Healing Midbrain Damage (chronic Fatigue Syndrome)

[orewashin]

@Jib
How is your thyroid? How do you respond to T3 vs T4?

I know that feel bro. My dad is also in his sixties and has more energy than I do.

I seem to have visceral fat. My stomach sticks out like I ate a lot of food, and it's that way even when my ab muscles are visible.

 

[Jib]

@Jib
How is your thyroid? How do you respond to T3 vs T4?

I know that feel bro. My dad is also in his sixties and has more energy than I do.

I seem to have visceral fat. My stomach sticks out like I ate a lot of food, and it's that way even when my ab muscles are visible.

Measured around my navel, belly is 40.5". Pants waist size 36 currently.
5'11", usually weigh between 193-198lbs.

Have not had any thyroid tests done in years. Last time was probably over 5 years ago and all I remember is my TSH was 2.99. Haven't been to a primary care physician in forever, and not sure what to do about that. I see a psychiatrist regularly (not on any medication currently) who can order tests, being an MD and all, but he's kind of stubborn about it and has only ordered tests based on his own suspicions, never at my request for anything, which kind of sucks.

Have never tried T3 or T4 in my life, only dessicated thyroid back when you could buy the real stuff over the counter. I'm not sure how to get access to most of the drugs/supplements people here seem to use and am hesitant about ordering from foreign pharmacies, although I'm not completely opposed to the idea. Just never done it before.

And yep...it's awful. People much older having more energy/clarity than you do. On the plus side, my quality of life has been so absolutely low, having my health back in and of itself seems like it would make me happy, even barring everything else there is to enjoy in life. Just that alone I think would make me 100% happier.

 

[orewashin]

@Jib
Taking T3-only eliminates or greatly reduces brain fog for me, whereas T4, even a small amount, increases it. There's more written about it in the earlier posts.

Basically, I think CFS brains convert T4 to reverse-T3. This may help healing or impair it, but I suspect it reduces sleep quality by impairing brain stem function, thus preventing the body from healing from CFS, even if everything else is fine.

My reverse-T3 was normal on a blood test, so it doesn't show everything anyway.

 

[Jib]

@orewashin

I'm not sure if it's relevant as far as midbrain damage. But I've severely smashed my head more times than I can count. Including a few times as a baby, one time rolled off the bed, one time mom dropped me down a flight of stairs in a baby stroller, both times caused a dent and severe bleeding. And so many times rough housing with friends growing up I smashed my head, got my nose broken getting punched in the face, slipped and fell on ice and smashed the back of my head, fell down staircase and landed on my head on concrete and went into shock for 10 minutes and couldn't move, etc.

Not sure if that has to do with CFS or what. FWIW my dad had his skull fractured by a friend (not much of a friend I guess) growing up and he does not seem to have any symptoms of CFS at all, and has also been diabetic for decades. Completely avoids sugar and has very limited carb intake for the past 30 years and despite other health issues, fatigue is absolutely not one of them at all.

The inability to recover after exertion is one of the biggest problems here. It's actually infuriating to have an average body after putting in as much effort as I possibly can and simply not being able to be consistent enough to get results.

I may have to try T3. How do you get yours? I'm phobic about primary care physicians and have not had a physical in forever. If I need to get one and get tested to get medication maybe it would be worth it.

Have you ever tried Wim Hof breathing? It's actually very hard to do it for me, even though it's just a breathing exercise. But it does seem to help. I haven't been consistent with it. But the temporary hypoxia does elicit an adaptive response, and I'm not sure if it's from boosting adrenaline or what, but it has proven in the past to give me a bit of a boost. Not enough to get rid of CFS or fully alleviate symptoms even for a little while, but partial alleviation.

I just tried it again and was able to go from being glued to the bed to standing up/walking around. When I feel glued to the bed I mean that literally. It's almost like being completely baked, but without actually being high. Like couchlock from very strong weed except it's just the physical part. I'd actually be curious why weed causes "couchlock' and if that has anything to do with CFS, because the sensation is almost identical, just without the high. It's like you just don't have the willpower to be able to make yourself move at all.

 

[orewashin]

@Jib
That breathing technique seems to include hyperventilation. I wouldn't do it.

That sensation of being glued to a surface is something I have to endure everyday. Yeah.

I don't think insulin resistance has anything to do with CFS. My dad has a large belly and less fat in other areas, but he doesn't have it.

One or more of those head injuries likely damaged a certain area and caused CFS. When a tissue is damaged, it increases reverse-T3 production in an attempt to recover, but if the tissue is the deep brain, which is itself involved in healing, then it causes a cycle that's hard to recover from. So I theorize that suppression of T4 production by taking T3-only may help CFS.

You're right to be afraid of doctors, and there's no treatment for CFS anyway. T3 by itself isn't recognized as a treatment for CFS, so you'll have to rely on those outside sources. At the very least, it'd show you what it's like to have physical fatigue without much brain fog. I'm not sure if T4 suppression can actually heal CFS.

 

[milkboi]

@Jib
Taking T3-only eliminates or greatly reduces brain fog for me, whereas T4, even a small amount, increases it. There's more written about it in the earlier posts.

Basically, I think CFS brains convert T4 to reverse-T3. This may help healing or impair it, but I suspect it reduces sleep quality by impairing brain stem function, thus preventing the body from healing from CFS, even if everything else is fine.

My reverse-T3 was normal on a blood test, so it doesn't show everything anyway.

So slow-release T3 before sleeping could be helpful?

 

[orewashin]

So slow-release T3 before sleeping could be helpful?

Certainly. I've never tried timed-release T3, but my heart rate seems slower than usual upon waking up, although my morning cortisol sat just above the upper cutoff for normal.

 

[Ableton]

Did you try...aspirin?

 

[orewashin]

NDT, which has T4, not only gives me brain fog, but worsens the so-called "couch potato syndrome".

Did you try...aspirin?

Yes. However, it doesn't cure my fatigue and I get ear ringing from it despite eating a lot of gelatin. I tried a spoon of glycine, but keep in mind, I get tinnitus for days following a large dose of aspirin. So taking glycine once wouldn't suffice. I also don't get bruising from the dosage, which suggests it's not very high.

 

[milkboi]

@orewashin What mechanism do you speculate is behind LDN being (sometimes) effective for alleviating CFS symptoms. I'm tempted to give it a try.

 

[orewashin]

@orewashin What mechanism do you speculate is behind LDN being (sometimes) effective for alleviating CFS symptoms. I'm tempted to give it a try.

I've never heard about that. But maybe I'll try it. Would a person with CFS feel better from a single large dose, or does it have to be chronic low-dose?

 

[milkboi]

I've never heard about that. But maybe I'll try it. Would a person with CFS feel better from a single large dose, or does it have to be chronic low-dose?

Chronic low dose. It‘s pretty hard to get my hands on here in Germany, that‘s why I haven‘t tried it yet.

 

[orewashin]

Chronic low dose. It‘s pretty hard to get my hands on here in Germany, that‘s why I haven‘t tried it yet.

Do you think Naloxone would have a similar effect? They are sister substances, and Naloxone is probably easier to come by, having a more common usage.

 

[milkboi]

Do you think Naloxone would have a similar effect? They are sister substances, and Naloxone is probably easier to come by, having a more common usage.

Yup I‘d think so, but I haven‘t looked into their differences. Btw I actually have a source for Naltrexone right now, I‘ll dm it to you.

 

[orewashin]

I added to the theory in the OP using studies such as:

CHRONIC ORTHOSTATIC INTOLERANCE AND THE POSTURAL TACHYCARDIA SYNDROME (POTS)

CFS is a disease in which the deep brain doesn't increase blood flow to the head properly, so stress hormones compensate for this, which wears on the body, producing fatigue, and slows healing from the disease.

Whatever increases blood flow to the head would reduce fatigue by reducing the surge of stress hormones that come from an upright position.

Supine lying, or even decline (I saw that someone recommended lying decline for
5 minutes per day) would probably aid healing.

CO2 apparently increases blood flow to the brain. Bag breathing, or a CO2 mask. I've heard RP say that breathing under resistance stresses the lungs and increases serotonin, so something with a large deadspace and no resistance.

A paper bag may be hard for someone with CFS to hold against their face, and it's hard to do lying down, which would be more beneficial.

Salt increases blood volume, which is helpful.

CFS = brain damage and bad brain blood flow
Treatment = pregnenolone/B1 for brain healing, CO2/salt/lying for brain blood flow

 

[orewashin]

@milkboi
I tried a dose of nasal naloxone and it gave me better mental acuity without any side effects. I'm looking forward to hearing about your experience with naltrexone. I'll likely try it in the future.

 

[Jib]

I was on low dose naltrexone for over a year. I actually don't know why I can't seem to get it refilled. I ask my psychiatrist to refill my subscription and he never did. That was months ago.

Maybe it did help, because I remember working out a lot more. I actually am a lot weaker than I was last year and energy has been lower. Doing a little better lately (more frequent protein consumption and more frequent meals in general; in my experience, fasting is practically a death sentence when you have CFS). But maybe it did help.

I was on 4mg once a day at night.

 

[milkboi]

@milkboi
I tried a dose of nasal naloxone and it gave me better mental acuity without any side effects. I'm looking forward to hearing about your experience with naltrexone. I'll likely try it in the future.

Great!

 

[milkboi]

I was on low dose naltrexone for over a year. I actually don't know why I can't seem to get it refilled. I ask my psychiatrist to refill my subscription and he never did. That was months ago.

Maybe it did help, because I remember working out a lot more. I actually am a lot weaker than I was last year and energy has been lower. Doing a little better lately (more frequent protein consumption and more frequent meals in general; in my experience, fasting is practically a death sentence when you have CFS). But maybe it did help.

I was on 4mg once a day at night.

Bro don't be held back by something like a prescription. Health > law

 

[Jib]

Bro don't be held back by something like a prescription. Health > law

I'm constantly seeing people recommend different overseas pharmacies to order drugs. How many of them are reputable? I have no issue as far as the law goes, but just don't want to give my credit card # if I'm not 100% sure it's a trusted source.