95% Better

[pennyarcade]

I have returned here to share my progress and I am super happy to say that I am now 95% symptom free compared to my HPPD symptoms at there worst. I have a very faint static which sometimes goes away completely when I first awake from sleep but so far it keeps coming back but it is SOOO much better. Everything looks brighter and more vibrant it really is night and day difference. My anxiety is no longer a constant thing and I only really experience it in some social situations but even that is improving.

 

I am sorry for being away for so long but it has been a really hard battle of trial and error and brutal persistence I made descision to stay away from forums for various reasons..

 

I hope you are all well

 

Penny

 

 

[Jay1]

Great to see you mate, really happy to hear you are well again.

 

Was it just time that healed you, or meds, something else?

[pennyarcade]

Hi Jay... It's great to see a familiar face here. I posted about my trials with alternative mostly natural treatment before I went AWOL I don't really think people took me seriously but any way I have directed my OCD at really thinking outside of the mainstream and trying things with brutal dedication and refining my own theories as to what has happened to me and why.

TBH Jay My ideas would probably seem far out there and I feel somewhat of a reluctance to post here but I'm going to anyway.

To sum it up.... A fungal infection was to blame for my HPPD. I do not believe that hallucinogens were the soul cause, they allow an already present fungal infection to colonize further I believe hallucinogens allow the fungus to cross the blood brain barrier or at the very least mutate but this is not the only method of disruption. The fungus gives of many byproduct toxins such as aceteldahyde which contribute to anxiety symptoms. I believe the fungus itself also has some hallucinogenic properties.

I really want to put my money where my mouth is regard to this theory. If there is a well known old timer here who is interested in trying my protocol and as long as I am confident your cause is fungal I am willing to front the money for 6 months of treatment (supplements not food) on the agreement that you follow my protocol (within reason) and post a blog with photos where necessary of your progress with your honest feedback. I will obviously discuss what is involved before you commit to anything.

Send me a pm if you are interested.

[Jay1]

Interesting stuff, how did you determine your cause was fungal, and how would I, or others?

 

You should have no shame or fear about writing down your new approaches. Every bit of information is valuable.

 

Great to see you back and feeling good! I remember you struggled badly and for a long time, so this gives me some hope.

[pennyarcade]

I think the best way to determine if you have a fungal infection is to attack it and look for a response.

If you were to do a quick trial I would reccomend raw Garlic as it is easy to come by and contains an extrememly powerful antifungal/bacterial agent called Allicin which is especially good because it can pass the blood/brain barrier. Allicin becomes ALOT less effective when the Garlic is cooked that is why it has to be raw for this experiment to show noticable results. Raw garlic is a bitch to chew amd it burns like hell but if you are brave and really want a strong hit that is the way to do it. I don't take Garlic everyday but when I do I chop it up and add it to a hot (not boiling) drink of tea or coffee. It still has very powerful effects with this method. I would reccomend starting with 1 clove top ordinarily as you would start up slow but we are not treating a condition here we are forcing a responce so if you can take 4 cloves go for it but it might not be pretty.

The garlic will start to act almost immediately especially if chewed and over the course of the next few hours things will be happening within your body and head. With many antifungals that I have tried many have caused temporary flare ups in m

y HPPD symptoms I put this down to things litterally rearranging within the head, toxic load also seems to play an important factor here. For me Garlic was somewhat unique in that it had the opposite effect and actually made my vision temporarily clearer but please bear in mind this could upset your HPPD so I reccomend doing this at the weekend as some of my experiments with antifungals have been overwhelming but I have learned how to mitigate some of the temporary negative effects...

 As the fungus dies of it gives of many toxic byproducts such aceteldahyde and formeldahyde. These byproducts will flood into your system and as this happens you may experience extreme iiritability and  feel uncomfortable I myself experienced this with overly negative thoughts and heightened anxiety your skin may flare up in a rash or become itchy or inflamed, This is known as a "Herxheimer" or "die of" reaction and if you didn't know better you would probably stop exposing yourself to something that seemingly makes you feel worse but it is actually part of the healing process. I recount many tales of HPPDer trying herbs that have caused flare ups or helped for a while and then caused flareups and obviously from that point on consumption is ceased to avoid furthur damage. The key is managing the toxic load within your body... when you start feeling anxious or experience unsettling thoughts take 1-2000mg of Vitamin C and as much water as you can this will help you body reduce its toxic load, you can repeat this throughout the day but I have not taken more than 5000mg in a day. Vit C  can give you a bad case of the shits but I have been fine at that dose spread out. Wether you have taken an anti fungal or not if you experience anxiety and negative thoughts try this method I think you will be surpised. Some other common sympton of toxic load include

 

Fatigue (Chronic in my case)

Heart Palpitations

Difficulty Concentrating
tingling/pins and needles
a feeling of being overly cold especially in the extremities (not so much after Garlic as it aids blood circulation)
muscle spasms/twitches

muscle pains

joint pains (mine click if it gets really bad)

Depersonalition/Derealisation (I wouldnt say this one is common but I get this if I overdo things)

Micropsia/Macropsia (See above)

 

Also look at the bags under your eyes they will become really dark and sunken like ( i dont know how to describe it well) but I look like shit when my toxic load is high

There are many more but of my head I think I have covered the main ones.

Please keep this knowlege in mind all I can really tell you is that you will feel something happening... negative or positive use this information to help decipher what your body is telling you it is possible you wont Herxheimer and it may be plain sailing but I very much doubt that if you are infected to the point of Visual Distrubances you are in a severe condition.

Feel free to fire me questions and I will do my best to help... this is not a treatment plan this is just for you to experiment. Garlic will not permanently hurt you (unless you are allergic or something) but proceed at your own risk. I stand by this information 100% please give it a try and report back with your experiences people


Good luck!

[pennyarcade]

I just wanted to add something quite important that i missed... you may experience foul tasting discharge from your sinuses also your eyes may become irritated amd sore or even infected. I have noticed from my own experience and also looking at various info that the infection seems to favour the left side of the head\brain\body and many of my symptoms seem worse on that side for no logical reason I can think off. When I first started Detoxing My left eye was constantly getting infected and getting stys. I treated this problem with bicarbonate of soda mixed with water and then applied it to my eye carefully. Search on google for more information on treating eye infections with bircarbonate of soda. A warm green tea bag rested on top of the eye will also treat it. If you taste discharge in your mouth brush your teeth and rinse your mouth that stuff will give you cavities.

[Dannohawk]

Wall mold massively exacerbated my symtoms, so fungus is obviously dangerous to us HPPD sufferers. But 95% better is amazing, good for you. Gives hope for the rest of us.

[pennyarcade]

Hi Danno sorry to hear about your worsened symptoms. Part of my recovery actually involved avoiding molds as much as possible including food that is prone to harbour mold. I also have a HEPA air filter on while i sleep for that exact purpose. i truly do believe your condition is reversible do not give up hope.

[pennyarcade]

Is any one interested in trying this?

[Jay1]

I have ordered some caprylic acid and also been trying garlic (both chewing and oderless tablets).

 

I have felt resonably good the last couple of days, but I need an anxious day to really test my mood.

[pennyarcade]

Sweet man... I would add the vitamin C if you can afford to. Good luck and keep us posted

[Jay1]

I get my RDA of vitmin C (probably quite a bit more) from fruit and vitamins... Do I need even more?

[pennyarcade]

Yeah Jay, The RDA is very much just for maintainace for detoxing I would reccomend you take at least 1000mg daily. You can buy 1000mg water soluble fizzy tablets at most superstores in the UK. I tend to go with tablets as they are cheaper and Vitamin C at least in its ascorbic acid form is as the name implies "acidic" so I don't really like exposing my teeth to it on a regular basis but if you are just taking 1000mg a day it shouldnt be a problem. In the essay above I posted how I use Vitamin C but it really is essential you take it as detoxing puts alot of strain on your kidneys and liver. It will contribute to your recovery and personally it helped with my mood in general. You can search google for high doseage Vitamin C people are raving about it left right and center for many different ailments.

[Spartan]

ok this sounds freaking awesome! congrats man on your amazing recovery!!!

 

I am on to this like a fly on shit LOL

 

No sreiousley.. im starting tomorrow Fuck it im doing a whole clove in a ceremony LOL

 

This is really exiting!

 

It makes sense. With HPPD ive always had this sensation that i can feel something behind my eyes... Maybe its "fungus".

 

This is awesome.. im onto it a.s.a.p .. I will report back all discoverys here

 

Many thanks !

[pennyarcade]

Welcome to the party Spartan! I look forward to seeing how you do with the garlic!

[Spartan]

Thanks Penny !

 

Ok i just downed 4 Large Cloves of Garlic ( like 4 large pices of garlic )

 

Ok i Chewed ( it burnt like crap )  then washed down with water..

 

I had some discharge from my nose..

 

Im feeling a little giddy now and mybe a few sensations in my head..

 

Fingers crossed,

 

I suppose i will just have to wait and see what happens from here.

 

I did not get Vit C because im hardcore LOL or just desprate...

 

Cheers

 

4 of these Pices of Garlic.. Like this / Link Below

 

https://www.google.com/search?as_st=y&tbm=isch&as_q=4+pices+of+garlic&as_epq=&as_oq=&as_eq=&imgsz=&imgar=&imgc=&imgcolor=&imgtype=&cr=&as_sitesearch=&safe=images&as_filetype=&as_rights=&gws_rd=ssl#as_st=y&tbm=isch&q=4+pieces+of+garlic&spell=1&facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=T7MQOdpr_Lt4WM%253A%3Bibgcr8-cWXsC8M%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fmy.loudclick.net%252FSites%252F5732%252FWWW%252FAssets%252FImages%252Fmaincourse%252Fgarlic2.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.pickycook.com%252Fmaincourse%252Fherbspiceroastedvegetableswithredwinemushroomgravy.aspx%3B550%3B347

[pennyarcade]

How are you feeling Any affect on your visual or anxiety related symptoms? You will be fine without Vit C for now but if you plan on continuing longer term I strongly reccomend it.

[Spartan]

im feeling fine..

 

No differance in my visuals yet unfortunatley...

 

Its all good.. ill keep on keeping on..

 

Thanks

[WuWei]

Please be very careful taking this high of a dose of ascorbic acid.  It can and will cause kidney stones.  Make sure to drink tons of water and give yourself breaks inbetween.  The human body can only process so much Vitamin C.  Up to 1000 mg a day should be ok as long as you double your water intake.

[Rozzer]

I'd be very interested in trying this out. But I don't think that I can eat pure garlic. Would supplements be good enough? 

 

Are these the only things that you use, garlic and Vitamin C? I would really like to know the whole protocol.

[pennyarcade]

Hi Wuwei... none of what im doing is accepted by mainstream medicine. I used to believe that natural/alternative medicine was al anedoctal and innefective... I mean how could a multi billion dollar industry not know what is best for me?  My health deterioated to the point that I couldn't walk and no doctors could tell me what was happening to me. I didn't walk away from the mainstream... I was pulled away kicking and screaming trying to hold on to what I had always thought was true and best for me. I am truly grateful for my condition becoming so unbearable otherwise I would still be waitng for someone else to develop a cure instead of taking my health into my own hands which was hands down the best descision I ever made in my life. Please research see the arguments for and against...  I have never had a problem and I know others who take high dose vitamin C who have never had a problem and only benefit. Perhaps try browsing some forums and see peoples experiences.

 

Here is some pro Vitamin C propaganda http://www.doctoryourself.com/kidney.html if you want the cons ask your doctor

 

Hi Rozzer im trying to figure out the best way to present the information I will try to work on it this week. If you want an alternative to garlic I reccomend Pau D Arco, I buy it in pill form but I empty it out and add it to hot water to make a tea because I quite like the taste and reducing my sugar consumption has left me with limited drink choices.

[pennyarcade]

Just quickly if you don't want to take high dose Vitamin C then I reccomend Wheatgrass and Chlorella (if you can afford it) again research these they are true superfoods with great medicinal properties which aid greatly in detoxing your system.

[Rozzer]

I don't mind taking a high dose of Vitamin C, I've already tried so much, and I think Vitamin C is the least harmfull of all the things I've tried..  So I'm going to place an order for Pau D Arco, Garlic pills, and Vitamin C powder. Is this all, or anything else??

 

My only concern is that I'm taking Lamictal right now, I was supposed to have weaned off it by now, but it seems impossible for me to make any reduction at all. So I'm going to see if there is anything on the net, about any interactions between all these..

[pennyarcade]

Sorry about my rant, I really want to make this approachable for people I don't want to be preachy I just want to help. This is a very frustrating situation for me... anyhooo

 

Hi again Rozzer. If you are just starting out I advise against using 2 different antifungals. There is a couple of reasons for this...

 

!) If you have a hard time you want to be able to identify which substance is causing you an issue.

2) You should really start off slowly and gradually work up to keep your toxic load managable, overdoing the process will put strain on your liver and kidneys and what your body cant get rid of will be reabsorbed. If you want a biggerr hit just take more of one or the other.

 

I'm going to address diet in a future post and that is one of the most important factors and in the protocol, i'm going to explain that it is best to address your diet before starting antifungals but I realise convincing someone to change there diet is a big step especially for my sceptical audience here hence Ive recommended antifungals to hopefully give people something tangible that they can feel and observe and then if ithey choose to they can get deeper into it.

 

In my experience the Pau Da Arco is more powerful than the Garlic supplements (not raw) that I tried so I would advise them if you want to give AF's a shot. If you choose to skip the garlic I reccomend using that money to get a probiotic supplement. I don't know where you are in the world so I cant speak to what you have available but if you can get it Bio-Kult is very good for starting out, if you can't find it message me and I will send you some.

[pennyarcade]

I forgot the Lamictal situation... I'm sorry I don't know anything about possible interactions in this case