Amino Acid For neurological symptoms

Therapeutic Efforts
#470

Ghee is cheaper and does not turn brown when you fry something in it. It’s just more convenient than butter and also taste better, although this is subjective.

I don’t eat more than 500 gr of meat a day. The rest of the calories, I get from saturated fat: drinking extra virgin coconut oil from the bottle or eating Ghee with a spoon. Proteins and carbs gives you 4 calories per gram. Fat gives you 9. Ketones are far more efficient than carbs also in terms of energy released for the same amount of oxygen absorbed.

About macadamias and almonds, you have to check what you react to: pro-estrogen or pro testosterone nuts. Pfs sufferers fall into one of those two categories.

#471

Day 404 after I crashed, Day 343 of Ketogenic diet, Day 209 of Amino and Day 10 of Ashwagandha and Bacopa for brain regeneration.

Sleep is steadily declining. I can’t wait to have this sleep monitor smart watch to get the exact picture.
Subjectively, I would scale my sleep around 5-6/10 for the last 3 nights, last night being the worst. I’m more intense on the ketogenic diet to compensate but it doesn’t seem to have an effect.

10 days ago I was rating sleep at 9/10.
10 days ago, I started taking Ashwagandha and Bacopa which I both couldn’t tolerate last I tried 6 months ago. Those 2 herbs takes around 2-4 weeks to go into full effect and It’s the only change I made.

It seems I still can’t tolerate one or both of those herbs so I will stop taking Bacopa first. It elevates Dopamine and Serotonin, is excitatory and shouldn’t be taken before sleep. I’ll keep Ashwagandha just a few more days as it is reputed to improve sleep. Ill take a half dose, 250 mg, with hot milk an hour before sleep and stop the morning dose. If sleep doesn't improve or get worst, I'll stop it. If it improves, Ill keep at it and take the morning dose.

I`ll take a break tonight though. No Ashwagandha for 1 day.

Let’s see. If it took 10 days to decline, it may take 10 days to improve.

I’ll post the results.

On another note, I’m now getting body odors while taking Tribulus Terrestris. Before, it was only with Horny Goat Weed. When I take Pine Pollen, I have no body odors but get higher sex drive. The switch happens overnight.

Update: The body odors have been the strongest I’ve had since I crashed.

#472

One more day : Sleep has improved to 6/10. It’s still not great but I’m having close to a normal day.

Doing researches I stumbled across Lipopolysaccharides. It’s a toxic substance causing inflammation and neurological effects. It’s produced by gram negative bacteria which usually represent only 1% of the guts flora but become increasingly present when on high stress or socially isolated (both of which are common with psf sufferers) or when on a high saturated fat diet like the keto diet I’m doing.

You can research the effects of high blood Lipopolysaccharides, I will resume it to : not good.

I think this is why people have seen benefits from taking antibiotics: it may kill the gram negative bacteria that produces Lipopolysaccharides, therefore reducing inflammation and neurological symptoms.
At the very least, It could be assumed that if some benefits are observed, it’s because of alteration to the guts biodome. Otherwise, I can’t see why antibiotics would benefit someone with endocrine imbalances.

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#473

Have you tried probiotics? I cant remember if I saw that in your stack. I take one a few times a week. Maybe 4 or 5 days a week. Take it about 5 hours before eating. I would not take before bed though.

#474

Yes, I was taking some occasionally. I tried to do once a week but really it’s more like twice a month.

I will take some more often, it’s an efficient way of diminishing gram negative bacteria.

#475

Day 407 after I crashed, Day 346 of Ketogenic diet, Day 212 of Amino and no more Ashwagandha and Bacopa for brain regeneration.

Sleep has improved but is still very drug and supplement dependent. Those 3 mg of Clonazepam I’m now on don’t do the job. I have to supplement with 17.5 mg of Hydroxyzine (that’s actually a decrease of 2.5) and some anxiolytic herbs like Valerian, Kava Kava and Silexan (lavender oil). I believe I get 6 hours of deep sleep and I spin around in my bed the rest of the time.

I have stopped Ashwagandha and Bacopa, as well as the 1000 mg of Taurine I was taking before bed time. It helped.

I also went full carnivore 2 days ago, zero carbs, zero plants except for the bulletproof coffee I drink in the morning, which is really great.

Tomorrow will be my 4th day of carnivore diet and I’m going to water fast the next 48 hours. With all this dieting, I actually never fasted. It will be my first fast and I want to make sure I totally carbs free and ketogenic before starting. I will do light cardio and light weight lifting during that period. I will also stop all supplements except what makes me sleep.

Fasting induces the production of new cells, including brain cells. It also destroys (and feed on) cells that are sick or inefficient. It’s like a big clean up. Many people have had success with fasting so it’s my turn to try.

Also, since I will continue on a 99% carnivore diet, I will reduce my supplementation accordingly and post the new regimen under Ozeph Regimen and Supplement

It’s not done yet.

I’ll keep you posted.

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#476

Thank You Ozeph for keeping us informed of your journey. All of your documented experiences will help countless others with their protocols. Good luck to you.

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#477

24 hours into the fast : Everything’s fine.

In theory, I wasn’t going to get an energy drop because I ate only meat and animal fat for 4 days prior to the fast to flush out the carbs. So it’s confirmed, I had no carbs reserves and was already running on ketones.
No fatigue, no drop in sugar level (what sugar ?), energy and focus is consistent. I did some pull ups,some push ups and 40 minutes of fast walk. I drove my big bike downtown and did my work as usual.

I’m taking zero supplements except a little salt (1/2 tsp a day) to maintain electrolytes. I drink water but not profusely so. Maybe 1.5 liter a day max, and that’s it. Water tastes sweet, which is a sign of being in ketosis.

I have no symptoms of pfs showing up. As a matter of fact, I’m feeling rather calm and happy, smooth and kind to people.

I will have to take my sleeping drugs and that’s too bad. But I don’t need a benzo withdrawal on top of the fast.
Sleep was good last night despite further decreasing Hydroxyzine. I’m now at 15mg Hydroxyzine, along with 3 mg of clonazepam, down from 4.5 mg before my flash detox. If Gabapentin did some damage, I don’t see any sign of it. Nonetheless, I won’t take that thing again: it’s a brain killer.

We’ll see if sleep will be affected by the fast. I’m on fight or flight hormones and some people have trouble sleeping during a fast because of that.

If anyone does a fast, I strongly suggest not eating carbs at all 3-4 days prior to the fast. Or better yet, get adapted to a ketogenic / carnivore diet first. Fasting becomes a breeze.

#478

48 hours into the fast : Everything’s fine but damned, I’m hungry. Or rather, I have some stomach burn from being empty. Sleep wasnt good either. Its to be expected.

Last night, I dreamed about eating French pasties. Looks like my subconscious is sending me messages! And not only at night, it does so all day long. I just come back from the supermarket: everything looked amazingly good ! Ha ha ha !

So, I was aiming at a 48 hours fasting, but considering the first 16 hours dont count, thats only 32 hours of benefits. I`ll do another 12 hours and see if I can do 24.

No pfs symptoms aside from troubled sleep, no fatigue, still focused and energetic.

#479

63 hours into the fast : Its morning and Im feeling weak. I woke up almost 3 hours ago, brought my son to school, took a black coffee and I just dont seem to clear my mind. Ill see if it gets better in the next 3 hours and if before noon it didnt, Ill stop the fast at 66 hours. Maybe I`ll push through. 72 hours is a land mark…

It could be that I had 2 bad nights in a row. I usually can handle one, but when they start pilling up I end up being dysfunctional by lack of sleep. I’ve often said that lack of sleep adds a double and just as bad layer to pfs symptoms. For me, lack of sleep means days are lost.

In any case, I didn`t intent to fast more than 72 hours. So tonight I will sleep well.

Update : Well, I manage to do all my work anyway. it’s now been 69 hours. Hunger and stomach pain have disappeared and I got used to the empty stomach. I feel I could do another 24 hours but 72 hours as a first fast seems adequate and in good measure.

The feeling I had this morning would be best described as sleepiness. The same as when I woke up to go pee 20 years ago (before fin). I would feel sleepy, go back to bed and fall straight asleep.
Since I had pfs, I never got back to sleep after getting up. If I have to pee, that’s it for the nigh. I may later feel fatigue, but not sleepiness.
It might be the 2 bad nights of sleep adding up, but I’ll let myself have some wishful thinking, just for the sake of having 8 hours of hope : What if something got fixed and I felt sleepy because I took more sleeping drugs that I now need ? I mean I took the usual ammount, no more, but what if my body needs less now ?

I will test the theory by reducing the sleeping drugs from now on and go back to the usual dose only if really I can’t sleep without it.
If it doesn’t work, well, I’ll have another fucked up night like the past 2 nights. It’s not like I’m not used to that after all that time. But if I’m right, I’ll be avoiding taking more drugs than necessary, avoid building a new tolerance level and set myself on a new, lower level that would let me sleep anyway.

It’s too son to see the results of the fast. But my experience with it so far is that it is some pain and hardship, but in a tolerable measure. I will try again, next month or later as my schedule permits.
For one thing, it saves a lot of time and money, not having to eat. I get at least 2 hours more in my day.

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#480

I did 72 hours once and 50 - 60 hours a couple times. I think anything after 72 hours is a bit dangerous depending on your metabolism. There can be in issue refeeding if you go for extended days of fasting. People have died from refeeding wrong… not from 72 hours but 7-10 days from what I have read. Good luck on all fronts.

#481

Thanks for the advise. I searched the protocol for breaking a fast : lean protein, no more than 3-4 oz, wait one hour before eating reasonably (which I did again with lean protein and ghee). Together, it was less than a normal meal.

#482

72 hour fast, next morning : So I ended the fast with lean protein as described above. 4 oz of free range chicken breast cooked with minimum Ghee and salt, then an hour later 8 oz of the same, cooked in 2 tbs ghee and again 1 1/2 hour later some “oatmeal” made with a little bit of milk, water, 3 tbs of oat meal, 2 tbs of ghee, salt, and just as it’s boiling I turned off the heat and put a beaten free range duck egg in it to thicken the “soup”. Some stevia to sweeten, some vanilla et voila ! I end up with a thick mix that’s between oatmeal and English custard, has around 12 gr. of carbs and more fat and protein than carbs.

According to my reaction to the fast, it seems I had carbs left in my cells. I craved it the first day, even more the second day and not at all the third day. That’s about the time it takes to get rid of all glycogen accumulated. Before the fast, I wasn’t as ketogenic as I though.
I had carbs when I broke the fast yesterday as I felt the saturated fat and protein was not enough. My body was still telling me it needed some carbs. So I will stay on an extremely low carbs diet, around 12-15 gr a day, well below the maximum 20 gr to stay ketogenic.

Another effect : even though I reduced the dose of sleeping drugs I slept like a baby and had a hard time getting up this morning. Normally, it’s hydroxyzine that does that (morning grogginess). I did cut it to 12.5 mg (down from 22.5 mg at my highest), I will cut to 7.5 mg tonight and again to 5 mg. From then, I will cut Clonazepam from 3.0 mg to 2.5 mg. Benzos are a different animal. You can’t cut as you want, it needs to be tapered down by no more than a quarter pill (0.5 mg) per month. It would take me 6 months to tapper down the 3.0 mg I’m on now.

During the fast, I took no aminos, vitamin or minerals (aside from sodium to maintain electrolytes and of course lots of water) and had no pfs symtoms. The only symptom I had was from Hydroxyzine, in the morning of the third day.
I know Hydroxyzine well. I took it for 3 years prior to my crash as I was still taking fin and having increasing insomnia. When I take too much, It’s hard to get up and I stay groggy for many hours afterward.

So I don’t know if it will stay like that, but it seems, at the moment, that I improved sleep and need less sleeping drugs. I’ll know more during the week. Insomnia is my last symptom, and the first one that appeared 5 years ago.
It’s now 9am and I feel fantastic.

I will do another 72 hours fast again if it did indeed improve something.

I’ll keep you posted

#483

I am happy to see some positive results. Why not see if you can maintain this as a new baseline. Don’t fast any more for now, don’t change anything, maybe abstain from herbs and supplements aside from important minerals and vitamins. I look forward to your updates.

#484

Challenge accepted. I will stop taking amino acids and stop most minerals and vitamins.
I will reduce the sleeping pills as well to see how much lower I need and still be able to sleep.
I’ll also stop the herbs and see how my sex drive goes.

I’ll try to keep it plain and simple. With the least supplement possible, while keeping the same low carbs, high healthy fat and protein diet. That will reveal what my baseline is.
I won’t fast until we get a clear status of what that last fast has done (along with the diet)

Then I’ll report the effects.

Today, I’m joyful and calm. I’m very satisfied with the diet / fasting results. I also had sex during the day and it was enjoyable and felt good like it used too.
I have the opposite of anxiety. I just don’t worry about anything that doesn’t necessitate my immediate attention. And when such a thing occurs, I just do it and it’s out of the way.

#485

I can’t remember if it was this thread or another. Have any of you experienced penile curvature? It’s happening to me and am not sure if it’s pfs or the testosterone patches

#486

No I haven’t. It’s one of the symptoms of pfs but I don’t know if it’s one of testosterone patches.

I had no morning erection, no sex drive, anorgasmia, desensitization and my balls have been hurting for 10 months pre-crash and another 10 months post-crash, but I had no apparent physical changes on my body.

After I started the carnivore / ketogenic diet, 2 months after the crash, I had many positive changes on my body: the most impressive being a pre-cancerous growth on my back I had for decades that just peeled off, and black spots all over my face and hand I had for 30 years after a heavy sun burn that just faded away.
I actually look younger than 2 years ago. (and most neurological symptoms went away after a few days in the diet)

But at the current moment, I’m so amazed at the improvement of 72 hours of fasting that if I was to suggest anything to you, it would be biased.

#487

Well, looks like I won’t reduce hydroxyzine below 7.5 mg nor Clonazepam below 3.0 mg. I had quite a bit of trouble sleeping last night.

I’m waiting for Valerian, Lemon Balm and Magnolia. Maybe I can substitute the drugs with some of those.

Meanwhile, I’m staying clear of supplements. No side effects so far aside from trouble sleeping.

#488

No supplements except vitamin D and Magnesium. Not much difference either. No pfs symptoms except insomnia.

I increased hydroxyzine to 10 mg, kept Clonazepam at 3.0 mg and had a 6.5/10 night. If I increased Clonazepam to 3.5 or 4.0, I would have 9-10 nights but its not worth it. First, by not increasing, I leave room for emergencies or in case of increased tolerance in the future. Second, by not increasing and sleeping not as good as I could, I let my body feel theres something wrong and maybe that will trigger it to fix it.

In the afternoon, I took my 3 aminos trio (I called them 3 amigos): 5-HTP 100 mg, Tyrosine 750 mg, L-Dopa 350 mg. I was a bit demotivated and not driven and a new big order came in, at the start of the peak season. I need to be on top of things. I like experimenting, but not at the detriment of my work.
It gave me the drive I needed and a state of joy.

I`m eating ketogenic but with pizzas and brownies in between. No ill effects. I need to gain weight so I will slowly add carbs.

#489

Day 416 after I crashed, Day 354 of Ketogenic diet, Day 221 of Amino Acid experiment.

I take supplements sporadically and irregularly, as needed, and I don’t have trouble with that.
This is not new. A few months ago, before the Collagen Peptide crash (a Glutamate / GABA imbalance), I could also drop the supplements with no effects. I will create a new Regimen list with mandatory and optional supplements, considering the stage I’m at now. There is no doubt I’m better than 10 Months ago.

The fasting have stabilized my body further more. I can sleep better, eat carbs if I want to, or not if I don’t, and either way I’ll be fine. I must say eating carbs seems to make me tired 1-2 hours later. I will test if it improves my sleep or doesn’t.

I’m still carnivore / ketogenic by default and I don’t go out of my way to eat carbs. I also exercise.

I believe I will keep improving slowly until insomnia goes away, but let’s see.