Red Light Making A Big Difference

asajulian

Member
Joined
Oct 10, 2012
Messages
50
I just wanted to chime in and share with you all some of my experiences. I have had a long history of hypothyroid symptoms since I was in my teen years and it came to a head about a year ago now. Experiencing bigtime depression, hair loss, digestive inability, etc. I implemented some of Ray's dietary advice about 8 months ago and it has made a big difference, especially over the summer when I took some time off work. (I work doing computer work, so it is very sedentary and not much sunlight). I got my vitamin D tested 8 months back and it was a miserable 19. However, over the summer, I had an almost complete reverse of symptoms and some of them have come back recently and I have been trying to find out what was the cause of the good health.

The worst symptoms I have dealt with is terrible edema of the face, tongue, etc. It is definitely water retention and big doses of salt would usually lessen the symptoms dramatically, but I hated taking that much salt. I recently contacted Ray and told him what was going on and he asked me if I was getting enough light. I knew I wasn't, especially since going back home for vacation, my parent's house is always very dark, which kind of explains why my symptoms got worse.

My recent test results are:

Serotonin - 216
Prolactin - 12.7
Vitamin D - 35
High Calcium and Low Phosphate which suggests parathyroid hormone activity
TSH - .007

So I went to the hardware store and bought 2 250W lights and put them on a stand over my desk shining down right on top of me (not directly in front of me because its really annoying), and I've experienced almost a complete turnover of symptoms. Edema has gone way down, mood elevation, depression has lifted, more color in my face (probably better circulation), no hair loss, hair looks very shiny and lots of body, etc.

EDIT: This is after 3 days of using the lights. And supplements I take are thyroid, niacinamide, vitamin A, D, E. The point of this post however is that no matter what supplement/dietary thing I took, symptoms would often remain the same.

Hopefully this helps somebody.
 

chris

Member
Joined
Oct 8, 2012
Messages
437
Age
31
Location
UK
Exciting, I ordered 1x 250w a few days ago, looking forward to it arriving! How long have you had them on you?
 
OP
A

asajulian

Member
Joined
Oct 10, 2012
Messages
50
chris said:
Exciting, I ordered 1x 250w a few days ago, looking forward to it arriving! How long have you had them on you?

I edited the post above, but today is the 3rd day. I noticed results after the first day though. I had used one bulb before in the past and got results with it then too. For whatever reason I stopped using it. Anywho, I think having the light above me shining down is helping the most. I am actually using a guitar notation stand to hold the lights (lol) so it is high above me. Keeps the area really warm too.
 

narouz

Member
Joined
Jul 22, 2012
Messages
4,429
asajulian said:
So I went to the hardware store and bought 2 250W lights and put them on a stand over my desk shining down right on top of me (not directly in front of me because its really annoying), and I've experienced almost a complete turnover of symptoms.

asa-

What kind of lights are you using, exactly?
 
OP
A

asajulian

Member
Joined
Oct 10, 2012
Messages
50
narouz said:
asajulian said:
So I went to the hardware store and bought 2 250W lights and put them on a stand over my desk shining down right on top of me (not directly in front of me because its really annoying), and I've experienced almost a complete turnover of symptoms.

asa-

What kind of lights are you using, exactly?

It's called a "Bulbrite BR40 250W." http://www.amazon.com/Bulbrite-250BR40H ... B003P1MQDK
 

narouz

Member
Joined
Jul 22, 2012
Messages
4,429
asajulian said:
narouz said:
asajulian said:
So I went to the hardware store and bought 2 250W lights and put them on a stand over my desk shining down right on top of me (not directly in front of me because its really annoying), and I've experienced almost a complete turnover of symptoms.

asa-

What kind of lights are you using, exactly?

It's called a "Bulbrite BR40 250W." http://www.amazon.com/Bulbrite-250BR40H ... B003P1MQDK

Thanks, asa-
The bulb at the link you give is 130 volts.
Is your bulb also 130 volts?
 
OP
A

asajulian

Member
Joined
Oct 10, 2012
Messages
50
narouz said:
asajulian said:
narouz said:
asajulian said:
So I went to the hardware store and bought 2 250W lights and put them on a stand over my desk shining down right on top of me (not directly in front of me because its really annoying), and I've experienced almost a complete turnover of symptoms.

asa-

What kind of lights are you using, exactly?

It's called a "Bulbrite BR40 250W." http://www.amazon.com/Bulbrite-250BR40H ... B003P1MQDK

Thanks, asa-
The bulb at the link you give is 130 volts.
Is your bulb also 130 volts?

Yeah, it's 250 watts and 130 volts.
 

narouz

Member
Joined
Jul 22, 2012
Messages
4,429
asa-
I'm guessing you live outside the U.S.?
The bulbs I find here in the U.S. are 120 volts.
But the 130 volt is, I believe, the one Peat recommends.

How hot are they?
 

charlie

Admin
The Law & Order Admin
Joined
Jan 4, 2012
Messages
14,359
Location
USA
asajulian, this is awesome! Thank you for sharing!

narouz, those are the light bulbs Ray Peat does say to get, I have 6 on order and should be here soon.
 

narouz

Member
Joined
Jul 22, 2012
Messages
4,429
Charlie (and asa)-
Yes, I do too.
I've been using my red-glass filtered 500W halogens,
but I want to see if the specific Peat-recommended "heat lamps" are better/different.

asa-
So...you've got two of them shining on you.
How hot to they get?
Are you able to stay under them for a long time,
or does the heat get to you pretty quickly?
Also: do they put out a lot of light? I mean, do you use them as a light source also?
 
OP
A

asajulian

Member
Joined
Oct 10, 2012
Messages
50
narouz said:
Charlie (and asa)-
Yes, I do too.
I've been using my red-glass filtered 500W halogens,
but I want to see if the specific Peat-recommended "heat lamps" are better/different.

asa-
So...you've got two of them shining on you.
How hot to they get?
Are you able to stay under them for a long time,
or does the heat get to you pretty quickly?
Also: do they put out a lot of light? I mean, do you use them as a light source also?

They are very warm, in fact, earlier today I went for a run in the 30 degree weather to "cool off." (lol) They put off tons of light, so yes I do use them for a light source. The first few days it was making me very drowsy just being under them for an hour or so. I dunno how to interpret that except that maybe the stress system is lessening. I've had really good sleep as a result too.
 
OP
A

asajulian

Member
Joined
Oct 10, 2012
Messages
50
Another thing to point out is that the first few days I worked with no shirt on and shorts to maximize skin exposure. ( I do programming from my house by the way, lol)

Another symptom I had was a consistent white tongue, which has turned pink as a result. I've been taking around 30K vitamin A per day.
 
J

j.

Guest
Is the 250W recommendation because that's the ideal amount of watts? Are more watts too hot or something and make it uncomfortable to use? Would a 500W bulb provide a significant amount of increased benefits (if any)?
 
OP
A

asajulian

Member
Joined
Oct 10, 2012
Messages
50
j. said:
Is the 250W recommendation because that's the ideal amount of watts? Are more watts to hot or something and make it uncomfortable to use?

Well, right now, I have two 250W for a total of 500. I would imagine two 500s would be pretty intense...anyone wanna try? :D
 
J

j.

Guest
asajulian said:
Well, right now, I have two 250W for a total of 500.

I don't know anything about those units, I didn't even know whether using two 250W bulbs is in some way equivalent to using one of 500W.
 

charlie

Admin
The Law & Order Admin
Joined
Jan 4, 2012
Messages
14,359
Location
USA
j. said:
Is the 250W recommendation because that's the ideal amount of watts? Are more watts too hot or something and make it uncomfortable to use? Would a 500W bulb provide a significant amount of increased benefits (if any)?

Ray Peat suggests at least 2-3 250 watt bulbs during the winter. Plus you have to keep in mind how much power you are pulling on an individual circuit so you do not overload it.

asajulian said:
Well, right now, I have two 250W for a total of 500. I would imagine two 500s would be pretty intense...anyone wanna try? :D

I am under 2 250 watt infrared lamps, 1 500 watt halogen, and 1 150 watt incandescent light for a total of 1150 watts. If I had more power available to me I think I would go for a little more. :lol:
 
J

j.

Guest
Charlie said:
I am under 2 250 watt infrared lamps, 1 500 watt halogen, and 1 150 watt incandescent light for a total of 1150 watts. If I had more power available to me I think I would go for a little more. :lol:

Any difference in well-being?
 
OP
A

asajulian

Member
Joined
Oct 10, 2012
Messages
50
Charlie said:
I am under 2 250 watt infrared lamps, 1 500 watt halogen, and 1 150 watt incandescent light for a total of 1150 watts. If I had more power available to me I think I would go for a little more. :lol:

Whoa. Are you getting benefits from it? Do you have them shining directly on you? (Keep in mind I am spending 4-6 hours under them per day because I work at the computer)
 

Similar threads

Back
Top Bottom