Posted by bleauberry on March 21, 2008, at 18:13:10
In reply to Is there such thing as a 'brain cleanse?', posted by cg1973 on March 20, 2008, at 0:08:32
I forgot a couple things. Yeah, my brain obviously needs a cleanse too.
Ginkgo biloba can regrow dendrites and a bunch of other good stuff. Acetyl-l-carnitine also has brain rejuvenating actions. Fish oil and flax oil together help by restoring synaptic plasticity. Phosphatidylcholine is being used by integrative docs to restore brain functions, both orally and IV. With all of these, gains occur slowly over months. No fast cure.
As we know, receptors get sensitized and desensitized by various psychiatric drugs. They often stay that way after the drug is stopped. How to reverse that? I don't know. The drug memantine can prevent tolerance and poopout of stimulants and opioids, and even reverse tolerance and poopout after it has already set in. So maybe it might have some receptor resetting value? Dunno, but makes sense.
As I said though, I think longterm use of psychiatric drugs pretty much locks us into a lifetime of taking a cocktail of various things to make up for the shortfalls. Anti-antidepresant folks have even said that we may be addicted to antidepressants for life, not that they do anything for us, but that the brain just cannot function anymore without them.
The hard part for all of us is finding what helps. As if we haven't had enough trials and errors already.
Anyway, for natural stuff I think longterm brain cleanse stands a chance with ginkgo and l-carnitine, possibly phosphatidylcholine and/or phosphatidylserine, and good oils. But I am also fairly sure, personal opinion, that supplements and/or drugs will be needed, as will be a very detailed look at adrenal glands and thyroid glands.
And finally, one last mention. Maca root. It jumpstarts the master control of all glands simultaneously, which in turn directly affects the brain. I have no way to prove it, but I am solidly convinced the hormones control all we deal with, all that the psychiatrists try to treat. Why do I suspect this? When I was on drugs that worked, they never worked 24 hours a day. They worked in the morning, failed in the afternoon, and then worked wonderful in the evening. Every day. Like clockwork. Then my cortisol test...low normal morning, far below normal afternoon, high normal evening. It all finally made sense.
poster:bleauberry
thread:818955
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/alter/20080110/msgs/819293.html