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Naltrexone
I will start with naltrexone, which can help people who have difficulty regulating their drinking have a more natural and sustainable relationship with alcohol should they choose to not cut it out of their lives entirely.
water
- makes my headaches go away
- makes it easier to poop
- tastes good
- cools me down on a hot day
- super inexpensive, so cheap you can bathe in it
- only bad part is that it makes you need to pee
Hydrohomies unite.
tastes good
Sir, let’s discuss the taste of water.
My sister tells me water is tasteless. I disagree. Water definitely has a taste. I have yet to find water with a taste I like except when I am very dehydrated.
Tap water? Definitely no. Filtered water? Nope. Mineral water? Nah. Flavored water? Eugh.
Tea, though. Tea is amazing. Especially coffee tea. Coffee tea is amazing. You take coffee beans, grind them up, and pass hot water through it. It’s so amazing.
Not every tap water tastes the same. I have had tap water that is a bliss to drink but I’ve also had tap water that was barely drinkable without being filtered…
Also, tea and coffee also profit from using good water while making them.
Rain tank water is bloody lifechanging. Tap water tastes too strong, and filtered water doesn’t seem to do much to the water (although lifestraw filtered water does seem to remove the unpleasant flavours better) but water from our galvanised iron tank is recognisable and downright pleasant. Also the concrete tank is pretty good too. You can taste if anyone gets water from the plastic tanks on the east side of the house though. Ick.
These days I run rainwater through a lifestraw and call it good. No tea beats that.
No idea where you live, but the tap water is amazing where I live (somewhere in the western United States). And it comes from a set of glaciers that’s basically behind my house.
If my tap water tasted bad I’d probably set up a solar still to purify it.
You tried Fiji or Evian? I find them so damn refreshing and “palatable” even tho I am at baseline a HydrationHomie
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Pure waa a
Melatonin
I can’t do sleep hygiene. My cell phone is the first and last thing I see every day. I stare at screens all day for work and for leisure. With moderate melatonin use I can somehow maintain regular and restful sleep.
No side effects if you use it responsibly (e.g. 5 days on, 2 days off, stick with low doses). Very safe. Can improve sleep even if you’re already sleeping well. I don’t know why more people aren’t on it.
A fun hack for melatonin is that smaller doses work better than larger doses.
Yes! Scientific trials have shown that for most people, 0.3mg of melatonin gives better quality of sleep than 3mg.
I’ve seen pills as high as 10mg on the shelf and have to wonder wtf they’re for. If you take too much your body becomes less sensitive to it and you become dependent on supplementation. 10mg is definitely too much.
It’s crazy isn’t it, 10mg.
I was prescribed (it’s prescription-only in my country) 2mg but after I read up on it I cut it to 0.5.
What about in those with ADHD?
I think the big difference between people benefiting at small doses (~0.3mg) and large doses (2+mg) is that the 0.3mg group use it for sleep quality through the night, whereas the 3+mg people just need the sudden shock to get to sleep in the first place.
The drawback with big doses is that your brain becomes less sensitive so your naturally-produced melatonin might not be enough to keep you asleep for the whole night after the pill wears off. It has a very short half-life in the body (under 1 hour), so there’s no way for a single dose before sleeping to last 8 hours. We naturally produce only 0.06-0.08mg per night, so it’s easy to see how supplementing melatonin could desensitize someone and cause them to wake up after just 4-6 hours of sleep.
I have ADHD and am in the large-dose category and use 2-3mg of melatonin to help me fall asleep. Without it, I can’t sleep reliably because my brain often won’t shut up. Sleep reliably is so much more important to me than sleep quality.
Using it only 5 nights a week, I’m not significantly dependent. I can still sleep without melatonin, just less reliably. I’ve tried 0.3mg, but it felt the same as taking nothing.
For me, 10mg would be excessive and probably harmful in a desensitizing way. The most I’ve taken is 6mg, but it only helped in 2 out of 6 times. The other 4 times my brain just wouldn’t stop. If doubling my usual dose didn’t help, I don’t think doubling it again would be any different.
There are however studies with higher doses, e.g. this one about kids with ADHD that says:
two-third of the patients responded to relatively medium doses (2.5–6 mg/d), whereas doses above 6 mg added further benefit only in a small percentage of children.
so I guess it’s different for everyone.
Yep, this seems to the magic number; I shudder when I hear people taking like 5-10mg. How can that be safe unless most of it is destroyed via digestion
Since it’s a natural hormone the body already has ways to get rid of it. It has a half-life of less than an hour. The lethal dose is so high we haven’t been able to intentionally kill animals with it: “Melatonin is not fatal even at a dose of 800 mg/kg in animal studies”.
The big risk of ongoing high doses is becoming so dependent on it that you wake up as soon as it wears off (e.g. after only 4 hours of sleep). At this level you basically can’t sleep without it and have to slowly wean yourself off to get back to normality.
I found my dreams were extremely vivid and often extra-disturbing when my dose was high to the extent Im implying. Also, because it was so vivid and palpable, I just didnt feel rested cuz I was so engaged/engrossed by it
Do you use NightShift and Dark Mode, those are helpful altho the name of the game is also brightness, no matter whether its a “good” or “bad” color relative to its effect on sleep
I do. I also messed with the iOS accessibility settings to color shift even more. It helps so much.
I even went to monochrome red at one point and it felt like me cellphone was actively putting me too sleep. Unfortunately monochrome also kills a lot of the enjoyment of using a phone. I was getting sleepier, but felt so bored I just wanted to find something too do to fill the dopamine void.
Unfortunately I have to keep my brightness quite high. My eyes can’t focus well in the dark.
Do red laser safety glasses work for you? Laser glasses are really good at filtering everything but their color and red ones mean you won’t get the melatonin destroying blue light in.
Yes. They’re very effective at making me sleepy, but have 2 big drawbacks: they’re uncomfortable to wear in bed with your head on a pillow, and complete monochromaticity seems to ruin any enjoyment you get from using your phone. If I get bored it’s much harder to get to sleep because my brain starts fixating on stuff and making me anxious. Yay ADHD.
Why does dark come into this? Like are you referring to lack of ambient light? Having trouble parsing this…
You should use lamps (no overhead lights) and in warm bulb color like as close to incandescent/warm as you can find on the market
Phillips Hue is fantastic for this
That was directly in response to:
those are helpful altho the name of the game is also brightness
Every night I lie in bed, lights off, using my phone for about 20 minutes while waiting for the melatonin to kick in and my brain to calm down. In a dark room I have to keep my phone on quite high brightness (about 1/3rd of maximum).
Lamps aren’t an option at that stage as usually my husband is in the room also trying to sleep. I also find that “warm” light still has too much blue
I think it usually recommends 1-1.5 hours prior to bedtime for it to kick in, eh? Also your phone likely has much more blue than a dimmed (10%) Philips Hue Colored bulb programmed to red or amber. Can you look into Philips Hue bulbs, I have them and you can literally ask Siri to set it to
Red(very conducive and non-distuptive to sleep) and set it to as low as like 10% of the brightness capacity.
I love melatonin. It’s gentle and natural. I guess I stopped buying it years ago because my husband took it all.
Makes me wicked drowsy all day.
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Pramipexole
It’s used for Parkinson’s and restless legs, I use it for restless legs. I’ve suffered with this condition as far back as I can remember, I’ve always referred to myself as a part time insomniac because this would keep me up a lot of the time.
I had a period of mental health problems and was prescribed Metazapine for it, which kicked up the RLS a notch. Despite being off them now for nearly a year, the Restless Legs are still kicked up.
Pramipexole, when taken at the right time, sorts the RLS out, I can finally sleep and when I do sleep I don’t kick my wife up the arse.
Side affects include hypersexualality and compulsive gambling, but I haven’t experienced this yet. I have warned my workmates that it could come up in the future though so if I ever say “I bet you a fiver you can’t wank me off” they know why.
Edited to bold Pramipexole
Have you noticed any issues with induced impulsivity from med, there’s crazy stories of folks getting on dopamine agonists like that who go wild and end up with gambling and porn addictions, criminal charges, etc. Really wild stuff
From my reading on Pramipexole it’s about 10% of people that have these side effects. It worried me when I started taking the pills.
I read the documentation that came with them and it had in bold DO NOT TAKE THIS MEDICATION WITH ALCOHOL AS THIS CAN MAKE SIDE EFFECTS WORSE so I read the side effects and it was compulsive gambling and hypersexuality.
So I gave up my nightly rum for a few weeks. Then I thought “Meh, let’s see what happens” and reintroduced my nightly rum and coke before bed. Honestly I’ve not had anything noticeable.
Nothing compulsive. But I can spend an hour or more solving Rubik’s cubes or playing the guitar without even noticing. I had that before the pills though.
Just be careful yo. I wonder if its always either an immediate development or it in sets over time. It could also be that your dopamine receptor destruction/loss over time could attenuate the motivating aspect of the meds I would conjecture.
I shall! Gambling has never been my thing anyway, I lucked out finding my Wife at the age of 17. Hypersexuality? Well I may have been with her for over 20 years but she still puts out, so I should be fine with that. Drugs? I have a rule that I don’t buy em unless I can afford em after all my bills have gone out, it’s a spare change rule.
I think I’ll be fine.
Unexpectedly wholesome personal drug policy. This is how rec users can be functional and living best life.
As an aside, I wish more people would calculate total monthly expenses and set aside 1/2 that amount every paycheque. Over time they would always be saving substantially without even knowing/missing it and always have a bit of cushion float to accomodate them at any point
I’m weekly paid and have monthly bills, so I saved up a month’s worth of bills money and set up a second account. Then I worked out what each monthly bills costs me a week, added it all up and set a direct debit from my main account on pay day every week. That way I always have a month of money for bills as a buffer in case anything stops me getting a pay check.
Then I set up a little bit into a savings account every week too.
Now when I get paid I know that money is for food, petrol and fun because my bills are deducted before I even get out of bed.
When I run out of weed I go “Oh no I can’t afford weed” then look at my savings account and go “Oh yes I can!”
This shit should be taught in schools.
I got myself debt free at the beginning of the year for the first time in a while. Slipped into my overdraft last month (cars suck!) and I’ve been hitting the overtime to whittle it back down. Goal is to start the new year debt free again.
I use my drugs policy for me-time too. Jobs get done before me-time. I’m trying to teach this to my kids then I can hit them with the Drugs Policy when they’re older and just tell them it’s the Me-time policy for money.
I have zero fucking idea how I would ever approach drugs if I had kids… Like, I would be so worried about setting them on a bullshit path that I really shouldn’t have even survived lol. But its something they need to be educated on and exposed to at the right dose because its so crazy out there
Edit: k, I sort of want to back up on this and say that I would likely develop a Dexter-style
Drugtaking Code
Fly agaric / Amanita muscaria
is the only thing that is actually mucus dissolving. You are stoned as fuck but when dried slowly they are nontoxic anymore.
They are also very funny, perfect party drug. Actually stoned, without head paranoia etc. dancing is really fun, you can lie down or move its all very funny. And no alcohol 70%-directly-in-the-liver pain the next morning.
Cannabis
is a very complex substance and not for just chilling in my experience. It can be very helpful with stress, it is like soothing the brain with this other entity. I am sure it is not, but it feels like your subconsciousness taking control. Helps a lot understanding yourself and breaking free from toxic Adrenaline-Stress-Coffee-Capitalist thinking.
It is not just for chilling, it is not “an alternative to alcohol” and it is extremely abused, especially in the US. These “roll a blunt” amounts are simply not possible with todays potent weed, and mixing with tobacco while pretending you are not addicted to that ugly goblin clinging to your brain (for me tobacco feels like that) is absurd.
I think it is immensely powerful and its by far my favourite cozy drug, it saved my psyche when I didnt even know it lol (had an unrelated accident when stoned, got stitched up without anesthesia and my ears where fucked up for over a year after that).
LSD
is also great. Its such a shame it was banned immediately. There where so many studies and psychotherapeutic sessions, it is such an intense magnifier of these therapies.
Instead you now either sit there and talk, which is only effective after a year or so (while in Germany it is extremely hard to find a place); or you work with symptoms which is more effective but can easily result in the expression of your illness just switching to another symptom.
LSD is fucking magic. The lack of the nasty body effects of Psilocybin mushrooms is very good, as these can get extremely uncomfortable. And what it does with your brain, and how you think, is just so enriching. I already cried in front of my family, had great conversations with my then still alive grandparents, and I am so thankful for the existence of this drug.
Basically all the common ones suck, Alcohol, Tobacco, Nicotine, Stimulants. They are extremely unhealthy and have no beneficial effect at all. They only help you keep running, but you can easily break during this.
LSD is illegal because the government doesn’t want their working class plebeians to be happy and enlightened. we’d stop being obedient little work slaves if we were happy and enlightened.
LSD is reserved for the enjoyment of the people who make the laws. They are above the law so they can do whatever they want & enjoy life.
It really is tragic. Such an amazing class of life-affirming substances, altho I appreciate how important proper set/setting and supportive people around is to a safe and beneficial experience
Thanks and you are very correct, the legal drugs are the most damaging and harmful and mundane. No imagination to them :( Terrible, shitty drugs
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Metamucil (psyillium fibre)
It’s kinda simple, but Metamucil. I would get terrible stomach aches, bloating and constipation whenever I had greasy food. Now, if I have 1-2 servings of Metamucil a day, then 1 extra right as I eat greasy food, I don’t feel terrible!
Psyllium husk changed my freaking life. Probably TMI, but I used to have very severe hemorrhoid pain. I basically almost never do anymore, it’s that drastic.
I’m glad to hear it! If you are lacking fiber, it can drastically improve your life.
Delicate question: does your butt ever go back to normal after a haemerhoid “heals”? Like functionally and cosmetically lol?
Depends if it’s internal vs external hemorrhoids, and on the severity, I guess? Some can cause small tears and scar tissue. Others are really minor and just make your ass tingle once in a while. It’s funky like that.
I was shitting blood on the daily. Having had surgery for bleeding hemorrhoids, I cannot face that again. Been through some shit, but that was the worst pain of my life.
Psyllium had me back to normal in 1-week. Hope others read our words and it helps them.
They’re rather unpleasant, aren’t they?
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Dramamine!!
Oh, man.
You ever wake up on a day you want to do nothing but sleep in, but you’re awake and you hate it?
Take one, rip the bong, watch some bs and take a nap 😴
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Thats like Benedryl/diphenhydramine, right?
Dramamine is a motion sickness medication. Also an antihistamine like Benedryl, but a different compound: Dimenhydrinate
Both can have drowsiness as side effects
And a mighty fine deleriant
I kinda lump deliriants in with other “drugs” like paprika or whatever that are unpleasant to the extent its mostly teenagers trying to “feel something” from the comfort of their kitchen pantry
Paprika? Nah it’s closer to dxm.
You mean in terms of efficacy in the context of deliriants or, you know, like, actually good? Like non-hellish? Pretty sure it was beyond unpleasant when I accidentally took too much diphenhydramine. Hated that shit
This is very subjective and also highly dependend on the mix of Cannabinoids in the plant. The Terpenes where found out to have no real effect (some strains called “Sativa” have the same as others called “Indica”)
The more CBN is in the plant (Cannabinol) the more sleepy and less psychoactive it is. CBN comes from degradation of THC, so old plants (more UV, older resin) have more CBN.
“Sativa” Strains like Haze are often harvested very early, while “Indica” strains like Afghan Kush are harvested very late.
So Indicas are probably very good for sleeping, but for me personally Sativas make it impossible for me to sleep
Omeprazole
Got stomach bad acid? Want it go away for days or weeks on end without antacid? Omeprazole works like a dream and is available without prescription in most countries except Japan.
You don’t, like, take that chronically do ya? I’ve heard that vigorously warned against…
Thanks for bringing this up, I’m curious about folks’ experiences/thoughts regarding Proton Pump Inhibitors
It may be prescribed long term if the benefits outweigh the possible risks. If someone is taking it in their own, it’s probably better to talk to their doc about it. My understanding is that it’s safe but can have long term effects and needs to be stepped down if you stop after taking it a while
Is that overseen by a GI specialist or your family dr? No offense to general practitioners?l
Either can prescribe it. Depends on the person’s situation- other symptoms, severity, etc.
I mean in your case or is this all academic/hypothetical? I assumed you were describing your personal use case. Did your dr prescribe and refill it or was it specialist?
I was in Japan this year and I had run out of omeprazole, in JP you cannot buy it over the counter. Ofc cue a bad few days of acid and luckily there was a GI specialist near my hotel. He noted that I had used PPI before and gave me a prescription for 60 tablets
I was initially prescribed this by my doctor.
Have you considered getting a second more specialized opinion from GI?
I did, from a specialist in Japan. It really helps me as I can get extreme symptoms such as nausia, vomiting, insane back pain and inability to eat anything. No other medicines have helped me like this.
I was warned not to use it chronically. I use it perhaps 2 days each month. You need to be aware of your triggers, such as fatty or spicey foods and alcohol. Also try and self diagnose stomach acid symptoms as early as possible.
Ya that sounds better. I pop a Tums once in a blue moon but my diet is much cleaner to the effect I rarely need it anymore.
Esomeprazole works way better for me.
Isn’t that an inversion of the same?
They’re obviously closely related but they work differently.
https://www.healthline.com/health/gerd/nexium-vs-prilosec#differences
Naltrexone
I will start with naltrexone, which can help people who have difficulty regulating their drinking have a more natural and sustainable relationship with alcohol should they choose to not cut it out of their lives entirely.
How do you find it? I’ve been curious but it’s very expensive. I come from a long line of alcoholic suicides and have had issues with it. Not like permadrunk but 4-6 drinks each evening when it gets out of hand (I also homebrew quite delicious beer and wine which does not help but is fun and I don’t want to stop that :/).
I enjoy a good beer or wine and would love to have a sustainable one bottle on the weekend type relationship with the drug again rather than cutting it out totally.
Just talk to your dr and tell him you suspect you have AUD (alcohol use disorder) and you’d like to trial naltrexone (50mg+generic) to see if it helps you handle booze+moderation.
Its called
Sinclair protocol/method
All it is and requires is:
- If you are going to drink, pop a naltrexone 50mg
- Set a timer and wait 90 minutes (==1.5 hrs)
- Once you’ve taken naltrexone and waited that 90 mins, YOU MUST HAVE AT LEAST 1 alcoholic beverage, don’t get hung up on how many.
- Count your drinks each time you have one and keep that data in an app or spreadsheet to track over time.
Just show your doctor this reply to give them an idea
Do not take no for an answer. You have a family history of alcohol-related pathology and let him know you’ll be drinking with/without their help as a last resort.
I am in Australia, it’s not covered on the pharmaceutical benefits scheme so it’s something like 350 AUD a box.
My ex tried it and it worked for him, but he was earning 3x what I do so it was more affordable.
Edit: Also look into baclofen, per the book by a French doctor called End of My Addiction, I used it as an adjuvant to get me off initially to scratch the itch and safely replace but it is nowhere near as compelling as alcohol. I still keep it around for that and if I get a muscle spasm and I don’t want to sit in the hospital but I never use it unless I def need to. I hate the fuzziness and tearing up of my eyes it can cause at higher doses
What about nalfamene, can you call ur version of NHS and submit an exceptional drug request form? Any Aussies wanna chime in regarding getting stuff covered?
All you need is an
opioid-antagonist, usually they will also be approved for alcoholism/AUD (same name as dollar ;), there must be a way to access it. If not, you could try breaking them i half to 25mg and see where that gets you. It may well work, there’s work being done on low-dose naltrexone at far lower doses that seem to still have variable efficacy relative to the treatment regime/profile so that might be a way to cut the price in half.Talk to your dr and ask how you can get access and if they can help facillitate that.
It’s definitely prescribed. Doing some reading now and it seems like it might be now be authorisable with special authority if and only if you’re also doing “a comprehensive treatment program” so likely therapy etc which is probably more expensive than just eating the cost. A visit to the GP atm sets me back like 70 bucks, seems like generic naltrexone is about 150 now. Not a cheap thing to trial what with thr economy up the shitter now.
I wonder if I can buy some clandestinely, I doubt you’d get in too much trouble if caught importing an opiate antagonist.
p.s. so glad our healthcare system is collapsing in order to make a few old white guys extremely rich. Whenever I have to wait 3 months to see a doctor I comfort myself with the thought of Gerry Harvey wiping his arse with 100 dollar notes.
There must be a way, please don’t do that. What’s your jurisdiction/country out of curiousity?
Australia. It’s schedule 4 (prescription only) that is almost never prosecuted for drugs with no recreational potential
Testosterone
I’d tried a few different combinations of HRT (for menopause), and was doing ok ish on oestrogen patches and micronised progesterone capsules. But I still felt like a shadow of myself, a barely functioning husk.
I ended up paying privately to see a menopause specialist (after finding out the waiting time for the NHS clinic I was referred to was at least a year and a half - just for my referral to get looked at), and she prescribed me testosterone. Within 48 hours I noticed a huge difference, I felt like I’d recovered a huge chunk of my energy and my personality.
It makes me furious that it’s so hard to get. I’m not sure what state my mental health would be in if I hadn’t been able to get it. I was definitely looking at having to cut hours in work to be able to cope, and that would have had a big financial impact on me.
And so many people I speak to - including women - are confused about why testosterone would help, there’s so much misunderstanding about hormones, they don’t know that women have testosterone and men have oestrogen. My aunt asked me whether it would reverse the menopause and I was just like er what… How would that even work?
What is usually the front line for HRT? Is it Oestrogen? Is that the same hormone that’s in contraceptives?
So most contraception is a combo of oestrogen and progesterone (but there’s also oestrogen only and progesterone only). Oestrogen is also the main hormone used to alleviate the symptoms of menopause, but you have to have progesterone on top of that to protect you from womb cancer (if you still have a womb).
Interestingly I struggled all my adult life trying to find hormonal contraception that didn’t make my emotions out of control and spiral into destructive depression, and I gave up in the end. It happened again on my first go on HRT. After getting some professional advice I discovered that that’s a known effect of the type of progesterone used in the most widely prescribed (ie cheapest) contraception and HRT. As soon as I was switched onto the micronised bio-identical progesterone it was like a dream, I felt normal. Not one doctor in all those years of trying different forms of contraception mentioned it could be the progesterone - maybe they didn’t know? There definitely seems to be a scary lack of understanding about hormones that’s for sure.
Testosterone in the UK isn’t widely prescribed, on the NHS you can only get it through a specialist clinic, or you have to go private like I did (it cost me £185 for the appointment, and £90 for the prescription for 6 months).
The hormone doses that are prescribed in HRT are not the same amount as our natural levels have dropped by, really the ‘R’ in HRT is misleading as what is prescribed doesn’t replace what we’ve lost, it just gives a little top up to lessen the symptoms.
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Sure I’ll have a go!
Edit - hope that’s better?
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Sorted
Schweet!
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Thank you!!
Vyvanse (lisdexamfetamine).
I know a lot of folks don’t like it for a multitude of reasons, but it works well for me. I take it about an hour before I get to work and I’m actually able to focus on work as opposed to why I don’t wanna be there. It’s great. Also helps that my job is pretty great overall, but being able to focus on actually getting up and doing stuff is great.
Oh my God Vyvanse is amazing. I was on Adderall XR for years, but I got sick of getting a huge burst of energy for 5 hours, feeling ok for 3, and then crashing hard after that. It was really hard dealing with that while work a 4/10 schedule.
Vyvanse is so smooth, I get a gentle push through most of the day, and a subtle let down after 10 hours or so.
Now if I could just be more diligent with my sleep…
Same deal here. It makes a big difference for motivation for me, too. ADHD sux.
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Thanks! Sorry to be so difficult
Nah, it wasn’t a problem at all.
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Propranolol
It’s a blood pressure medication that acts pretty fast. They give it to people who experience anxiety. If you sometimes get overwhelmed or have anxiety, just pop one of these bad boys and in 30 minutes you’re calmed the fuck down and you can deal with it rationally. 
I’ve read studies claiming it can be used to address traumatic memories as well, because of the chemical calm and how memory works, when you visit one your brain basically opens the file, runs it on your braon, and then re-stores your memory of the current run, where you were chill through the reenactment.
Agreed. For me, if I’m anxious I can’t process as well. Approaching a difficult memory/situation with a relaxed physical state makes the process easier.
There’s less of that “this memory of me being panicked makes me panic” and more of “that memory of me being panicked does not make me panicked now, and I can look at it from a new perspective”
Would love to hear more about this in particular. Chime in folks
Will have to investigate this :) Thanks, guy
N.B. Some people have a paradoxical reaction of becoming very depressed temporarily.
Idk if it’s on the possible side effects yet but you can find discussions on forums etc going back decades. Very rare, and transient, but if trying for the first time something to be aware of as a risk.
I use nebivolol instead which is highly cardioselective, I recommend it. It has a longer half-life, too. My stress and panic response is a lot more reasonable now.
To what extent does it address the mental aspect or does it do that indirectly on the meta level by making you less anxious because there is less physical anxiety to take notice of?
Edit: I know lots of musicians in orchestras and other professional performers use them to steady hands etc
Part of anxiety is the physical effect of it. The tight chest, the elevated heart beat, the panic mode. It reduces that physical aspect so your brain can focus without FEELING like you’re under attack.
I struggle with anxiety but I never have any of these physical symptoms. I’ve had propanolol and it doesn’t do anything for me.
Well, it’s for the physical symptoms only. It’s just a blood pressure med. have you tried venlafaxine? It’s… stronger.
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Why, you trying to scrape it? ;)
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Fiiiiiiine bolder.
Ketamine
Fast acting relief from treatment resistant depression. Personally I find ~0.8 mg/kg subcutaneously injected is about the magic dose.
After 20 odd years of living in a fog the first time I used that treatment was like night and day. I had forgotten how trivial most things are without depression. Exercise for example is just “I don’t wanna but I know I’ll feel better. Ugh fine” instead of something that takes about 3 days to psych up to on a good week.
I find it’s very effective for about a week, dropping off over the next month or so. Unsure if lifetime sustainable at a frequency of ~2-3 weeks per dose but definitely useful to put in changes to life that make it easier to handle.
Crazy expensive medically though, if you can get it tested infusions can be prepared diy (most is diverted from medical supply so it’s often not adultrated BUT NOT ALWAYS!) with bacteriostatic water and 0.22 um wheel filters. Obvs if you don’t know what you’re doing you could seriously harm yourself, and you absolutely must be able to secure safety measures like naloxone, but if the rope is looking mighty appealing it’s an option if you can’t get it medically.
It’s worth noting that in the US there are ketamine therapy companies that send you oral ketamine in the mail. It costs about $120 per month and is accessible after a short zoom appointment.
I don’t know if it’s effective that way; all papers I’ve read that show affect are using nasal, IV, or subcutaneous.
That said you should probs try that before risking infection and gaol if it’s an option. It’s about that much a dose in Australia (has to be administered under supervision) and requires extensive screening.
It’s definitely effective, but you have to take a higher dose vs. IV. Usually it’s between 60 and 120mg and it’s delivered via troche in the cheek.
So that’s what ~1.5 mg/kg transdermal I guess. Assume some waste from swallowing. Yeah probably around the same delivery rate and dose as subcutaneous injection
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Yerba Mate
Honestly, I think Yerba Mate is probably the most pleasant and cleanest caffeinated beverage around. I’ve pretty much entirely replaced coffee at this point, as Yerba Mate seems to have all around superior effects. The unique blend of methylxanthine stimulants present (caffeine, theobromine, theophylline) in Mate provides incredibly clean stimulation with no crash and little anxiety (for me anyway). It doesn’t make my stomach feel nasty after multiple cups, which I appreciate as well. The guayaki canned drinks initially got me into it, but I’ve since graduated to brewing the unsmoked loose leaf tea.
What are the products to look for, brand-wise and things to look out for in terms of anything else to know when considering a product
Personally, I prefer the unsmoked varieties of the loose leaf tea (although it is traditionally smoked). I do however prefer the traditional cut, which includes the stems and makes it less bitter. I get the “Eco Teas” brand, just because it seems to be available at one of the local, ritzy grocery stores. There are a million brands out there, I’ve only tried a few. Guayaki sells their loose leaf Mate at whole foods, but I have not tried it myself. I think the canned drinks are a good place to start to see if you like the effects, they just have a significant amount of sugar in them.
I don’t like sugar in my tea or most things so i’ll prolly ditto your recommendations for the simple tea :)
Nifedipine - vasodilator
This cheap and common calcium channel blocker has an effect more localized to the peripheral vessels than most other calcium channel blockers.
I started taking it as a cure for chilblains, which it was remarkably effective at despite not being officially listed for. Did my research and asked my doctor for it. Never had one since.
However I soon realized the joy of never feeling cold again. Gone are the days of taking swigs from a flask to keep my fingers thawed out while working on a stalled tractor at -30C. Gone are cold/numb feet in ski boots and rubber boots, frozen thumbs on quads and snowmobiles. I can work in my unheated shop all day!
Of course its main function is to drop blood pressure by decreasing arterial resistance, which I found provided a significant performance boost in someone with only high normal blood pressure. I box and jump rope, and realized a few days after taking nifedipine that I had been jumping so long that my legs were getting sore, but my endurance still felt limitless.
My blood pressure is down to totally normal too. So drop your blood pressure, boost your endurance and never feel cold again for under $30/month… It’s a deal
L-theanine and caffeine
It’s a combination that gives me energy and allows me to focus for a couple hours at a time without jitters or anxiety.
