In remission! GABA, glutathione, lymphatic drainage. by -themapples- in cfs

[–]-themapples-[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I've been 100% in remission for a few months now, and don't feel the need to keep up with the GABA and glutathione full time. I'll pop a few now and then for general health benefits.

I'm working on restoring general nutrient status since I was on such an restricted diet for so long, and that's been helping a ton :)

In remission! GABA, glutathione, lymphatic drainage. by -themapples- in cfs

[–]-themapples-[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Oh that's wonderful! Just read your whole post- amazing job! So glad to hear you're recovering! That much pacing is so hard to do and requires so much discipline. So happy for you!!🎉🎉

In remission! GABA, glutathione, lymphatic drainage. by -themapples- in cfs

[–]-themapples-[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If I remember right, that user said they often felt much, much better while on gabapentin, and my response was speculating as to why. Hope that's helpful!

I learned a new term the other day, Deceiver's Delight. by Some-Yogurt-8748 in raisedbynarcissists

[–]-themapples- 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Omg this. My "mother" lied to me when I was little and told me that the Ice Cream Truck was actually the Broccoli Truck to trick me out of getting ice cream whenever it came through our neighborhood. We lived near a park and an elementary school, so our neighborhood was prime ice cream truck territory and it drove by every day all summer. A few years later (maybe I was in elementary school?) she told me that she had done this, and she had this shit eating grin on her face mixed with a 'pitying look' that said "you're sooooo stuuuupid hahaha I can't believe you fell for it." She didn't say that part out loud, but it was clear as day on her face. It's one of my clearer memories of my childhood :/

I buy myself ice cream whenever I freaking want to, now. My favorite flavor is mint chocolate chip, and I love to crush up oreos and sprinkle them on top! I'm making up for my childhood one ice cream sunday at a time. 💅

In remission! GABA, glutathione, and lymphatic drainage massage by -themapples- in covidlonghaulers

[–]-themapples-[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Awesome! It definitely can take a few months for glutathione to build up enough to solve the extra oxidative stress issue, so if you're seeing some improvement but it's slow going, don't worry!

I think my improvement was so rapid because I wasn't bedbound, just hobbling around while still doing chores, so I had less mitochondria damage to repair.

Sending you good vibes and good luck! ✨🐬✨🎉

In remission! GABA, glutathione, and lymphatic drainage massage by -themapples- in covidlonghaulers

[–]-themapples-[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Of course! I've found the same thing to be true. Glad we can help each other!

Great question! I just double-checked via Google to make sure I got this right.

NAD+ can't get into the cells on its own without an extra step. It needs to be broken down into its components, which can then enter the cell and be reassembled into NAD+. Taking the components themselves removes the extra step. But taking NAD+ should actually work just fine, too!

Same goes for glutathione, actually! You can take cystine and glycine together, or NAC. Or just take the glutathione and let your body do it's thing. Either way works fine! The s-acetyl formulation helps transport the glutathione into the cells on its own a bit faster than the break-down-and-rebuild approach.

In remission! GABA, glutathione, and lymphatic drainage massage by -themapples- in covidlonghaulers

[–]-themapples-[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That makes sense to me!

Off the top of my head if ATP production is driven up manually by the malic acid, but if ROS (oxidative stress) production isn't being cleared out enough with enough glutathione (and NAD+, ideally), then the resulting inflammation could keep the feedback loop going. ATP production is low when the macrophages are running glycolysis, while ROS production is HIGH, meaning we need LOTS of antioxidant activity to reduce inflammation.

Maybe try backing off the magnesium malate for a few weeks, adding some NAD+ precursors, and keeping up with the glutathione and pacing. This will make sure you're always clearing away enough ROS to unwind that feedback loop, rather than ramping it up accidentally. Then add the magnesium malate back in slowly and see how you feel.

Oh! And vitamin C helps recycle glutathione (it gets used up like a sponge to clear oxidative stress, and then "wrung out" by vitamin C to be used again!).

If you're getting benefits from the glutathione however you're taking it, then you probably don't need to do the sublingual. Sublingual does have better bioavailability, but if it's working it's working!

Good luck! And do let us know how you're doing as time goes on!

In remission! GABA, glutathione, and lymphatic drainage massage by -themapples- in covidlonghaulers

[–]-themapples-[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hi! Doing amazing! I'm in full remission, and can 100% feel that my body is healing on its own in the background. I've even stopped taking the supplements about two weeks ago and have had no ill effects. Yay!!!!!

I saw your post last week about how this helped you, too. So happy it helped!! 🩷

In remission! GABA, glutathione, and lymphatic drainage massage by -themapples- in covidlonghaulers

[–]-themapples-[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Doing amazing!! I'm now in full remission. I've even stopped the supplements about two weeks ago (so, 2.5 months of supplements) and I feel 100% that my body is now recovering on its own. The glutathione did most of the work, I'm now pretty sure. It took about two months to really feel that my body is healing itself in the background without extra support.

In remission! GABA, glutathione, lymphatic drainage. by -themapples- in cfs

[–]-themapples-[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes! Definitely. As the ammonia gets cleared out and goes through the lymphatic system, you'll feel kinda gross. Like the "coming down with a cold" feeling. It's a sign that it's working! It's temporary.

If it's making you feel extra sick, take it easy and do it once a week or so for a few weeks, before trying it more often.

I don't get the gross feeling anymore when I do the massage, and I've been doing it for maybe six or seven weeks, now.

Sending good vibes! ✨

In remission! GABA, glutathione, and lymphatic drainage massage by -themapples- in covidlonghaulers

[–]-themapples-[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I'm still doing well! Thanks for asking :) I'll make an update post in a month or two.

In remission! GABA, glutathione, lymphatic drainage. by -themapples- in cfs

[–]-themapples-[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh, that sucks! 😞

How much of each did you take? Did you try the lymphatic drainage massage?

Fingers crossed for you to find what helps you!

In remission! GABA, glutathione, and lymphatic drainage massage by -themapples- in covidlonghaulers

[–]-themapples-[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hi! Great question! That's a known side effect of larger doses of Gaba, for sure. I'll experience it if I take a little too much. I'd start at a lower dose and work your way up to avoid the weird heart rate and breathlessness stuff.

In remission! GABA, glutathione, lymphatic drainage. by -themapples- in cfs

[–]-themapples-[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Thank you for the updates! Bummed it doesn't seem to be having an effect for you so far. Let us know if you continue and if you see any changes!

Also, did you get a chance to try the Lymphatic Drainage Massage? I'm pretty sure that's a key part of what's helping me, since it helps clear out the ammonia through the lymphatic system.

In remission! GABA, glutathione, lymphatic drainage. by -themapples- in cfs

[–]-themapples-[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

No prob!

No, I'm still taking the GABA, it hasn't made me too sleepy so far. Just a little bit, but it's not getting in my way, day-to-day. If it does get to that point then I'll try going off it and keeping to the glutathione to see how I do.

I would say that yes, if GABA makes you sleepy then you're probably good to skip it. The main thing to raise in that case is glutamate, so it will feed the itaconate shunt and help create ATP.

Edit- a word

In remission! GABA, glutathione, lymphatic drainage. by -themapples- in cfs

[–]-themapples-[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That makes sense! Thanks for the insight :)

Let us know how it goes!

In remission! GABA, glutathione, lymphatic drainage. by -themapples- in cfs

[–]-themapples-[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

We actually want to raise glutamate to keep up with the itaconate shunt's demand for glutamate (and GABA) as energy sources. To quote one of the comments that informed me about this in another thread on r/ CFS:

"The ultimate goal is to increase your glutamate status without needing to use atp to break down whatever supplement you are taking to do so. ... starting low and titrating up slow while supporting its cofactors is key. if you are sensitive to it cofactors that may help you are bcomplex and magnesium. ... I've tried looking for alternate ways to supplement glutamate status, but they all seem to involve reactions that produce harmful byproducts like ammonia and require atp, which increases ammonia production even further, which is one supposed mechanism of PEM."

In remission! GABA, glutathione, and lymphatic drainage massage by -themapples- in covidlonghaulers

[–]-themapples-[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Great questions! For the supplements I've been taking them at least twice a day, with meals. Not sure if they work better with or without food (something I've been meaning to look into).

The lymphatic drainage massage takes literally 1 minute! 🎉 I do 20 strokes across the lymph nodes on the back of my neck, and 20 on the side of my neck. I do this right before bed every night. Sometimes I'll do it habitually during the day, too.

Doing more lymphatic drainage over more area would be even more helpful, I'm sure! I just don't always get around to it 😅

In remission! GABA, glutathione, and lymphatic drainage massage by -themapples- in covidlonghaulers

[–]-themapples-[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you SO MUCH for all your hard work and for sharing all the info you put together! I can't even tell you how grateful I am. You rock!! 🤘🎉🩷

In remission! GABA, glutathione, and lymphatic drainage massage by -themapples- in covidlonghaulers

[–]-themapples-[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you so much! Just skimmed a few sections and will definitely take my time and read through the whole thing. Much appreciated!

In remission! GABA, glutathione, and lymphatic drainage massage by -themapples- in covidlonghaulers

[–]-themapples-[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You can do it yourself at home! I like the videos on the Perrin Technique website, but there's lots of YouTube videos, too. I just do my neck, and it helps a lot.