140 replies to this topic

[lourdaud]

Are you getting enough carbs?

 

http://perfecthealth...nd-the-thyroid/

[Dichotohmy]

Also, do you crash after sexual activity (masturbation and/or intercourse)?  ... Things like pregnenolone and DHEA.  Have you tried any of these in the past? ... Adrenal fatigue seems to be a likely cause, but treatments don't work.

 

I have read, and re-read, and re-edited this post over 10 times now.  This fog is unreal.

 

I crash after sexual activities as a rule, but sometimes experience a subtle rebound in improvment in global symptoms the next day. Never tried those or other pro-hormone supplements because its not something I'm confident messing with on my own (same reason I haven't tried self medicating with T3, prednisone or hydrocortisone), even though I suspect these things could help. I'm extremely disillusioned with supplements in general and how they are almost always nothing but a waste of money for me, so I am in a phase of zero supplement use, besides B-complex. I agree, even though I don't have much to go on, at least I somewhat know what to avoid in terms of treatments that don't work. 

 

I'll send you an email in regards to the more personal questions.

 

Then there's always the option that something happened to us in the service.  Besides your gut problems, is there any possibility this could have been vaccines?  I got the standard treatment:  MMR, Tetanus, etc.  Never had anthrax vaccine, but did have smallpox.

 

Got the smallpox vaccine, and the anthrax vaccine, but somehow never got any of the anxthrax vaccine boosters one is supposed to get several weeks or months afterwards. The DoD's anthrax vaccine is controversial to this day and could be a lead worth looking into deeper. I can recall whichever shot it is we get in the lateral deltoid (I have my medical records but can't ID which shot this is) would result in diffuse shoulder pain and partial arm paralysis for several days to a week afterwards. I got that shot at least 3 times and hated it every time.

 

My gut got messed up during deployment, but I also wonder if burn pit smoke could be a lead. To those who don't know, forward-deployed military burns all of their shit to prevent providing aid to the enemy. Sometimes burning is common sense, like in the case of sensitive papers and worn out uniforms and other gear, but sometimes it isn't, like in the case of the mountains of plastic water bottles (local water not potable) we generated. I did a lot of duties at night time, when the air was colder and thus heavier, and can vividly recall how the noxious burn pit smoke was palatably  worse at night. Burn pit smoke is another controversial topic in regards to the VA and disability compensation. 

 

Perhaps we destroyed our guts and we are not absorbing proper nutrients, amino acids, whatever that is needed for brain function?

 

I mentioned in my case a probable iron-deficiency anemia earlier that seemingly doesn't respond to treatment. In my case, I also have the signs of low stomach acid all the time and sometimes poor digestion of fats. My urinary electrolytes always test as low as well, which suggest poor nutrient absorption - or perhaps over elimination. Iron, for one, is needed for adrenal function, but is poorly absorbed in those with low stomach acid. I supplement with betaine and shots of vinegar when I can remember, but it doesn't help much.

 

Are you getting enough carbs?

 

http://perfecthealth...nd-the-thyroid/

 

These days I am, but I have gone through periods of trying VLC dieting. Unfortunately, as I've mentioned, dietary variables just don't make a tangible difference for me either for better or for worse.

[Dichotohmy]

In other news, I've began to develop some sort of ataxia or buckling in my right knee and both ankles at times while walking. I'm not sure if that can be blamed on OI or what.

 

Some days I've found a happy medium of 3 hours or so of being able to do light physical and mental activites for 3-4 days at a time without crashing, which is an improvement. I still have to avoid intensive thinking because sustained mental activity can be just as bad an exertion as mental. Limiting myself to 3 hours or so is something I can never stick to, though, so crashing still happens on the regular.

 

I made a little-read thread some time ago describing the type of the strange things I experience in regards to unrefreshing sleep. There's no other signs of seizure activity, so I just take this wackiness as something that's less boring than merely laying on the couch unable to fall asleep. I still haven't suceeded in taking a nap despite strong daytime sleepiness, and I haven't taken a nap, not counting passing out drunk, for probably 6 years. I've also noticed that I'm starting to experience some sort of movement disorder during NREM sleep, in which I raise one or both arms over my head or stretch them out behind my head while sleeping. At least I'm not going all Donnie Darko during the night.

 

http://www.longecity...to-fall-asleep/

Edited by Dichotohmy, 28 July 2015 - 07:35 PM.

[HoldingTheFaith]

You know Dichotohmy, I found out that after strenous exercise (such as running for 1.5 hours under the summer spanish sun ina period I was feeling somewhat energetic), I would get an even more fragmented sleep, that specific night I woke up 7 times, effectively waking up every hour apparently. Since then I have confirmed many times that muscle-building types of exercises (the only ones I like) always make me weaker and sicker on the long term and harm my sleep. This has deepened my adrenal fatigue over the years, I fear, trying to bodybuild now and then.

 

To me everything points out to adrenal fatigue, as you suspect in your case, specially my cortisol in saliva, urine and blood (very low, low and high respectively) and the other steroid hormones are fvcked too.

 

I know I have leaky gut for a fact, since I saw you guys were talking about that. Got tests that prove it.

 

I am also extremely dissilusioned with supplements... :( But I take them because is better than anything and I hope over the months things like ascorbic acid and panthetine can improve slightly adrenal function.

 

I am on Ambien now, btw. It makes me fall asleep very early, but my sleep is the of same unbelievable quality than in the past. I say this because I could have never believed when I was healthy that I could degenerate like this, or that someone young can sleep worse than a grandpa with dementia...

[HoldingTheFaith]

I saw that you have dermatitis in face and scalp, same here, my research yielded that is most probably a symptom of gut problems. I did a poll on Phoenix Rising about eczema and the 75% I think had some form of it, or psoriasis. Since taking Digest Gold with every meal my eczema is much better though, to the point that it no longer itches. It remains like a subtle, pulsating presence around my nose.

 

I gave up on paleo-ish diets long ago, and stack up on inflammatory yet healthy foods such as tomato, whole grains or potatoes, they taste too well lol. And I hated being skeletor junior.

Edited by HoldingTheFaith, 29 July 2015 - 01:44 PM.

[teacult]

You guys keep drifting away ...

1) Sattvic diet + (modifications you need : chocolate - fish oil - caffeine etc) 

2) dimmer mind (dont think that much think less do more ) 

--- this part is letting it repair itself ---

3) Make sure most of your activities corresponds to some kind of "REAL" pleasure ieg : touch - taste - discover etc...

!!! Does not include accomplishment (especially job related accomplishment) ... 

4) Start believing in things that would make life easier for you...
Thats why christianity rose over Judaism (no circumcise ) people switch to Islam (no slaves and bosses) etc , secularism rose over everything with capitalism ( make more of good things despite religious doxas - dogmas)

So that should do.  
Fix this --->   physical stress <-body+mind -> motivation + satisfaction 

You guys are brainwashed to stress yourself to death to confirm societal forms exactly like ancient greeks.
Do you know ; although gene pool was very rich and suitable,10 spartan died for 1 spartan elite soldier to be established, They ve just burried them and kept stressing theirselves. 

Dont be stupid. Be happy by having lots of leisure time with happy and caring friends and family. 

 

 

Edited by teacult, 29 July 2015 - 06:09 PM.

[HoldingTheFaith]

You guys keep drifting away ...

1) Sattvic diet + (modifications you need : chocolate - fish oil - caffeine etc) 

2) dimmer mind (dont think that much think less do more ) 

--- this part is letting it repair itself ---

3) Make sure most of your activities corresponds to some kind of "REAL" pleasure ieg : touch - taste - discover etc...

!!! Does not include accomplishment (especially job related accomplishment) ... 

4) Start believing in things that would make life easier for you...
Thats why christianity rose over Judaism (no circumcise ) people switch to Islam (no slaves and bosses) etc , secularism rose over everything with capitalism ( make more of good things despite religious doxas - dogmas)

So that should do.  
Fix this --->   physical stress <-body+mind -> motivation + satisfaction 

You guys are brainwashed to stress yourself to death to confirm societal forms exactly like ancient greeks.
Do you know ; although gene pool was very rich and suitable,10 spartan died for 1 spartan elite soldier to be established, They ve just burried them and kept stressing theirselves. 

Dont be stupid. Be happy by having lots of leisure time with happy and caring friends and family. 

 

This is funny. I should start believing in Jesus, in a loving God, in the awesomeness of modern society or in the goodwill of politicians to heal my "Chronic Fatigue Syndrome".

 

I´ll admit that motivation, wonder and pleasure are things that promote life, and healing, though.

 

But once awakened to a society ruled by evil and supported by imbeciles, it is difficult to get back to slumber, and I would never change my ideology based in confort anyway. Truth is not an item that you change at your convenience, in my book. That my illness has to do with being aware is debatable, in any case.

[teacult]

You cant change truth in your convenience, however you can change your perspective and approach to it.
 

"But once awakened to a society ruled by evil and supported by imbeciles, it is difficult to get back to slumber, and I would never change my ideology based in confort anyway. Truth is not an item that you change at your convenience, in my book. That my illness has to do with being aware is debatable, in any case."

Or alternatively, you can approach to that "truth" as some people  are not living aware of themselves and they are hurting themselves with limited capacity of caring and compassion and also commonsense. 
However you can immediately realize that you are one of them not holding any compassion and positive thoughts for them   (including for yourself by the definition).

?"imbeciles"? 

Is your so called truth is the truth ? As far as I know the truth is the most compact form of many manifestations, it should be simple, enabling , freeing and insightful. 
In my opinion yours is just depressing... And guess what ? CFS may be some kind of depression ... 

If I believe what you say, I automatically believe there is a huge problem, and It pacifies me. Shifting perception it can be seen as  huge opportunity enabling me to experience whats going on first hand.
So it must be more true and it is open to more truth by experiencing whats going on first hand. 

And stress fuels this kind of wrong thinking by being angry (even if you dont realize that you are)

So fix the equation ...

Edited by teacult, 30 July 2015 - 07:06 AM.

[Dichotohmy]

Teacult, I hate to shoot down everything you say because I know you mean well. Personally, I can't realistically destress my life any more, or make any more adjustments to adapt to the issues that face me. I've dumped stimulants, dumped exercise, dumped school, rest for at least 20 hours every day, and pretty much spend the other four hours doing things I like to do. I even do the bare minimum of things I have to do like attaining food, keeping my surroundings sanitary, and managing my money. 

 

I now realize that pushing myself too hard with exercise, work, and drugs is probably what took me from a "5-6" on the functionality scale to the "2-3" I am now, so of course I've intuitively sought rest. On the other hand, I really hate being inactive and refuse to accept there's no getting better. If that yearning for self improvement is a detrimental form of stress, which I don't think it is, than so be it.

 

Truthfully, I'm not even sure what the point of this thread is anymore beyond a working diary, because I'm long past expecting someone to post a bullseye insight or hint. At least brainfog boy found the thread by googling (and maybe others), and found some solidarity or interesting reading, which is why I haven't abandoned posting.

 

 

 

 

[HoldingTheFaith]

Truthfully, I'm not even sure what the point of this thread is anymore beyond a working diary, because I'm long past expecting someone to post a bullseye insight or hint. At least brainfog boy found the thread by googling (and maybe others), and found some solidarity or interesting reading, which is why I haven't abandoned posting.

 

In any case, someone is "enjoying the show" here... wtf 

 

Yeah, after 5 years of being ill and trying literally everything, even exorcisms, you start to feel like hope is losing its validity.

 

However, last week I slept 8 hours and woke up refreshed after taking Ambien for the fourth time. It was the first time in years and I enjoyed feeling fresh during the day.

 

Likewise, one and a half years ago one night I felt the arousal and erection capacity I had prior illness. And it has happened maybe a couple of times more in 5 years.

 

These events spark a bit of hope.

[teacult]

Ok Dichotohmy, since you have listened and you are well rested here is the bullseye insight : 
Go into madness, do things you have'nt done (hit on your boss if its a woman), try to find hidden treasure by altering your beliefs and routines. 

 

Remember life is not deterministic, your mind believes it is, and life can bounce you to mysteries and adventures if you act on it. 
There is the energy you are looking for. I would strongly recommend on going crazy and enjoy consequences (rather than suffering it, even if it leads to the jail) 

Do what I did mess with the ugliest biggest guy, if it is only thing available there. Experiencing life and consequences, believe me its fun everywhere every time, if you are up to it .

I can explain psycho dynamics, physiology, wisdom and spirituality of this advicish insight. I have found this theoretically rather than experimental approach. 

And it works. And I know every little detail about it from evolutionary biological perspective to sociological and religious ones... 

Just fuck the explanation part and have fun ...

 

Edited by teacult, 31 July 2015 - 11:22 AM.

[Dichotohmy]

 

Yeah, after 5 years of being ill and trying literally everything, even exorcisms, you start to feel like hope is losing its validity.

 

However, last week I slept 8 hours and woke up refreshed after taking Ambien for the fourth time. It was the first time in years and I enjoyed feeling fresh during the day.

 

Likewise, one and a half years ago one night I felt the arousal and erection capacity I had prior illness. And it has happened maybe a couple of times more in 5 years.

 

These events spark a bit of hope.

 

 

Discouragement is a given in these circumstances, yes; but zombie hell does go beyond living to be 100 years old, or boosting your status in whatever your STEM field is, which are the overriding themes of these forums. This thread is kind of pointless because its beyond the scope of these forums. 

 

Those rare days of refreshing sleep, diminished brain fog, and generally feeling more human than sick animal do inspire hope, as you say, and knowing that I'm capable of such an improved state is why I pursue it over the opposite paradigm of zombie hell.

 

Remember life is not deterministic, your mind believes it is, and life can bounce you to mysteries and adventures if you act on it. 
There is the energy you are looking for. I would strongly recommend on going crazy and enjoy consequences (rather than suffering it, even if it leads to the jail) 

Do what I did mess with the ugliest biggest guy, if it is only thing available there. Experiencing life and consequences, believe me its fun everywhere every time, if you are up to it .

I can explain psycho dynamics, physiology, wisdom and spirituality of this advicish insight. I have found this theoretically rather than experimental approach. 

And it works. And I know every little detail about it from evolutionary biological perspective to sociological and religious ones... 

Just fuck the explanation part and have fun ...

 

I agree that life is not purely deterministic, nor is life any other absolute. However, I think that life is mostly deterministic and the concept of self determination, while still a factor, is much less of a factor than most people believe. This article is interesting to me and explains some ideas I've also independently arrived at:

 

http://selfhacked.co...You8217d_Expect

 

I definitely agree that most of my best life experiences, and thus happiness, have come from impulsive, spur-of-the moment pursuits. Some of those got me in trouble with the law, or in trouble with the bank, but were worth it. Conversely, trying to pursue things I don't really want to do, because I was falsely convinced I should, have resulted primarily in negative results. Some examples of that latter point that come to mind are using stimulants to try to boost motivation and become more sucessful by treating ADHD, which never really worked. Or in the distant past, convincing myself that I should just ~try harder~ at school because I should attain a good career and be an American dreamer.

 

I think I understand the point you're making and I agree with it. On the same, I agree that stressing over failing to meet arbitrary goals or plans results in anxiety, depression, and other things. I've become very self aware about these things, and have learned to let go of a lot, including the notion of free will, which has done wonders for the purely psychological problems I had in the past. I think I shouldn't have ever written about anhedonia in this thread, because that has become a point of contention and responces far beyond the proportion that anhedonia symptoms actually affect my life.

 

Physiological things like cytokine activity and neuroinflammation, dysfunctional immunity, and sickness behavior are still a huge problem for me and very much get in the way of the pursuit of happiness. True, I have mentioned I still have some anhedonia, but I believe that is due to primary inflammation. Physiological problems are so far beyond my control and I disagree and will continue to disagree with anyone who insists there's any sort of intervention that is obvious or easy - especially a non-medical intervention that can magically contain TNF-a, the interleukins, and the interferons from reeking havoc.

Edited by Dichotohmy, 31 July 2015 - 06:33 PM.

[brainfogboy]

Give me a fucking break teacult, you sound just like my father: "Take a break, drink a beer, fuck some chicks, everything will be alright".  Well that's fucking wonderful, except for those who have cancer, AIDS, chronic migraines, cluster headaches, fibromyalgia, SIBO, lupus, ALS, and about 100 fucking million other chronic illnesses that have NO PSYCHOLOGICAL BASIS WHATSOEVER.  You can't think, meditate, or de-stress yourself away from some things, and to think that I put myself here with 'thoughts' alone is a fucking joke.

 

Everyone wants to give an easy answer to a complex problem.  Everyone thinks they know the answer and wants to give their unwanted, unresearched, and unexperienced opinion because, I don't know, maybe it makes them feel good deep down.  I love when people KNOW they know what they are talking about, when in fact they are so far from the fucking truth.  Here's the deal; most people (including myself) have tried the basic fucking common sense shit years ago before pursuing doctor, after doctor, after doctor, after doctor, after fucking doctor for an answer because basic eat, rest, sleep, fuck, relax, talk to a therapist philosophy doesn't work.

 

If people would wake up to the fact that psychological problems are FAR DIFFERENT from intense, chronic, debilitating illnesses and syndromes, maybe we'd actual get somewhere near a cure to many of humanity's problems.  But the normal person won't do it, because they're too comfortable with their lives, and so It's people like me that get so pissed off at the incompetence of others, that when finally better, change the world.  People like me get so fucking angry that they refuse to just "deal with it" and instead rage against the fucking system.  

 

My promise to all of you is that when I finally pull out of this shit I will be dedicating my life to fixing the hell that is our healthcare system.  This includes educating the public.  These "beliefs" people have with their uneducated opinions on health, illness, and the human body/mind, stemming from their own ridiculous incompetence, are furthering the downward spiral of those who are sick.  God, I wish we lived in a world of people who listened, were well-researched in their opinions, and, god-forbid, actually have an open mind to listen to someone and learn something, rather than pushing their own fucking lifestyle.

 

In case anyone was wondering, I had a bad fucking day, and this had nothing to do with my "feelings" or how I didn't sing by the fire and feel grateful for everything wonderful in my fucking life.  I'm so fucking tired of this fucking bullshit.

 

 

Edited by brainfogboy, 01 August 2015 - 08:49 PM.

[brainfogboy]

If I had to guess this is adrenal fatigue at it's finest, even if doctors think that diagnosis is a crock of shit.  I honestly feel like I'm depleted of something, like something is not sustaining my ability to live my life, and if I replaced that thing I would be okay.

 

I also realize that adrenal fatigue has nothing to do with the adrenal glands, but the signaling from the hypothalamus and the pituitary in the brain.  HPA axis.  Had scans of my pituitary and adrenal glands, both of which were fine, so that leaves the hypothalamus.  (Plus I'm able to synthesize cortisol when stimulated via ACTH).

 

Seeing as how I was diagnosed with autonomic dysfunction, which stems from a disruptive hypothalamus, there's at least one correlation.

 

Now, what could be causing this problem with the brain?  Well food affects the brain.  Nutrients, minerals, vitamins, and even poisons.  Is it leaky gut?  is it a hormonal deficiency?  Not absorbing nutrients?  If doctors would look at the body like a machine and figure out what's wrong, rather than throwing drugs, maybe we'd be somewhere.  Problem solving 101.

 

Today I'm on Adderall, and have energy, yet I could have sex right now and crash like a fucking zombie.  Sims only seem to work when my body allows them to work (when already healthy and out of the fog).  i only took Adderal today because I was tired, but not in as much brain fog.  Sims never help the fog, just the energy part.  So fuck it why not feel high for a few hours?

 

Maybe it's a hormonal problem, which I'm going to go for testing for.

 

Right now Im going to go eat 15 eggs for the cholesterol, which is the basis of the steroid pathway.  Overload the fuck out of the pathway.  I'll report back on how I feel.

Edited by brainfogboy, 01 August 2015 - 08:58 PM.

[Edogawa Rampo]

If I had to guess this is adrenal fatigue at it's finest, even if doctors think that diagnosis is a crock of shit.  I honestly feel like I'm depleted of something, like something is not sustaining my ability to live my life, and if I replaced that thing I would be okay.

 

I also realize that adrenal fatigue has nothing to do with the adrenal glands, but the signaling from the hypothalamus and the pituitary in the brain.  HPA axis.  Had scans of my pituitary and adrenal glands, both of which were fine, so that leaves the hypothalamus.  (Plus I'm able to synthesize cortisol when stimulated via ACTH).

 

Seeing as how I was diagnosed with autonomic dysfunction, which stems from a disruptive hypothalamus, there's at least one correlation.

 

Now, what could be causing this problem with the brain?  Well food affects the brain.  Nutrients, minerals, vitamins, and even poisons.  Is it leaky gut?  is it a hormonal deficiency?  Not absorbing nutrients?  If doctors would look at the body like a machine and figure out what's wrong, rather than throwing drugs, maybe we'd be somewhere.  Problem solving 101.

 

Today I'm on Adderall, and have energy, yet I could have sex right now and crash like a fucking zombie.  Sims only seem to work when my body allows them to work (when already healthy and out of the fog).  i only took Adderal today because I was tired, but not in as much brain fog.  Sims never help the fog, just the energy part.  So fuck it why not feel high for a few hours?

 

Maybe it's a hormonal problem, which I'm going to go for testing for.

 

Right now Im going to go eat 15 eggs for the cholesterol, which is the basis of the steroid pathway.  Overload the fuck out of the pathway.  I'll report back on how I feel.

 

https://www.reddit.c...ting_substance/

[teacult]

Give me a fucking break teacult, you sound just like my father: "Take a break, drink a beer, fuck some chicks, everything will be alright".  Well that's fucking wonderful, except for those who have cancer, AIDS, chronic migraines, cluster headaches, fibromyalgia, SIBO, lupus, ALS, and about 100 fucking million other chronic illnesses that have NO PSYCHOLOGICAL BASIS WHATSOEVER.  You can't think, meditate, or de-stress yourself away from some things, and to think that I put myself here with 'thoughts' alone is a fucking joke.

 

Awesome father ! 

 

Fathers are usually right, however they become retards while explaining something to son holding father role intact. 

Days are passing while you are trying to fix yourself. So, Is the idea "to fill your cup of life with joy before it breaks and becomes unavailable " so bad ? 

Time is ticking ...
 

[brainfogboy]

Don't patronize me.  My father was an abusive fuck who put our entire family through hell for the past 20 years.  So tell me, is my dysautonomia, chronic daily migraines, gastroparesis, chronic idiopathic constipation, and reactive hypoglycemia all going to be cured by increasing joy in my life?  I also suppose my cock will grow another 2 inches as well.

 

You are so far removed from reality.  Go troll somewhere else with your metaphysical bullshit.  Stop polluting this forum.

[HoldingTheFaith]

 

Give me a fucking break teacult, you sound just like my father: "Take a break, drink a beer, fuck some chicks, everything will be alright".  Well that's fucking wonderful, except for those who have cancer, AIDS, chronic migraines, cluster headaches, fibromyalgia, SIBO, lupus, ALS, and about 100 fucking million other chronic illnesses that have NO PSYCHOLOGICAL BASIS WHATSOEVER.  You can't think, meditate, or de-stress yourself away from some things, and to think that I put myself here with 'thoughts' alone is a fucking joke.

 

Awesome father ! 

 

Fathers are usually right, however they become retards while explaining something to son holding father role intact. 

Days are passing while you are trying to fix yourself. So, Is the idea "to fill your cup of life with joy before it breaks and becomes unavailable " so bad ? 

Time is ticking ...
 

 

We are on the Internet talking to strangers because we have health problems that prevent us from doing and enjoying very basic and essential activities and experiences. This is where the term "functional" enters now, and a chronic health problem only becomes problematic enough to be given attention or even a name when it renders us not functional, be it for work or in worse cases for daily life. Many people with Asperger´s Syndrome for instance have only been diagnosed as adults when problems become too numerous, before that they coped, and some never get diagnosed and live a successful or pleasant life without being given any crazy label at all.

 

I can only be calm and positive when I sleep well, not when my head hurts, I am dizzy and haggard and everyone complains about my constant mistakes. Or when I don´t have an attack of cholinergic urticaria, which thanks to "God" stopped last year.

 

You cannot advice us to live life to heal, because we are precisely generating this discussion because we can´t.

 

Just a friendly reminder so you don´t lose complete sight of reality.

[iseethelight]

Ok I have a pretty easy answer on this:

1- relief stress by dropping stimulants and quit smoking if you smoke

2 - relief stress by eating more calories and exercising less

3- relief stress by requesting a demote in job environment

4 - relief stress by ditching bad relationships 

5- relief stress by thinking less (you are very intelligent and articulate , it is usually a big trouble when ADHD-C because thinking does not end with a satisfaction (dopamine issue) )

You are soundling like classical case of fibromyalgia composed with sinus infection due to mite or dust allergy or something ...

I have hunch about you tho, like I feel that you set goals higher than you actually need which stresses you a lot without giving any satisfaction.  

 

THIS is is pretty bad advice, except for points 1 & 4 which is common sense. You're basically giving the recipe to becoming a stupid fat and lazy loser. Eat more, exercise less? Think less? Ask to get demoted at work? Really? WTF? This is detrimental on so many levels. I hope the OP isn't doing those things because they will only make his situation worse.

 

I suffer from similar issues as OP with memory issues on top of that and the only things that have helped make things a bit better are weight training, eating healthier, learning new things and brain training. Some supplements have helped for a few days but always returned to below baseline within a week. I'm only using vitamin c right now, down from taking up to 15 different supplements a day that only made things worse in the end.

[teacult]

To dichotohmy : 
I wish you a good health and a happy life my friend.

To HoldingtheFaith : 
When body gets chronically stressed, stimulants, steroids etc does not work on restoring glucorticoid - cortisol - adrenal functions namely endocrine balance. 
Rest, healthy eating lets you repair the damage and maybe afterwards you can catch a wave to grow healthfully on it. 
If the problem is in your wiring, whenever cognitive performance increases you will face emotional - cognitive problems and thus it will regulate to baseline. 

Actually there is two down-regulation mechanism 

1) body cannot catch homeostatic balance (sleep - eat - exercise - fun - sex - stress)

2) mind cannot catch flow frequency (stress - motivation - pleasure ) 

if you push yourself harder using alcohol or stimulants or anti-psychotics you will break things. 
lazy ones are either bodily sick and cannot push or they lack motivation because they believe things that make them feel unable ... 

I was worse than both of you,  and I am ticking like a clock again. I wonder how can you push aside a succeeded wisdom with an unsuccessful experience or self-experiment. 
I also wonder if some of your problem hides underneath aforementioned sentence ...

To iseethelight brainfogboy : (Whoever you are - calling me troll)

I am done explaining ...
If you like; instead of using drugs and stimulants the right way, go fuck yourself with lots of non-pleasure giving unmotivating stressful activities on stimulants. 
Yes do it if you like. In my opinion, suffering because of your-own decision is a lot better to follow an advice you don't like.
 

I wont answer anymore, because there is nothing more to add. 

Edited by teacult, 20 August 2015 - 08:11 PM.

[Dichotohmy]

Your daily dosing might be rapidly building tolerance, and combined with the small dose this may be seriously impeding the sleep-related effects of baclofen.

 

None of this is advice, just some hopefully helpful observations. There may be risks associated with using baclofen off-label in this manner, so I advise caution. Do keep in mind that *official* guidelines limit to a 20mg maximum single dose, and that even this dose should be gradually ramped up to.

 

 

So far, baclofen has been a loser when it comes to helping my nonrefreshing sleep - in fact, quite the opposite in that it tends to make my sleep worse somehow. I suspect this has to do with REM sleep suppression. I don't respond well to things that suppress REM. Conversely, I've found that baclofen is working great for me if I use it during the day time. Baclofen kicks in quickly, lasts 8 hours, so is predictable in effects, and most importantly, provides some much-wished for relief of the wired half of the wired and tired dichotomy I suffer through after non-refreshing sleep. It doesn't touch the thick cognitive dysfunction, joint pain, stiffness and myalgia, POTS symptoms, or other neurophysical malaise, but baclofen helps me relax and lay down and rest when I have a pulling compulsion to be up and moving and doing things - despite being too woozy to be standing for long and too dissociated to be doing much of anything that requires brain power. More importantly, baclofen erases my urge to use alcohol to try to acheive this satisfaction with being couchbound - because alcohol doesn't really work for that purpose and instead tends to induce something akin to akathisia in me when I day drink. Baclofen squashes alcohol cravings as advertised and does so at a sustainable dose of around 12.5mg once daily - which is enough to tide me over from the worst periods of the daytime zombiness until the evening when I typically start feeling better as a rule.

 

I also reread your first post in this thread and agree that cyproheptadine is something that might work for me. I seem to derive some benefit from 5ht2a/2c antagonism as evidenced by my partial responce to trazodone, and the antihistamine effects of the drug look like a bonus as evidenced by how doxylamine for me is a pretty reliable knock-out punch of sleep induction (but not refreshment, of course). Trazodone at 12.5mg has helped me get more refreshing sleep, but it does so irreguarly and inevitably quits after a few days. Upping the dose doesn't help sleep and results in hangover side effects. Half a pill of doxylamine also tends to result in a hangover and the shofter half life of cyproheptadine might mitigate that. Ketanserin is also on my radar.

 

 

Doing some sleep monitoring and other detective work, short of a real EEG, I notice spontaneous sleep phase shifts (IE alpha intrusions) in N3 sleep and a general deficit in REM time. I'm starting to thing that just a failure to achieve deep sleep isn't the problem at all, but instead, my brain doesn't want to stay there. I also have a prolonged REM latency that tends to vary anywhere from 3 hours to 5 hours, and is seldom a normal 70 minutes. Both of these things are in tune with my real polysomnogram where I had an arrousal index of ~12 and a 5.5 hour REM latency. Heart rate variability also seems to be a part of the puzzle as I often awaken during REM with an elevated heart rate that can't be explained by hypoxea or bad dreams. I also have instances of unusual heart-rate spikes that awaken me out of NREM, perhaps due to external noise, despite my best effort to isolate myself from outside stimulus with heavy duty earplugs, an eye mask, and a fan. 

 

Despite how the common knowledge seems to downplay the importance of REM, and how some people seem to do fine on drugs that totally suppress it, I'm at my best when I get an unexpected night of REM rebound. Nights where I seem to be dreaming all night, and waking up from it up to 10 times, even only 30 minutes from first falling asleep, are somehow my most refreshing. My data indicates that I usually get maybe 20-30 minutes of REM on a normal night. But when that REM time is more in the hours range, I can wake up refreshed. My dreams are consistently vivid yet oddly mundane, movie-like and I seem to play an observer more often than a participant in my dreams. What ties the alpha intrusions and REM deficit all together might be a case of UARs, as I do have nasal resistance in any laying position and this tends to get worse over the course of the night. The UARs brain overreacts to minor breathing resistance, which results in sleep stage shifts and waking up from lighter sleep. I frequently find myself mouth breathing during times of heart-rate elevation, but can do so just fine and don't see much of an O2 desaturation on the pulse oximeter recording.

 

I still can't take a nap despite being sleepy and relaxed either. What I get when I try are wild hypnagogic hallucinations, right down to the exploding head and hallucinated telepathic conversations with some esoteric being. If that's not enough, when I'm in stage N1 and on the verge of nodding unconcious, I get what I can only describe as "beta wave intrusion" of wakefuleness that snaps me right out of falling asleep. Note, it isn't an adrenaline rush, limb jerking, outside stimuli, or anything explainable, its like a spontaneous shift from the relaxed alpha brain waves of stage N1 to a wakeful consciousness. I am totally calm, blank minded, breathing calmly and my heart stays at a resolute 55 BPM when this happens.

 

This is the kind of sleep shit that I can't figure out the magic words to get much insight from doctor google, and which human doctors look at me like I have a dick growing out of my forehead when I try to explain.

 

[Dichotohmy]

I ended up finally doing some poor-man's tilt table tests, and I think I can narrow my OI down to some sort of delayed POTS. By that I mean, my heart rate goes from around 50 while resting to around 95 after standing in place for around 30 minutes - as opposed to less than 10 minutes. The heart rate keeps climbing, too, right until I tap out around 45 minutes from the joint and upper back pain of standing still. I also notice a cold sweat down my back and legs and involuntary knee wobbling while standing with good military bearing. The heart rate quickly recedes back down to around 50 within minutes of sitting back down. Blood pressure wise, after the initial hypotension on rising, where I tend to collapse, the systolic actually climbs about 15 points over 12-15 minutes. After this point, the systolic starts falling which coincides with an abnormal rise in heart rate. Through all this, the diastolic also rises and my pulse pressure narrows down to as much as 33 points. I mention pulse pressure because while resting, the pulse pressure is consistently elevated at 50-55. Looking back on my lab tests, I've noticed my serum sodium has been 133 and 135 mmol/L both times I've had that tested since becoming significantly worse in health two years ago. Chloride and magnesium readings are also low. Potassium is on the high side of normal. At least the dysautonomic wierdness is making a little sense now.

 

I tried low dose fludrocortisone (~25 mcg) with some encouragement, but am holding off on that idea until I can get routine electrolyte monitoring. 

 

Symptom wise, I have started having yawn attacks that come out of nowhere and last 15-20 minutes. During an attack, I'll yawn about 3 times per minute and they're frequently big, mouth-wide-open, head back type yawns. I'm not necessarilly bored or sleepy when this happens, and of course, my breathing is as calm and normal as can be. My annoyingly-heightened senses are getting more irritating as well. I'm noticing nasty people who can't take care of basic hygene even more. I'm so light sensitive that my pupils are like pin pricks out in the sun even after wearing sunglasses. This is a problem when I get pulled over by the cops. I don't use stimulants anymore. Of course, in low light conditions, my pupils become saucers and I recoil from artificial light of any sort after the sun goes down.

 

 

Edited by Dichotohmy, 06 September 2015 - 08:50 AM.

[HoldingTheFaith]

What effects does 5-HTP have on you? http://www.sciencedi...013469471901477

 

It gave me some kind of depersonalization attack once. I am going to try Kavinace Ultra PM next...

Edited by HoldingTheFaith, 06 September 2015 - 10:43 AM.

[Dichotohmy]

What effects does 5-HTP have on you? http://www.sciencedi...013469471901477

 

It gave me some kind of depersonalization attack once. I am going to try Kavinace Ultra PM next...

 

This guy gives a pretty good description of what 5-HTP (100mg) is like for me.

 

 

 

The first week was OK. Felt slightly spaced out, peaceful, slept very well.
On the second week the inital side-effects wore out, but all of a sudden I started feeling this odd hue coloring most of my feelings. It's very difficult to articulate this bizarre emotion, but it felt as everything was standing distrubingly still or the present moment felt like past. This is at least how I would describe this, even though everything was occuring on the emotional level, not like I was going mad or losing contact with reality. Overall I didn't find this very comfortable.
On the third week things started to get even more bizarre. The previously mentioned feelings intensified, also I felt my motivation was dropping (even though I wasn't feeling depressed, at least not much), I started having difficulties with concentrating on my studies, I got bored easily - everything felt pointless. In addition the "hue" I felt behind my emotions became more like a disgust mixed with dysthymia...towards everything...and without any reason.
Anyway this was the point I decided to drop 5-HTP...

 

5HTP's sleep benefit seems to be from boosting REM time and intensity, although that benefit quits within a week at most. Derealization is a good description, as opposed to depersonalization. In my case, the "odd coloring" was extended to the environment all around me and everything I look at and I was slightly losing contact with reality. Derealization isn't so bad, but the depression-inducing effects of this are unacceptable and not something I normally deal with or want to deal with when the intended benefit of 5-HTP has long passed.

 

I don't do well with serotonergics in general and don't derive positive effects. St Johns wort induces depression and photophobia to the point I need sunglasses to drive at night. Fluoxetine, venlafaxine, which I tried in the distant past, and even tramadol which I sometimes still use induce derealization rapidly and outright depression with prolonged use (never lasted beyond 5 weeks on those antidepressants and don't really want to ever try again).

Edited by Dichotohmy, 06 September 2015 - 04:52 PM.

[HoldingTheFaith]

 

What effects does 5-HTP have on you? http://www.sciencedi...013469471901477

 

It gave me some kind of depersonalization attack once. I am going to try Kavinace Ultra PM next...

 

This guy gives a pretty good description of what 5-HTP (100mg) is like for me.

 

 

 

The first week was OK. Felt slightly spaced out, peaceful, slept very well.
On the second week the inital side-effects wore out, but all of a sudden I started feeling this odd hue coloring most of my feelings. It's very difficult to articulate this bizarre emotion, but it felt as everything was standing distrubingly still or the present moment felt like past. This is at least how I would describe this, even though everything was occuring on the emotional level, not like I was going mad or losing contact with reality. Overall I didn't find this very comfortable.
On the third week things started to get even more bizarre. The previously mentioned feelings intensified, also I felt my motivation was dropping (even though I wasn't feeling depressed, at least not much), I started having difficulties with concentrating on my studies, I got bored easily - everything felt pointless. In addition the "hue" I felt behind my emotions became more like a disgust mixed with dysthymia...towards everything...and without any reason.
Anyway this was the point I decided to drop 5-HTP...

 

5HTP's sleep benefit seems to be from boosting REM time and intensity, although that benefit quits within a week at most. Derealization is a good description, as opposed to depersonalization. In my case, the "odd coloring" was extended to the environment all around me and everything I look at and I was slightly losing contact with reality. Derealization isn't so bad, but the depression-inducing effects of this are unacceptable and not something I normally deal with or want to deal with when the intended benefit of 5-HTP has long passed.

 

I don't do well with serotonergics in general and don't derive positive effects. St Johns wort induces depression and photophobia to the point I need sunglasses to drive at night. Fluoxetine, venlafaxine, which I tried in the distant past, and even tramadol which I sometimes still use induce derealization rapidly and outright depression with prolonged use (never lasted beyond 5 weeks on those antidepressants and don't really want to ever try again).

 

 

I see. Tthe whole event I referred to happened this way: I woke up midnight or early morning with a intense panic derived from not knowing who I was which dissipated in minutes. I have never felt something like this and I strongly tend to associate it with 5-hidroxytryptophan consumption. Obviously, this compound has noticeable effects which for some are not positive...

[tarasco]

This is for all of you in the thread...I fast-scrolled through the thread so likely missed 3/4 of the replies....

I have Brain Allergies and keep seeing the same symptoms here....

(I eliminated a number of the symptoms by changing my diet and watching the air I breathe)

Check out this link and see if it speaks to you and think about it....

http://orthomolecula...5n01-p005.shtml

(By the way, I take 150mg 5-HTP daily for the Serotonin boost and find it mellows me out and pretty well eliminates my carbohydrate cravings....)

Edited by tarasco, 13 September 2015 - 10:38 AM.

[HoldingTheFaith]

Unrefreshed fellow reporting in. Kavinace PM Ultra taken with 7,5 mg of melatonin sublingual gives me a deep, refreshing sleep so far. Not perfect or like I was an actual healthy youngster as I should but... Quite amazing. But I won´t take it everyday, because of tolerance and withdrawal. Maybe 3x per week. Anyway, GABA is very important for good sleep, at least for me. Suicidal points decreasing. 

Edited by HoldingTheFaith, 15 September 2015 - 08:13 AM.

[HoldingTheFaith]

Wow, forget it, the supp potentiates a lot my already excessive dreaming (depression and REM link) and can make you feel awful some days especially with emotionally negative dreams (common when your life sucks ass).

 

Prazosine, pregabalin, etc are next.

[Dichotohmy]

Wow, forget it, the supp potentiates a lot my already excessive dreaming (depression and REM link) and can make you feel awful some days especially with emotionally negative dreams (common when your life sucks ass).

 

Prazosine, pregabalin, etc are next.

 

Strange, as phenibut and the like seem to effectively suppress REM for me, which as I mentioned, is why I view them as a dead end in terms of improving my sleep quality. I've mentioned several times as well that when I do have dreams, they are quite realistic and vivid - yet at the same time utterly mundane and emotionally neutral. I would say as evidenced by this thread that my present life sucks ass, but somehow I keep a relatively upbeat attitude towards things and the inner frustration at lack of absolution from this mess never seems to reflect itself in dreaming. I would extrapolate that the psychologized viewpoint of dreams being an extension of the sub-conscious is largely BS and that dreams, like everything else, are caused by endogenous neurological processes. What follows is that the same mechanism that makes one depressed is probably the same mechanism that produces excessive dreaming of a negative nature in depression. 

 

 

 

[Dichotohmy]

I decided to start using very low-dose methylprednisolone to encouraging effect. I am seeing definite improvement in sleep quality, control of inflammatory pain to the point that I've dumped my 1400-2000 daily ibuprofen, a slight improvement in chronic nasal congestion (sinus inflammation after all?), and even a slight improvement in energy. The sleep thing is still pretty bad on paper - meaning still very fragmented, but better subjective quality. MePredisolone has a long half life, so the morning dose is still physiologically active when one goes to sleep. One thing I am noticing is a drastic increase in REM sleep and dreaming, which for me, is something I've been deficient in. The point I take from this is that the conventional wisdom about REM sleep being idiopathic and maybe unecessary is BS. I'm not sure if slightly improved breathing is helping me out, because due to the heart-rate rise in REM naturally I need to be able to breathe in more air, or what.

 

Perhaps I got really unlucky and my past alcohol use unhinged by HPAA and larger endocrine system. By unlucky I mean I didn't stick to heavy drinking for more than 3 years, versus those who go for decades without problems like this, and have one hell of a protracted, maybe permanent neurological change following acute withdrawal if that's what's going on. One thing that always struck me is how much better I feel for a few days immediately following an acute withdrawal following a period of prolonged heavy drinking. By that I don't mean during a hangover, but around 24 hours after alcohol cessation. Conversely, now when I try, after 30 minutes or so the pleasure effects of alcohol melt away and lead to a stuporous malaise with physical symptoms of alcohol intolerance after just 2-3 drinks.

 

http://www.ncbi.nlm....les/PMC2266962/

 

http://onlinelibrary...2036.x/abstract

 

 

Edited by Dichotohmy, 01 October 2015 - 01:56 PM.