Neuroactive steroids and neurosteroidogenesis

General Discussion
#13

From what I’ve skimmed, that study was talking about fluoxetine inhibiting the reverse oxidative reaction of allo back to 5a-DHP, leading to more allo in the brain, but only for female rats for some reason.

When I tried microdose prozac, it didn’t help my insomnia but made me feel calm, warm, and fuzzy. Like taking a hit of morphine.

For the sake of my own life, I really need a safe way to help me sleep through the night again. I am really on thin ice. Even 4-5 hours at a time would be a blessing. People have tried the TSPO ligand etifoxine for neurosteroidogenesis to not much fanfare but its toxic side effects are terrifying. The only other drug like etifoxine with TSPO binding affinity was alpidem and it was removed from the market due to severe liver damage.

Glycine at 3g before bedtime makes my insomnia even worse. Doubt upping it to 6g would make it better.

At the moment I’m trying gelsemium at 20ch homeopathic dose i.e. sugar pills and not enough strychnine-related alkaloids that supposedly raises neurosteroids.

I wonder how safe it is to take 3a-DHP. At the end of the day as it’s been retreaded constantly, isn’t it about how to get our AR back online in order for normal production of 3a-HSD in homeostasis?

#14

I primarily suffering from a mental side of PFS: anxiety, panic attacks. My psychatrist prescribed me a SSRI (paroxetin). I can assure you it gave me a good relief from my symptoms (along with side effects of SSRI). So I really believe in the theory that SSRI can increase neurosteroid levels.

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#15

Have you tried tryptophan. It knocks me out like nothing else.

#16

The insomnia is my worst side. I am struggling to stay asleep for even close to two hours. Can’t even go back to sleep afterwards. How much tryptophan should I take?

#17

I remember that my fist side effect was sleep problem, maybe fixing this problem, will fix the rest of the problems
I found in a study that say:
Sleep disturbances such as insomnia increase risk for psychiatric disorders
and for sure psychiatric disorders probably are going to kill you dick and libido.
But the solution is not sleeping pills, the solution is to find what is killing our sleep.

One of the studies say that was found lack of neurogenesis on PSF ( of course neurogenesis need own body stem cell to differentiate to neurons)
Now this other study say
Stem cells need time to sleep

#18

No kidding. Insomnia will shut you down completely and systematically and give you heart disease and cancer. I am literally feeling suicidal right now. I don’t want to end up like the other users here. I am desperate to pull the trigger on mirtazapine but I’m really scared of it provoking PSSD and/or PLMD/sleep myoclonus to get triple Mercked.

#19

Mercked calm down Brother, we are going to get out of this at some point, while still life there is hope.
hang in there.

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#20

Steroids, stress and the gut microbiome-brain axis

Moreover, immune responses to pathogenic bacteria produce cytokines and lymphokines that can affect brain physiology.15 Because the nervous system is a master regulator of host function, this allows microbes to influence a broad range of complex physiological processes. An improved mechanistic understanding of how bacterial molecules act on the nervous system could yield improved therapeutics for treating behavioural and neurological disorders.16

Although gonadal steroids can alter the gut microbiota, it appears that, in turn, the gut microbiome can influence hormone levels.34 In postmenopausal women, gut microbiota diversity was positively associated with the ratio of oestrogen metabolites.

Note: Alterations of gut microbiome composition was found in the PFS Italy study.

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#21

I stopped taking VSL and feel worse. My bowel movements are so loose and unhealthy. Our guts play such a bigger role in this and our general health than people realize.

I’ve also had nasty insomnia. Feel like I’m never really sleeping

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#22

Ethanol Enhances Neurosteroidogenesis in Hippocampal Pyramidal Neurons by Paradoxical NMDA Receptor Activation

I wonder how many of us still drinking alcohol ? Because I am not.

#23

Its effect on neurosteroidogenesis is probably due to gaba-b agonism, same as baclofen and GHB which I’d really like to try. Look up ethanol’s antiandrogenic effects on brain receptors though. I believe a bunch of people here have crashed following a booze bender.

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#24

Maybe the small percentage of people that develop PFS are those who stop drinking, and those that continue somehow their brains readapted and continue producing neurosteroids.

#25

I developed pfs in college and I was drinking most weekends and some week nights

#26

But did you stop drinking ?

#27

Hah. Let’s drink to recovery! In all seriousness, a short term (few hours typically) recovery after a long night of drinking is a common theme among PFS, PSSD, and PAS patients.

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#28

Is this drug safe?

#29

I didn’t stop before or during my crash

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#30
#31

Pretty sure alcohol is GABA A. Not B. But I could be wrong. If you google GABA B agonist you will only find Phenebut, GHB, Gabapentin (sort of) , and its cousins baclofen and one other which escapes me. I think Ethanol is its own GABA A receptor. Seperate from the Benzo receptors. Thats why they use Benzos to wean people off of alcohol withdrawal. Different receptor. ( Once again… “I think” LOL)

#32

As for drinking… I quit for 6 months right after my initial crash. Then I started drinking again… during the periods of drinking my head pressure and dizzyness almost completely resolved. Sleep seems to have improved a little bit. Muscle twitches improved moderately (almost none at this point and when they do happen they are very weak almost unnoticeable) Not sure if its related at all. Other things got worse… vision. I also notice that I can literally feel my T start to tank if I drink 3 days in a row. especially with beer which is estronogenic . I can feel weakness in my legs by my knees. Vision gets moderately worse but temporarily. Stop drinking, fast for 36 hours, eat meats and do heavy legs and everything seems to improve back to baseline.