I am Italian too and I can assure you 6 or even 3 coffees a day are a big no no in your situation ;-) . Consider to try to slowly switch to decaffeinated coffee. I know it is hard . With 6 coffees a day you are most likely addicted to caffeine so a slow approach to switching will help facing the side effects. Do not forget to try Apigenin. Let us know how you are doing when you try them.
Lastly your dosage of mifepristone was very high. I saw studies using as low as 200mg per day in cases of depression and generally going up to 600mg per day.
https://www.ncbi.nlm...5/#__sec13title
Only in cases of Cushing’s syndrome dosages can go higher:
Antiglucocorticoid effects of mifepristone
Nieman and colleagues administered mifepristone orally at increasing doses of 5, 10, 15, and 20 mg/kg/day for a 9-week period to a patient with Cushing’s syndrome due to ectopic ACTH secretion.
https://www.ncbi.nlm...5/#__sec13title
You did the right ting to lower your dosage and stick to the morning only ;-). I would even try to lower it even more to find the minimum dosage that is working for you.
Lastly, in the long term, in the study linked above is reported:
Although the adrenal axis also normalized, the 18-month-long mifepristone treatment course led to the development of severe hypokalemia (attributed to excessive cortisol activation of MRs), which responded to spironolactone administration.
Hypokalemia
Hypokalemia is a low level of potassium (K+) in the blood serum. Mild low potassium does not typically cause symptoms. Symptoms may include feeling tired, leg cramps, weakness, and constipation. Low potassium also increases the risk of an abnormal heart rhythm, which is often too slow and can cause cardiac arrest.
Source: https://en.wikipedia...iki/Hypokalemia
Make sure to eat food with potassium (i.e. bananas) to help with that potential side effect.
I am not sure whether in the short term this could explain your lower heart rate. I think it takes a much longer time to develop hypokalemia. But I am not a doctor ...
In bocca al lupo!
hello Italian friends (I am including you too farshad )
dear world33 thank you for your answer and "crepi il lupo!" (an Italian expression that means "good luck"). I am definitely addicted to caffeine and I 100% agree to gradually reduce the daily intake. I am also interested in Apigenin. It seems to have a good effect on memory and anxiety.
For the dosage I'll explain everything on the log of the last two days of therapy.
DAY 5
I felt like shit because I got the flu. I don't know if it is due to Mifepristone but I didn't feel well. I also slept quite all day because I was constantly tired. The dosage for the day was 3 pills, each of 340 mg of Mifepristone. I read an interesting meta-analysis about Mifepristone and it is clear that dosages more than 600 mg per day do not increase the benefits. I noticed some red spots around my body. It is a common Mifepristone side effect but they are itchy and annoying. I was also insanely thirsty. I drank 4 liter of water and I didn't pee all of them I am sure. I think Mifepristone gave me some sort of liquid retention.
DAY 6
I feel better and lowered the dosage to 680mg per day. My skin rush is getting worse. My weight in 5 days increased of 4 kg (probably water retention). Still feel the same (edited: for same I mean still feel the benefits) on the cognitive and mood part.
Day 7 (today)
Yesterday was my last day. I am happy that I finished the therapy since my rush increased in the whole body. It should revere in a couple of days but I'll keep you update.
Does it work?
Yes (for now). I feel normal. I have not had bad dreams these days and it is very pleasant because I had bad dreams 90% of the time prior to start the treatment. During the day I notice that my mind is not concerned with things of the past nor is trying to anticipate/create a bad future that confirm my fears.
Point number 2 to 5 seems brilliantly solved. I am personally awaiting to wake up from this dream. I hope it will last.
My main concern is the cognitive impairment (point 1 on the list at the top). The constant flow of bad intrusive thoughts and the fear of the future made me impossible to concentrate for the last 18 years. This made my life sometimes unbearable. Imagine having a sensation of fear or incredible shame or rage or guilt for things occurred in the past, and relive a series of traumatic events randomly one after another. I don't want it. They just pop up and it seems there is nothing I can do to stop them (I tried in so much ways). I am also bipolar and maybe this is part of the reason this happens, but I also have PTSD and this may have triggered my chronic stress in the first place.
I have to say that cognitive impairment is also solved (for now). I don't feel like I am more intelligent, I just see that I can read a text concentrating on it and not reading it while thinking intrusive memories. I am not smarter, It is just that for the first time in year I can use my brain. The toughs just don't pop up without me making something to make it happen.
My binary/assembly code lessons are going smoothly. It is like I can learn a lot faster just because I am able to listen to what I read.
Needless to say I am so happy. But before making conclusions I must check if the effects persist in time. I am praying for this every day. If it does not last it's not a big help.
Again sorry guys if I made some typos or mistake. I am just a bad English speaker and writer in a learning phase.
Edited by mobydick33, 17 December 2019 - 08:28 AM.