201 replies to this topic

[Candidatus]

@Babychris

 

I think you should look elsewhere for libido and erection improvement. Cerebrolysin definitely improves cognition and ease out anxiety, don't know about any libido effects though. Haven't tried Semax yet.

 

I would look at these:

http://www.amazon.co...M/dp/B00C9KY58M

http://www.amazon.co...ngkat ali 1:100

 

Also, I've found a rodent study which found dramatically elevated testosterone after LLLT on testis: http://www.biomedres...y.357194742.pdf and here is a paper about the effects on humans regarding sperm motility and LLLT http://www.renalandu...article/122056/

 

However, do not buy Viagra or similar substances from @Medievil, even if he offers you some assistance: http://www.longecity...g-off-medievil/ LOL 

 

Edit: check out your Vitamin D and Zinc levels - you could see a dramatic improvement after supplementation if they are too low. Also, ice-baths are a thing to consider if you can withstand them 

Edited by Candidatus, 03 December 2014 - 10:19 AM.

[Babychris]

I'm pretty sure that my problems are not related with testosterone even if I tried several time the controversial Dutasteride and played with some T raiser (like Dihydromestolone) but I'm a very hairy guy and I have high expectation in term of libido (as I use to be a really sexual obsessed guy) But I'm concerned about a potential destruction of some pathways in my brain. That's weird because I really want to be aroused and I can be aroused but I feel that there is something broken as I COULD ABSOLUTELY NOT get an erection without stimulation (including visual and tactile) of course anxiety plays a role) but there's is something physical in my worst moment, My dick feels a bit painfull and become really thin. 

 

I have ABSOLUTELY no problem to ejaculate but erection is a concern. I have not find anything yet to correct that. 

 

Lately I had a 2 weeks period where my night-time erection came back which was a BIG WIN but did not see any daily allievation of my issue. Now I came back in the worst-phase. 

 

my brain feels a bit fried too I really think cerebrolysin could help but there is some concern about effectiveness, MOAdministration and price. Since NSI 189 was good in term of depression but felt like something wrong with it

 

 

I'm VERY VERY sensitive to anything since I had a weird MJ trip. I used to have good and bad days. But now I really miss those good days where everything was so intense. I really lost intensity in life, as I used to be a very special guy the most funny the most intelligent, the most...

 

If cerebrolysin could help I'm ready...

[Candidatus]

Sure, thanks for clarification. Any idea what is the cause of your problems? What pathways are on your mind? I've read a lot of guys experience this after years of excessive masturbation to porn... not sure about it but personally, I stopped watching porn just to be on the safe side.

 

Cerebrolysin is a powerful substance, but the mechanism of action is not really 100% clear so it's hard to speculate if it can help with your problem (not knowing the cause makes it even more difficult to assess).

 

To put is this way, you most certainly can't do any harm doing a Cerebrolysin cycle, but it's up to you to assess if the money is worth it. I've never had ED issues so I can not comment on that particular effect while taking Cerebrolysin. 

 

The icariin from the first link is meant to improve erection specifically, without causing side effects such as viagra does. May be worth a try, but I guess it's not even close to be something like a cure. 

 

Anyway, doing a blood-work to see what your T or VitD levels are can not hurt and it won't ruin you financially...

Edited by Candidatus, 03 December 2014 - 10:36 AM.

[Babychris]

mmm I suffered all my life from anxiety. At first it was a huge boost => Funny, excited, always energic but I was pretty young, then I had a big exam comin and my first really challenging step in life (I succeed at getting my "Baccalaureat" which is considered as the big french exam for entering in university but it was really easy I achieve it smoking everyday marijuana even before exam lol) but this time it was on a other level. 

 

At this point (3 years ago) when I had my Bac I first felt depressive symptoms : feeling of emptyness something I never felt before, anxiety yes ALWAYS (incresead but the marjuana use) but depression not/NIET then I entered in the medical university, but was absolutely not serious smoking everyday etc. I had some real feeling of emptyness that I suspect become apparent when I had skyzophrenic episode on a "bad trip of marijuana" anyway. not a funny year. Then I become to look into the nootropic world for my last chance to become a doctor. I tried a lot of stuff and abuse some of them you can look at my "Pramiraceteam killed me" thread. and then I totally failed my exam leaving me with a mix of induced psychosis-depression coupled with the sensastion of having destroying my life. I became Really suicidal here, the worst of all my life. 

 

But I challenge myself again. You want to be a doctor ? So do what you have to do. I asked for a special authorization to do my year again. And I did it ! Amazing right ? I'll become a medical doctor. But guess what ? I didn't felt any joy just deep emptyness and nothing could move it. 

 

Now I'm trying to find my old-self. 

 

Considering my libido, it vanished for the most after my skyzophrenic episode and totally after my modafinil+pramiracetam+failure binge.

 

Sorry for my poor english I hope I have been sufficiently clear for the correct understanding of my post.

[Candidatus]

I went through your thread, it´s kind of a sad story, sorry for that. But I´m afraid the underlaying cause can be really pretty much anything and trying to find it out would require indepth expertise in pharmacokinetics/neurophysiology (which I lack) or a lot of hands-on experiences with these substances (which I lack as well).

 

I think it´s a good decision to stop everything. I also didn´t feel very well on pramiracetam (depresonalization, headaches sometimes) so I stopped it after only a few doses. I believe I can identify with your feelings to some degree regarding prami. Never touched Modafinil though (and not planning to).

 

Considering that you have probably sorted out diet, exercise and general lifestyle, then Cerebrolysin would --probably-- be the best thing to try. It´s safe enough and pretty powerful with a lot of anecdotal evidence to support it. Another thing I would consider is neurofeedback - could you maybe find a friend who has an Amp with Bioexplorer so you could just pay for a training plan and do your sessions for a reasonable fee? It might or might not help, but dealing with withdrawal from various substances is among the uses of NFB.

 

Anecdote: http://beyondmeds.co...rug-withdrawal/

Paper: http://www.ncbi.nlm....les/PMC2259255/

 

Sorry I can´t comment or help you more, I don´t really feel like I can give you more or better advice. Hope you get better though!

Edited by Candidatus, 03 December 2014 - 11:18 AM.

[Babychris]

Ok I'll  try cerebrolysin. Can I get some 10 Ml Vials and put them into a little glass jar and use the quantity I want ? 

 

I have a nurse in my building can I ask her to give me the needles, etc that I need ? It's easy I guess since I'm a medical student but don't know how to ask specifically for 5mL syringe etc.

 

I have read on CL some very good anecdote and papers as those you have shown me but most of anecdote point off that the effect subside after the use of this potent stuff ... But even a brief relief would be beautifull especially on the anxiolytic side!

[Candidatus]

I´ve done it the way you say - splitting 10ml into several doses, but I would advise against it. There is some possibility of getting infection when you´re doing it this way so either you´ll be extra cautious and take the risk or you go with 5ml vials - one per shot.

 

I got the needles and syringes from a local pharmacy, no problem to get them. You want to get very thin needles - 25g would be optimal. 

 

Try to look for someone having the NFB equipment if you think that anxiety is one of the main issues to solve... otherwise, the cheapest setup for 2channel device and all the accessories and training would be around  $1500 (steep price for a student, I know).

 

You probably know about the CBL suppliers but still, I have tried both nootropic.eu and gerovitalshop.eu and both were fine.

Edited by Candidatus, 03 December 2014 - 11:59 AM.

[Crowstream]

@Candidatus

 

Its hard to give any recommendations for reading, I have found that in the neurofeedback world there are many different approaches (and usually the proponents of one method will discredit the others)!

 

I have personally found the TAG Sync approach to be really interesting and useful. It really is a pioneering protocol with a new theory for doing neurofeedback. TAG Sync is built on a lot of different articles, as far as I know there is no book to read..

 

Here are some articles I have found useful:

1. The brainweb phase synchronization and large-scale integration  - http://www.ncbi.nlm....ale integration

To understand the role of synchrony in brain integration

 

2. Cross-frequency coupling between neuronal oscillations - http://www.ncbi.nlm....pubmed/17548233

Short and easy article for understanding CFC, there is a much longer and thorough one called "Jirsa V, et al (2013) - Cross-frequency coupling in real and virtual brain networks" if you really want to dig into it, it contains a lot of mathematics and stuff, might be hard to read if you are not into computational neuroscience.

 

3. The functional benefits of criticality in the cortex - http://www.ncbi.nlm....y in the Cortex

Self-organized criticality is still a relatively new concept in physics, and I think it has just caught on in neuroscience. In neurofeedback I have only seen it mentioned in the TAG Sync protocol.

Anyways this article shows that when the brain organizes at criticality these three properties are optimized: 1) Dynamic range 2) Information transfer 3) Information capacity

I think TAG Sync can help the brain organize at levels approaching criticality.

 

4. Phase synchronization of bursting neurons in clustered small-world networks - http://www.ncbi.nlm....pubmed/23005511

Kind of a hard article to read, it was written by math and physics people so it is not the best read in the world  . I think it is important for TAG Sync though because it links the ability of the brain to produce global broad band synchrony to its small-world network properties. Increasing "small-worldness" may increase the ability for synchrony.

 

Douglas sometimes talks about global broad band synchrony over small world networks operating near self-organized criticality. So I think you need to understand all of those components since they are sort of the theoretical framework for TAG Sync. When you connect all of these things you can start to read these properties in the EEG as you are training.

 

Some useful books for this might be:

 

-How Nature Works: The Science of Self-organized Criticality: http://www.amazon.co...zed criticality

By the "inventor" of SOC himself  . Interesting how a model of sand piles ends up explaining the brain.

 

-Pocket Guide to Interpersonal Neurobiology: An Integrative Handbook of the Mind: http://www.amazon.co...al neurobiology

It is not directly related to TAG Sync or neurofeedback, but I think this offers the best model I have found so far on the whole brain-mind-relationships interaction. I have found it very useful for understanding neurofeedback and life in general  .

It is very well written and easy to read yet extremely informative so I can recommend it. I think the most useful lesson I have gotten out of it is seeing emotions as shifts in integration, using that as a road-map you can move towards increased integration.

 

-Design in Nature: How the Constructal Law Governs Evolution in Biology, Physics, Technology, and Social Organization: http://www.amazon.co...constructal law

This is also a part of the TAG Sync theory, the constructal law is a proposed new law of physics which explains how flow patterns optimize over time to flow more effectively. You can use this to understand the flow in the brain of energy and information, using neurofeedback you can start engineering more optimized flow patterns. 

 

Anyways I guess that is more than 3-5  .

 

I am looking forward to reading your report on the sleep trackers, I feel like I really need to start tracking my sleep since it is so important for overall functioning  .

 

I am glad to hear that you got the TLC7ap, I am very curious about the measurable effects of TAG Sync. I think that TAG Sync might increase alpha amplitudes so it would be interesting to see what your observations are on that.

I completed the TLC7ap only after using TAG Sync for 5 months and my alpha amplitudes were extremely high, I think this may be because of the training but I have no way of knowing of course, I could have had high alpha amplitudes before I started using TAG Sync...

[Candidatus]

@Crowstream

 

Wow, this is more than I could hope for, thank you! I'm definitely going to go through all of it... I guess it'll take some time though 

 

Yeah, I'm also interested what TAG has in place for me, but I guess I'm going to cycle it with TLC protocols since I can make them on a regular basis for different goals. What is your approach with TAG vs TLC? One after another or are you cycling them somehow?

[middpanther88]

With all these extra devices, does it feel like you're really gaining much from them?  

[Crowstream]

@Candidatus

 

My approach right now is to only use brain trainer for a while, to evaluate the effects of just using that. I have done a lot of TAG Sync sessions now so I think I can probably take a break for a while. 

 

I completed a series of cognitive tests before using brain trainer so perhaps I will retake the tests in a month or so after only using brain trainer. I am also doing dual-n-back though so maybe changes will be because of that, but it will at least be an indication.

Edited by Crowstream, 03 December 2014 - 08:33 PM.

[Candidatus]

@middpanther88

 

Neurofeedback with Q-WIZ: yes, definitely! I'm responding well to neurofeedback training. I'm using it daily and I really like it. 

nir-HEG: I'm using it twice a week right now and I can feel the benefits immediately after the session. Clear head and improved focus. Does it help in long term? Don't know yet.

Inner Balance: for HRV coherence training. For $129 it's great. Great but not mind blowing... 

Emotiv EPOC: for tracking meditation. It's a shitty device, I consider it to be wasted $350. Do not recommend. Doesn't even give any feedback in my setup. If I could, I would buy MUSE headband for this purpose, which actually gives feedback.

DIY PEMF coils: I'm sleeping great for the last couple of days... and the coils might be the reason. Definitely worth a try for $25.

 

I'm still waiting to use LLLT, tDCS and maybe CES devices, so I can not comment on these.

 

Otherwise, I use just trackers - Sleep, HRV, HR, scale... they don't help you directly, just show you the data. 

 

So, yes, I feel like I'm gaining a lot overall. You can check out my report from the first month where I go more in-depth. 

 

@Crowstream

 

I'm looking forward to any kind of evaluation after your first month. I was getting used to the feedback so it took me a while to start reaping the benefits, but I consider the TLC a very good investment so far.

[Stuart Hayward]

Hi Candidatus, 
Sorry to pester you with questions, but I read on your blog that you've had 'zero anxiety' following your first month of training; I've personally been struggling anxiety for a few years now, and was just wondering if there's anything you would recommend for this specific issue? Or is it hard to pinpoint what specifically has reduced your anxiety, considering all the various things you've done over the last month? 

[Candidatus]

Hi Stuart,

 

no problem at all! Well, to put it in proper perspective, I started with pretty low levels of anxiety (never was a major issue for me), but it is completely diminished now. I would say it's due to meditation (you train awareness), HRV coherence training (you get familiar with your body's stress mechanisms and responses) and neurofeedback (I think this has the most prominent effect). I'm pretty sure you are already familiar with meditation and maybe HRV coherence training, don't know about neurofeedback. There is some further reading about neurofeedback and anxiety (not scientific but there are references to actual studies) http://www.dana.org/...s.aspx?id=43291

 

I've been doing the whole brain training plan from brain-trainer and before they make you the plan, you need to fill a "Client's report", where you specify your training goals. Decreasing anxiety is one of them... check out https://brain-trainer.com/resources/ - download the ABCD Package and there is a word document called Client Report, so you can have a look. 

 

I can not say if it could be effective for you, so please don't take my words as a serious advice/recommendation. But anyway, I hope you'll be able to solve this issue as quickly as possible!

Edited by Candidatus, 04 December 2014 - 07:36 PM.

[Candidatus]

Day #38

 

Still didn't receive the TAGx2 and I'm planning to do the TLC7 QEEG assessment tommorow to get a reference before starting it. Otherwise, I've done seven 15min sessions of Image Streaming so far and I think it very well complements my brain training plan. I'm planning to ramp it up to 30min a day. 

 

What is Image Streaming?

 

It's a visualisation technique promising rapid intelligence improvement (very speculative). You basically get yourself into a meditative position and start visualising a scene which you explain in 1st person, present tense with all your senses. The goal most probably is to activate different brain regions which are not usually working together to improve creativity and maybe other cognitive faculties. More often than not, you'll be describing VERY bizzare images such as flying on a dragon to win a race against IronMan and a fighter jet (no kidding). You are describing the images out loud to a recorder and then you should play it back to get a feedback (I don't do this for time reasons, I just replay it in my head, only recheck the recording for what I can't remember).

 

All I can say so far is that I feel mentally refreshed after each session. This is the original website: http://www.winwenger.com/imstream.htm

 

Also, I'm doing very well on my dual-n-back training. I reached 77% dual-9-back today (just 1-2 mistakes from reaching dual-10-back). The progress came naturally in the end of last week. Since then, 9-back feels pretty "effortless" Also, my sleep is dramatically improved according to withings aura. Yesterday, I had 3+ hours of REM, 1+ hours of Deep and only 2.5 hours of Light. Felt extremely great throughout the whole day.

 

 

Edited by Candidatus, 04 December 2014 - 07:53 PM.

[airplanepeanuts]

Personally I feel I could never reach dual-10-back as memorizing random stuff feels like torture to me (I haven't tried it for that same reason). 

I can program a web application though, and I am able to learn new programming languages pretty fast.

Just my random remark on your project, good luck to you!

[Babychris]

You seems to know A LOT about those still obscur (don't want to be pejorative) material of brain enlightement. It would be great if in a future we could develop this. I'm going to dig into this but as you point it, money is a very important limitant factor here!

[Candidatus]

@airplanepeanuts

 

No difference here, it feels like torture to me as well. Especially now on 9-back where you have to go 5 minutes in a row. When I say effortless, I really mean "effortless".  That´s also the reason why I said that you can not really compare it to most lumosity games, not even the same league. Btw. do you have any favourite "hacks" on how to efficiently learn web development? 

 

@Babychris

 

Yes it´s like rabbithole... only depends how deep are you willing to go (and how much money are you willing to spend, lol). 

Edited by Candidatus, 05 December 2014 - 11:07 AM.

[Stuart Hayward]

Okay, thankyou for your advice  

[Candidatus]

Day #43

 

Seriously interesting things happening. Since last week, I've been experiencing amazing sleep quality according to my WIthings Aura monitor, peaking yesterday with 70% time spent in REM and Deep sleep and only 30% in light. It has been the exact opposite before so I must be clearly doing something right. Also, I can feel it in the morning - I'm VERY refreshed with loads of energy.

 

However, I tend to procrastinate a bit more than I'm comfortable with (although it's a productive procrastination). Also, I've tried the LLLT technique I posted above http://www.biomedres...y.357194742.pdf for a few days (just a few seconds, up to a minute with 660nm lights) and I've been experiencing serious libido boost accompanied with aggresion and irritability. I can only speculate that my testosterone levels were elevated, but I might try to do the same before some lab tests in the future. 

 

Otherwise, I will finally start with TAG Sync tomorrow and I'll post some excerpts of my QEEG to establish baseline and compare it to the starting QEEG levels.

 

I wrote about much of this in my latest weekly report available here for those interested.

Edited by Candidatus, 09 December 2014 - 08:52 PM.

[Crowstream]

Nice report  , I have also had some sleep issues when doing neurofeedback before going to sleep. I think the HEG focus training especially amps me up too much to go to sleep, sometimes I have woken up in the morning and felt like I have been thinking intensely all night, kind of like my brain has been in high gear doing some hard mental workouts instead of sleeping  .

 

I try to do the training earlier in the day and so far it has helped me with sleep. Interesting point about just doing 2 HEG sessions/week, it is very intense so I think that might be a good idea, I think its kind of like high intensity exercise for the brain  . Neurofeedback in general though I have found I can do every day, some protocols are even relaxing and they just give me more energy.

[VastEmptiness]

Just quickly, as I'm in a rush: I'm very interested in your project and will keep following. While I was wondering about shadow corners of this project, I've gotten the feel that you're stepping back from some set goals in a healthy way (that is leaving enough room for spontanity and social life, which wasn't mentioned at all in the first posts). Will be a pleasure seeing you prosper (The pure physical before/after pictures will be ridiculous. Remembers me of my transformation.)

If your blog has however supported my decision to go on the ketogenic diet (and succeding in do so, the Potassium was a good point!), i owe you deep gratitude. After suffering from strong fatigue every day for many years and having no doctor be able to help me, I feel better now than i can remember on the ketogenic diet. It actually has an effect very similar to 400mg of Modafinil with the difference that I can sleep after a day pushing through on the diet. There's still alot to be done (my sleep is still shit), but this has been one of the biggest breakthroughs for me. (Others milestones in the last years were family therapy, hypnotherapy, meditation and fasting i guess). I guess i experience the change as so drastic, because my fatigue is somehow related to blood sugar issues and because it's probably one of the most instant changes I have experienced.

Anyway, keep it up. I might be able to contribute something when I return from my 2 month journey through Brazil.

[Candidatus]

@Crowstream

 

Yes exactly. The nir-HEG can really put your brain into mental overdrive. Also, I'm able to experience better sessions and perhaps better intensity while doing it only 2x/week than daily or twice daily. But I share the same view on neurofeedback - no problem doing it daily, even for longer stretches. Just like meditation on steroids sometimes 

 

@VastEmptiness

 

Thanks for kind words! I'm happy that ketogenic diet helped you. It is really a miracle for mental clarity, the point with Modafinil is not really off (even though I've not tried Modafinil myself, but can imagine the effects). What worries me a bit is the possible negative relationship between ketogenic diet and sleep quality. Although there are studies saying that ketogenic diet improves sleep (mainly slow wave), I've been experiencing the opposite. May be just a coincidence so I'm going to find out. I've been out of ketosis for the last 3 days and I'm going in for the rest of the week. The sleep was excellent in those 3 days (even better than from the last week's report) but I wasn't feeling that great mentally. 

 

On the occasions when my sleep was great and I was in at least moderate ketosis, the effects on mental clarity were just amazing. (such as in the beginning of the last week).

 

As for the goals, I've indeed stepped back from some of them - web development learning especially. My intention is still to learn the languages, but I've sacrificed web development (for now) and I'm investing the time into more research which will result in more articles, not just progress posts. Hopefully it was a good decision. Also, social life is another important factor of this decision.

 

Wish you great journey through Brazil and looking forward your contributions!

Edited by Candidatus, 10 December 2014 - 08:53 AM.

[Candidatus]

@VastEmptiness

 

Just a food for thought, I'm writing a mini article about my "sleep on keto" experiment and I've found this post on reddit. The OP claims to have suffered from poor sleep quality during his 6 month ketogenic experiment. I recommend reading the comments as well, some of them are very interesting. http://www.reddit.co...d_panel_before/

 

It's a shame I didn't measure my cortisol before starting ketogenic diet.

 

Edited by Candidatus, 11 December 2014 - 06:15 PM.

[Candidatus]

Day #46

 

For the last 3 days, I've been out of ketosis eating about 80g of carbs/day and accidentally, I've experienced the best sleep ever + best coherence score ever + a very good dual-n-back sessions (among the best ever). On the other hand, I've not been feeling the great mental clarity I've been raving about in the beginning of my project.

 

For those interested, the full post is available here.

 

I'll be going back to keto for the next several days to see if it makes any difference.

 

On a separate note, I've not been able to start TAG Sync because DD sent me a broken download link and he didn't respond back yet so I couldn't do anything other than the QEEG analysis which revealed very low Alpha Peak frequency across all the site pairs. Interesting and I'll write about it more in depth in the near future.

[Crowstream]

Too bad about the TAG Sync delay  , I think the TAG Sync customer service is not so great  , compared to say brain trainer...

 

Interesting stuff about the QEEG analysis, I have seen the same thing in my QEEG. I am thinking about adding an alpha peak frequency uptraining to my protocol since I have read that a higher alpha peak frequency can increase intelligence, amongst other things. It does not cost as much as other neurofeedback protocols, I found some for 35$ here: http://www.itallis.c...word=alpha peak

 

It is kind of strange though, I dont feel like my brain is that "slow" in general... usually in brain training games and tests my best scores will be in speed and attention. It would be interesting to see what changing the alpha peak frequency could do  .

 

I am a bit curious though, in general can you see some pattern to the alpha peak frequency distributions? Like having in general faster alpha in the front or the back of the brain? Or is it in general the same speed all over? I am doing some research on this, as well as learning to read the raw EEG, so far it has been really interesting, especially combined with the brain trainer QEEG that I made.

[Crowstream]

I just found that in the brain trainer design package there is a design called ALP1C Alpha Up, which trains up the alpha peak frequency, so I guess I dont need to buy a design after all  . I think I might add this to my routine.

[Candidatus]

#Day 52

 

My weekly report is finally ready and available here.

 

I feel like there has been a very prominent transformation in my mental clarity levels during the last 10 days. 

 

I’ve been feeling so great in the past couple of days that all I want to do is to just sit and enjoy this state. Out of nowhere, my meditation sessions became really, really great. I experience a profound bliss during every session while only a few days ago, I had problems sitting still for the whole 30min period. I can not really compare it to any nootropics - it’s been a while since I’ve taken any reasonable stack (Piracetam, Pramiracetam 9 months ago, Cerebrolysin 2 years ago and some others even earlier) but still, it feels much better than anything I’ve ever experienced. 

 

I started TAG Sync 5 days ago and coincidentally, all of the changes started to accelerate at about this time. I’ve read a lot of people saying that it’s very difficult to experience a good session with the TAG design and that it takes time. Not for me though. It may be due to my experience with TLC7 which I’m still running in parallel with TAG or it might be due to the excellent advices I received from @Crowstream who was so kind to walk me through the right setup. I’m infinitely grateful for that and if he allows, I would like to share some of his tips in this thread.

 

So to put all the things which could potentially influenced this transition to better mental clarity together, in the past 10 days, I have:

 

- been sleeping 8-9 hours on average, while the sleep quality has been excellent according to Withings Aura monitor

- for the last 5 days, I’ve been doing 30-40min of TAGX2 neurofeedback every evening

- for the last 6 days, I’ve been drinking 2 cups of a ketosis promoting drink  (1tbsp cocoa powder + 1 tbsp cocoa butter + 1 tbsp EV coconut oil + 1 tbsp grassfed organic butter + 15ml MCT oil and 12oz of hot water)

- I added 20g of modified potato starch (resistant stretch) to my ketogenic soylent and combining it with Prescript assist and Jarrowdophillus probiotics. (I experienced severe bloating before, but higher probiotic doses taken with the drink solve this problem for me)

- I’ve been doing daily Image Streaming for 15min

 

I think that the importance of those factors are in about this order. Otherwise, not much from my routine changed. Still meditating 2x/day, Coherence training 2x/day, Dual-n-back (15-30min/day), occasional Focus training, regular exercise and I’ve been in and out of ketosis.

 

I find it amazing since there are still so many potentially good things to try such as LLLT, Cerebrolysin, Semax or “primal" segmented sleep. Cannot wait to add them to my regimen. On the other hand, I don’t want to sound hypomanic like some people on huge racetam doses, lol    no hypomania here, just a clean and smooth energy during the whole day.

 

Starting today, I’m going to switch to a targeted ketogenic diet - having high GI carbs after workouts so I’m curious how this works out. 

 

Fast forward 24 hours to Day #53

 

I ate about 300g grams of carbs yesterday evening after my workout. Just ripe bananas and Yasmin white rice. High GI, clean carbs. And boy was it a mistake... I woke up today with a strange feeling in my head, closely resembling hangover. My ketosis cocoa drink didn't help much, I didn't enjoy my meditation or neurofeedback like I normally did in the past few days. Mental clarity was gone. And the sleep was not great either - lots of Deep but only a little bit of REM.

 

It's evening now and things get better. But still not great. Well, I don't want to claim that carbs cause hangovers  but they don't agree with me in moderate/high doses while I'm in ketosis. My goal was to use carb refeeds to better build muscles and try to further improve sleep, but I will most probably give it 1 more chance (with less carbs) and if it doesn't improve, I'll just follow pure ketogenic/low carb diet.

Edited by Candidatus, 18 December 2014 - 07:02 PM.

[platypus]

 

Also, I'm doing very well on my dual-n-back training. I reached 77% dual-9-back today (just 1-2 mistakes from reaching dual-10-back). The progress came naturally in the end of last week. Since then, 9-back feels pretty "effortless" 

That sounds amazing, have you noticed that you have improved working memory capacity in everyday activities too? Increased capacity to memorize phone-numbers for example? In the training do you use a "system" in the memorizing or are you just winging it and letting your brain to come up with the right patterns automatically?

[Major Legend]

I felt mild ketosis on butter and coconut oil /mct oil by itself has pretty big effects, not sure your age - but when you get older just the act of eating a lot of sugar can make you brain fogged. It seems the culmination of everything together has given you these incredible results (the sum of all parts).

Now I am on the brain hardware stuff, one thing people underestimate is the importance of cognitive flexibility, and I feel that hardware stimulation enhances the brain in a very different manner than nootropics and stimulants. It certainly restores "youthfulness", in the way that I flex my mind around work, social and creativity a lot quicker than before - something that If feel I lost after my early 20s. My memory is better in the fact I am always aware of time now, but i'm sure I can't recall the entire lyrics of a song for example still, or remember every note to a piano piece (both things which I would like to have)

 I want to be lazy physically and be as productive as possible - so that means no long gym session, no long meditation sessions, no brain training (yet),  - mainly I just want to use my hours for work and play,but reading your report may change my mind to invest more time into "training"

 

I love taking nettle root extract, its really good for libido and works as a sort of mild test booster, before I was using clomid + anastrole , but I couldn't be bothered with the cost, mild testosterone boost has great effects - I don't get fat from eating junk, I completely pig out over the weekend, my motivation for the other sex is always there, i feel good all the time, I feel pumped out just from doing little exercise. Not sure if there are long term sides, but I think nettle root extract is the safer option since it also discourages hair loss.
 

Sleep seems to be a personal thing, different things work for different people, but I would really like to be able to sleep 3 to 4 hours and be rested, 8 hours just seems tad too long even if I get good quality, however I don't know how - I hope further experimentation with CES will solve this. I also tried melatonin and had no improvement in sleep onset or sleep quality.

Some questions:

- I don't really like this idea of putting a cap on my head - how uncomfortable it is - you don't have to be bald do you? How long do the neurofeedback sessions last? 60min?

 

- What do you do for work? How are you affording all these devices? Is it worth it? It all seems very expensive for me who has to pay overheads in a capital city.

- Do you have any examples of how the training has helped you in day to day life, such as normal grunt things, learning new skills etc

 

- Can you describe what you were like prior to training? any cognitive issues? I worry about brain training because as a person with ADHD, basically I can't focus on one thing for more than 10mins. The idea of neurofeedback training seems to be counterintuitive to a brain that doesn't like using willpower. I also read another blog post about trying HEG training and the guy with ADHD struggled to get anything out of it because he could not summon the willpower to constantly get the graph moving in one way, and he did not improve much over the course of many months, nor did he experience any profound benefits.

Edited by Major Legend, 18 December 2014 - 10:34 PM.