343 replies to this topic

[Mr Serendipity]

Ok great initial results!

 

It's only been 2 days since I've taken 10mg of lithium orotate, and I haven't gotten a major high or low. But what makes this more promising was the fact I've been tickling as soon as I started taking it, so its mood balancing effects were immediate. And I know it's effects were immediate, because literally only just last week I gave tickling a try on forskolin, and later that day I experienced all the bipolar symptoms I would get from tickling, the high, the low, the excessive talking etc... So lithium has already had a profound effect on me to say the least.

 

I also finally googled excessive talking and bipolar, and found it is a symptom called pressured speech:

 

"Pressured speech is commonly seen as a symptom of bipolar disorder. When you have pressured speech, you have an extreme need to share your thoughts, ideas, or comments. It's often a part of experiencing a manic episode. The speech will come out rapidly, and it doesn't stop at appropriate intervals."

 

I now also recognise I've been in some sort of mania a lot of the time. And all the bipolar symptoms, mania/high, low, and pressured speech, are all exacerbated from tickling my amygdalas. The more I tickle, the worse these symptoms would appear, stronger highs and lows and pressured speech. I hate to admit it, but when the lows were really strong, I have become suicidal, and once I come out the low, I'm fine.

 

I now believe (at least in my case), I've had undiagnosed bipolar all this time, and amygdala tickling just exacerbated it. I think a lot of the emotional flashbacks I experienced in the previous years when I was tickling a lot, were literally the result of a really strong low. I can also look back and see my highs/mania and amount of pressured speech I use to experience back then as well. 

 

What's amazing, and something I've personally noted before. Is you can try 100's of supplements, but they will never work as well as the one you're deficient in. I first recognised this after taking magnesium back in 2013, which led me to rebuild my stack from the ground up back then, and I believe it's been the same case this time round. After nearly 3 years since starting this thread, and trying everything under the sun to control my emotional imbalances from tickling, lithium has had an immediate and observable effect.

 

While in some eyes it would have been better to be officially diagnosed years ago, as lithium is a known and common treatment for bipolar, and I would have saved myself from years of hell; I'm actually glad I did it the way I did. The reason being, is I still found many things that were effective in various ways for me while trying to find the solution, and if I had cured my mood stability straight away with lithium, I may have never stumbled upon them as I did through trial and error. The ones I'm specifically thinking of are NAC, Benfotiamine, Turmeric, Forskolin, and Selenium; and I can only imagine they will be even more effective now I've discovered the lithium connection. Also is the fact I didn't have to be put on high doses of lithium and get regular blood tests, but can simply take it in the form of a supplement.

 

However I will be dropping the dose to 5mg in the morning. This is because I seem to be peeing a lot more, and I'm worried about the strain on my kidneys. Also my previous experience with it back in uni shows I was responding well to it at a 5mg dose. Another thing I noticed is I seem to be falling asleep much quicker.

 

I'll leave with this which shows lithium grows dendrites of neurones back to normal levels in bipolar rats: https://www.sciencem...ental-illnesses

 

 

And this which shows dendritic spine loss in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder: https://www.ncbi.nlm...les/PMC5510541/

 

While I don't understand how lithium is having an immediate effect on me, I'm looking forward to its chronic use to regrow my dendrites over time.

Edited by Jesus is King, 18 November 2020 - 02:05 AM.

[zorba990]

Perhaps you would benefit from other nerve growth potentiators like Lions Mane.

Therapeutic Potential of Hericium erinaceus for Depressive Disorder
https://www.ncbi.nlm...les/PMC6982118/

"Abstract
Depression is a common and severe neuropsychiatric disorder that is one of the leading causes of global disease burden. Although various anti-depressants are currently available, their efficacies are barely adequate and many have side effects. Hericium erinaceus, also known as Lion’s mane mushroom, has been shown to have various health benefits, including antioxidative, antidiabetic, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antihyperglycemic, and hypolipidemic effects. It has been used to treat cognitive impairment, Parkinson’s disease, and Alzheimer’s disease. Bioactive compounds extracted from the mycelia and fruiting bodies of H. erinaceus have been found to promote the expression of neurotrophic factors that are associated with cell proliferation such as nerve growth factors. Although antidepressant effects of H. erinaceus have not been validated and compared to the conventional antidepressants, based on the neurotrophic and neurogenic pathophysiology of depression, H. erinaceus may be a potential alternative medicine for the treatment of depression. This article critically reviews the current literature on the potential benefits of H. erinaceus as a treatment for depressive disorder as well as its mechanisms underlying the antidepressant-like activities.

Keywords: Hericium erinaceus, Lion’s mane mushroom, depression, antidepressant, mood disorders"

[Mr Serendipity]

Hey Zobra thanks for the suggestion. I've seen Lions Mane mentioned before, but never looked into it. I've just ordered 2 different brands off Amazon to test. I'll give one brand to my wife, and I'll take the other. Because I'm taking so much and I don't want to take a break off my stack now because it's working well, it'll be harder for me to tell whether it's genuine or not. So I'm going to see if my wife reports anything like vivid dreams or anything, then switch the brand and see if she reports anything again, and then stick to the one which works.

 

Lithium is still working well, I lowered my dose to 5mg with my morning stack, and I don't seem to be urinating a lot now. I have been tickling as well, and while I may get some irritability here and there, there's been no mania or low, and any irritability is overcome quickly.

 

But I don't want to really report any other effects as concrete yet, because it's only the 4th day and my body is adjusting. For example yesterday I needed to pee a lot more on 5mg than I did today. Also my libido went through the roof the past 3 days (twice a day), but is normal today (funnily enough the same thing happened when I first started taking selenium). Also I've appetite suppression the last 3 days which I think was due to slight nausea, but that all seems normal today. And my sleeping pattern and quality is fluctating, so I can't comment on sleep right now. Also I feel a little emotionally blunted rather than being in a better mood, but this is better than the bipolar symptoms I was experiencing. And lastly while I seem to be able to concentrate and think, I feel slightly off, like a little brain fog, not as clear.

 

But because lithium even at a 5mg dose seems to be working so far, I probably won't increase it, but look for alternatives like your suggestion of lions mane to add to my stack. I'm hoping by adding that, along with my lithium, curcumin, and tickling, it will cause lots of neural growth.

 

The other thing I want to eventually retry is ALCAR, because I believe I was taking massive doses at the time when I had my mini pop. Along with all the good research research I previously posted here (on page 6), it would be good if I could reintroduce that into my stack without suffering from the sides I've been getting from it now (insomnia, irritability).

 

 

Here is my current stack so far (excluding lions mane until I test it):

 

[] = Dosage of pill, not total dosage

 

2 x Multivitamin (Higher Nature - Advanced Multi)

1 x Lithium Orotate [5mg] (eBay)

1 x NAC [500mg] (Prowise/Amazon)

1 x Benfotiamine [150mg] (Doctors Best)

1 x Vitamin C [1g] (Any brand is fine as long as it’s ascorbic acid)

1 x Vitamin E (Healthy Origins - E400)

1 x Cod Live Oil [1g] (Natures Aid)

1 x Borage Oil [1g] (Supplemented/Amazon) 

1 x Pycnogenol [30mg] (Natures Aid)

1 x Ginger (Natures Aid or Higher Nature)

1 x Turmeric (Nature’s Aid)

1 x Forskolin [50mg Active Forskolin) (Amazon)

1/2 x Selenium [200mcg] (Natures Aid)

Edited by Jesus is King, 19 November 2020 - 07:35 PM.

[Mr Serendipity]

Okay so yesterday I took my stack, and then an hour later I took ALCAR. Then later on I drank a cold frap, so caffeine.

 

The day started off well, before I started developing anxiety later on, and then became depressive. ALCAR is definitely not a supplement for me. While caffeine in the past (a few years ago) from energy drinks has made me extremely stressed, I don't think caffeine effects me that badly in lower doses these days, though I rarely drink it. So I put the bad experience down the ALCAR. Also had major insomnia yesterday and OCD thoughts.

 

I want to go through a list of things and experiences which have helped or worsen my mood, and see what combo I could create out of it.

 

Forskolin - So this stuff on its own is mood lifting and gets rid of anxiety, even when taken alone. Higher doses aren't the way to go as I do get major insomnia later on. The mood effect could also be partially due to the fact you break down more acetylcholine on it. It also made my low more controllable when I tried it a week prior, but didn't completely eliminate it.

 

Sulbutimaine - In the past I've had mood lifting experiences, but usually this happens once and then I don't get that effect. However I've noticed this combined will forskolin does increase mood every time I think, rather than a hit and miss when taken alone. However due to the strong insomnia is causes, whether taken alone, or with forskolin, it really isn't viable for me.

 

Propranalol - I totally forgot about this. But I started experimenting with on the basis of trying to erase fear memories associated with emotional flashbacks (or a strong bipolar low). So I was attempting to take it whenever one of these would occur, but would often forget in the moment. However I remember one experience, one of the early ones, where I took some before a party. I became in a really good mood and was dancing a lot. It's something I think I should look into, to see if I can take regularly, it was a 40mg dose.

 

DMAE - Is a no go. Originally I believed it helped me with my emotional stability and obliterated anxiety taken at very low doses, 1/4 a pill, 43.75mg, and I'm pretty sure it worked. But recently I tried two normal pills, 325mg, and had a terrible experience with it, completely stressed me out, bad mood, and a bad situation ended up making me break down and cry. The reason I tried this higher dose, is because I noted before when I tried this higher dose last year, I became a bit hypomanic and experienced euphoria. But I also note I had drank cocoa earlier on, so it most likely potentiated cocoas effect. The other thing is DMAE is like ALCAR and Sulbutiamine where it will cause major insomnia.

 

Cocoa - I completely forgot about cocoa. But at one point I was drinking it every morning at one point, for around a month or more. I remember it had great effects on my mood, and my memory was also getting better. I've found the post (#179 this thread), and wrote about it also here. In fact reading my old experience, cocoa significantly improved my memory, more than anything I've tried in the past, and my long term memory is really bad.

 

Because today I was texting a friend who I went to college with. And for years now when he use to bring stuff up from college, situations, people we knew, things we did,  I couldn’t remember any of it, and we both agreed my memory was terrible and that’s been the case for years now. And these past couple of years I’ve also noticed how terrible my short term memory has become. Anyway today while texting him, within our 30 minute convo, I must have brought up 8 or more things of past college experiences I remembered, and I even said to him, damn my memory’s improved so much all of a sudden, must of be all that cocoa I’ve been drinking. I mean it’s hard to explain because they’re my memories, but before I couldn’t remember anything, very blank, while today I could remember more college experiences then I have done in years, and I mean that very literally.

 

I found in my notes this: "Note: Not taking anymore, even 1 teaspoon is too stimulating and makes me act weird/hyperactive.", I was probably describing hypomania/mania.

 

Lithium - Now lithium seems to be the only thing that completely eliminates my highs and lows (except depressive symptoms when combined with ALCAR). I know this because just a week prior I was testing forskolin and tickled, and while it slightly helped, I still experienced a high, a low, and pressured speech. Since taking lithium this week and tickling a lot, I still haven't experienced these bipolar symptoms. So whereas things like forskolin or low dose of DMAE partially helped in this area, lithium is a complete cure in this area. There was one day where I sort of had a high, but it was a controllable high, more like controlled high brain energy. The other thing lithium does, especially when combined with cocoa or caffeine, is crush my appetite. The negatives of lithium, is while it stabilises these symptoms, things like forskolin which would put me in a good mood, are dulled. As in I'm not in a better mood, but rather more emotionally dulled. The other negative of lithium is I feel slight brain fog on it. The other thing is addictions are much more controllable. While I still smoke tobacco, I haven't felt the urge to seek out and smoke weed or drink alcohol. Compare this to only a few weeks ago where I went on a weed binge for a couple of weeks.

 

Turmeric/Curcumin - This stuff worked well with for anxiety, but without any side effects. Most notably no insomnia, unlike a low dose of DMAE, or forskolin can cause in higher doses. It also seems like I started taking it around the same time I stopped drinking cocoa, so it does make me wonder how much of this was a lingering effect I had from cocoa. But to be honest, even before taking lithium, I wasn't experiencing much or any anxiety, which I mainly attributed to the turmeric and forskolin in my stack.

 

NAC - When I started taking this, I eventually got to a point where I would question whether I had OCD anymore or not, and it helped me with the anhedonia stuck in a rut feeling. But the other thing is I stopped taking it at one point for because I ran out of it, and I didn't buy anymore because I thought my stack was working fine without it, until I started developing that stuck in a rut/anhedonia feeling again. Once I added it back into my stack, that feeling disappeared.

 

Selenium - Now this is one of my top supplements. While I had a pretty good stack before, I got hit by COVID the worst compared to my father and wife (I wasn't taking any selenium back then). I would also often get sick, and always wondered why the hell my immune system was really bad, even though I supplemented vitamin c, zinc, and vitamin d. Afterward I learned NAC may exacerbate a selenium deficiency as NAC is used in the glutathione process, and also there was a link between selenium deficiency and COVID severity. So when I started taking selenium after my COVID incident, I definitely felt my thyroid ramp up, my libido shot through the roof the first few days, and I eliminated daytime tiredness. However 200mcg was too stimulating for me and would cause insomnia. I cut the dose to 100mcg, and I haven't been sick since my COVID April (touch wood). But I also feel because of this deficiency, I was lacking glutathione levels in my brain. I remember if on the rare occasion I ever ate deep fried foods, like fish and chips or KFC (has to be their normal fried chicken), I would always experience brain fog afterward, which I think could have been due to low glutathione levels in the brain. I really need to test this again though to confirm I don't get brain fog from deep fried foods. But the one thing I can say selenium has continued to provide, is the elimination of daytime tiredness.

 

Benfotiamine - I use to get this extreme weird painful nausea in my stomach whenever I smoked weed. It's hard to explain. It's not like feeling like I was going vomit, just really uncomfortable. Well benfotiamine or sulbutiamine seemed to cure it. I noted previously benfotiamine didn't cause insomnia like sulbutiamine does, but that's probably because it doesn't cross the blood brain barrier.

 

Insomnia - One thing I will note, is I always feel like I want to reduce my stack if I can to prevent insomnia. While I think forskolin, selenium, cocoa, and even befotiamine might contribute to my insomnia because of their stimulating properties, I actually wonder if it really does. Because the insomnia I get from taking ALCAR or DMAE is different, it's like a complete insomnia, can't fall alseep at all until 5-7am, and I wake up less refreshed. While my stack without these two I do still fall asleep around 3am I believe, but wake up refreshed. So while these supplements are stimulating, it's a different league of insomnia all together compared to DMAE or ALCAR. It might just actually be sleeping pattern I'm use to instead of insomnia with my normal stack.

 

 

Anyway I wrote a lot. I've only taken the lions mane supplement this morning to test it, and not my stack (take a break today) because of the insomnia I got last night from the ALCAR, so I contribute lions mane to the brain energy I have right now. I also rang my wife up, and while she didn't experience vivid dreams last night, she says she's not in her head like she gets sometimes at worked when under stress. So along with my brain energy and her positive effects, and the fact I learnt it's manufactured in the UK, I'm thinking this brand is legit.

 

Pressured speech/hypomania vs controlled brain energy - As you see from above with all this writing, one could assume I'm experiencing hypomania/pressured speech right now. Apparently I started this post at 12:40pm (according to longecity auto save), so it's been 2 hours with the occasional cigarette breaks, and I still have more to write. But I can tell the difference between pressured speech/mania and controlled brain energy. Pressure speech/mania is I have to talk a lot, my breathing speeds up, it's hard to get my words and thoughts out, and I don't think clearly and my thinking and what I'm saying switches a lot. But what I'm experiencing right now is what I like to call controlled brain energy. It's more logical, I have energy to write, but I can think clearly in what I'm writing. It's like the energy of mania but with the control. With pressured speech I can't stop even when I want to, but if I wanted to, I could stop writing right now (but I have more thoughts I want to extrapolate on right now). Also you don't recognise the mania/pressured speech at the time it occurs, or recognise it as clearly, and if I was experiencing it while talking to someone such as my wife, I just wouldn't be able to shut up even if I wanted to. The best example I can give you is I deliver prescriptions as a job, and I always work with someone else (I drive, they deliver), and I've experienced pressured speech plenty of times when talking to my partner. However literally this week, the same time I started taking lithium, someone new started working for us and has been my delivery partner this week, and they talk a hell of a lot and I'm just there being quiet, listening, maybe giving my input now and then, but the speech ratio has flipped entirely; also it doesn't bother me either how much this person is talking and me not being able to talk.

 

My original mini pop - So I was looking back and found some posts I wrote two months after my mini pop. I was taking high doses of ALCAR and tyrosine (and other supplements I didn't write about) at the time, and was practicing amygdala tickling for long periods at the time also. So what this tells me, even though I was taking ALCAR and tyrosine at the time, I was also practicing amygdala tickling also only two months after my pop, and it didn't cause another mini pop. But I wrote about alcohol acting as a catalyst, but I'm pretty sure it was the day I was drinking, but also dancing loads to sweat the alcohol out, to make me feel more sober. I can't be sure it was that same day as I didn't note the dancing when I wrote about my experience the next day, but I'm pretty sure. So I feel the drinking + lots of dancing to sweat out/sober me up, was the day I came back in a taxi and experienced the mini pop.

 

Tobacco and clicking noise - I also remember when I was 16 and I first started smoking tobacco but in a pipe. When I tickled while I was smoking, I heard an audible constant clicking noise in my head. I've heard this clicking noise, as well as pops and water drops, when practicing a lot of tickling last year (when I was going through major highs and lows from lots of tickling), but they weren't as loud as that experience when I was 16. I don't experience that while smoking now.

 

Weed and tickling - I've had several experiences with weed and tickling, especially when I did tickling a lot the in late 2018. I'm going to sum up all my experiences here, most of these experiences were happening when I was tickling the most. The first one I remember of my early experience back in 2018, was feeling my amygdalas really swirling for like 10-15 minutes, and I just didn't want to speak, and my cousin and wife was trying to talk to me and I just ignored him. The other experience I got was painful electricity shooting up my leg and into my brain a few times when walking, and also when I was sitting and my whole body was sort of convulsing to it; I've read an experience on Slades old forum of someone else experiencing the same thing (but without smoking weed). The other thing I've experienced is getting lost in a train of thought, like lots of thoughts/images coming one after the other super quickly, and then snapping out of it and being like wow what was that; from what I've read from some experiences on Slades old forum, this happens as a normal experience for people from tickling, but can last hours. Also hearing firework pops, water drops, and clicks. Now there have been a few auditory phenomenon I've experienced too, for example I remember my ps4 controller rumbling, and the sound was so in my mind, it sounds like a dragon fly. I actually experienced this phenomenon recently on my weed binge a few weeks ago while listening to music or hearing the sounds of the TV programme my wife was watching, the audio comes to the forefront of your mind. Weed does seem to amplify some effects of tickling, but tolerance happens, and is not a long term solution to go about it. But it makes me wonder how much amygdala tickling experiences and their amplification, are related to the cannabinoid receptors.

 

Driving & Flow State - Recently while I've been driving and doing amygdala tickling using the feeling method. I've been able to access the flow state at times. You become more present, the journey becomes super smooth, and you notice the leaves on the trees blowing in the wind and the birds flying around. It's a cool state with an attached joy to it, and journeys feel longer because rather than being in the mind (driving on autopilot), you receive and process the reality around you more. I remember even just this Tuesday, the colours of the leaves seem more interesting when I looked at them close, and I found joy from my cat drinking water out of a tap the other day, and all his behaviours seemed more cute and gave joy. 

 

Which brings me to my final point.

 

My theory on amygdala tickling, the brain, and what can be used to enhance it -

 

I came up with this metaphor the other day since I've been able to compare controlled brain energy vs mania brain energy. It's like a balloon you fill up with water. Mania is like a balloon with holes in it, you fill the balloon up with water (brain energy), but because of the holes in the balloon, this energy spills out and causes mania. While controlled brain energy is like a balloon without any holes in it, you fill it up with water (brain energy), but because there are no holes in it, the energy is controlled. The easiest way you can compare it, is me writing this post for the last 3 hours while not being in mania, this is controlled brain energy.

 

When I had my mini pop, one thing I distinctly noticed, is your brain really wakes up, like we've been half asleep all this time, and I believe this really all comes down to, receiving the reality around you more. It's just like driving in the flow state, the flow state naturally comes when you receive the reality around you more. But a better way to explain it is increasing receptors vs raw material, i.e. having more receptors to make use of the material you already have. For example taking l-carnitine to increase your androgen receptors in your muscles to make more use of your circulating testosterone, or lithium to increase the dendrites on your neurones to make more use of the circulating neurotransmitters; as opposed to taking testosterone/steroids or neurotransmitter precursors like tyrosine or 5-htp. So when you increase these receptors in the brain, you make more use of your circulating neurotransmitters, and end up receiving reality around you more and the joy that comes with it. While I don't know much about BDNF, I think this is basically what I'm talking about or relating to. Which also brings me to the thought, is this why some people that jog experience the flow state and euphoria, ie. they increase their BDNF, and they grow more receptive to the reality around them?

 

So how does this all tie into everything; my theory. Since taking lithium (after trying everything else), the brain energy is finally controlled, i.e. no more bipolar symptoms. So by using lithium, along with other neural growth supplements like curcumin, lions mane, forskolin, etc... I should be able to increase my BDNF. But that's not where it stops. Lithium while great, can slightly dull the increase in mood, which is what it's meant to do. But the next step is to increase the brain energy/mood while still being in control, and the way to do this is drinking cocoa and tickling. While both I believe probably have an effect on neural growth/BDNF, it seems like nothing puts more oomph into brain energy than these two. So basically it's a combination of increasing the brain energy without it leaking out into mania by taking lithium and increasing the receptors/BNDF. I feel like BDNF helps in a certain way, but isn't the full picture, you need to stress them with brain energy as well. It's like people who respond well to caffeine without side effects, you may function perfectly well without it, but caffeine gives your brain that little bit of extra energy to function at peak performance, the right amount of stress needed to push your brain.

 

Anyway I've finished writing up all my thoughts after 4 hours 20 minutes later. But basically the only things that needs changing in my stack, is drinking cocoa in the morning everyday (to increase that brain energy), and adding lions mane for BDNF. If I'm right, I think that should complete it.

[Mr Serendipity]

So I had taken 2 lions mane today, and also drank 1 teaspoon of hot cocoa. I became in a good mood later, listening to music and dancing, which lasted about 30-60 minutes, and then became irritable. This is where I took some lithium, told my wife I didn't want to talk because I was feeling irritable and was worried it would get worse, went for a bath, and relaxed in bed for a bit. When my wife came up later, we talked a little bit, but she was in a bad mood also today, and basically said some horrible stuff that "triggered" me. Now I was able to distract myself as I felt this low/anger growing, and she went to sleep after she said those things.

 

But when I was writing my last post, before I concluded the change was going to be adding lion mane to my stack and drinking cocoa in the morning, I was contemplating that positive propranolol experience in the past, and was considering it as something I should experiment further with. I actually took 40mg an hour ago now, and while I'm not as tense, I still feel a bit agitated. 

 

So it got me thinking. Am I actually bipolar? Or is it something else?

 

When I look at my past experiences, I get mania or hypo-mania, but then I get triggered in this state and  I go on a low. But the way I describe my low, while recently it's been more depressive; the majority of my experiences in the past were full of anger and verbal abuse. The fact I can control the rage more now and just feel extremely hurt instead, is progress most likely due to my self hypnosis sessions I've done in the past. But those emotional flashbacks I use to talk about, especially a year or two ago, were filled with anger and rage. Now is that a typical bipolar low?

 

Or am I experiencing intermittent explosive disorder?

 

Rage is never experienced in the mania stage for me, but while I'm in this mania stage, I get triggered and go into a low and this is where the trigger can hurt me so much, it's followed by rage. Thankfully it's nothing like it was a year or two ago, which I attribute to self hypnosis, so the low doesn't turn to rage much now. Then again, I can read something about some injustice in the world, and my mind does get really angry for a long time about it, but the anger is focused on the injustice, nothing else, so in a sense reading about that triggered me, so maybe I do get anger in mania stages? But really from what I can tell, anger only came out in the low/emotional flashback stage.

 

The other thing is rapid cycling. The majority of times I experience the mania and the low, it's in the same day, rather than being in mania for long periods of time. Also the frequency can seem to happen as often as a week. For example only last Friday I experienced it, and then 8 days later today. Often in the past I thought I cured my "emotional flashbacks" (which I now consider bipolar), to only have them reoccur a few weeks later.

Back then I also often said I felt progress after my emotional flashback, as if I got some traumatic energy out of my system. But the IED also explains exactly how I felt:
 

You may feel a sense of relief and tiredness after the episode. Later, you may feel remorse, regret or embarrassment.

 

I've also become suicidal due to the rage before, as if I was trying to prove a point of how much I was hurting, only to be perfectly fine once it passed. 

 

 

 

Individuals diagnosed with IED report their outbursts as being brief (lasting less than an hour)

 

Basically what happens with me.

 

How long do bipolar mania and lows last for? Apparently weeks to months.

 

When it happens to me, it usually all happens in one day. High then low.

 

So the fact IED episodes last less than an hour is more relatable to what I experience. Though nowadays I can withdraw and just feel hurt, without it blowing up with rage. I can't remember the last time I blew up with rage, but in the past is was often a part after the mania.

 

 

 

Bipolar disorder has been linked to increased agitation and aggressive behavior in some individuals, but for these individuals aggressiveness is limited to manic and/or depressive episodes, whereas individuals with IED experience aggressive behavior even during periods with a neutral or positive mood.^[10] In one clinical study, the two disorders co-occurred 60% of the time. Patients report manic-like symptoms occurring just before outbursts and continuing throughout.

 

That sounds more like me. Manic like symptoms occurring just before outbursts, which only last less than an hour.

 

https://pubmed.ncbi....ih.gov/3546964/

 

 

Therapeutic use of propranolol for intermittent explosive disorder

 

Abstract

Intermittent explosive disorder is a syndrome characterized by episodic sudden outbursts of verbal abuse and physical violence in response to minor provocations. Propranolol has been proposed as a promising treatment for this cause of violent behavior. Of eight Mayo Clinic patients with intermittent explosive disorder who had been treated with propranolol between 1983 and 1985, five had substantial diminution or complete remission of symptoms. This response confirms the previously published reports of the effectiveness of propranolol in the treatment of intermittent explosive disorder.

 

I reckon this is probably related to the propranolol's fear extinction properties they've discovered recently.

 

This is why I think it might be a good idea to try and pop one while I'm in my manic stage, just before my low, to erase the body mind feedback loop.

 

Regardless progress has been made overall. Rage is now turned into hurt (which I attribute to self hypnosis I used for anger issues). And lithium has been helping I believe, my symptoms haven't been to extremes like they were previously. Plus my desire to abuse alcohol or weed is in much more control, I haven't touched them since taking lithium. Plus the mood I got today after cocoa was pretty nice, enjoying listening to music, singing along, dancing. Plus my paranoia went significantly down to non existent.

 

At the end of the day I reckon these mood disorders all blend in together somehow on a spectrum for me, because I am messing with my amygdalas. But I am positive that I will still be able to progress, and have already progressed with the fact that the highs and lows are not and near to what they once were from last week, and especially a year and two years ago.

 

Oh and the last thing, my left eye lid has been twitching today, so there's probably something going on mentally in the background.

 

Oh and the very last thing, it might be a good time to try a 10mg lithium dose again now that my body may have adjusted to it, I might not frequently urinate at this dose anymore.

[Mr Serendipity]

New idea, gonna try it tomorrow (well later today after I've slept, already 3am).

 

1. Take stack, with added lions mane and 10mg lithium.

2. Drink hot cocoa throughout the day, every time I'm thirsty.

3. See what mood results I get, usually cocoa is pretty consistent for increasing mood for me.

4. Try and tickle when on the high.

5. If I start going into a low after the high mood from cocoa, pop a 40mg propranolol.

 

Will be a nice experiment for a Sunday.

[Mr Serendipity]

Just a quick update.

 

I took my stack with 10mg lithium today (I forgot the lions mane). Feel so much more normal today. I’ve had about 3-4 cups of hot cocoa, don’t really want anymore tbh. Cocoa isn’t making me hyper active, so I’m tolerating caffeine and theobromine well.

 

But the biggest result is even with 10mg of lithium, and the caffeine and theobromine intake from cocoa, I’m not peeing loads. So my body has definitely adjusted to the lithium. So I will start taking 10mg in my stack again, and I’ll just have one cup of cocoa in the morning.

 

Yesterday I did have a lot of brain energy, I was basically on the verge of hypomania I think, but at the same time controllable enough to write out my thoughts and experiences in a logical way for 4 hours. This is the type of brain energy that would be great for some type of work like writing articles, creative writing, or programming or something, basically a job that requires periods of concentration and the thought processes.

 

 

[zorba990]

I still think you would be better with things like HDAC inhibitors rather than trying to dampen down the feeling or alter them with stims like forskolin or beta blockers.

[Novel therapeutic approach for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD): facilitating fear extinction]
https://pubmed.ncbi....h.gov/23012887/

"Abstract

Pharmacological agents enhancing fear extinction may be promising tools for the treatment of PTSD. Histone acetylation is involved in memory formation, and histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors increase histone acetylation and subsequently enhance fear extinction. In this study, we examined whether vorinostat, an HDAC inhibitor, facilitated fear extinction, using a contextual fear conditioning (FC) paradigm. We found that vorinostat facilitated fear extinction. Next, the levels of global acetylated histone were measured by Western blotting. We also assessed the effect of vorinostat on the hippocampal levels of NMDA receptor mRNA by real-time quantitative PCR (RT-PCR). The levels of acetylated histone and NR2B mRNA, but not NR1 or NR2A mRNA, were elevated in the hippocampus 2 h after administration of vorinostat. We investigated the levels of acetylated histones and phospho-CREB (p-CREB) binding at the promoter of the NR2B gene using the chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assay followed by RT-PCR. The levels of acetylated histone and the binding of p-CREB to its binding site at the promoter of the NR2B gene were increased. These findings suggest that vorinostat in conjunction with exposure therapy can be a promising new avenue for the treatment of PTSD."

[Mr Serendipity]

I still think you would be better with things like HDAC inhibitors rather than trying to dampen down the feeling or alter them with stims like forskolin or beta blockers.

 

Hey Zobra, thanks for the suggestion, I'm looking into them now.

 

Forskolin by itself was a great mood enhancer and anxiety killer for me, even when taken alone. However trying to up my dose would cause insomnia. Cocoa is also a great mood enhancer and is the only thing I know of that significantly increased my long term memory after drinking it over a long period of time, I could remember things I had totally forgotten, but once again can cause me insomnia.

 

My long term and short term memory are pretty bad overall, and if I didn't have notes to look back on, I would make false assumptions, for example thinking I only took lithium orotate in the past for only a few days before dropping it due to brain fog, when in reality according to my notes it was a 3-4 month period, and this was only 7-8 years ago. But my long term memory is so shot (or suppressed), that I rarely remember anything, even things I've written on this forum in the past few months and years, let alone the last decade. It also makes any type of therapy hard to target, for example EDMR, as I only feel the negative emotion and have no idea what memories they're associated with. Also feels I stopped learning since the age of 16, and haven't really learnt any skill or knowledge since then (now 32) however much I tried to, which was a combination of a lack of confidence, motivation, and bad memory. However I've now just come to terms that while having a bad memory is not ideal, it's not going to effect my livelihood, so I just have to accept that for now, and focus on helping my emotional stability.

 

What's interesting about HDAC inhibitors is turmeric seems to be one, and turmeric has an effect on getting rid of anxiety without causing any insomnia. I've taken it plenty of times before bed also.

 

Now here's an interesting tidbit I discovered. Piracetam is also a HDAC inhibitor to whatever degree. I did some search on another forum to see if I mention it at all, and found this post:

 

Piracetam made my vision sharper, like everything around me was more sharp, brighter, and clearer. This was a good experience that only happened once. Other than that piracetam made my creativity go into a little child, act silly, and wouldn't be able to do coursework because I felt like writing eccentrically, stuff that was irrelavant to the subject (probably good for creative writing degree). I guess this nootropic is more an outward/creative drug, then again I was taking a teaspoon of the stuff, which use to be recommened but in now debatable. Piracetam in large doses can also cause mania, but will go away after you cease taking it. 

 

I wrote this on the 24th February 2011. My mini pop occurred on the 3rd Feb 2011, so within the same month. So I must have been messing around with piracetam prior to my mini pop. Uni would have started Sep 2010, so theres a 5 month window there I may have been taking piracetam.

 

And now I just found the following on this forum: https://www.longecit...ic-dsyfunction/

 

The things I had taken today were:

Supplements: Piracetam, ALCAR, Sulbutiamine 
Food: Eggs, Broccoli

 

12th April 2010. Two months after my mini pop. So I was definitely messing around with piracetam around the time.

 

And also this from the other forum on 5th May 2011 when talking about my visualization skill:

 

Basically my attention is lacking; the nootropics like piracetam made it much easier to visualise, but when I wasn't on it, or it didn't work (unreliable), I had a harder time visualising; so it definitely felt like a crutch which hindered my performance. 

 

I do remember my visualization skill was much better back then, everything was much more colourful though flat. But I was also taking 6 raw egg yolks and a teaspoon of ALCAR back then, whereas now I can't even handle 500mg of ALCAR. 

 

I'm also pretty sure I was much more happier in the first year as opposed to the 2nd and 3rd year of university. And remember the 2nd or 3rd year when I was taking a teaspoon of ALCAR it would give me anxiety, like I couldn't people in the eyes, but at the same time I don't believe I was taking piracetam or raw eggs yolks either.

 

But I do remember I started experimenting with oxiracetam in the 2nd or 3rd year, probably without the egg yolks, but maybe still taking ALCAR. And my visualization did jump to another level. It wasn't colourful like before, but I could visualize something in full 3D.

 

I often refer to taking a teaspoon of tyrosine at times also. And I know I experimented with creatine back then also.

 

But in the end I was messing around with a lot of different things back then (2010-2013) before I rebuilt my stack from the ground up around 2014-2015. 

 

 

Anyway Zobra, do you have any ideas of what HDAC inhibitors I could experiment with?

[zorba990]

I would try sodium butyrate first (short half life). Then move on to Trybutyrin. TE Neesby has the cheapest Sodium butyrate I've found. Trybutyrin is on amazon but fairly expensive.

I would start to think of these emotional states as a wave. You can bail out by trying to stop or alter the feeling or ride the thing all the way in.
The memories don't come back fully in my experience unless the feeling is fully expressed.
It may be the hardest thing you ever do to just sit and allow the feeling to peak - especially if its something like panic. But just do it and then ask yourself what might have happened.
Then clarify the event with the Amygdala tickling, and solidify the new memory (or reliving the old one) with the butyrate.

Write it all down and date it!

This is why people are turning to things like DMT or Mushrooms (and have better, more permanent results than using emotion blunting drugs). Because they are afraid to feel the feelings fully and want to have the block removed for them.
LSD and Holotropic breathwork work by similar mechanisms, though the former can be problematic (which is why the latter was invented).

The body is talking to you. Don't put your fingers in your ears. Ask for help if you need it (try the acupuncture or hypnotherapist regression, join a holotropic group, etc).

Think about what happens to your skull at birth. Why do you think the 'pop' is the endpoint of all of this? What is happening to the skull during the pop?
What is most people's original, first traumatic experience? Why do firstborn children often have more anxiety?

[Mr Serendipity]

Okay here's something I thought I could experiment with, especially now my pill boxes are run out. And I'd like to be able to reduce my stack if I can.

 

While I enjoy benfotiamine for it's effects on my stomach, I've been able to avoid weed and alcohol so far on lithium, and think I find benfotiamine too stimulating/insomnia sometimes. So I'm gonna take that out and hope the thiamine in the multivitamin will be enough.

 

I will keep the forskolin in there though due to it's mood lifting effects, and I don't think I find it too stimulating when just taking 1 in the morning.

 

I also have some resveratrol I bought recently which I was using as part of my t.gondii killer combo, but haven't used it since, but just found out it is a HDAC inhibitor. The only problem I had with resveratrol was getting knee pain, but that's not a big problem as I don't plan on doing a lot of exercise right now. So I'm going to add that to my stack.

 

Well basically I'll keep everything in my stack except benfotiamine, and will add resveratrol and the lions mane. I will also experiment with 5mg lithium again.

 

I may experiment with hot cocoa in the morning, but only 1 teaspoon. But I don't mind easily dropping this if I need too.

 

But my idea was taking turmeric 2-3 times a day. Once in my morning stack, and once in the evening, and maybe once before bed. Turmeric has no effect on my sleep, so I don't mind taking that in the evenings. I'll continue to do more research on HDAC inhibitors and see if I can find anything else. But it will be interesting to see if adding lions mane and resveratrol into the morning stack, and taking extra turmeric later will help.

 

 

[] = Dosage of pill, not total dosage

 

New Experimental Morning Stack

 

2 x Multivitamin (Higher Nature - Advanced Multi)

1 x Lithium Orotate [5mg] (eBay)

1 x NAC [500mg] (Prowise/Amazon)

1 x Vitamin C [1g] (Any brand is fine as long as it’s ascorbic acid)

1 x Vitamin E (Healthy Origins - E400)

1 x Cod Live Oil [1g] (Natures Aid)

1 x Borage Oil [1g] (Supplemented/Amazon) 

1 x Pycnogenol [30mg] (Natures Aid)

1 x Ginger (Natures Aid or Higher Nature)

1 x Turmeric (Nature’s Aid)

1 x Forskolin [50mg Active Forskolin) (Amazon)

1 x Lions Mane

1 x Resveratrol

1/2 x Selenium [200mcg] (Natures Aid)

 

Later On

 

1 x Turmeric evening (around 7pm)

1 x Turmeric before bed

 

 

Ideally it would've been better to take the extra turmeric afternoon and evening. But because I wake up around 10:30am, my morning isn't exactly a normal morning time. Let's see what happens. I'll try it for a week.

[Mr Serendipity]

I would try sodium butyrate first (short half life). Then move on to Trybutyrin. TE Neesby has the cheapest Sodium butyrate I've found. Trybutyrin is on amazon but fairly expensive.

I would start to think of these emotional states as a wave. You can bail out by trying to stop or alter the feeling or ride the thing all the way in.
The memories don't come back fully in my experience unless the feeling is fully expressed.
It may be the hardest thing you ever do to just sit and allow the feeling to peak - especially if its something like panic. But just do it and then ask yourself what might have happened.
Then clarify the event with the Amygdala tickling, and solidify the new memory (or reliving the old one) with the butyrate.

Write it all down and date it!

This is why people are turning to things like DMT or Mushrooms (and have better, more permanent results than using emotion blunting drugs). Because they are afraid to feel the feelings fully and want to have the block removed for them.
LSD and Holotropic breathwork work by similar mechanisms, though the former can be problematic (which is why the latter was invented).

The body is talking to you. Don't put your fingers in your ears. Ask for help if you need it (try the acupuncture or hypnotherapist regression, join a holotropic group, etc).

Think about what happens to your skull at birth. Why do you think the 'pop' is the endpoint of all of this? What is happening to the skull during the pop?
What is most people's original, first traumatic experience? Why do firstborn children often have more anxiety?

 

Hey Zobra, thanks for the reply, I was already typing my other reply before I saw it.

 

Funnily enough I went to a breathwork thing when I was younger, like 18. But I kept falling asleep (even my insomnia was bad back then), and it was much harder to sleep as I was staying around relatives rather than being at home as the group was in London. I've tried it later on at home with a guided audio mp3, but could never get past the dry mouth it caused me, and getting into the rhythm of it. But it's definitely something I've always wanted to explore.

 

Acupuncture didn't do anything for me when I went. Hypnotherapy, something I've been interested in for a long time, is hard. Sometimes I've gone deep, sometimes I couldn't do it at all, and so most of the hypnotherapists I went to were 90% miss. The good news about hypnotherapy at the moment, is I'm having some success with instant self hypnosis, and am currently experimenting with it. I say success, as I recently restarted it, and the 2 times I did it on 2 different days (last Thursday and Friday), I used 2 different sets of suggestions, and both my dreams those nights were influenced by the suggestions.

 

I'm going to look for those substances in the UK, and see if I can get hold of some.

Edited by Jesus is King, 23 November 2020 - 04:28 PM.

[Mr Serendipity]

https://www.ncbi.nlm...les/PMC4794957/

Abstract

 

Gut bacteria strongly influence our metabolic, endocrine, immune, and both peripheral and central nervous systems. Microbiota do this directly and indirectly through their components, shed and secreted, ranging from fermented and digested dietary and host products to functionally active neurotransmitters including serotonin, dopamine, and γ-aminobutyric acid. Depression has been associated with enhanced levels of proinflammatory biomarkers and abnormal responses to stress. Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) appears to be marked in addition by low cortisol responses, and these factors seem to predict and predispose individuals to develop PTSD after a traumatic event. Dysregulation of the immune system and of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis observed in PTSD may reflect prior trauma exposure, especially early in life. Early life, including the prenatal period, is a critical time in rodents, and may well be for humans, for the functional and structural development of the immune and nervous systems. These, in turn, are likely shaped and programmed by gut and possibly other bacteria. Recent experimental and clinical data converge on the hypothesis that imbalanced gut microbiota in early life may have long-lasting immune and other physiologic effects that make individuals more susceptible to develop PTSD after a traumatic event and contribute to the disorder. This suggests that it may be possible to target abnormalities in these systems by manipulation of certain gut bacterial communities directly through supplementation or indirectly by dietary and other novel approaches.

 

 

Okay now this gets very interesting for me. Basically I just did a quick google search on butyrate and ptsd and came across this. Imbalanced gut microbiota in early life may make you more susceptible to PTSD after a traumatic event.

 

So I just rang my mother up because I was put on antibiotics when I was younger for something, but I couldn't remember exactly what.

 

Basically at the age of around of 7 or 8 I had some bacterial infection in my groin where the skin wouldn't heal and it would sweat constantly, like go through my clothes. Some other kid we were close friends with had it too. I had to have a dressing on it for the sweating and was put on antibiotics. But they switched the antibiotics 3 times because the first 2 weren't effective.

 

According to my mother, the two antibiotics she remembers were:

 

Erythromycin

Cephalexin

 

She doesn't remember the 3rd one. But my gut bacteria much have taken a pounding taken 3 different antibiotics.

 

I just got some more information, a course of antibiotics is around a week before they switch. One of them they thought was working so they extended it to 10 days before they switched. She said from start to finish I was healed in around 3 to 4 weeks. I'd calculate is as being on them for around 7, 10, 7, so around 24 days, 3 and a half weeks, maybe slightly more.

 

So along with destroying my gut bacteria and making me more susceptible to PTSD, I had a traumatic childhood. Great.

 

 

But here is where it gets interesting. In 2015 I developed what I thought was jock itch, and I had it for awhile. I was using anti bacterial wipes to try and keep it at bay. Eventually being able to get rid of a lot of it through taking some probiotics, which I had to eventually drop because they would cause me brain fog. But the worst of the jock itch was gone.

 

However since then for a long time it reoccured to a lesser degree, with my supplement stack keeping it at bay. However was this really jock itch, or the exact same thing I suffered from when I was younger?

 

The reason I say this, is I assumed it was jock itch. However it had the exact same symptoms as my mother was describing, the skin wouldn't heal, and it got sweaty. And this has been the case since 2015, keeping it most at bay with my stack, but still occurring to a lesser degree.

 

What's interesting are 2 things.

 

1. Smoking cigerattes or tobacco would exacerbate it.

2. Since I started taking selenium, which is only recently (since May/June) my skin has been healing much better down there. 

 

But the problem still exists, but to a way lesser degree, and makes me wonder if I've still got some bacterial infection in my gut or something.

 

However with my previous experience with probiotics healing it mostly (but eventually dropping it after it was healed because they caused brain fog), and recent experience with selenium healing the skin. And also the recently learnt butyrate information. I'm going to order some butyrate and those previous probiotics right away and add them to my stack.

 

Also the fact that since I've recently taken selenium my tolerance to a lot of supplements have improved (whereas before I couldn't take them), I feel I may be able to tolerate the probiotics without the brain fog side effect.

 

Just ordered:

 

https://www.amazon.c.../dp/B08C7X1HXV/

https://www.amazon.c.../dp/B0013OUKTS/

 

 

I do wonder what the hell I've got though. I also wonder if my mood will improve once I start taking these.

Edited by Jesus is King, 23 November 2020 - 05:39 PM.

[Mr Serendipity]

https://www.health.h...a-2018062514125

 

 

Probiotics for bipolar disorder mania

Bipolar disorder can be a debilitating disease. Dealing with this illness is quite difficult for patients, family, and friends. The manic phases can profoundly disrupt people’s quality of life. The cost is another reason for concern, as patients can be hospitalized for days until their symptoms are well controlled. After discharge there is a high risk of relapse, so careful observation is important to prevent rehospitalizations. But what if a simple supplement could help manage these serious flare-ups?

Bipolar disorder and gut health

There is growing evidence that mood disorders may be related to overall inflammation and to changes in the microbiome, the bacteria that live in our digestive tract. We have learned that probiotics may help improve a variety of health conditions, in part due to an anti-inflammatory effect.

Researchers from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine designed an interesting study to determine if probiotics could help people discharged from the hospital after a manic flare-up avoid rehospitalization. The study randomized 66 patients with bipolar disorder who were hospitalized for mania and divided them into two groups of 33 patients. They gave a probiotic combination of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium species to one group and a placebo to the second group. They asked all patients to continue taking their regular medications for bipolar disorder and followed them for a total of 24 weeks. Before the start of the study, the researchers identified which patients had higher markers of inflammation (that is, people with more overall inflammation in the body).

What this study on probiotics and mania showed

The results were striking. The rates of rehospitalization were 51.1% in the placebo group and 24.2% in the group who took probiotics. On average, the reduction in readmission was 74% lower in the probiotic combination compared with the placebo arm of the study. The most significant finding was an almost 90% reduction of hospitalization in the group with the highest inflammation score who took probiotics. Additionally, patients who took probiotics and were rehospitalized stayed in the hospital on average 2.8 days, compared with 8.3 days for those taking placebo.

The microbiome and mood disorders beyond bipolar

This study adds to the data that suggest gut flora has an effect on psychiatric diseases. We still do not know if an intestinal microbiome disarray is the cause of mania and bipolar disorder. However, this research supports an assertion that overall inflammation is associated with gut inflammation, which in turn can modulate mood disorders, or at least severe cases of mania for bipolar patients. The evidence of a “gut-brain axis principle” is more robust, especially after some studies showing that the type of bacteria that live in our bowels could cause brain inflammation. This most recent research indicates that we could potentially manage the symptoms of severe cases of bipolar disorder merely by changing the makeup of our microbiome.

What now?

A few words of caution before you buy probiotics to address mood changes. The study was small, and the selected patient population had a more severe form of bipolar disorder. Similar studies for patients with milder symptoms of depression and schizophrenia found little to no effect when comparing probiotics to standard treatment. We need a lot more data from high-quality research to change what we currently recommend for the treatment of other psychiatric illnesses.

Yet, this research still has the potential to change practice after patients with bipolar disorder get discharged from the hospital for mania. Adding probiotics to the regular medication regimen is simple, cheap, has no side effects, and appears to be highly effective.

[Mr Serendipity]

https://pubmed.ncbi....h.gov/29693757/

 

Adjunctive probiotic microorganisms to prevent rehospitalization in patients with acute mania: A randomized controlled trial

 

Objective: Immunological abnormalities play a role in the pathophysiology of mania and have been associated with relapse. Probiotic organisms such as Lactobacilli and Bifidobacteria modulate inflammation in humans and animal models. The trial examined whether the administration of probiotic organisms prevents psychiatric rehospitalizations in patients recently discharged following hospitalization for mania.

 

Methods: Patients hospitalized for mania (N = 66) were randomized after discharge to receive 24 weeks of adjunctive probiotics (Lactobacillus rhamnosus strain GG and Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis strain Bb12) or adjunctive placebo in a parallel two-group design format. The effect of treatment group on the risk of rehospitalization was calculated using Cox regression models. The modulating effect of systemic inflammation was measured employing an inflammation score based on immunoglobulin levels directed at previously defined antigens.

 

Results: During the 24-week observation period there were a total of 24 rehospitalizations in the 33 individuals who received placebo and eight rehospitalizations in the 33 individuals who received the probiotics (z = 2.63, P = .009). Hazard functions indicated that the administration of the probiotics was associated with a significant advantage in time to all psychiatric rehospitalizations (hazard ratio   = 0.26, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.10, .69; P = .007). Probiotic treatment also resulted in fewer days rehospitalized (mean 8.3 vs 2.8 days for placebo and probiotic treatment, respectively; χ2 = 5.17, P = .017). The effect of the probiotic treatment on the prevention of rehospitalization was increased in individuals with elevated levels of systemic inflammation at baseline.

 

Conclusion: Probiotic supplementation is associated with a lower rate of rehospitalization in patients who have been recently discharged following hospitalization for mania.

 

 

 

------

Also makes me wonder whether this is why my gut feels so inflamed after smoking weed.

Edited by Jesus is King, 23 November 2020 - 06:03 PM.

[Mr Serendipity]

https://www.ncbi.nlm...les/PMC6445894/

 

 

Effects of Probiotics on Cognitive Reactivity, Mood, and Sleep Quality

 

Abstract

 

Recent demonstration that probiotics administration has positive effects on mood state in healthy populations suggests its possible role as an adjunctive therapy for depression in clinical populations and as a non-invasive strategy to prevent depressive mood state in healthy individuals. The present study extends current knowledge on the beneficial effects of probiotics on psychological well-being, as measured by changes in mood (e.g., cognitive reactivity to sad mood, depression, and anxiety), personality dimensions, and quality of sleep, which have been considered as related to mood. For this double-blind, placebo-controlled study 38 healthy volunteers assigned to an experimental or control group assumed a daily dose of a probiotic mixture (containing Lactobacillus fermentum LF16, L. rhamnosus LR06, L. plantarum LP01, and Bifidobacterium longum BL04) or placebo, respectively, for 6 weeks. Mood, personality dimensions, and sleep quality were assessed four times (before the beginning of the study, at 3 and 6 weeks, and at 3 weeks of washout). A significant improvement in mood was observed in the experimental group, with a reduction in depressive mood state, anger, and fatigue, and an improvement in sleep quality. No between-groups differences were found. These findings corroborate the positive effect of probiotics on mood state and suggest that probiotics administration may improve psychological well-being by ameliorating aspects of mood and sleep quality.

[Mr Serendipity]

https://www.ncbi.nlm...les/PMC5336480/

 

The Gut Microbiome Composition Associates with Bipolar Disorder and Illness Severity

 

Abstract

 

The gut microbiome is emerging as an important factor in regulating mental health yet it remains unclear what the target should be for psychiatric treatment. We aimed to elucidate the complement of the gut-microbiome community for individuals with bipolar disorder relative to controls; and test for relationships with burden of disease measures. We compared the stool microbiome from individuals with bipolar disorder (n=115) and control subjects (n=64) using 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene sequence analysis. Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) revealed global community case-control differences (AMOVA p=0.047). Operational Taxonomical Unit (OTU) level analysis revealed significantly decreased fractional representation (p<0.001) of Faecalibacterium after adjustment for age, sex, BMI and false discovery rate (FDR) correction at the p<0.05 level. Within individuals with bipolar disorder, the fractional representation of Faecalibacterium associated with better self-reported health outcomes based on the Short Form Health Survey (SF12); the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ9); the Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index (PSQI); the Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale (GAD7); and the Altman Mania Rating Scale (ASRM), independent of covariates. This study provides the first detailed analysis of the gut microbiome relationships with multiple psychiatric domains from a bipolar population. The data support the hypothesis that targeting the microbiome may be an effective treatment paradigm for bipolar disorder.

[Mr Serendipity]

https://www.ncbi.nlm...les/PMC4663569/

 

An Investigation of the Acute Effects of Oligofructose-Enriched Inulin on Subjective Wellbeing, Mood and Cognitive Performance

 

Abstract

 

Inulin is a natural food component found in many plants that are part of the human diet (e.g., leeks, onions, wheat, garlic, chicory and artichokes). It is added to many foods and is used to increase dietary fibre, replace fats or carbohydrates, and as a prebiotic (a stimulant of beneficial bacteria in the colon). Oligofructose, which is also present in these foods, produces similar effects and most research has used a combination of these products. A previous study (Smith, 2005) investigated the effects of regular consumption of oligofructose-enriched inulin on wellbeing, mood, and cognitive performance in humans. The results showed that oligofructose-enriched inulin had no negative effects but that it did not improve wellbeing, mood, or performance. The aim of the present study was to examine the acute effects of oligofructose-enriched inulin (5 g) over a 4 h period during which the participants remained in the laboratory. A double blind placebo (maltodextrin) controlled study (N = 47) was carried out with the order of conditions being counterbalanced and the two sessions a week apart. On each test day mood and cognitive performance were assessed at baseline (at 8:00) and then following inulin or placebo (at 11:00). Prior to the second test session (at 10:30) participants completed a questionnaire assessing their physical symptoms and mental health during the test morning. The inulin and placebo were provided in powder form in 5 g sachets. Volunteers consumed one sachet in decaffeinated tea or decaffeinated coffee with breakfast (9:00). Questionnaire results showed that on the day that the inulin was consumed, participants felt happier, had less indigestion and were less hungry than when they consumed the placebo. As for performance and mood tasks, the most consistent effects were on the episodic memory tasks where consumption of inulin was associated with greater accuracy on a recognition memory task, and improved recall performance (immediate and delayed). Further research is required to identify the mechanisms that underlie this effect with glucose metabolism being one candidate.

 

 

 

----------------------------

 

So I think for me to test this gut bacteria theory, I'm going to have to go to a basic stack and drop everything else.

 

So my testing stack will be the following all at once in the morning:

 

2 x Multivitamin

1 x Selenium

1 x Lithium

1 x Probiotics

1 x Butyrate

1-2 teaspoons of Inulin

 

This way I'll be able to determine it's effects on my mood/mania/lows etc... without all the other supplements muddying the results.

 

Obviously as you can see I've kept lithium in there, but I see it as an essential nutrient anyway that isn't in my multivitamin. Plus it does help with mood stabilising and addictions, so I'm going to keep it in there. But I'll drop everything else for this experiment.

Edited by Jesus is King, 23 November 2020 - 06:53 PM.

[zorba990]

I think what many people call brain fog is actually a combination of sinus dysbiosis and / or occiput misalignment.
For sinus issues using something like this : https://lantohealth....s-probiotic-15g
Other sensations called brain fog might possibly be due to candida (especially is fasting removes it) and something like molybdenum should be considered for acetaldehyde processing.

But PTSD-like brain fog is probably a memory of post concussion syndrome.

[Mr Serendipity]

Just a quick update.

 

So I’ve only been taking probiotics, butyrate, and inulin the past 5 days and nothing else (multivitamin, selenium, or lithium etc...). However 2 of the days I did supplement 5htp to help with sleep quality. 

 

I also went on a weed binge in the evenings, so results may be muddied.

 

However I think it’s working very well. Doesn’t feel like I’ve gone into mania or hypomania after the first few days. It’s definitely had an effect on the killer gut feeling I get after weed the next day, which is why I’ve decided to drop benfotiamime for now, as I was using it for this, but would prefer to drop it if I can as I think it contributes to insomnia, however it may get added back in the future.

 

I finally decided to fill my 2 weeks of pill boxes with my updated stack, which has the new additions for gut health, lions mane, and resveratrol. And took it today.

 

[] = Dosage of pill, not total dosage

 

Morning

 

2 x Multivitamin (Higher Nature - Advanced Multi)

1 x Lithium Orotate [5mg] (eBay)

1 x NAC [500mg] (Prowise/Amazon)

1 x Vitamin C [1g] (Any brand is fine ais long as it’s ascorbic acid)

1 x Vitamin E (Healthy Origins - E400)

1 x Cod Live Oil [1g] (Natures Aid)

1 x Borage Oil [1g] (Supplemented/Amazon) 

1 x Pycnogenol [30mg] (Natures Aid)

1 x Ginger (Natures Aid or Higher Nature)

1 x Turmeric (Nature’s Aid)

1 x Forskolin [50mg Active Forskolin) (Amazon)

1 x Lions Mane

1 x Resveratrol

1 x Butyrate (TauBiotic® by RedoxBox®)

1/2 x Selenium [200mcg] (Natures Aid)

 

Take Separately in Morning

 

1 x Probiotics (Jarrow Formulas)

1 x scoop inulin (myprotein)

 

Obviously I have to take the inulin powder separately as I can’t put that in my pillbox. However I decided to also take the probiotics separately as they come in blister packets, and hope by doing this, most of the bacteria will still be alive. However I’ve used these probiotics in the past to great success without inulin or butyrate, so I know they’re a good brand and work. Also I know the inulin is working because I took it for a couple of days prior to getting my other gut supps (as I had some lying around from years ago), and it significantly helped with my gut after weed.

 

So overall it looks like the gut supps may have been the last piece of my puzzle, along with the recent research they did with bipolar mania and probiotics.

 

Time will tell obviously, but I think my stack may be finally completed.

 

The observation will now be whether tickling still causes mania like symptoms or not. Will probably find out after testing the next few weeks.

 

Good stuff though, wouldn’t have been able to make these connections without Zobras help. 

[Mr Serendipity]

Quick update.

 

Things are more enjoyable now, including music. But also just a general lift on interest in things, for example updating my home network to see if I can stream games from my pc, it seems like a really cool idea I'm pursuing right now, even though I rarely play games lol. Plus I seem to be loling a lot.

 

However an example of today, going to work enjoying music, feeling good, but then I get in a little tiff with my wife, nothing major, but it triggered me so deep, I had to spend the next hour trying not to breakdown and cry. She was apologetic soon afterward, but I just needed to keep the communication at a minimum because all my emotions were running high, and after an hour or so passed, I was okay again.

 

So I'm getting the benefit of a mood lift and reduced anhedonia, but some days I can be triggered so easily, and other days I'm fine. Also I haven't even been tickling as of recent because I want to avoid these lows, so it seems like it's a natural part of my crazy ptsd brain regardless.

 

But the biggest benefit I've seen (other than the mood lift/reduced anhedonia), is the reduction in mania and pressured speech. My thinking is much more clearer and balanced these days. I may still get mania/hypo-mania but to a smaller degree, but nothing like what it use to be. When I use to get mania/hypomania/pressured speech, I just have no impulse control. It's like an uncontrollable urge. Same when I would go on weed binges. The best way I can describe it to normal folks is it's like being in an altered state, just like being super horny, but only coming back to your senses once you bust a nut.

 

I will say I did have a toastie last night with some Tabasco sauce in it, and I've noted in the past Tabasco and gluten, as well as gluten alone, has triggered these lows before, so that could explain today's low. But it's going to be hard to give up tabasco and gluten, because they taste so great together. I did experiment with gluten free pizza and Tabasco before, and this did avoid any emotional problems afterward, so I really should invest in finding gluten alternatives in my diet. I've also noticed nytol/dph can cause me pressured speech.

 

The only problem with my stack, is the major insomnia it causes. Last night I couldn't fall asleep until 6:30am, even though I had forced myself to wake up earlier that day, and should have easily fallen asleep last night. I think lithium is a big part of this (and I'm still only taking 5mg), however there's too many things in my stack that can also contribute. So I'm definitely thinking I need to minimize my stack at some point, hoping that I'll still be able to keep the benefits I've been experiencing lately, but also minimize the insomnia at the same time.

 

The last benefit I've been experiencing lately, is I have control over substance abuse. If I'm off it, I end up going on a weed binge for a week or so. I attribute this change mainly to the lithium.

 

And the last note is I'm not taking the stack every day, mainly because of the insomnia it causes. So sometimes I'll take it, and then take a break for a few days. 

 

That's all for now.

Edited by Jesus is King, 08 December 2020 - 07:47 PM.

[Mr Serendipity]

Quick update:

 

Lithium gives me killer insomnia and brain fog, and I tested probiotics by themselves in a larger dose (3 pills), and I still got mania that day.

 

However I feel different. I feel good man. It's just like a body and mind lift/buzz. I mean I just spent the last 2 weeks being interested in upgrading my network, sorting things out, basically a reduction in my anhedonia. I'm even thinking about playing some games again, you know, for fun! And even getting into a new series or something, something sci fi from the 90's/00's which I missed out on back then, but are known to be good, for example x-files, babylon 5, stargate atlantis. 

 

Anyway today I'm feeling a general lift, but not a manic one. Though at times (with nothing triggering it), I feel like I just want to cry, like emotions and tears are just held back behind the eyes. For example typing this right now I feel it pop up at times, but at the same time I'm not feeling sad or depressed, so it sort of exists under the surface, and doesn't correspond with negative emotions. I remember experiencing something similar a few years back when I was drunk and I had been tickling a lot, I was crying, but I wasn't feeling sad. Let me google this quickly:

 

 

 

Pseudobulbar affect

Sudden uncontrollable crying, laughing, or feeling anger can be a symptom of a condition called pseudobulbar affect (PBA). PBA is an involuntary neurological state related to an injury or disturbance in parts of your brain that control your emotions.

Sometimes called emotional incontinence, the uncontrolled emotions associated with PBA often don’t match how you feel or what you’re experiencing. Because the symptoms are similar, PBA may be misdiagnosed as depression. PBA often occurs in people who have:

• history of stroke
• Parkinson’s disease
• Alzheimer’s disease
• dementia
• amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease
• multiple sclerosis (MS)

 

 

Funnily enough I remember experiencing this in the past before for laughing. It was due to tickling, but then when I laughed, I couldn't control it and it lasted for ages, and it was like a eeeeeeeee kind of laughter I couldn't control, I remember my brother was like wtf. Maybe I should look into this PBA affect more.

 

Anyway because of the situation with probiotics and lithium, I am going to stop taking them. However I feel my situation lies in the gut, and inulin may actually be my answer. So I'm mainly going to be experimenting with inulin at the moment, and will still take lithium once a week or something, as I believe it is an essential and underappreciated nutrient. 

 

At the end of the day, feeling normal/better emotionally/mentally is the whole purpose of my stack. So if I do find the one thing that works (hoping it will be inulin), then I'll end up dropping a load of things from my stack in the future and only keep a few things for bodily health.

 

We can only hope, but things are looking like progress.

[Mr Serendipity]

 

 

What causes pseudobulbar affect (PBA)?

ANSWER

Scientists believe PBA may result from damage to the prefrontal cortex -- the area of the brain that helps control emotions. Changes in brain chemicals linked to depression and hyper moods (mania) could also play a role.

 

Hmm interesting.

[Mr Serendipity]

https://pubmed.ncbi....h.gov/32313749/

 

 

Pseudobulbar Affect Presenting as Hypomania

 

Pseudobulbar affect (PBA) is a behavioral syndrome associated with various neurological conditions that typically manifests as uncontrollable laughing or crying. PBA can significantly impact the quality of life of patients affected as these spells can be inappropriate to the social setting or incompatible with the patient's emotional state. The underlying mechanism of PBA appears to be associated with disinhibition in neuronal pathways involving dopamine, serotonin, and glutamate, but the exact mechanism remains unclear. One hypothesis for the pathology of PBA is that it is the result of disruption of the corticopontine-cerebellar circuits, impairing cerebellar modulation of affect, and leading to uncontrolled emotional lability. Stroke, and other neurological disorders, interrupt these neuronal circuits causing disinhibition of the voluntary control of emotional expression. It is extremely important to recognize and appropriately diagnose the condition. We present a case report of an 85-year-old female patient who presented with a thalamic stroke, and she subsequently developed hypomania with symptoms of decreased need for sleep, mood lability, pressured speech, and religious preoccupation. This case discusses a unique presentation of PBA with hypomania.

 

Lol sounds like me, every single thing.

[adamh]

Is there any chance you will ever stop with this junk? Certainly you realize by now that others are not interested

[Mr Serendipity]

Somebody woke up on the wrong side of the bed.

 

People who aren't interested are free to ignore this thread. 

 

BTW I took a screenshot on the 30th November, it's a synchronicity thing I collect, an aspect of amygdala tickling I don't discuss as it's usually too far fetched for most people (though I experience it all the time). Anyway the thread had 21,888 views back then, and it now has 22,345 views, meaning it's received 457 views in only 12 days. That's either 457 people interested in viewing this thread within 2 weeks, or 457 people accidentally clicking it. Ironically you were interested in it enough to reply.

 

Regardless I don't come here for the views, I'm on a journey to understand my condition and to try and heal myself, and hope my journey will one day help others who experience similar problems.

 

But maybe you should look into yourself on why you can't ignore some random nutcase over the internet manically posting in the same thread for nearly 3 years; just a suggestion.

 

Now have a Merry Christmas you filthy animal!

 

And yes, JESUS IS KING!

Edited by Jesus is King, 12 December 2020 - 10:34 PM.

[adamh]

Lol you say someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed but then you say "Now have a Merry Christmas you filthy animal!" Is that how christians talk?

 

"why you can't ignore some random nutcase over the internet manically posting in the same thread for nearly 3 years; just a suggestion."

 

I and others have been ignoring it for those 3 years and I just finally boiled over yesterday. Notice that I did not call you any names. If indeed you don't care about views, as you say, why inflict it on the rest of us? What if we had 50 like you, it would be a madhouse. You seem to admit what you say is nutty and that you have acted maniacally. This is noise, not signal

 

Why not do your shitposting in one of the obscure forums? This one is popular and you force people to see your junk post every day even if only the title. I know I'm wasting my time, you seem to be a fanatic, but if you have any pity on the rest of us you will put your ramblings somewhere else. But I'm not holding my breath. You have a nice christmas too

[Mr Serendipity]

Haha that was a Home Alone reference, lighten up its Christmas. 

 

Anyway I think I've just found the holy grail paper on why I've been in such a great mood very recently, I googled inulin and amygdala, and check out what I just found. A paper on inulin, Lactobacillus (L.) plantarum, or a combo of both, the amygdala, and the prefrontal cortex!

 

https://nutr.tbzmed....tic effects.pdf

 

Conclusion

The present study showed that improving the gut microbiota composition led to decreased inflammation and anxiety after psychobiotics supplementation. In addition, it indicated that psychobiotics resulted in improved GDNF and GFAP levels in both gut and brain regions, especially in the amygdala region. According to the results, it seems that there is a pos- sible link among the gut, amygdala, and PFC. This is the first study on the effect of psychobiotics on the gut–brain axis, opening new venues in the field of gut microbiota and glial cells’ interaction. Therefore, further studies are needed to obtain more results. 

 

SAY WHAT!!! 

 

Here are some of the results:

 

Healthy Control (HC); Diabetic + L. plantarum (DL); Diabetic + inulin (DI); Diabetic + L. plantarum + inulin (DLI), and Diabetic Sham (DSh).

 

2. Levels of inflammatory markers in the amygdala and PFC. Compared with HC group, a significant increase in the levels of IL-6 and IL-17A was found in the amygdala and PFC of the diabetic rats (P < 0.001) (Fig. 6). Moreover, there was a significantly increased TLR-2 levels in the amygdala (P < 0.001) and PFC (P = 0.001), compared to the HC group. Treatment with all three psychobiotics (L. plantarum, inulin, and their combination) led to the decreased levels of inflam- matory markers in the diabetic rats, compared with the DSh group. Eight weeks of treatment with L. plantarum also led to a significant reduction in the levels of IL-17A (P = 0.040, P = 0.029) and IL-6 (P = 0.006, P = 0.013) in the amygdala and PFC, compared to the DSh group, respectively. Inulin consumption only reduced the levels of IL-6 (P = 0.041) in the amygdala, compared with the DSh group; however, no significant change was observed in the other inflammatory markers in the amygdala and PFC in the DI group. In addi- tion, the use of synbiotic agents improved the concentrations of IL-6 (P < 0.001 and P = 0.008) and IL-17A (P = 0.012 and P = 0.006) in the amygdala and PFC, compared to the DSh group, respectively. TLR-2 levels decreased significantly only in the amygdala (not PFC) in the DLI group, compared to the DSh group (P = 0.007). It should be noted that supple- mentation with synbiotic also showed a significant decrease in IL-6 levels in the amygdala, compared to the DI group (P = 0.047).

 

4. Levels of GFAP and GDNF in the amygdala and PFC. Increased concentrations of GFAP (P < 0.001, P = 0.007) and GDNF (P < 0.001, P = 0.003) in the amygdale and PFC of the diabetic rats were observed, in comparison to the HC group (Fig. 7). Inulin consumption alone could not signif- icantly alter GDNF and GFAP levels in any of the brain regions, compared to the DSh group. Supplementation with the L. plantarum led to a reduction in GFAP (P = 0.014) and GDNF (P = 0.033) levels only in the amygdala; how- ever, these changes were not significant in the PFC, com- pared to the DSh group. The intake of synbiotics signifi- cantly reduced GFAP and GDNF levels in the amygdala (P = 0.004). In addition, compared to the DSh group, the reduction of GFAP (P = 0.027) but not GDNF levels in the PFC was followed by synbiotics consumption. There was no

significant difference among the intervention groups.

 

 

There's plenty of charts, graphs, and discussion as well, so much info. But according to this, my very recent idea of going inulin only won't be the best results. I need the Lactobacillus (L.) plantarum as well for the best results, which my probiotic contains according to here: https://www.jarrow.c...ro-Dophilus_EPS

 

However I'm gonna see if I can find a probiotic with only Lactobacillus (L.) plantarum in it at high doses.

 

Watch this space, things have already gotten interesting for me these past few weeks, a general lift in mood and anhedonia, things are becoming more fun again. There has been the occasional low and mania, but it's only been a couple of weeks of supplementation, and I have personally seen results recently, so it's so great to find a study that is related to all of this. Looking forward to what comes next with continual supplementation of probiotics and inulin!

Edited by Jesus is King, 14 December 2020 - 01:17 AM.

[Mr Serendipity]

Okay I just ordered 2 lots of that specific strain: https://www.amazon.c...s/dp/B00O4BPX9O

 

Hopefully this will avoid any side effects I got with the probiotic with 8 strains in it. It also has 10 millions of this single strain, as opposed to 5 million of 8 different strains.

 

I plan on taking 2 a day, along with 2 teaspoons of inulin a day (maybe more inulin if this strain can stop diarrhea caused by taking too much inulin).

 

These next few weeks are going to be dope!

Edited by Jesus is King, 14 December 2020 - 01:40 AM.

[Mr Serendipity]

Just a quick update.

 

The strain in the study was Lactobacillus plantarum ATCC 8014, not the Lactobacillus plantarum 299v I bought. I had thought Lactobacillus plantarum itself was the strain, I didn't realize the numbers at the end were the strain (shows how much I know about probiotics).

 

Regardless because of my recent improvement in mood and general well being, as well as an elevation in anhedonia, I am going to continue targeting my gut health. So I'm going to continue taking my current probiotic rather than abandoning it (only 1 tablet), as well as taking this new probiotic (only 1 tablet now instead of 2 as I previously planned), and keep taking inulin (1-4 teaspoons a day).