So, I had some previously unconsumed pure sodium thiosulfate crystals on hand that I had sourced from ebay. I have so many supplements in supply, many of them that I have never tried (I usually get around to them), that it is not unusual that I forget why I purchased something. There is usually a good reason for purchase that I can again discover, and in this case I vaguely remembered that sodium thiosulfate was a dechlorinator, that it is used in cyanide detoxification, and that it was a strong reducing agent. I believe that I was delaying further experimentation until I was able to do more research on it, and was sure of its safety. Although, its limited medical uses point to a relatively safe profile, and positive therapeutic action, at specific dilutions. Perhaps I was initially hesitant because of the note on the bag that stated that one pound of it can dechlorinate 25,000 gallons of water.
My first clue should have been several months ago, when one morning I happened to just handle the bag in which it came (I store everything in my bedroom), and I immediately fell asleep again for several hours. The link to my handling of the bag and the strange sleep episode was fairly obvious (it was noticeable that dust that was kicked up out of the bag when it was handled). While I did make the link to the probable cause of the induced sleep episode, I didn't pay any more attention to the substance for a few more months. However, I was aware of the extremely diminutive amount of dust that I must have inhaled and its subsequent pronounced effect.
Cut to yesterday morning: I wake up with a severe ocular migraine. The pain radiated through my prefrontal cortex. This is after I had been taking the CILTEP stack for about 1.5 weeks that initially helped my eye issues greatly, but whose beneficial action seemed to be fragile once I started experimenting with other things with it, such as GABA to occasionally reduce the perceived catecholamine buildup. For my issues, it also works better without a catecholamine precursor, and it seems to help if I skip days-whereas initially the effects grew stronger with daily dosing.
Anyway, I began to go through the variety of supplements that usually knock my migraines out (aborting them is more difficult than preventing them). First, lithium orotate, which generally is extremely effective, had no effect. Then 650 mg of aspirin and caffeine pills. No effect. Then, a milk thistle cap to protect the liver from my continued onslaught. I also took a Forskolin and an artichoke cap, which in hindsight was a bad idea. After none of this had an effect, I was getting desperate (other things can help, but if lithium doesn't do it, then I have little hope for most other solutions). I took both a cold and hot shower, which helped some, and went back to my bedroom. I then remembered the notable effect that handling the bag of sodium thiosulfate had. Anything that puts me back to sleep can generally be thought of as having the desired effect on my migraines. So, I dipped my finger in the bag, and a few very fine particles of sodium thiosulfate stuck to it. If the total weight were 1 mg, then I would be surprised. It was probably .20-.50 mg. I licked it off of my finger and laid down.
Sure enough, I dropped off to sleep, almost immediately, for 2-3 hours. This is what I expected, although I actually thought that I would sleep more. I got up, and plod through my day (of studying no less) feeling all day like I usually do after I abort a migraine: like I just got repeatedly punched in the brain. Although, given the prior extreme intensity of the migraine, I could have felt much worse.
Here's where it gets strange: in-line with my penchant for self abuse, I stayed up until 4 am. Usually, this would necessitate 9-10 hours of sleep to overcome, especially given the previous morning's migraine and my masochistic indulgence of heavy computer use, the primary migraine trigger (although few are as severe as the one of the previous morning). My first clue is that I had a little trouble falling asleep. Usually, going to bed at this time in the morning, I drop right off into at least 6 hours of deep slumber. However, 30 minutes or so of continued awareness was this time noted. Strange. Well, I finally drifted off, only to awake at 6:15 am fully alert. I felt like I had a full nights sleep. It felt like I had an extremely powerful anti-oxidant coursing through my system. I could breath and stretch a little easier, and I had no trace of fatigue. Although I had anti-oxidant experiences that cut down on sleep necessity, never before have they made it so that only 1.5 hours of sleep was necessary. Especially after such a morning and day that I previously had. The effect was so pronounced that it freaked me out a little, and I started getting paranoid about the safety profile of the dose that I ingested in such haste the morning before. My eyes felt great, more clear, and could very noticeable focus faster than they usually can. Because of my eye issues, I'm always doing small self-tests of ocular function. In the morning, I often press my face into my pillow, and then lift it up to notice how long it takes for my eyes to focus on objects at various distances. Usually both eyes are pretty slow (10-15 seconds, my right eye being especially slow), but this time they both focused immediately. Even more notably, the difference in night vision between my two eyes was reduced so as to be imperceivable when walking down my dark hallway. Usually, especially after using the computer until the early morning, my right eye would be considerably worse than my left: to the point where I feel almost night-blind in my right eye as it is contrasted with the vision in my left. If I don't stress my eyes with hours of intense fluorescent light exposure, this difference tends to diminish. However, this morning it was hardly there when it should have been a vast difference.
The clarity was so great however, that my state continued to worry me a bit and, further, I knew that trying to tackle the day on 1.5 hours of sleep was a bad idea, especially given that I have a test to take today. So, I read until I grew tired and eventually did fall back to sleep for about 3.5 hours. And, here I am a few hours later, still feeling pretty good, and wondering if and how I can harness this substance for, perhaps, intermittent therapeutic use. The safety must be first assured. If it can be, I recommend that everyone give it a go. The effects are fairly amazing in their potency. Although, it's difficult to guess at what the felt effects will be for those with physiologic states that are different from my own.
I anyone does try it, please be extremely, extremely careful with the dose. This is potent stuff, and I the very few people that I found on the internet, that claim to have been taking it therapeutically, most often do dilute it first to around a 10% solution of which they take a few drops; they don't stick their finger in it like I did. Even at the sub-milligram dose that I took, I felt as if I probably overdid it. That being said, desired felt potency can also be a personal preference as long as it is within the safe dose range.
Edited by golgi1, 02 November 2012 - 07:46 PM.
