Warrior's Journal (My POIS Protocol)

[Warrior]

Magnesium:

More than likely very deficient. My last blood serum was low. Since then I have tried supplementing daily but have been quite forgetful at times. Magnesium deficiencies are also notoriously difficult to replenish, which can take up to a full year to begin seeing results... My AB diet is definitely another risk factor, as well as high dose D3 as it eats up magnesium.

Magnesium deficiency also bottlenecks methylation and D3. In addition to daily supplementation, I'm going to begin doing "Transdermal Magnesium Therapy" which is a fancy word to describe bathing with magnesium salts and/or getting a magnesium oil you can apply to your body.

Article on magnesium priming the immune system to fight cancer and infections:
Magnesium may prime the immune system to fight cancer and infections

[Muon]

High Doses of Vitamin D Can Deplete Magnesium

[Warrior]

--- Update ---

I have found Cordyceps from Oriveda to be very powerful for my POIS and food sensitivities (credit to r/7e7en87 from the POIS subreddit for recommending). I've tested this a few times now and it definitely works. So I will be adding it to my official protocol going forward. I don't tend to need to take much either, maybe 500mg (2 pills) per day or so. I think it has also reduced the leakiness of my gut as a result. I have no idea how it's working, but it's an antimicrobial and an adaptogen.

Sourcing is also very important when it comes to medicinal mushrooms, so if you're going to give it a go I recommend buying from Oriveda or RealMushrooms. Other high quality brands would also exist, but these are the main two I remember from research.

I'm also working on elevating glutathione at the moment. I think it's an underrated immune big dog, and can take a few weeks to actually increase to optimal levels. My current protocol for elevating glutathione:

--NAC 1-1.5g (spread throughout the day) for 1-2 weeks then cycle off for at least 1-2 weeks with Acetyl Glutathione 100mg daily.
--Repeat until glutathione levels are in optimal range.
--Ensure you also have adequate co-factor nutrients: vitamin C, vitamin E, B complex & NAD, selenium, zinc, molybdenum, glycine, magnesium, & copper.
--NAC chelates minerals, so supplementing them is a must if you take it for a long period.
--Cycling NAC is also recommended to avoid side-effects, which is why switching to Acetyl Glutathione (a bioavailable form of glutathione) is beneficial. Can be a bit pricey tho.

--- Not a doc, follow at your own risk ---

[Muon]

Pharmacological actions of Cordyceps, a prized folk medicine
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1211/jpp.57.12.0001

[Warrior]

Pharmacological actions of Cordyceps, a prized folk medicine
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1211/jpp.57.12.0001

And yet many will claim traditional chinese medicine is bullshit. Now imagine how many medicinal compounds are out there that science is yet to identify? Are we going to wait for the science to catch up before trying something? Just because we don't have the science we shouldn't explore or try them? This is my issue with mainstream western medicine who is overly skeptical and biased against traditional natural medicine. Their approach is far too conservative when it comes to dealing with diseases like ours.

Thanks for sharing that article.

[freddie]

Are we going to wait for the science to catch up before trying something? Just because we don't have the science we shouldn't explore or try them? This is my issue with mainstream western medicine who is overly skeptical and biased against traditional natural medicine. Their approach is far too conservative when it comes to dealing with diseases like ours.

I could not agree more with you. Actually it is not only an issue of the institutions being conservative, it is worse.
The most common argument against alternative remedies is: "there is not enough research that supports that hypothesis". It seems a scientific, neutral argument. but it is not. Who controls what is researched and what is not? It is the industry, and it is profit that directs the industry, nothing else. If there is no money to be made on a disease, it will be low priority, look at malaria for example. If a medicine is effective, but the patent is expired, new medicines will be developed to replace it, even if not necessary. Pharma does not want to cure diseases, otherwise they would lose their customers. Pharma develops medicines that keep the symptoms in check, so that we will need to buy them our whole life. They are not evil, it is system that is built like that. Profit is the goal, if they don't pursue it, they will lose on the market. But pharma profit and peoples health are conflicting interests. 

[Muon]

John D. Rockefeller took over medicine and education with his oil. Nature could not be patented. The tentacles of that family line are everywhere. You can read it in this book, not focused on medicine but on the big picture, written by an academic who was in the green movement:

https://www.amazon.com/Rockefeller-Controlling-Game-Jacob-Nordang%C3%A5rd/dp/1510780211/

https://www.skyhorsepublishing.com/9781510780217/rockefeller/



Freddies profit argument is correct. In addition to that: Banking is at the root of many problems, central bankers have monopolized money itself. 90% of lower incomes pays interest to the upper 10%. 50% of all paid interest ends up at the less than 0.01% of the upper incomes. You can set up interest rate free banks which costs are covered by tax if you want to improve this issue, they probably won’t allow it. Profit can only be maintained in a society of abundance by artificial scarcity (we are talking about mass production here). Prices can also be manipulated by inflation (printing money), you can even use this method to impoverish populations. Bread and circuses (and careers) are more important to people than finding out how they are being manipulated and doing something about it.

This website will give you a history/overview of NGO networks some of which are major players as well: https://isgp-studies.com/

Sorry for the rambling but I am really fed up.

[Warrior]

Are we going to wait for the science to catch up before trying something? Just because we don't have the science we shouldn't explore or try them? This is my issue with mainstream western medicine who is overly skeptical and biased against traditional natural medicine. Their approach is far too conservative when it comes to dealing with diseases like ours.

I could not agree more with you. Actually it is not only an issue of the institutions being conservative, it is worse.
The most common argument against alternative remedies is: "there is not enough research that supports that hypothesis". It seems a scientific, neutral argument. but it is not. Who controls what is researched and what is not? It is the industry, and it is profit that directs the industry, nothing else. If there is no money to be made on a disease, it will be low priority, look at malaria for example. If a medicine is effective, but the patent is expired, new medicines will be developed to replace it, even if not necessary. Pharma does not want to cure diseases, otherwise they would lose their customers. Pharma develops medicines that keep the symptoms in check, so that we will need to buy them our whole life. They are not evil, it is system that is built like that. Profit is the goal, if they don't pursue it, they will lose on the market. But pharma profit and peoples health are conflicting interests.

Exactly.

The way forward is to take things into your own hands. You cannot rely on modern medicine to help you with complex chronic disease types like POIS. Functional/integrative/natural/traditional medicine has been far more powerful in my experience. These days I wouldn't even recommend you visit a functional specialist unless of course you had the money to burn on testing, supplements, AND consultation fees.

The way you make progress with POIS is like anything else in life. You just test and try a trillion different things and you find what sticks. Start off with the anecdotally recommended here in the community and generally stick to things that are safe. Do your research on each thing you try so you understand the safe and therapeutic dosage, relative risks, co-factor nutrients, and whether brand quality is important. These things can be huge and vary a lot between each thing you try...

I can't speak for everyone, and of course every condition is going to have varying levels of complexity and difficultiness in solving, but this has been the most effective path for me in making actual tangible progress. I'm also very grateful and fortunate for the financial background I have come from which has allowed me to be quite liberal in spending on supplements.

Even if you visit a functional specialist, they are not going to magically know which herbs, adaptogens, antivirals, etc will work best for you. These diseases are incredibly complex. They won't know which immune nutrients will work best for you etc. The only way to find out is by testing and listening to your body. Of course they can be very helpful for giving you a good starting point, rigorous testing and investigation etc. But I've just had more success on my own by testing hundreds of different supplements and listening to my body. If you have the money, I'd be doing both... testing on my own & consulting someone who really knows what they're talking about.

And yes it all comes with a risk. That risk will vary depending on the types of things you try and amount of testing you do. I don't mess with antibiotics and generally don't like taking antimicrobials chronically unless they are offering immediate relief. I make sure to take lots of probiotics if I'm killing anything with antimicrobials. I definitely would not experiment with anything that isn't somewhat mainstream.

I was probably a bit wreckless with the amount of B vitamins/methyl nutrients and D3 I supplemented in hindsight. I now just pulse everything and only take as needed. I don't think any supplement should be taken chronically. I always make sure to take co-factor nutrients with things that suck up nutrients that could cause potential long-term deficiencies or imbalances.

[Warrior]

Updated and cleaned up main post https://poiscenter.com/forums/index.php?topic=3964.msg42080#msg42080

Added lots of powerful herbs I've been testing lately. Cordyceps, black seed oil, propolis, and monolaurin. As well as my glutathione regime.

I am currently on my AB diet w/ sweet potato. I seem to tolerate sweet potato very well compared to grains when I’m not eating a bunch of inflammatory grains. Gluten seems to def make my gut more leaky. Not sure if rice makes my gut more leaky but I’m definitely sensitive to it still - doesn’t really feel much different to gluten.

[Warrior]

Everytime I go to take B vitamins, methyl stuff, etc I seem to get side-effects. Same as with fenugreek I notice, although I only tested once or twice. I think Quantum mentioned in the past that the medicinal effects from fenugreek may be from it's choline content. This anecdotal report makes me more convinced.

I basically interpret this as my body no longer needing extra methyl groups now. It seems to be completely replenished and my body seems to remain on top of everything as well long-term it seems. I haven't taken any methyl stuff for many many months now. I also continue to eat plenty of eggs without issues, though I still try to not eat them daily just go give my body breaks. It's worth noting tho I definitely do not "need" eggs like I used to. In the past I would notice a very distinct before and after eating eggs. Now the before and after is not so obvious, so clearly some kind of mechanism or nutrient status has changed. The methyl content in them also isn't enough to overload my system unlike direct supplementation. They're still one of my grand staples.

NAC is also working really well to clear up brainfog. It keeps everything very clear for me. I used to rely on B complex vitamins for this purpose. I would prefer to still take a B complex at least twice a week or so as I do notice my energy levels are better, but I can't seem to find one that doesn't give me side-effects of some sorts (I've tried many including LifeExtension & Thorne active B complex, as well as unactive ones with folic acid).

So to summarise, pre methyl loading (when my POIS symptoms were really bad & methyl extremely depleted).... methyl supplements, B vitamins, eggs & fenugreek were really powerful. Now they seem to make me socially apathetic (except for eggs) and kind of blunt my mood. Nothing too crazy, but definitely bad if socialising etc.

Also an interesting anecdote, when I was on NAC for 2+ weeks at 2g daily dosages, my appetite at some point dramatically increased. One of my POIS symptoms is appetite suppresion. I think this has to do with the immune system suppression or under a lot of stress. NAC elevates glutathione. POIS almost certainly depletes glutathione. NAC is a cheap option, but definitely not without side-effects or risk. Does seem to hurt my gut mucosial lining at consistent dosages 1g+ per day (I begin to experience sharpish gut pains in random different spots, but this goes away when ceasing or dropping dosage)... so def need to cycle and take it easy, and always supplement co-factor minerals as NAC will dpelete them.

[Warrior]

Made some further refinements to my method. Most important herbs/shrooms are cordyceps from Oriveda and Monolaurin.

Black seed oil, propolis, raw garlic, and fenugreek have all helped in the past but it's too excessive to take them all (not to mention unecessary). But I've kept them in my list in case people want to experiment with them.

No longer take B complex or SAMe for two reasons. B complex vitamins make me socially apathetic, even days later. I find when I just let my mind and neurotransmitters naturally be without supplementation of B vitamins, I consistently feel better. SAMe has some safety concerns that I’m not sure I feel too good taking it long term, tho without a doubt it does benefit methylation in ways I couldn’t achieve through anything else. I’m also fairly certain methylation is still depleted to some degree long-term. So maybe I will continue to checkin with SAMe over the long run. I don’t really know at this stage. TMG and creatine are safer alternatives but I don’t know whether or not they will achieve what SAMe, that B complex vitamins, eggs, and meat certainly couldn’t.

I take NAC 0.5-0.8g most days and listen to my body. Also taking a mineral complex that covers zinc, magnesium, molyebdenum, and copper. Lately been taking extra magnesium and electrolytes throughout the day to experiment with low-carb. NAC has been a great addition to my stack though. Feel like it supports glutathione production and clearing of brainfog very well.

Carb restrictions on AB are still an issue for me, so I begun experimenting with electrolytes and this is certainly helping, but still not 100%. So currently exploring low-carb/keto/carnivore to see how my body feels in ketogenic states.

[Warrior]

Been keto now for 2-3 days. Absolute game-changer. Much more consistent energy levels. Supplementing lots of electrolytes. Less inflammatory than AB.

I think for the last 2 years while I was on AB, and whenever I abided by strictly fruit, honey, and dairy for carbs, my body was trying to tap in and out of keto. I have a very fast motabolism so only eating those source for carbs meant it had to attempt to burn fat quite regularlly.

I added in electrolyte salts (sodium, potassium, and magnesium) on AB and noticed I was tolerating the low carb days better. So 2-3 days ago I decided to go full keto and the results so far have been mindblowing. My energy, libido, and hormones are so much more stable. I'm also able to tolerate greens, nuts, dark chocolate etc anything so far as long as I stay in ketosis (low carb). I haven't tested an extensive range of foods just yet, but everything I've taken so far seems fine. Early days here as well for keto, but things are looking really good!

[Warrior]

Can confirm some of the herbs I’ve been taking, especially some OGs are definitely giving me mild side effects basically identical to methyl donors. I think what’s going on here is that the system that these herbs and methyl donors initially helped to replenish (and thus made me feel better) is now balanced enough where taking these same things that initially helped have actually become a hindrance in causing side effects. I still need to identify which ones, but it’s definitely out of raw garlic, fenugreek, and cordyceps. Black seed oil may cause similar side-effects, but I’ve stopped taking that as it seemed to “whiten” my vision while I was on it, which I didn’t like. I’ve never noticed any side effects from monolaurin, I think because it doesn’t effect the methylation or neurotransmitter system like these other ones do.

I’ve also been keto for quite a number of weeks now and that has been a huge improvement from AB in terms of libido, hormones, and energy. I think the level of sensitivity is quite similar tho. I’m definitely sensitive to some “keto” foods, like many nuts it seems. I’ve mostly been eating fatty meat and vegetables.

Edit: It was the fenugreek. Not sure about raw garlic but no longer seems necessary anyway with cordyceps and monolaurin.

[Warrior]

WARRIOR, PLEASE OBSERVE
OUR FORUM RULES ON PROFANITY
Thanks,
Demo

Tested today day after release taking nothing last night and just eating red meat and eggs today (and some other keto foods.) Also at a social event.

Fenugreek 2g
* Maybe feel better in other ways but definitely feel more on edge and less social after taking. I feel more sensitive to the moment but it feels less natural compared to before taking.
* Also didn’t last long comparative to how I felt beforehand. I don’t really feel like it made any permanent changes to my state.
* Felt like it changed my state such that it interfered with my natural ability to socialise.
* Side effects were relatively mild and short lived but still significant enough to cause inconvenience and retire this supplement.
* Maybe it does still carry some degree of medicinal benefit, but it was definitely short lived and overall not work the side-effects. Perhaps when my POIS symptoms were more intense, it was more useful.
* Updated status: Retired supplement. Used to be helpful, but no longer like how it makes me feel.
* Still useful for removing POIS-like head/facial aches, but unfortunately
not without minor side effects.

Cordyceps 2g
* Huge f****** improvement. Holy s***.
* Powerful.
* Feel like it just corrects whatever problem is going on with POIS re inflammation. Clarifies my mind as well.
* Doesn’t seem to give any side-effects, but probably something to check with more time. But definitely way too powerful to omit.
* Totally relieved CNS stress activation side effects
* No side effects as far as I can notice.
* If it does cause side effects which is probably unlikely, it’s worth figuring out how to take regardless as its medicinal qualities for POIS were very clear. It’s almost like this herb just normalises and clears remaining POIS symptoms.

So once again affirming the effectiveness of Cordyceps (from Oriveda) for my POIS. I’m also retiring fenugreek due to its mild side effects and its ineffectiveness compared to the Cordy and other parts of my stack. The fenugreek does still seem to have a nootropic concentration-like effect, similar to methyl/B vitamin supplements, but I prefer not to mess with it no longer as it felt like it interrupted my natural social flow.

[Muon]

It behaves as a mast cell inhibitor:
https://www.perplexity.ai/search/how-does-cordyceps-interacts-w-VBEeYReZRgm0UK7thnu2vA

====================================================

Your neutrophil level can dip post O. Mast cells are able to eat neutrophils. They attract them by release of Leukotriene B4.

[Warrior]

Thanks for the insight Muon! I appreciate your research!

[Warrior]

Quick update on KETO (3-4 weeks now). Going really well. Huge improvement from AB in terms of hormones, libido, and energy. I was having a lot of energy, "satiation", and poor libido on AB because my body doesn't do well on high GI carbs alone. I still have food sensitivities tho, but am eating a lot more vegetable variety.

I also believe monolaurin plays a crucial role in my stack for improving food sensitivities as well as POIS. Something I will affirm later this week.

I've really been trying to distil my stack and remove anything unecessary.

[Warrior]

High-dose thiamine therapy is definitely on my todo at some point. This user has had success https://www.reddit.com/r/POIS/comments/1fgmwjv/ttfd_pt2/, which is the same dude where I got the idea to try Cordyceps (Oriveda) from. Cordyceps has been very effective for improving my POIS recovery. Clearly our POIS clusters must be similar, and it would be beneficial for me to experiment with high dose thiamine at some point. On the todo.

I know it's also been mentioned quite a bit around here on POIS Center (thiamine therapy). Has always peaked my interest, so will get around to it at some point.

[Warrior]

Monolaurin

* Recently took a break from all herbs because I was experiencing side effects (unbeknownst at the time mostly from the fenugreek, maybe slight from garlic but doesn't really do much for me now these days anyway) and wanted to clarify/refine my herb stack as it was getting too large.
* As a result of going off all herbs, I began experiencing minorish but still annoying side-effects from some vegetables foods I was eating on keto. The best way to describe it is this somewhat benign but very annoying feeling that my head/face isn't relaxed, that it's "disjointed". This would occur 1-3 hrs following eating, only occur when eating plant foods, and would only last 2-3 hrs or so before my body naturally cleared them. No apathy or anhedonic side-effects.
* As soon as I took Monolaurin 2g (reintroducing), these side-effects disappeared almost immediately. Fenugreek also improves these symptoms, but I no longer like how it makes me feel so I decided to disregard it from my stack
* This was so effective that a day after taking the monolaurin and realising my improved state, I decided to wait to dose the next monolaurin until I get more side-effects so I can make a clearer correlation between the monolaurin and improvement of symptoms
* That day never happened so 5 days later I just decided to reintroduce it anyway. Haven't had any significant food sensitivity symptoms since taking the initial 2g. Worth noting I am eating a strict ketogenic carnivorous base diet, while eats a decent amount of vegetables, dark chocolate, and nuts (almonds, pistacios, etc). I still do not tolerate starches in large quantities, the inflammation totally overwhelmes my system (even in the past when I was taking monoalurin)
* Monolaurin has been a powerful herb for my POIS for a while, but because I was taking a large amount of different things, could never fully clarify with confidence that the monolaurin was responsible
* I used monolaurin in the past when I was on a carb-based diet. I remember when I introduced it, it significantly improved my sensitivities even in regards to starches. But that didn't keep up long-term. The starches overwhelmed my body with inflammation, even with monolaurin
* I think monolaurin in regards to improving food sensitivities only works long-term for minorish to low moderate food sensitivities, not huge consistent quantities of things I'm sensitive to. Raw garlic and fenugreek worked in the same way, where it was only effective so long was I still cut out the majority of things I am sensitive to (i.e., gluten-free, grain-free, starch-free, etc).
* Monolaurin is a winner
* Monolaurin also appears to improve POIS, but it's difficult to tell by how much. It’s medicinal benefit has been a lot clearer in regards to food sensitivities
 
Even when I went off all herbs inc. Cordyceps and Monolaurin, the intensity of my POIS was not overwhelming, but definitely did become noticably worst. Methyl donor replenishment (past supplementation of B complex vitamins & SAMe, meat, eggs (choline), etc), adequate D3, adequate glutathione (NAC), and adhering to my strict ketogenic carnivorous-based diet has helped to build a strong base, where the herbs just become additional extra support. Herbs alone would not be enough if the other factors mentioned were not dialled in.

[Warrior]

Propolis
* So I'm fairly sure Propolis helps my POIS, but I think this is a case of it being one in many antimicrobials that will help
* MicrobiomeLabs Mega Mycobalance (https://microbiomelabs.com/home/products/mega-mycobalance/) are uses Propolis for yeast & fungal which I thought was interesting. I've also had a strong history of fungal problems and I hit virtually all the self diagnoses criteria for Candida. Candida as a role in my POIS is at this point a very possible factor
* My POIS seems to respond well to antimicrobial herbs (in the past this included raw garlic, but these days more so monolaurin & propolis)
* I'm sure there are all sorts of powerful antimicrobial herbs for Candida & whatever other possible infections may be causing my POIS
* Ofc much of this is anecdotal and going off simply by how I feel. I also have no idea the long-term effect of these herbs, etc. But I will continue having Propolis as part of my stack unless I come to experience side-effects. I think it works nicely along with Cordyceps, Monolaurin, NAC, and my other immune stuff
* Have also noted in the past anecdotal beneficial results from Propolis, especially in combination with monolaurin, etc.
* Worth mentioning as well, it's hard to determine/clarify herbs because their effectiveness is going to change with duration, combination, etc. It's all so complex.

As for candida/fungal ~
* Need to do a candida deep dive investigation
* I fit all the self diagnoses criteria for Candida inc. long history of fungal infections, strong sugar cravings, bad past diet w/ high processed sugar, etc. I recently just picked up Tinea (most likely from a family member), have had a skin fungal infection on my chest for a long time, have a minor Candida growth on tongue my doc just prescribed for, had a toenail fungal super stubborn infection for 10 years when I was younger, etc. Currently treating the tinea and chest fungal infection with non-oral antifungals, and the tounge with oral anticandida.
* Opportunity here to also try a bunch of antifungals/anticandidas (https://balanceone.com/blogs/news/top-7-antifungal-supplements-to-fight-candida?srsltid=AfmBOorbKMkGwxkX-oouOH9z02yEN8PL3m4cs-nDlIAaduOzB8kXgwCB) and see if they also help POIS. This could help to prove some sort of link. A TCM naturopath I saw also hypothesised a prostate candida infection.