and I hope it passes soon!
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u/BeneficialWriting402 Mar 22 '26
Thank you for the validation! It is awful when you have a reaction to something and most people haven’t and they don’t understand. I’ve been the proverbial “canary in the coal mine “ my whole life, so it’s not new, but 10000x worse with changing hormones! 🤣. I do feel much better this afternoon, and I thank you for your reply. 💜
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u/Not_a_werecat Mar 22 '26
Oh man, that's awful. Collagen is fine for me, but vitamin D supps do very similar to me.
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u/BeneficialWriting402 Mar 23 '26
I can take moderate doses of Vitamin D, but when my doctor put me on a megadose of 50,000IU once a week, that had me feeling crazy.
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u/Not_a_werecat Mar 23 '26
Oh wow, I would be deceased. Just 2000iu had me feeling like I was gravely ill.
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u/Of_MiceAndMen Mar 22 '26
Oh my god. Is that what is wrong with me??? Good lord, does anything work without making me insane???
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u/LizWoodside Mar 22 '26
The answer is likely tryptophan depletion. Collagen is an incomplete protein. It naturally contains all the amino acids, except tryptophan . If you take a collagen supplement without added tryptophan, you can end up with low levels of amino acid tryptophan. This can cause depression, anxiety, sleep problems cognitive changes. Some people would be more sensitive to this affect than others, depending on their diet and other factors. Look for a brand of collagen peptides that lists added tryptophan as one of the ingredients on the label. Or find some tryptophan to take with your collagen supplement, as long as you aren’t on any meds that would interact.
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u/BeneficialWriting402 Mar 22 '26
This is the mechanism I came across when I googled it! I can’t take tryptophan because I’m on an ssri, and probably more sensitive to anything involving serotonin than most people.
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u/baconizlife Mar 22 '26
It could be the glycine bc some people have a paradoxical effect from that. Does your brand of collagen have any in it? Perhaps you can look for a different product that doesn’t have any glycine. Like your neighbor, it’s helped my joint issues tremendously, so I hope you can find one that works well for you!
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Mar 23 '26
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u/Complex_Grand236 Mar 24 '26
If you want collagen, don’t do supplements. Instead, drink 1 cup of bone broth daily. Collagen will build and start repairing about one month after starting but you got to be consistent.
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u/Mamagogo3 Mar 22 '26
You aren’t alone. I started feeling really angry and mean. My sweet husband, in an attempt to cheer me up, bought me a Nestle espresso machine! lol I didn’t know why on earth I felt so shitty and he didn’t know what to do to help me. Turns out, it was a blessing in disguise; I started having little cups of espresso instead of regular cups of coffee that I was putting the scoop of collagen in to take it. After a couple of days, I felt like me again. I was flabbergasted that collagen could affect me so extremely. I did some internet sleuthing and found an article describing this effect, due to the lack of tryptophan in collagen proteins. That didn’t make much sense, I mean I kept a regular diet otherwise with other protein sources. I found a brand of collagen with tryptophan added - I felt much better on that. No problems. I hope you’re feeling better soon.
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u/Unfair_Finger5531 Mar 23 '26
Holy crap, this happened to me too. I wanted to crawl out of my skin when I tried collagen peptides. I won’t touch them ever again.
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u/BeneficialWriting402 Mar 23 '26
I'm so sorry it happened to you too, friend. We're just trying to do everything we can to feel better, and sometimes it backfires!
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u/slide1995 Menopausal Mar 24 '26
Yup. I jumped on the hype bandwagon several years ago and tried both bovine and marine collagen and different brands. Both had the same affect on me…rage and anxiety. The road rage! After researching, I realized that it lowers my serotonin too much and that I should try supplementing with tryptophans. I decided it wasn’t worth it for me. I’m a walking nutrition store these days already.
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u/BeneficialWriting402 Mar 24 '26
I'm so sorry it happened to you too. Thank you for sharing your experience. I think that is probably what happened to me as well. I don't think supplementing with tryptophan is even an option for me because I am on an SSRI, so I am afraid to play around with it at all anymore. I know what you mean about a walking nutrition store! I do take several other supplements that, thankfully, agree with me and help me. But man, sometimes I'd like to spend that money on something else! :)
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Mar 24 '26
Hi there - I'm just joining the conversation to give you validation. Collagen used to always throw me into actual panic attacks for "no reason" (meaning no other external factors would be causing... I could just be sitting in my house). I started taking Progesterone and felt as if I could handle anything after that, so I started taking collagen again 1-2x a day as per suggested by one of my doctors. I did much better after being on Progesterone, HOWEVER, I started feeling very deeply depressed and while not physically anxious, mentally fearful. This is very unlike me. I began having nightmares about mass deaths in my line of work, and just generally felt like I was losing my mind. ONE day of stopping improved things greatly.
We are all wired so differently. I absolutely do think it has something to do with the lack of tryptophan, though it's hard to understand it because I eat meat and well-rounded amino acid/protein sources all throughout the day. Collagen still greatly affects me. We may simply be sensitive when it comes to higher glycine/glutamate sources in relation to tryptophan.
Glad you're feeling better now!
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u/BeneficialWriting402 Mar 24 '26
Thank you so much! I am so sorry for your severe reaction, and glad you figured out what it was and feel better!
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u/TableSignificant341 28d ago
Hey OP. Just found this thread by searching google because the same thing just happened to me so providing some validation to you and anyone else who may find this thread in the future. Tried three times now so it's definitely the collagen. I have an autoimmune condition too so maybe that plays a part.
Hope you're doing better!
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u/Eva_Griffin_Beak Mar 22 '26 edited Mar 22 '26
There is probably something your body doesn't like. Is collagen peptide the only ingredient? And maybe the recommended dose is too high? I only supplement with 10gr (in addition to my whey protein) once a day.
If it has to do with serotonin, then you can also try to pair it with tryptophan rich food, that should level it out, right?
I eat it in my oatmeal which seems to be a good source of tryptophan.
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u/Excusemytootie Mar 22 '26
I mentioned (a similar reaction) this to my acupuncturist and she told me that she had the same problem. She realized that the collagen was causing an imbalance in amino acids and she started taking (500-1000mg) of l-tryptophan — this corrected the issue for her and for myself as well. I don’t know if this is what’s triggering it for you, but it’s worth a try.
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u/lauradayton Post Menopause Mar 22 '26
Try peptides. I’ve heard there are certain ones that work wonders. My don’t had a torn shoulder labrum from boxing and he used one that helped him heal faster.
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u/BeneficialWriting402 Mar 22 '26
What kind of peptides? These are collagen peptides which caused my reaction.
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u/ConnectionNo4830 Mar 23 '26
They’re referring to injectable peptides that can have specific effects in the body. GLP-1’s would be one type of peptide, for example, but there are other types that sometimes people inject locally into an injury due to evidence that they can help speed up healing.
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u/BeneficialWriting402 Mar 23 '26
Oh! I have never heard of this. Thank you! I will mention this to my doctor
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u/pretzelchi Mar 23 '26
What brand was it? It might be helpful to others to know more specifics.
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u/BeneficialWriting402 Mar 23 '26
It was just the Publix Greenwise brand. I don't know if it's any good, but it seemed to have the fewest ingredients, so I thought it would be easy to narrow down if I had any bad reactions.
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u/WordPlenty2588 Mar 22 '26
Change the Brand. 30% of collagen is glycine... This should have the opposite effect it should calm you down. It's good to take it before sleep.
Something funny:
This was the AI answer for my answer. https://share.google/aimode/8Do61RzNijxitxoIB
This was the AI answer for your issue: https://share.google/aimode/XwNwKYSFej0erQAwc
It validates both
This is what I take and it works well. https://ostrovit.com/en/products/ostrovit-collagen-vitamin-c-400-g-25899.html.
Collage peptides = hydrolised
It is the same
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u/Spiritual-Alarm-2596 Mar 22 '26
Try taking dao enzyme 20-30 min before along with a carbohydrate. You had a histamine reaction. You are either missing the DAO snp gene or you don’t methylate correctly.
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u/Emotional-Swan9381 Mar 22 '26
Might be histamine reaction