HPPD And Me

[BigPapaChakra]

Hey everyone! This is my first post in a long time since my last one introducing myself and asking if a Peat-oriented diet can help. I've been DEEEEP in the medical literature right now, trying to resolve my problems that I'm going to ask about in a moment. Unfortunately this takes time away from doing homework, lol, but I guess I enjoy my self-education more than my institutional education.... Oh yeah, I just want to thank everyone/anyone who reads this, let alone offers their input. I really do appreciate every last bit of information or support I receive.

I'm going to try and keep this more to the point than my last post, as well as more organized. You don't have to read the entire post if you don't have time/don't want (well, obviously you don't HAVE to lol), but it's there to present my context. If you want to, just skip to the second section, titled 'questions'. Thank you.

Context: So, I'm almost 100% certain that I have HPPD, or, Hallucinogen Persisting Perceptual Disorder. Check this out for more information: http://www.ask.com/wiki/Hallucinogen_pe ... ap=ask.com and I think it was caused from something similar to this: http://www.ask.com/wiki/Anticholinergic ... ap=ask.com. This happened at a concert during a time that I now look back upon as one I regret - I went from simple experimentation with cannabis and psychedelics which largely acted as catalysts to spirituality and philosophy and scientific inquiry, to use for pure use, with dire consequences. I accidentally ingested what I believe to be either PCP or embalming fluid (yes, on accident), and they are anticholinergic, delirious substances. That night I was also on MDMA, the night before I had used various pharmaceuticals such as Xanax in combination with alcohol, codeine, and DXM (dxm and MDMA do NOT mix and can cause serotonin syndrome and possibly death), and two days after the concert I used a large amount of DXM again.

Right now, I'm big into the bio-hacking area, largely because of what I caused myself symptom wise. Back then, the amount of dedication I now have for researching anti-aging, healing, performance hacks, etc. I spent on sites such as erowid and bluelight - the bio-hacking websites of drugs (and to a certain degree, spirituality). I thought I could get away with things because I knew more, how many young kids think that, huh? Thing was, I actually was bright and intelligent, as well as oddly intuitive (not to sound conceited), but apparently my prefrontal cortex was definitely NOT fully developed (as it is still is not). I'm still battling things, which sucks because I'm only 18. My dream is to remain with the love of my life (yeah I know, too young to fall in love, I've only heard that 1000x, lol), to help people realize their true potential and help them heal themselves (many family illnesses, close friends/relatives with mental/psychological disorders, drug use in this area rampant, etc.), and to 'express' myself, probably through martial arts or music.

My main symptoms are:
Visual: visual snow and eye floaters; photosensitivity; random flashes of light; trailers following objects in motion; distortions of objects in my visual perception - they quiver, shake, wave, etc. most with HPPD experience this, it's pretty trippy to say the least; halos/auras around objects
Psychological: bouts of depersonalization; anxiety; panic attacks; wandering and repetitive negative thoughts
Emotional: Bouts of emotional sensitivity; Bouts of apathy
Mental: Random bouts of brain fog; spontaneous concentration problems
Physical: Well, I have inconsistent digestion that has gotten better from adopting some of my current protocols; Small, not very noticeable, but present acne; Dark circles under my eyes (these have gotten better, they occurred during the same period I spoke about when I was also on the football and wrestling team, an AP student, using substances, and sleeping less than 5hrs a night while eating a SAD); musculoskeletal imbalances that I notice when doing intense exercise or martial arts, foundation training, walking, etc. I have an upper cervical disc bulge as well as a kind of messed up right knee from many blows to it during football
Other: As I said, Upper Cervical Disc Bulge; 2 concussions within 6 months or so of each other; various blows to the head from wrestling and football; Cracked open head (dang, lot's of damage to mah head!!)

Current Protocol Helping Most: TULIP: this is a protocol termed, The Ultimate Laser Protocol, I found out about from fellow bio-hacker and 'virtual colleague/associate/friend' LostFalco. Essentially, it is a protocol based around Transcranial Low Level Laser Therapy and a supplement regiment for enhancing mitochondria. He was extremely generous and sent me two different red LEDs (one with 48 and one with 96 LEDs), the wall adapters, two very thorough books on molecular and cellular biology (Life's Ratchet: Extracting Order From Chaos; The Machinery of Life), and the very expensive LEF brand mitochondrial supplements (LEF Mitochondrial Support with BioPQQ; LEF PQQ; LEF Ubiquinol with Shilajat). Let me tell you, this has single-handedly helped me the most. I've only used the LEDs three times, and have been taking the mitochondrial stack for a week, and I have much decreased anxiety, panic, wandering thoughts, improved disposition, motivation, etc. I'll post some threads everyone should look at if interested, everyone who has tried this stack has only noted positive effects.

Questions: (1) Does anyone have any information/experience/input, whether from themselves, Dr. Peat, or related physicians/authorities/etc. that may specifically help with HPPD, or at least sensory gating or psychological disorders?
(2) I know some people who follow Dr. Peat (pranarupa blogger), and I believe from my short readings of Dr. Peat, believe in regenerative medicine. Does Dr. Peat understand/speak about/promote brain neuroplasticity? Any specific articles, audio files, interviews?
(3) What is Dr. Peat's views on acetylcholine? Some people with Acute Anticholinergic Syndrome benefit from taking choline supplements or eating foods that are high in choline, non-oxidized cholesterol, phosphatidylcholine/serine, and so on.
(4) I haven't read into Dr. Peat's work enough, but in all honesty, as my brain continues to reassemble if this TULIP protocol continues to work, I will dig into every last article and citation in his articles; but, what are his ideas on mitochondria specifically? Mitochondrial biogenesis? Is creating new mitochondria good in his eyes for anti-aging, or is it great for performance/total well-being and disease prevention, although you may 'burn out' so to speak?
(5) Any brain specific 'hacks'? Neurotransmitters? Any information on synaptogenesis, myelinogenesis, etc.?
(6) Any alternative pracitioners or protocols worth looking into?
(7) Is there any way I can contact Dr. Peat, through email or something? Would he even get back to me if I did?
(8) Best ways to buy his books? I could've sworn I've seen people say they've had trouble purchasing through his personal website, or that they were out of stock. The best website I've found for books is alibris - I got the entire 4-Hour series by Tim Ferriss for less than $30, all new hardcover copies; but Dr. Peat's books are expensive even on that site.

Comments: I just read this post: http://primaldocs.com/opinion/gelatin-f ... ppression/ and it got me thinking of Dr. Peat. This woman is a GAPS practitioner (Gut and Psychology Syndrome diet) who noted a lot of benefits from simply adding great lakes gelatin into her diet, especially a sense of calm and improved sleep (which improves basically everything as it is). I also read Dr. Peat's article on Aspirin and I'm intrigued to start experimenting with it - the LEF Foundation has plenty of articles on Aspirin being an anti-aging 'supplement' of sorts. I'm really doing my own research on mitochondria right now, followed by glycolysis, lipolysis, the krebs cycle, and the electron transport chain. Only then, will I really be able to know what information to take from who.

Well, thanks again everyone! Hopefully this wasn't too dense (seems as if it is). I think I may find the appropriate posting location and create a separate topic on the TULIP protocol I'm speaking about. I think everyone who has the means should probably experiment with it, and it seems as though many people who follow Dr. Peat are fond of red lights anyhow - this is just something different - direct transcranial photobiomodulation for recovery, or, if healthy, cognitive and emotional enhancement which has been substantiated in many human clinical trials as well (tested with executive functioning and so on). Amazing protocol. Well thanks, I'm beyond gracious for any input I receive!

 

[kiran]

He believes Acetylcholine to be an excitoxin, stressful. This agrees with my experience.
The benefits from cdp-choline are from the uridine, for instance, and choline itself wasn't very useful to me.

All the mitochondria die in the night, without sunlight, and are regenerated in the morning.

I'm not aware of any hacks. You just have to eat adequate carbs(sugar), protein, vitamins, minerals, etc and minimize the stressors.
That said, there are often specific reasons for specific symptoms.
For instance a light sensitivity might be due to a vitamin A deficiency.
Brain fog is usually connected to a low body temperature.
Halos and auras are associated with seizures(yikes), and a high metabolism should help with that.

You should get some blood testing done to see if any of the hormones are out of whack.
You might want to look at these if you're serious about asking for help here: Blood Chemistry, CO2 or bicarbonate, Thyroid, Whole Blood Serotonin, Vit D 25-OH, Prolactin, Parathyroid, lactate.

You can find his contact info if you search for "ray peat contact" in google. He's usually very good at responding to questions, and responds within the day. This is probably the best way to get his books too, directly from him.

 

[BigPapaChakra]

Wow, alright, thanks for the help!

Interesting input on the choline. As far as I know choline is really a double sword - some people have too much/enough therefore supplementing it or taking/eating something that allows more to be generated could cause headaches, jaw tension, etc. and some people don't have nearly enough so maybe that's for them. I haven't looked at ANY studies on acetylcholine, though, lol. I've been studying Myelinogenesis, and there are some very interesting studies I can post. One is a huge study on myelin throughout human life, and they compare it to chimps and some other closely related primates. As far as I can tell, we are barely myelinated at all during birth, whereas chimps are really myelinated, have low body fat, and are fully functional (almost). We continue to prune synapses in the prefrontal cortex until our 30's, so if you apply the proper nutrition and protocols, you can definitely, 'rebuild' your brain. The thing that I'm at a crossroads with, is, it seems like ketosis is necessary for myelin generation. But someone on these threads has posted a study about fructose being an anti-convuslant, I wonder if it can aid in myelin generation.

Yeah, I plan on getting testing done when I have the funds. I just don't know where I should start. I was thinking extensive neurotransmitter testing since I used to use a lot of random substances and until I discovered Dr. Peat/Dr. Kruse/Jaminet I wasn't eating nearly as clean. Then I also thought about a complete thyroid with antibodies test, since many people have some problems with their thyroid without even knowing, and even if they don't, is it optimal?

Thanks for the information. I'm going to send Dr. Peat an email and hopefully he has the time to get back to me. That would be amazing. I'll inquire about his books too. Thanks again!

 

[kiran]

Actually, I believe you can measure your metabolism without thyroid testing, the symptoms are more important than the numbers.

You want to measure body temperature, and heart rate. If your temperature is up but your hands and feet are cold, I think that's a sign of adrenaline driven temperature. You want to start a new thread for that, because I'm not sure about the details.

There's not such a thing as an optimal thyroid really, but an optimal metabolism. That is when the hypothyroid symptoms go away.

 

[BigPapaChakra]

Thanks for all the information, I'm definitely going to check out a lot of this information, namely, everything on mitochondria and the thyroid. Right now, a lot of what I do (besides maybe TULIP) is opposite to most here/Dr. Peat, but some of his ideas are growing on me. Since I started my journey my well-being and performance in life have increased a lot, and my symptoms decreased a lot, but that doesn't necessarily mean I'm doing the right things. It could be a temporary band-aid; or it could help due to other things - no gluten, as little GMOs/preservatives/pesticides as possible, re-including meat, fat, cholesterol, and salt into my diet, lowered workout frequency, etc.

One thing I'd really love to start doing when I have the money, is drinking Bulletproof Coffee again. By far the best 'performance enhancer' there is, even if you don't do the fasting protocol. I'd imagine it would be Peat friendly: Upgraded Coffee beans (certified to contain no mycotoxins, organic, shade-grown, grown with non-irradiated water from the local area, etc.) blended with grass-fed butter and Upgraded MCT Oil (again, no mycotoxins, histamines, non-gmo, etc.). If that wasn't technically 'Peat friendly', I'm sure you could simply add collagen or sugar to it.

I hope some more experienced/knowledgeable Peaters chime in. I'm also wondering about Dopamine a lot. But that's another topic.

Thanks again, I appreciate it!

 

[ddjd]

Some people with Acute Anticholinergic Syndrome benefit from taking choline supplements or eating foods that are high in choline, non-oxidized cholesterol, phosphatidylcholine/serine, and so on.

is this an actual quote?