8 replies to this topic

[Mr Serendipity]

I originally started taking the combo to lower/normalise cortisol in hopes that it would help with my mental health (bipolar), and I believe it has quite a lot.

 

But the most observable thing is the insane increase in memory I’ve been getting. My memory has been terrible for decades now, I couldn’t even remember what I did yesterday, let alone what I did 10 years ago. My best friend has a good memory and would always go on about what we did in college 14 years ago, and I couldn’t remember any of it.

 

But I kid you not. I’ve taken omega 3 (high concentrate) for around 6 weeks now, eventually settling on 1g DHA/500mg EPA in my morning stack. And Phosphatidylserine for nearly 4 weeks, taking 600mg in my morning stack. And my memory recall has become absolutely insane. I’ve gone from having a bad memory I’ve had for decades, to being able to recall so many events and things that have happened in the past, and remember details from them.

 

If someone asked me right now how my memory is, for the first time in decades I would tell them I have a good memory. Nothing else I’ve taken before has given me results like this, and they seem to be consistent rather than hit or miss, everyday I’m remembering long term forgotten memories, and also my short term memory has improved.

Obviously there are a lot of people who don’t get this effect from these supplements, maybe it’s because my memory was so bad in the first place, or maybe it’s something to do with it changing my cortisol. Regardless I’m just sharing my experience, as I always find it shocking every time I experience an old forgotten memory come back.

[johnhemming]

I wonder if this is relevant:

https://journals.lww...sport_by.5.aspx

[Mr Serendipity]

I wonder if this is relevant:

https://journals.lww...sport_by.5.aspx

hmmm very interesting.

 

I googled HDAC and bipolar and found this 2021 study: https://advances.mas...al.aspx?id=1783

 

 

HISTONE DEACETYLASES APPEAR TO HAVE PATHOPHYSIOLOGIC ROLE IN BIPOLAR DISORDER

• HDAC expression was significantly lower in the BD group than the control group in the right amygdala and a broader fronto-limbic distribution including the thalamus, orbitofrontal cortex and hippocampus
• In the BD group, HDAC expression was associated with emotion regulation in the frontal and perisylvian regions and with attention in the temporal and fronto-parietal regions
• These results suggest a potential role for HDACs in the fundamental pathophysiology of BD as well as in two of its hallmark clinical features

 

 

 

So going by your study where “phosphatidylserine acts as an HDAC6 inhibitor to rescue neuronal function in FD cells.”. Maybe this is the reason why my mental health and memory have improved.

 

I’m no expert, I’m just posting a related possibility. 

[johnhemming]

I am bit of an acetylation obsessive, but it does seem to have some links to memory at least. 

[Dallasboy]

Curious to what brand and why are you taking PS in the morning when you want higher cortisol in the morning instead of at the evening/night when you want cortisol to go down?  Or just spread out the 600mg PS throughout the day?  Thanks!

[Mr Serendipity]

The story is a bit complex, but when I first introduced PS, my sleep quality suffered, so I thought I would be able to mitigate this by taking it in the morning, as well as adhere to it, because I take all my other supplements in my morning stack. I was also taking it on the premise that I might have a HPA dysfunction, and PS + omega 3 has been shown to correct/normalise this, so I was thinking I need it in the morning to normalise my cortisol during the day. I recommend reading this article: https://www.zrtlab.com/blog/archive/phosphatidylserine-protection-from-chronic-stress/

 

There are many other factors as well.

 

The first two weeks I introduced PS from food, by eating 200g of smoked Atlantic mackerel every day (which gave me around 1g of PS), before I switched to the soy derived supplement. Also because my mental health and cognition improved, I didn’t want to miss a day of taking the supplement regardless of any sleep negatives.

 

However going by today on how lazy and unmotivated I felt even after a decent amount of sleep (whereas before PS helped with motivation by making everything less stressed), I am either going to reduce my dose to 300mg in the morning, or move the timing to the evening. I also feel that I was initially able to tolerate the cortisol lowering effects during the day more 4 weeks ago, than I am today (maybe my body/brain has adapted to be less stressed/produce less cortisol now compared to then due to my daily PS intake the last 4 weeks).

 

Basically I’m still figuring out my dosage and timing for what works best for me, currently there are too many factors and changes in a short period of time to give a decent answer on this. All I can really answer is the improvements I've observed since taking it, memory improvement, dream recall, vivid dreams, lowering of cortisol, and less bipolar.

 

The brand I take is Now Foods DHA-500 (500mg DHA, 250mg EPA per pill) and Now Foods Ultra Strength PS (300mg PS per pill).

[Mr Serendipity]

Here are some related posts I found on longecity. I highlighted some text I found interesting, or that I could relate to with my own experience. Each quote is a different poster.

 

https://www.longecit...g-is-long-term/

 

Dosage is 200-800mg.

Careful, I'm talking of pure PS, if you buy bulk powder it's usually 20% PS (sometimes 50%) so you'd need to take 5 times the amount.
Avoid phosphorylated serine which is not the same thing as PS and also you don't need to buy a special patented PS form, you won't get anything more.
For instance Sharp PS (bound to omega 3 fatty acid) is not any better than mere PS (extracted from soy).

I recommend taking it with a meal, if you take it on empty stomach you risk blunting its cognitive effects because of hypoglycemia, also it will give you goose bumps.

I personally felt the effects within days but it all depends on your brain PS reserves, an healthy brain has around 30g PS and it diminishes with time due to aging or PS deficient diet.

PS removes any kind of anxiety, as well as seasonal depression, brain fog, hypothyroidism and in general any symptom that could be caused by excess cortisol.

I've been taking it for several weeks and it's a pretty good nootropic, really I recommend it, before PS I would almost never dream, now with PS I dream every single night and it hasn't decreased since then, also my creativity and memory have increased. Not only recent memory but also past memories. There are some trials with only 300mg PS during several weeks and results are interesting.

I recommend taking enough carbs when taking PS, it increases sugar metabolism in the brain so you need to have enough carbs to benefit fully from it.

 

Personally I think I can feel the calming effects of PS on the first day I take around 400mg.

 

http://www.longecity...ine-and-memory/

 

I thought I'd share an interesting experience I seem to be having as a result of adding phosphatidylserine to my daily supplement intake. I've been using 5-HTP, Ginkgo biloba, Omega-3 with a generic multivitamin for over a year. About 2 weeks ago I added phosphatidylserine 100mg in the form of a commercial supplement marketed as "memo plus". 

My reasons were actually due to unsupported claims that increased phosphatidylserine results in increased dopamine and dopamine leads to creativity. Not sure where I got that from. Articles of interest are "Phosphatidylserine as a potential nutraceutical for canine brain aging" (Journal of Veterinary Behaviour 2008, 3) and "Phosphatidylserine: an antidepressive or cognitive enhancer?" (Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry 28). The veterinary one has great references, including human trials.

Anyway, the interesting part is that about 3 days after adding PS to my daily intake, I let my mind slip and for some reason focused on a lamppost across the road. I then had a sort of rush of memories that started with "The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe" and ended in Lewis Carroll's real name being Charles Dodgson. I could remember very specific plot points of the Magician's Nephew, a book I can't even remember reading it was so long ago!

It was quite interesting and has happened a few times since. I looked someone in the eyes and it took me back to year 10, second floor of the maths department, I was talking to my teacher, she had fairly strong perfume but her breath smelt from cheese and onion crisps. 2 kids ran past us. She leaned too close and wore a long silver pendant, she was wearing a black low cut top with a wool cardigan over. In retrospect I think she was coming on to me, but that's beside the point.

Not sure if it's provided me with anything beneficial, but it does seem to be having an effect with my long term memory. I'm also pacing a lot more frequently, something I do when I rehearse ideas through my head, which I see as a good thing.

 

PS has improved my dream recall noticeably, many times, from off and on usage before bed and noticing my dream recall the next day. It supposedly helps to regenerate the hippocampus and excess cortisol can damage your hippocampus, so many people recommend it for people who have excess cortisol at night. Improved dream recall might be an early marker for memory improvement, or it might just be that the compound otherwise affects REM sleep.

 

Edited by Mr Serendipity, 28 September 2022 - 11:58 AM.

[Mr Serendipity]

Just a quick update.

 

I only took 300mg's of PS (1 pill) this morning, and even though my cortisol feels on the lower side, it's not enough to prevent me from doing things like 600mg did to me yesterday (I didn't want to move from the couch). I feel slightly brain fogged though, so I may need to start consuming some type of stimulant like caffeine or something to make it a bit more effective.

 

I may or may not take another one later, but I think a good dosage range for PS is probably around 100-300mg at a time, especially after an initial build up from taking it for awhile. You definitely feel its effects on it lowering your cortisol the day you take it though, so you should be able to judge whether you've taken too much or not.

[mkaj]

Do you build up tolerance with 600mg?