feedandseed
Member
Hi all. First post so I suppose introductions are in order. I'm feedandseed, have been browsing this forum for the better part of a year now and only recently was finally able to make an account. I'm male, 22 years old. I've had odd health problems my whole life that roughly align with most on this forum. (Leaky gut, skin/hair issues, allergies, dysbiosis) I was fairly autistic as a child but was very fortunate to be exposed to LSD around 16, as it essentially cured me (could suddenly make eye contact easily, no longer anxious speaking to others, could better empathize) and became relatively normal, but some persistent issues remain. In the course of trying to treat myself, I've come to realize that the serotonin/dopamine balance is probably the single root factor in all of my issues. Exploring this angle of health is what lead me to Peat and this forum.
It seems like my default state is high androgens, high gaba, high serotonin. I've tested >1000 ng/dl for test before but simultaneously prolactin of ~17 and very high TSH. (though "normal" thyroid hormone concentrations) And behaviorally this translates to laziness, procrastination, and avoidance. Physiologically, I look good due to lack of body fat but have trouble gaining weight. I'm also frequently cold and below ideal temps according to peat. Strangely, my SHBG was in the upper range of normal on my most recent blood work, complicating the obvious "hypothyroid" diagnosis. I've begun to suspect some kind of 5HT receptor imbalance causing sympathetic/parasympathetic nervous system imbalance. Possibly due to unfortunate childhood use of SSRI medication.
Of the things I've tried, three stand out as extremely helpful.
1.) Androsterone - even as low as 1mg/day applied to the wrists or navel relieves many of the symptoms I attribute to high prolactin. It works so well that I've accepted I may have to trade my hair for overall wellness. Oh well.
2.) Protein Restriction - avoiding tryptophan makes me feel significantly better. I try once a week to have a day where I consume only fruit juice and gelatin + tyrosine/phenylalanine. On these days and for the day after I feel incredibly dopaminergic.
3.) Lisuride - 25 ug applied to wrists basically feels like the "afterglow" from LSD. I get increased temperatures, reduction in "lazy" tendencies, reduction in dermatitis (anti-fibrotic effect?), social ease, etc. Which brings me to the topic at hand:
Lisuride FEELS like it regulates my nervous system towards a more ideal state, whatever that may be. My concern is that with continued use I'll desensitize the 5ht1a receptor and make the problem worse. Given that it is a dopamine agonist I'd already rather not take it indefinitely, but dopamine resensitization is actually not so bad, (inositol &or 9-me-bc seem to reliably sensitize)
and what I am really concerned about is the 5ht1a agonism , since theoretically upon stopping the medication the autoreceptor will be desensitized and serotonin levels will increase as a result - activating the whole serotonin cascade and dropping dopamine.
Additionally, even absent an agonist like lisuride, sensitizing 5ht1a seems like a good option to mimic lisuride's positive effects on systemic dopamine/serotonin balance over the long term without need for an agonist. Sadly, my search for a solution to reliably sensitize presynaptic 5ht1a, or a lisuride alternative without such agonism, has so far been unfruitful:
-Cyproheptadine is essentially intolerable due to its dopamine antagonism and lazyfying effect, and while I do get a positive rebound effect from it, I run into the same issue that @Lokzo describes where this is temporary. I may be reaching here but I guess this is due to also sensitizing other 5ht receptors such as post-synaptic 1a and leaving the overall balance unchanged. The main issue though is that as a student, I can't afford the 2-3 days of laziness.
-Metergoline seems like the obvious choice since (according to @haidut) it antagonizes 5ht1a while still reducing overall serotonergic signaling, and my anecdotal experience with it supports this. Mentally, I feel way better both on it and after taking it, including an increase in temps. The issue is that it causes my digestion to completely halt. I don't mean sluggish I mean ZERO movement, with all the bloating that entails, and the endotoxin buildup from this makes me very ill for almost 36 hours after administering. Neither Cascara or T3 help. Puzzlingly, this seems to occur even with topical application and at low doses(?!) I assume my 5ht3 is overly sensitive or otherwise imbalanced.
-Mixed reviews about 10-Meo-Harmalan with regards to 5ht1a. Also worried about a potential 5ht3 antagonism situation like with metergoline. Not willing to bite the bullet on that purchase without more info.
-Hypericin (Ze 117) is prohibitively expensive and I'm not certain its benefits would be persistent upon stopping.
-Inositol seems to sensitize everything EXCEPT 5ht1a
-Lecozotan is definitely what I'm looking for but I can't find it anywhere
I will probably continue using Lisuride for the time being just because it dramatically improves my QOL. Am I being a hypochondriac about long term negatives of this?
Any other thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated :)
It seems like my default state is high androgens, high gaba, high serotonin. I've tested >1000 ng/dl for test before but simultaneously prolactin of ~17 and very high TSH. (though "normal" thyroid hormone concentrations) And behaviorally this translates to laziness, procrastination, and avoidance. Physiologically, I look good due to lack of body fat but have trouble gaining weight. I'm also frequently cold and below ideal temps according to peat. Strangely, my SHBG was in the upper range of normal on my most recent blood work, complicating the obvious "hypothyroid" diagnosis. I've begun to suspect some kind of 5HT receptor imbalance causing sympathetic/parasympathetic nervous system imbalance. Possibly due to unfortunate childhood use of SSRI medication.
Of the things I've tried, three stand out as extremely helpful.
1.) Androsterone - even as low as 1mg/day applied to the wrists or navel relieves many of the symptoms I attribute to high prolactin. It works so well that I've accepted I may have to trade my hair for overall wellness. Oh well.
2.) Protein Restriction - avoiding tryptophan makes me feel significantly better. I try once a week to have a day where I consume only fruit juice and gelatin + tyrosine/phenylalanine. On these days and for the day after I feel incredibly dopaminergic.
3.) Lisuride - 25 ug applied to wrists basically feels like the "afterglow" from LSD. I get increased temperatures, reduction in "lazy" tendencies, reduction in dermatitis (anti-fibrotic effect?), social ease, etc. Which brings me to the topic at hand:
Lisuride FEELS like it regulates my nervous system towards a more ideal state, whatever that may be. My concern is that with continued use I'll desensitize the 5ht1a receptor and make the problem worse. Given that it is a dopamine agonist I'd already rather not take it indefinitely, but dopamine resensitization is actually not so bad, (inositol &or 9-me-bc seem to reliably sensitize)
and what I am really concerned about is the 5ht1a agonism , since theoretically upon stopping the medication the autoreceptor will be desensitized and serotonin levels will increase as a result - activating the whole serotonin cascade and dropping dopamine.
Additionally, even absent an agonist like lisuride, sensitizing 5ht1a seems like a good option to mimic lisuride's positive effects on systemic dopamine/serotonin balance over the long term without need for an agonist. Sadly, my search for a solution to reliably sensitize presynaptic 5ht1a, or a lisuride alternative without such agonism, has so far been unfruitful:
-Cyproheptadine is essentially intolerable due to its dopamine antagonism and lazyfying effect, and while I do get a positive rebound effect from it, I run into the same issue that @Lokzo describes where this is temporary. I may be reaching here but I guess this is due to also sensitizing other 5ht receptors such as post-synaptic 1a and leaving the overall balance unchanged. The main issue though is that as a student, I can't afford the 2-3 days of laziness.
-Metergoline seems like the obvious choice since (according to @haidut) it antagonizes 5ht1a while still reducing overall serotonergic signaling, and my anecdotal experience with it supports this. Mentally, I feel way better both on it and after taking it, including an increase in temps. The issue is that it causes my digestion to completely halt. I don't mean sluggish I mean ZERO movement, with all the bloating that entails, and the endotoxin buildup from this makes me very ill for almost 36 hours after administering. Neither Cascara or T3 help. Puzzlingly, this seems to occur even with topical application and at low doses(?!) I assume my 5ht3 is overly sensitive or otherwise imbalanced.
-Mixed reviews about 10-Meo-Harmalan with regards to 5ht1a. Also worried about a potential 5ht3 antagonism situation like with metergoline. Not willing to bite the bullet on that purchase without more info.
-Hypericin (Ze 117) is prohibitively expensive and I'm not certain its benefits would be persistent upon stopping.
-Inositol seems to sensitize everything EXCEPT 5ht1a
-Lecozotan is definitely what I'm looking for but I can't find it anywhere
I will probably continue using Lisuride for the time being just because it dramatically improves my QOL. Am I being a hypochondriac about long term negatives of this?
Any other thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated :)
