Posted by SLS on December 2, 2023, at 21:18:44
In reply to Re: How psychedelics change the brain, posted by Jay2112 on December 1, 2023, at 21:13:35
> Hi Scott,
>
> I hope you are doing well.Thanks. I wish for you the same.
My lithium responsiveness has been changeable lately. Things were upset after I took meloxicam and naproxen - NSAIDs - to treat lumbar spinal stenosis. I swallowed my first lithium pill in September of 1982. Never once did any of my doctors advise me that NSAIDs increase blood levels of lithium. That is really bizarre. Ibuprofen and naproxen are some of the most used over-the-counter medications. I first learned of this interaction from a pharmacist who just so happened to be doing his job when he filled my precription for meloxicam. It explained a great many things.
I had to titrate my lithium dosage all over again. I had been taking 300 mg/day for years. Now, it appears that 600 mg/day will be optimal.
> I am having severe problems with my current regiment. Sleeping problems, and loss of effect of stimulant. With sleep, I have severe PTSD (which I was officially diagnosed with 5 years ago) related to grief.
Prazosin is often used to treat PTSD nightmares. It can wipe them out entirely. 3 mg at bedtime works well. However, I rarely see prazosin given during the day to mitigate both anxiety and depression. You can find a few articles regarding this high-dosage prazosin on PubMed. Some doctors have used prazosin 10 mg three times a day. It has a fairly short half-life. I tried prazosin 30 mg/day. It reduced my depression significantly. I stayed on it for about a year. I ultimately became frustrated with my lack of a robust response, and I cam off of it. Maybe I should have left prazosin in place and worked with the rest of my treatment regime. I did not find it at all sedating, and it did not cause insomnia. Prazosin might be effective when a person has experienced childhood adversity, including neglect. The term "Complex Trauma" is used to describe a child who has been exposed to multiple traumas thoughout their childhood.> The "existential" psychiatric problems that are hard to cure. (NO current antidepressant treats grief effectively.) But, psychedelics have been shown to reduce symptoms in grief, as well as depression associated with terminal illness. That is where I am at.....except no terminal illness.
Do you think psilocybin is effective at changing thought patterns and perceptions more than it does mood state?
> Psilocybin (mushrooms) is/are widely available here in Canada. Just try a web search with Canada in there and you will get many sites. However, I wouldn't even think about trying to order them from America. But, maybe a nice trip up to friendly Canada might be a good idea? Or, go to the states where mushrooms are legal? Hmmm...sorry I have no easy answer. But, IMHO, worth the effort (and there is the legal risk, I know.) Also, psychiatrist Peter Kramer states, if you can go better than just "remission", go for it...more or less.
Prazosin is remarkably clean. However, the one side effect that I experienced was a lowering of sex-drive. I have no statistics to present, but I'm sure you can find something on a search engine.Should I begin to deteriorate, my first thought is to stay on my current regime and add micro-doses of psilocybin. It is my hope that increasing neuroplasticity might help to "recapture" my antidepressant response.
What have you done to treat the insomnia?
- Scott
Some see things as they are and ask why.
I dream of things that never were and ask why not.The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.
poster:SLS
thread:1122273
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20230117/msgs/1122279.html