5 replies to this topic

[Burks]

Hello all,

 

First, some quick info.

 

Age: 30

Height: 5'9"

Weight: 190lbs

Activity: Bodybuilding 3-5 times a week, run 3-4 miles weekly.

Supplements: Hawthorn Berries (BP control, YES it DOES work), Creatine, Protein powder, quality multivitamin, and melatonin before bed (my nights off).

Job: RN (ICU). On my feet quite a bit (up to 10 hours) depending on my patient load. 36-48 hours a week

Sleep: 3-5 hours nightly. I have a 4 month old daughter so sometimes it's 3 hours of interrupted sleep. I've always slept a max of 6 hours a night.

Medical history: Mild hypertension, this disappeared after losing 40lbs. Multiple concussions, of which I believe 4-5 are documented. I can attest to at least 6 over a 12 year history of football.

 

After my senior year of football I did notice my short term memory was a bit iffy at times. I was a straight A student, graduated with a 3.9, and attended college as a senior. I never studied, didn't need to as I remembered almost everything I had read. Now it's a struggle at times to really remember stuff. I have to do flash cards, rewrite flash cards multiple times, recite information, etc. I never had to do that before. With me going back to school, a new daughter, and being basically the sole income in the house I need to stay sharp as much as possible. If I can become even sharper, more alert, etc that's a huge positive.

 

This really does effect my life or work in a negative way at all. If there is something I can do to better myself, better my life, and make my family's life easier then I'm going to do it!

 

I do have some Noopept on the way (probably arrive Thursday/Friday next week). Any further suggestions? Any further info you need from me?

[gamesguru]

Many reasons why learning can get harder as we age, some have to do with junk food and TV, some are more or less inevitable with current medicine.  But based on your complaint of impaired learning, your mental age seems like 50.  Not sure how much of that is due to concussions.  Not sure on specific diet, but healthy foods can't hurt recovery (even if it's been years since your first concussion).  Try browsing these results, see what you find:  https://www.google.c... for concussion, or "foods for concussion"
Hawthorn but your hypertensions disappeared?

Three hours of interrupted sleep??

 

 

Natural options:
Effects of 12-Week Bacopa monnieri Consumption on Attention, Cognitive Processing, Working Memory, and Functions of Both Cholinergic and Monoaminergic Systems in Healthy Elderly Volunteers

B. monnieri-treated group showed improved working memory together with a decrease in both N100 and P300 latencies

 

Panax ginseng (G115) improves aspects of working memory performance and subjective ratings of calmness in healthy young adults

Extract of Ginkgo biloba leaves reverses yohimbine-induced spatial working memory deficit in rats

Green tea extract enhances parieto-frontal connectivity during working memory processing

Edited by gamesguru, 06 September 2015 - 01:37 PM.

[Burks]

I keep taking the Hawthorn because my BP does randomly spike depending on my work load. My BP never goes low and I can definitely tell if it's a bad day and I don't take it, that a headache is fast approaching. On my days off I'm a solid 110/50, even after my morning cup of joe.

 

My fault on the sleep part, that should read uninterrupted. I was trying to type and keep my daughter entertained at the same time.

 

My diet is actually fairly good. I try to stay away from processed foods and eat whole grains as much as possible. I do eat way too much in the area of red meat but I can't stand fish/seafood and chicken is boring. I follow a bodybuilding diet. High protein, low to moderate carbs, and moderate healthy fats.

 

I will certainly look into the Bacopa you mentioned and I appreciate your feedback!

[Phlogiston]

I was recently diagnosed with Mild Cognitive Impairment, and for the last several months I have been practicing a diet / exercise / supplement protocol developed at the Memory Disorders Clinic at UCLA Medical Center. I have attached the journal article detailing the protocol because I am not allowed to link to it.

 

This protocol has had fairly dramatic results in reversing severe memory loss. . It's pretty rigorous, and you may not want to or need to put the whole thing into practice for your issues, but it certainly can be a source of ideas.

 

Also, tau proteins seem to be the villain in sports-related memory loss stemming from multiple concussions. You might want to research any interventions being researched to arrest this kind of pathology in particular. It is different from the usual age related (Alzheimers or vascular) sources of cognitive impairment.

 

The tau process seems to progress even after people quit competing and incurring concussions, so you are on the right track in seeking to intervene now.

Attached Files

•  REVERSING MEMORY LOSS.pdf   794.33KB   0 downloads

[Phlogiston]

Sorry, here is the UCLA protocol. The system wouldn't let me attach it as an edit to my earlier post.

 

The UCLA subjects were all dealing with memory loss from vascular or Alzheimers type neurodegeneration. As I said earlier, if you believe that your problems are related to your concussions, you should do a pubmed search for Dementia Pugilistica. I am not a doctor or a neuroscientist; as an RN you have more academic background in neurology than I do.  However, I am aware that this syndrome appears to progress steadily even after the concussions have stopped. You are on the right track in trying to intervene early.

 

Some optimized circumin supplements have shown the ability to cross the blood-brain barrier and attack the amyloid and tau protein deposits which appear to be central to both Alzheimers and dementia pugilistica.

 

I am a relatively new member and therefore not allowed to link. But you might want to search for a thread here in which Resveratrol_Guy discusses his use of very high doses of Longvida circumin with the intent of clearing amyloid plaques from his brain. The thread also contains a Youtube video in which a representative of Longvida's manufacturer discusses the evidence for its greater bioavailability as opposed to other forms of circumin. This man is obviously not an unbiased source. However, some highly informed posters here consider the presentation credible.

 

 

Attached Files

•  REVERSING MEMORY LOSS.pdf   794.33KB   22 downloads

[Burks]

Very interesting info Phlogiston. 

 

I've been taking Noopept daily now and I'm noticing some improvements. When I need focus (work), I take 20mg. When I need extreme focus (studying) I'm taking 30mg. On a day to day basis it's 10mg twice daily. I had a bad dizzy spell two days ago and haven't taken any since today and I noticed quite a bit of trouble staying focused and calm with tasks. About beat my car to death while trying to get a wheel hub off! I had the parking brake on....

 

Could this be a placebo? Yes it could. Do I care? Nope! My wife has noticed a change as well because I can be so engrossed in studying I don't even have my music playing, which is highly unusual for me.

 

If I can get these improvements, or even 25% worth, I'm all for adding different things to my daily supplements. One nice thing is at work I'm down to sipping on one Monster over 12hrs versus 2-3 cans nightly! That stuff is horrid on the heart (I'm mainly a cardiac ICU nurse but dabble in surgical from time to time!).