"Reversing Brain Damage" Supplements

[positivethoughts]

First of all I would like to say that I am NOT a representative of any supplement company or anything like that, so please do not think I am trying to peddle some product on any of you. 

 

I am 3 months into quitting vyvanse (70mg daily) cold turkey, after taking it for 2+ years. First of all, I would not suggest that anyone quit cold turkey unless they understand the effects it could have on you. For me, I was hospitalized twice, first for a panic attack and second for an excruciating migraine. But the worst part for me was the brain fog, not being able to focus on anything, feeling lethargic, unable to think clearly, unable to sleep. It really put me in a very dark place to which I am only starting to recover from. I did not fully understand the extent to which I would be affected by the withdrawals. 

 

Ever since I quit, I have been looking for some sort of supplement that could help me heal. My doctor prescribed me with xanax but I did not want to take it, the idea of going from one drug to another did not seem ideal. I am a former HS and college football player, so I have also grown more concerned with the potential of having brain damage as a result of years of subconcussive head impacts, in combination with my use/abuse of vyvanse for 2+ years. My research into this topic led me to this study (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21615001).The study suggests that by using vitamins and supplements to enhance bloodflow (ginko and vinpocetine), acetylcholine (acetyl-l-carnitine and huperzine A), and antioxidant activity (alpha-lipoic acid and n acetyl-cysteine), former players were able to increase overall bloodflow to different areas of the brain, and improve their overall cognitive function. From the looks of it, the results were relatively significant, with some players showing more than 50% improvement in cognitive function, and implies that brain damage could be reversed in football players and former substance abusers. The full article can be found here for free if you click the pdf version of the article titled "Reversing Brain Damage in Former NFL Players" (http://www.tandfonline.com/action/doSearch?quickLinkJournal=&journalText=&AllField=reversing+brain+damage&publication=42857027). 

 

I have been taking this group of supplements, except for the fish oil, for the past week or so and do feel that I have been improving. The vinpocetine and ginko made me feel weird at first, my heart felt like it fluttered a bit, but has gone away. I have also been exercising more regularly which could be helping. I have been able to concentrate for longer during the day, particularly in the morning, but I would not say I am quite to pre-vyvanse levels of concentration. Best part is the sleep, I am able to fall asleep at night without having to take Zzzquil or melatonin - however I do find that I am not able to sleep through the night, I usually wake up very early 3 or 4am and have to force myself to fall back asleep. It's still an improvement though. 

 

I am happy to speak with anyone about this. When it comes to these types of things, I know that it's usually too good to be true, but nonetheless any form of hope is helpful. 

 

Hopefully someone else finds it helpful

 

[Renascido]

Nice find. I just read the study. I was a little disappointed by the lack of thoroughness throughout the study. There were a lot of details that I consider pertinent to repeating the study that were omitted. The exact doses, number of doses, and ingestion times weren't really covered. Fortunately I was able to find some of those details in the references.Since there were so many treatments, and none of them were isolated, I'd like to see more similar research to help understand what factors are definitively contributing towards the statistical improvements. Still, this is absolutely great because so much of what gets passed around on the internet is based on anecdotal evidence, so having this with some empirical data to support the claims is nice. Great preliminary research. I'm going to attempt a similar personal regime, and I'll report back with some of my findings. Thanks for sharing!

[positivethoughts]

Renascido - it's been a little over a month, I was wondering how your regiment has been going? 

 

I feel like it has helped. I am an MBA student and in the months after I quit using vyvanse I was useless, it was so difficult to sit down and write a paper or do an assignment. But I have definitely noticed that once I sit down and commit to it, I have been able to concentrate and complete the given task, in the past month. Now, I'm also coming up on over 5 months without having taken vyvanse, so perhaps my progress could be attributed to the natural recovery of coming off the drug. I also used to have quite a bit of anxiety, and I still do, but I feel there has been a lot of progress in my overall mood/anxiety level when at rest. My heart doesn't feel like its beating really hard at random times. I know the vincetpotene, ginko, and fish oil are supposed to help with circulation, so perhaps thats why my heart rate feels slower and more relaxed? Overall, I feel better, but nothing so prolific that points directly to the vitamins as the responsible addition. Nonetheless, more happy days = progress = I'll take it! 

 

I will check in again perhaps in another month or so. 

[quit-once]

I recently found a fish oil / gingko combo supplement at GNC.  They are these huge, black capsules and rather hard to swallow.  But, they don't cause any fish oil side effects.  I had been taking it for about a week and I experienced several episodes of clear thinking and good ideas.  In fact, once I thought "this is how Adderall made me feel, what have I been doing or eating differently?"  Then I remembered I had bought that new supplement and had been taking it almost daily.  I have never really tried gingko before but I think I will keep taking these things for a while longer.

[Renascido]

Hey man, sorry for the late response.

 

I've stuck to the regimen pretty hardcore over the last month or so. Honestly, I haven't noticed much of a difference up until the past 2 weeks. I doubt it's really to do with the supplements I've been taking, but I figure it doesn't hurt to be taking them (within limits). Like you said, I think I've likely been feeling better due to the natural progression of abstaining from adderall. I actually just hit my 8 month mark yesterday, so that's pretty great. I think I noticed a real turning point at around 7 months. Before then, I really couldn't tell ANY difference from month to month. I hope to continue riding this train. Let's see how much we can heal. Good luck to your brotha