BigPapaChakra

Hmm, not sure - I kinda just took a glimpse at the site and put it in an evernote document. I'm going to contact them - I contacted the one discussed by Yadayada and others on longecity, but they neglected to get back to me (though I'll give them some time since I emailed them on a Friday). If Indofine ends up being legit, that's a option too.

Sounds good, I should be receiving my results soon as I sent out my sample Friday evening. I'll then put it on GeneticGenie and Prometheus and PM you.

"Looking to the future, new therapeutic approaches are needed, as well as better evidence for the effectiveness or otherwise of existing treatments. Improved ways of measuring hallucinations will make it easier to track treatment response, while better understandings of the mechanisms which underlie hallucinations may open up new treatment avenues. In this regard, neuroimaging, neurophysiological and neuropathological/neurochemical studies have begun to provide powerful insights in the etiology of visual hallucinations [67–71]. For example, postmortem and neuroimaging studies in LBD patients have found that alterations in both nicotinic and muscarinic receptors are associated with visual hallucinations [45,71]. New pharmacological agents that target these receptor systems may therefore be useful future treatments. The serotoninergic system may also be a viable target; serotoninergic receptor dysfunction has been reported in Lewy body diseases [72,73] and it is well-established that activation of this system occurs with, for example, hallucinogens such as lysergic acid diethylamide. Agents that influence this system have been tried in PD-associated psychosis and include ondasetron (a 5-HT3 antagonist) [74] and pimavanserin (selective 5-HT2A receptor inverse agonist) [75], both of which have been reported to possibly improve visual hallucinations. However, the ondasetron study was only reported in a small cohort and positive effects were not observed in a subsequent study [76], similarly the beneficial effect of pimavanserin was not observed in a subsequent larger Phase III trial. Other compounds may ameliorate visual hallucinations in LBD; a case report suggested ramelteon (selective MT1/MT2 melatonin receptor agonist) [77] was of benefit in two LBD patients and an open-label study found that yokukansan, a traditional Japanese medicine, reduced the occurrence of neuropsychiatric symptoms, including visual hallucinations in dementia with Lewy bodies patients [78]. Further work is needed to validate these findings." Found in a paper in the journal of Future Neurology. I know for the most part HPPD visuals aren't considered hallucinations (in the traditional sense), but perhaps our visuals (which are I suppose "psuedohallucinations) can still be treated with these or similar compounds. I've heard other good things about ondasetron - many people who follow Dr. Peat have used it, and Steve Fowkes and others have written about it in their books and blogs about smart drugs.

Yeah organic red palm oil. Interestingly, I found some papers that, although the researchers didn't state this, made red palm olein look better. Within 2 days (this will be my third day using it) my skin and hair was already 'softer' and the minor acne I get if I eat a tonnn of cheese at once was already receding. Furthermore, I just felt a bit more clear headed. I haven't been using a lot nor have I been using it for long, so I'm pretty interested in seeing how it makes me feel over the course of, say, 30 days. Also trying to increase my MCT consumption. The other week I was consuming like 3tbsp of caprylic acid/day along with the occasional coconut oil and feeling pretty awesome. I still have some left over AND just received a gallon of coconut oil and a gallon of MCT oil. My goal is to get around 2-4tbsp/day of mct oil, along with as many tbsp's of coconut oil as I can, along with 1 or so tbsp's of palm oil. Next food based products up are potato starch, plantain starch, and plantain peels (in a smoothie?).

This site seems interesting, too. They have NSI-189 and GLYX.

Interestingly, I just received my 23andMe kit yesterday, and today will be mailing it off. I plan on uploading it to both GeneticGenie and Prometheus. The only thing is, I'm completely swamped with different studies, especially since I started taking some extra chemistry course and trying to self-teach higher levels of math, so, I'm not certain I'll have the time to even dig into the literature and figure out what everything means. I believe Prometheus does that for you, but it doesn't necessarily tell you how to address the problem.

I recommend z-health and/or the interactive metronome for HPPD and MDD. Z-health has some of the vestibular training that some with MDD have had success with, yet it also has literally thousands of exercises for the tempo-parietal areas and others, let alone the eyes, sensory gating, etc. The interactive metronome is similar, though using technology and games and is even being used now to treat traumatic brain injury, Autism, ALS, and a lot of other things (even improving working memory and behavior). Although I suspect all my problems are HPPD related, I do have proprioception issues, and have no clue if it's due to dissociation, or something else. This is especially true when I get on an elevator or do some physical activity in which I'm switching directions frequently (for instance, jiu jitsu); sometimes when I get on an elevator then it stops, I get this falling sensation that persists for minutes, or sometimes, dozens of minutes, and can get quite severe (making it difficult to walk and making me extremely anxious).

There are food based sources of serotonin, too; I may experiment with this (though I don't want too much serotonin, either): Phytoserotonin A review It also appears that tocotrienols, the unsaturated isoforms of vitamin E, protect against glutamate-induced neuronal damage: Molecular Basis of Vitamin E Action TOCOTRIENOL MODULATES 12-LIPOXYGENASE, A KEY MEDIATOR OF GLUTAMATE-INDUCED NEURODEGENERATIONCharacterization of the potent neuroprotective properties of the natural vitamin E α-tocotrienol Nanomolar vitamin E α-tocotrienol inhibits glutamate-induced activation of phospholipase A2 and causes neuroprotection Vitamin E sensitive genes in the developing rat fetal brain: a high-density oligonucleotide microarray analysis This is interesting, because I just added some organic red palm oil to my diet and have already noticed some decent effects with a low dose.

The buspirone+melatonin study showed some beneficial results, as I'm sure you're aware of. I've been thinking of trialing that myself for 6 or so weeks. I've come across an extensive list of reliable online pharmacies though have yet to use any of them. Definitely look into the OCT2 protocol, though. There is a list of practitioners trained in the protocol, too. I recently contacted one, but currently need the funds for other testing. I also called the man who is continuing the research on OCT2 and told him about HPPD and the co-morbid disorders. Hopefully he gets back to me. Oh, and as I was typing this I literally just remembered Dr. Fuad Lechin and his seemingly efficacious neuropharmacological treatments for even non-neuro-psychiatric disorders.

Thanks for posting this! I'm got some anxiety about testing this out, but at the same time I want to buy some before something happens to this vendor and my chance i gone, lol. It seems as though I can't do NSI because the provider in the second group buy decided to not get back to me after conversing for a long time, so this is another option.

Look into the OCT2 protocol I posted about. Outside of Theta-Alpha-Gamma Synchrony neurofeedback, that's what I'm really looking into as of now. I believe it has tremendous potential to help us HPPDer's, along with anyone suffering from PTSD, major depression, etc. Thanks for the update, though! I believe our experiences are much needed to help each other. If you don't mind me asking, what are your plans now?

Thank you

Yeah, I agree. Personally, this makes me want to optimize my hormone levels and experiment with progesterone as I know a couple males who are using it with great effects. I'm interested in selank, too. What other ones would you be speaking of (truthfully, I've been looking into so many different things, anxiolytic compounds have fallen off my radar)? That'd be cool if you asked around. I'd love to get in on/help out a group buy for one of these compounds. Personally, emapunil seems best out of the ones I've currently looked into, but I'm sure there are others. To me, if I could completely or even mostly abate panic attacks and anxiety alone, I think that would lead to a rather positive feedback loop on my other symptoms (though this would hold true if I got rid of DP/DR, too).

Found via the above: Food and Nutrients in Disease Management (chapter 29, in particular, authored by Marty Hinz, MD):

Hey guys, I just wanted to post this real quick. Truthfully, I haven't had the time to dig extremely deep into this, but the website alone is beyond in depth with TONS of references, links, etc. and describes the protocol(s). Essentially, the protocol is to use amino acids AND their co-factors and building blocks to completely and simultaneously restore the concentrations of serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine, and epinephrine. They also discuss why using things such as l-tryptophan/l-tyrosine won't work. I'm telling you, take a look into this - I will have to increase my knowledge in psychopharmacology and neurobiology exponentially to really grasp everything (though they lay it out quite well). Mastery of the most powerful and far reaching transporter system in the human body Based on the research of Marty Hinz, MD I just contacted almost every practitioner in my state that is trained in this protocol, and also just emailed and called Dr. Alvin Stein describing my issues and those of other HPPDer's. Here is a lil excerpt, and why using the traditional individual amino's won't work:

Recently learned about Ganaxolone from a post on facebook. It appears to be a synthetic neurosteroid similar to allopregnanolone, a neurosteroid that is largely increased by another interesting compound, emapunil (along with pregnenolone supplementation, adequate cholesterol ingestion, etc). It appears to be rather safe AND efficacious. It is anti-epileptic, anxiolytic, etc. Two human studies (full studies anyone?): Initial human experience with ganaxolone, a neuroactive steroid with antiepileptic activity. Clinical Evaluation of Ganaxolone in Pediatric and Adolescent Patients with Refractory Epilepsy Here is an overview of some Ganaxolone research, though again, I don't have access to the full text: "ganaxolone may have additional therapeutic potential in alcohol and cocaine withdrawal seizures, as well as in the treatment of anxiety and other mood disorders." An ongoing study for treating PTSD: Ganaxolone in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) **Edit: just searched and saw there was a post about Ganaxolone here in 2011, but I believe that was before many studies were conducted on its safety and efficacy. Just wondering, why has there not been an HPPD group buy on any of these novel anxiolytic/anti-convulsant/anti-psychotic compounds?

Truthfully, I'd love that. Yet I wouldn't want to trouble you with sending me all of that, haha. Thanks for the recommendations. I may look into those as I believe I've seen you speak about D-Serine before, and the information intrigued me, as did that on sarcosine.

Currently reading the glutamate paper - really fascinating read. One thing resonates with me: "Glycine is an ‘obligate co-agonist’ for glutamate, i.e. glutamate cannot act on the NMDA receptor in the absence of glycine. The simultaneous binding of the two transmitters and partial depolarisation permits Mg2+displacement and channel opening." Recent research indicates glycine is a "semi-essential" amino acid that many may be moderately deficient in most people: "Detailed assessment of all possible sources of glycine shows that synthesis from serine accounts for more than 85% of the total, and that the amount of glycine available from synthesis, about 3 g/day, together with that available from the diet, in the range 1.5–3.0 g/day, may fall significantly short of the amount needed for all metabolic uses, including collagen synthesis by about 10 g per day for a 70 kg human." "This result supports earlier suggestions in the literature that glycine is a semi-essential amino acid and that it should be taken as a nutritional supplement to guarantee a healthy metabolism" This actually coincides with some other research, but I don't want to get off topic. The point being is that for even proper collagen synthesis we need about 10g/day of glycine (for someone around my size), let alone for optimal NMDA/gluatmatergic functioning. Cartilage and skin (not so much in the bones as most believe) of animals have a lot of glycine.

Going to read the first study before I give my comments, but Eglumegad seems highly intriguing. Particularly the information on its potential in psychosis and less significant (though still present) effects against PCP-induced dissociation (which I believe, alongside large doses of DXM, caused my HPPD and fear of even thinking about psychedelics (as though I have some hard core PTSD-like memories of psychedelic trips - it sucks because some of them were quite enjoyable!)). I'm sure there would be rather easy ways to bypass the decreased dopamine, though perhaps I'm wrong..

I would look to the study on melatonin+buspirone. The doses use for both were really low, and that's actually potentially why there were such great results. The study parameters used 3mg of extended release melatonin+15mg Buspirone. I'm not certain when the participants took either compound (i.e. at night, morning, together, etc.?). Furthermore, although there were benefits throughout the study, many of them were largely present around the 6wk mark. Interesting experience with the naltrexone - sorry to hear about that! Sounds similar to the other night when I took 325mg of aspirin too close to bed and got similar symptoms as I've gotten from negative ions and niacinamide; which produced night terrors leading to a night of only like 3(ish) hours of extremely light sleep, which then affects all my visuals and dissociation the next day.

Please keep us all updated. Try to stick with a certain dosage for awhile; some people use naltrexone for years and only after many months figure out what works for them. for instance, some people take "ultra low dose" naltrexone. Some take naltrexone in the morning. Some even split dose it and take a dose in the morning and at night. Nonetheless, I'm highly interested in this compound for beating DP/DR/overall dissociation and potentially other things such as fatigue and mood improvements.

No, I agree! It's a very interesting compound that warrants more research by us HPPDer's, and, perhaps experimentation. I'm just a little weary of using an antibiotic, but if I had even a decent amount of expectations for it mitigating symptoms, I'd surely use it.

I don't know where else to post this because I don't have a lot of information as of yet, but I found HIGHLY interesting results from these glasses. They completely alter the visual stimulus to your eyes, and thus different regions of the brain (I forget which ones, but they affect two nerves in particular in each eye, each one being associated with a different brain region). My z-trainer gave them to me, and I used the ones with half red lenses. They are apparently largely used in the field of functional neurology for "sensory integration therapy." Honestly, within under 2 minutes of using the glasses doing nothing other than sitting on a bench, my brain started feeling realllyyyy taxed. As though I was doing some intense mental exercises or something. This is what a z-health master trainer told me on facebook: "Yeah thats more complex. Id wait on that, it has to do with saccadic vision smooth persuit etc" (this is in terms of this app) With the glasses you are basically improving coordination across the corpus callosum They are powerful, start with small amounts He had to go right as I was messaging him, so tomorrow we're going to go into more detail. I may ask to have a skype session. Unfortunately, me and my fiance had bumped into each other and I broke the glasses, so I'm waiting to see my trainer again in which I'll purchase a pair (and reimburse her for the other one). Truthfully, I think these hold great promise for treating my HPPD. While I was doing tempo-parietal+vestibulatory exercises I wore the glasses, and it felt almost too intense for me; yet later that day I noticed I had one of the best days (symptom was) in the past few months. Interestingly, I even had much less anxiety. This is definitely something to look into.. On a side note, I'm seeing a neuro-psychiatrist Thursday, I received KetoForce (BHB-salts), and angstrom magnesium. Tomorrow I'm also getting an RBC magnesium test+a thyroid panel.

I posted about it in the HPPD stack thread - minocycline+aspirin seem to be useful for psychiatric purposes (more so than each individually, if I remember correctly).

Not necessarily anhedonia, but my pleasure responses are a bit blunted; I still enjoy a lot of things, but the pleasure or entertainment derived from those things last less long and is a bit decreased. Additionally, sometimes when my DP/DR comes in a large wave, it makes things such as even reading from a textbook or gaming (which I just picked up again for a variety of reasons) rather hard to participate in, and thus enjoy. Have you tried naltrexone yet? I've been looking into it and have gotten quite excited about potentially trying it in the next month or so (waiting on a RBC magnesium test along with a thyroid panel so I can first try more fundamental things, such as correcting deficiencies).