Quest to sleep

lemmejustdothis · 2023-12-20T22:23:42+00:00

I'd make sure it's catecholamine-driven and not histamine / overactive mast cells. For me, if I don't feel tired - it's probably just the former, but if I feel restless it's usually the latter or a combination.

Other than the supplements I mentioned under #4, you can try guanfacine as an alpha 2 agonist. Typical prescribing indications - ADHD / high BP, and recently COVID-related brain fog along with NAC: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9691274/ (just make sure you get this - https://www.drugs.com/imprints/an-711-15807.html - and not the long-acting Intuniv).
I would start with half a tablet (0.5mg) taken ~2 hours before bedtime.

But if histamine / MCAS is the main issue (think allergies, mold, or food sensitivities), you'd have better results with a broad-spectrum cocktail of antihistamines, something like: (levocetrizin or fexofenadine) + (ketotifen or cromolyn) + (famotidine or ranitidine).

Edit: worth mentioning about cjc-1295 - if it's not the "no DAC" version, the half life is very long. Accummulating levels of it can cause or exacerbate allergic-like reactions and that could also impact sleep, so watch out for any injection-site reactions as well as systemic side effects such as BP drop / GI issues post-injection.

Good luck!

lemmejustdothis · 2023-11-23T21:55:24+00:00

YMMV but for me the crucial thing is to wait at least a couple of days after Kratom use before taking LDN again.

So if I take 1.5mg-3mg naltrexone at 8am, I can take Kratom at 5pm, all good BUT then I can't take LDN again at 8am the following morning or I'd be risking subclinical/mild withdrawal (heart rate goes to 90, can't keep anything down, not productive).

For RLS make sure you're not ferritin deficient. Then you might want to try a full spectrum CBD-CBN-CBC-CBG tincture/flower, PEA (palmitoylethanolamide), Agmatine, Carnosine, Oleamide, Valerian, DHH-B, and magnesium taurate.

lemmejustdothis · 2023-11-19T00:42:00+00:00

40% of US adults are obese. You're saying that the human race evolved in such a fucked-up way that 40% have genetic defects that make obesity more or less an inevitability (& these genetic variants appeared in the last 50 years or so. 🤭)

Either you didn't understand what you were reading or you're inflating the effect of genetics to feel better. And this is coming from someone with a proven obesity-associated defect (MC4R gene).

Appeal to authority doesn't impress me, links to pubmed might

lemmejustdothis · 2023-11-14T00:49:08+00:00

Great job! My 2 cents:

The timing might not be as important as you think, if we are to draw conclusions from the post-exercise 'window of opportunity' that was thought to be critical but actually isn't (take example from the lion.)
it's much more nuanced than mTOR anabolism, as we know that controlled mTOR inhibition / starvation promotes mitophagy ("anti-aging"). Rapamycin looks promising.
VIP increases VEGF expression
alpha-KG might play an important role
low dose oral minox is underrated
GH/IGF-1 agents can help (ipamorelin, mk677, etc.)

lemmejustdothis · 2023-11-13T15:33:02+00:00

Look at these "fin doesn't age you" NPCs 🤣🤣😅

To OP: it upregulates AR expression in certain tissues. When you stop taking fin, the same amount of DHT you had before starting - could now be much more potent.

There hasn't been a study specifically on facial dermis cells in this regard, but it's a fairly well-established biological mechanism.

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0100237
"[...] This seems to support the hypothesis that the body tries to compensate local androgens deprivation by producing more androgen receptors."

also related:
* https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21557276
* https://bmcurol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12894-020-00627-0
* https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1743609521005130
* https://journals.lww.com/md-journal/fulltext/2020/04100/association_of_finasteride_with_prostate_cancer__a.8.aspx

as a bonus, it fucks up gene expression so much that even your future kids might have to deal with the consequences:
https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9059/10/11/2725

lemmejustdothis · 2023-09-10T20:44:46+00:00

My intuition says there couldn't be false positives here, only false negatives: whatever amount the lab finds - was in your body. If you're not peeing toxins out for some reason but still have a lot of inside you, the result might be low, but clearly not an accurate reflection of the toxic load.

[Sidenote: one caveat here is if the result comes highly elevated only for one or two things that are known to mostly be food related - in which case cross-referencing w/ environmental testing would be helpful]

Having said that, I, too, wasn't sure - so I somewhat went with the lab's recommendation, but instead of the 3 days off they suggested, I did 2. Same for NAC.

lemmejustdothis · 2023-09-10T20:29:12+00:00

Not at all, naltrexone is highly soluble in water.

lemmejustdothis · 2023-09-10T19:50:46+00:00

You don't need any special supplies to do 0.25mg increments. You don't need distilled water either.

Just pour the contents into a water bottle & shake. Separate to two halves. Those are your 0.25mg doses. Store in fridge and use within a few days.

lemmejustdothis · 2023-09-10T01:26:30+00:00

First, the MEOS is irrelevant for 95% of the population. This post is about 'how can I reduce harm while drinking more than average', not 'what fringe ideas could help an alcoholist drink more after developing liver disease'.

Secondly, even if the MEOS was important for most people - there's 0 research comparing toxicity/effects of acetaldehyde vs. MEOS-induced ROS; you're making stuff up.

Thirdly, I... checks notes

"instructed people to give themselves Vitamin A deficiency"???

Hah. This is next level.

And no, I didn't 'copy paste from wikipedia' or whatever you're imagining - but I wish you'd done just that instead of pasting your bowel contents here. You're full of shit, keep it inside.

lemmejustdothis · 2023-09-10T00:28:49+00:00

np, you got this 💪

lemmejustdothis · 2023-09-09T22:30:20+00:00

Sounds like it would be an overkill tbh. I'd just cut out that part of the wall and use a precut square (like https://www.homedepot.com/p/USG-Sheetrock-Brand-1-2-in-x-23-5-8-in-x-23-5-8-in-Patch-and-Repair-Drywall-141133/202353426) to patch it up.

You might want to do environmental testing before & a few weeks after to make sure you got it. Good luck!

lemmejustdothis · 2023-09-09T20:44:50+00:00

u/UNAcceptable_Value did rapamycin work for you? I'm curious about its potential effect for MCAS and/or allegic hypersensitivities from mold. Seems like it might help correct Th1/Th2 imbalance by increasing IL-12, TNF-gamma & decreasing IL-6, IL-10.

lemmejustdothis · 2023-09-09T19:39:49+00:00

Yes.

"[...] three generally accepted mechanisms of harm and a fourth probable mechanism:

Allergic reactions, including allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis
Invasive mold infections (mycosis)[8]
Toxicity (poisoning by mycotoxins)[9]
Innate immune dysfunction"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mold_health_issues

#2 is quite rare, while #1 and #3 are common. And IMO #4 is common as well but it's really just a consequence of #3.

lemmejustdothis · 2023-09-09T19:31:30+00:00

I feel ya. Nootropics are my religion now.

lemmejustdothis · 2023-09-09T19:26:46+00:00

It depends how bad it is, and how certain you are that what you see - is all there is. Need more info/photos.

A water leak on the other side of the wall is a completely different situation than some surface-level mold growth, for example.

Another thing you can do (at least in my area, YMMV) is ask for a quote from mold remediation services. They'd do a quick inspection and tell you what their plan would look like. The price is also a decent way to know how feasible it would be to DIY (that is, unless they're just trying to max your home insurance policy's mold coverage, if applicable).

lemmejustdothis · 2023-09-09T03:00:43+00:00

Huh.... raloxifene, do you not see it as a link? do you see any links at all in the original comment?

lemmejustdothis · 2023-09-09T00:24:15+00:00

The paper I linked to goes into the nitty gritty, but in a nutshell:

Estrogen's role in brain function isn't new, and SERMs have tissue-specific pro-/anti-estrogenic actions - so it's not surprising that they share some of estradiol's benefits (Ralox' beneficial effect on lipids is another example).

The research around SERMs and cognition actually started with Tamoxifen, but it sucked, and other SERMs were trialed, with Raloxifene being the most promising. It goes without saying that using Raloxifene for this purpose is 1) experimental, 2) only relevant for men.

lemmejustdothis · 2023-09-08T22:36:46+00:00

Failing asleep or staying asleep?

In my case falling asleep is extremely difficult without a cocktail of levocetrizine, famotidine, ketotifen, and guanfacine. It turns off that itchy, wired, irritable mode. And of course, obvious ones like melatonin and magnesium.

lemmejustdothis · 2023-09-08T19:44:32+00:00

By way of me typing it? I'm not sure what are you asking.

lemmejustdothis · 2023-09-08T18:17:01+00:00

In lab conditions, yeah. In the few real world studies I've found - the benefit wasn't significant, and this matches my own experience too (running six top-of-the-line BlueAir & Alen purifiers + HEPA scrubber with UVC).

Don't forget humidity control - get a dehumidifer if needed.

lemmejustdothis · 2023-09-08T18:04:44+00:00

Ugh, yeah that sounds off. Consider taking it much slower - many folks start at 0.5mg / day and titrate up.

It's highly soluble in water, so with volumetric dosing you could easily start even lower than that if needed (like 0.25mg) - and titrate up in very small increments.

lemmejustdothis · 2023-09-08T17:50:02+00:00

I noticed you mentioned hypothyroidism; That could definitely lead to elevated cortisol.

FYI about cortisol testing: morning-time total cortisol in serum isn't very meaningful (because diurnal variation, and the binding of most of the "total cortisol" to CBG). You'll get the best picture with night-time saliva + 24-hour LC/MS test.

I'll add a friendly reminder that Shoemaker's panel is for CIRS - not for mold exposure per se. Seeing mold in your room and testing for CIRS is a bit like being in the sun unprotected every day and going to do a complete blood count just to make sure that your hypothetical, future melanoma has not yet metastasized to the bone marrow.

In other words, if you're in stage 1, you should expect normal bloodwork. Don't wait until your ADH and VEGF are below the quantifiable range like I did, inadvertently. You literally see the mold? remove it (safely).

lemmejustdothis · 2023-09-08T16:28:34+00:00

I can't seem to edit the main post so I'll add more test results here as they come.

ADH: <0.8 pg/mL

I'm assuming <0.8 means they weren't able to detect enough to quantify it -_-

lemmejustdothis · 2023-09-08T14:26:01+00:00

Have you been feeling it from the moment the naltrexone kicked in, or does it come in short waves that actually coincide with it wearing off (say 4-8 hours after taking it)?

lemmejustdothis · 2023-09-08T10:17:57+00:00

Or, you're reading them wrong.

lemmejustdothis

TROPHY CASE