This post is more about some ways to deal with nose bleeds and less about cayenne pepper itself. When I was about 4 years old, I was walking our Siberian husky, Prancer, down a gravel road when she gave me a strong tug and I dove face-first into the gravel. I didn't have cuts all over my face, as one might expect, but gravel going up my left nostril had a lasting effect. Right after that event, my nose bled for hours until the cold, damp rag looked like it was used to clean up after a murder or something. I continued to have severe nose bleeds that usual were resulting from trauma to the nose, but not always the case. I could just slightly bump into my nose, blow it too hard, or even just wake up with a nose bleed that resembled a profuseness of a nose bleed following a hard punch square in the nose. This was more of an inconvenience than anything else, but truly became a problem when I started driving and working.
Options:
There are lots of remedies out there and I've tried many, but there are some options available that I've seen more effective than others.
-Vaseline- Treating the area of the nostril that bleeds with vaseline does help if done regularly, but is by no means a cure.(if the location that bleeds can't be easily reached, this is not a helpful option)
-Salt water- I haven't tested sea salt, but regular table salt mixed with water (as saturated as possible) can help. This needs to be done almost daily and you can either spray it up the nostril or soak a tissue with it and apply it to the nostril (don't put raw table salt up your nose, please).
-Vitamin C- Great to carry on you to virtually halt a nose bleed in less than 30 minutes, but with that luxury comes a price- I consistently saw a rebound effect with my nose bleeds returning once I stopped using vitamin C, so it's rather imperfect as a long term solution unless you don't mind taking moderate doses of vitamin C very often.
-Cauterization- Most effective, long-term cure for regular, severe nose bleeds. But for those of you who recoil at having your nose treated with a tool that basically burns blood vessels, I have an awesome suggestion.
A little about cayenne pepper:
-Belongs to the nightshade family (probably best to avoid eating any other part of the plant)
-Benefits: circulation, metabolism, fat metabolism, blood pressure, digestion, and the list goes on.
-Contains vitamins A, C, and E along with other nutrients.
-Active ingredient for cuisine is capsaicin; also the active ingredient in many non-lethal, self-defense products.
-Can add zest to a variety of dishes, but the amount used in cooking won't be enough for treating nose bleeds (well, unless you don't mind burning your mouth and throat).
How to take:
- Capsules of cayenne pepper are available at a variety of stores and are inexpensive.
-With food- This can help prevent what often occurs with taking it on an empty stomach.
-On an empty stomach- If you simply can't take it with food for whatever reason, I would keep an antacid handy. I suffered from stomach ulcers and couldn't afford to increase risks regarding that problem, so taking a tums or two right when I started to notice a problem knocks it right out without causing the cayenne to be ineffective at preventing nose bleeds.
-How much? This depends on you... I see faster results when I take more, but because my stomach doesn't tolerate it very well, I had to take less at a time. I found that taking one (~500mg) capsule daily was effective. I also found that taking 2 capsules daily reduced the treatment time required to obtain lasting prevention of nose bleeds, but because I tolerated the 1 capsule/day regiment better, I stuck to it.
Side effects:
-Stomach complaints (ie- possible pain and reflux) that can be made worse with coffee.
-Increased metabolism- Generally not considered a side effect, but for some people it would not be welcome.
-Body temperature- Can cause a person to feel warmer, but this is more evident in high doses.
The fascinating part of using cayenne to treat nose bleeds is the long-term success. I am not dependent on dosing daily with cayenne for the rest of my life. When I first tried it, I took it for 2 weeks and had to stop because I couldn't handle my stomach's reaction. To my surprise, I simply didn't have a single nose bleed for almost 1 year! When my nose bleeds started to return, they were so minor in comparison to what I had when I simply accepted them as part of my life. They did get worse, but I decided to treat with cayenne again, but toughed it out for 1 month (during which, I figured out that tums helped to deal with it). I was nose bleed free for well over 1 year (almost 2 years) and when it did return, it was very minor (ie. bleeds stopped quickly and were slow bleeds). When they did return, I considered taking it daily, indefinitely because of the other health benefits of cayenne. This basically lasted for 2-3 months (1g/day for 1 month, 0.5g/day for the remainder of the treatment) and I didn't have nose bleeds for 3+ years. I'm fine with taking 0.5g/day of cayenne for a couple months every few years.
This is a general suggestion not a guarantee of being free of the bondage of nose bleeds. The cause of my nose bleeds might be different from yours, but even if that is the case, tolerating a pill a day for 1 month every 12+ months might be worth trying if you are simply fed up with living with that axe looming over your head. The only reason I knew of this solution to nose bleeds was during personal research project to test different ways to deal with the problem that didn't involve going to the doctor. I came across this personal website when a man lived with nose bleeds for almost all of his life until he discovered cayenne. Considering the variables involved, I wasn't hopeful, but to my surprise it was the most effective, natural option I have ever tried. Be practical, but don't lose hope!
Coming soon: myo-inositol and Sacred Lotus!
Saturday, April 18, 2015
Aniracetam use and effects
Aniracetam is in the racetam chemical class and is more specifically called an AMPAkine. It is more commonly known as a nootropic drug, so if you want to search the vast variety of natural and synthetic chemicals that can improve brain function, that will help. Aniracetam is considered chemically similar to piracetam, but if you compare them, they primarily share the 2-pyrrolidin parent chemical, but have different effects and potency. Aniracetam is many times more potent than piracetam and slightly more potent than oxiracetam. Don't be confused by the potency differences, just because aniracetam is more potent doesn't mean it's a good fit for you. The biggest reason I chose to stick with aniracetam is because of it's lower profile of stimulation, but perhaps you would prefer a more stimulating one.
How it is believed to work:
It can affect dopamine, nicotinic acetycholine, serotonin, and AMPA receptors. It is thought that aniracetam has anti-anxiety, anti-depressant, and memory enhancing effects. It is argued that its mode of action is preferential modulation of certain receptors, but is conversely argued that it primarily stimulates activity at these receptors. It has the potential of replenishing the brain of certain neurotransmitters, but is this an "across the board" increase of neurotransmitters or a more regulatory increase?
Personal notes on effects and dosing(aniracetam):
-Increased memory
-Increased thinking speed
-Better reaction time
-Some mood elevation
-Some anxiety relief
-A slight increase in reasoning
I started at a very low dose, because when I first acquired it, there was little information about how stimulating it would be (if you've ever been over-stimulated, you would know why I was so careful).
-Initial daily dosage: 150mg. Dose tested for 2 weeks with almost no change.
-Increase of daily dosage to 300mg. As before, 2 weeks of very little change.
-Aniracetam abandoned.
Upon researching the drug class again, I found better information about proper dosages and dose frequency.
-700mg, 1X/day for 1 week. Noticed that recall was easier by the end of the week.
-700mg, 2X/day for unknown number of weeks(basically stuck with this daily amount).
With settling with 1400mg/day (some suggest taking 2100mg/day), I noticed the effects I listed above. You need to be patient with this chemical, though some effects are noticed fairly quickly, others take time and you might not even notice the change until something happens (ie- I didn't notice an effect on my reaction time until I was consistently catching things I would have ordinarily fumbled).
I tested an additional theory out: would the benefits remain even after ceasing administration of aniracetam? Because I didn't perform any definitive tests to verify it, it should be seen as anecdotal also, but 1-2 month administrations of aniracetam seemed to have lasting effects for months that diminished differently based on the effect. I only tried this twice because I prefer to take it continuously.
Dosing might be different for you, you might need more, you might need less, you might even have a VERY different reaction, so be wise and start low. There are some natural alternatives to racetam drugs, but they are by no means as effective. These findings on the effects of aniracetam are based purely on personal observations.
How it is believed to work:
It can affect dopamine, nicotinic acetycholine, serotonin, and AMPA receptors. It is thought that aniracetam has anti-anxiety, anti-depressant, and memory enhancing effects. It is argued that its mode of action is preferential modulation of certain receptors, but is conversely argued that it primarily stimulates activity at these receptors. It has the potential of replenishing the brain of certain neurotransmitters, but is this an "across the board" increase of neurotransmitters or a more regulatory increase?
Personal notes on effects and dosing(aniracetam):
-Increased memory
-Increased thinking speed
-Better reaction time
-Some mood elevation
-Some anxiety relief
-A slight increase in reasoning
I started at a very low dose, because when I first acquired it, there was little information about how stimulating it would be (if you've ever been over-stimulated, you would know why I was so careful).
-Initial daily dosage: 150mg. Dose tested for 2 weeks with almost no change.
-Increase of daily dosage to 300mg. As before, 2 weeks of very little change.
-Aniracetam abandoned.
Upon researching the drug class again, I found better information about proper dosages and dose frequency.
-700mg, 1X/day for 1 week. Noticed that recall was easier by the end of the week.
-700mg, 2X/day for unknown number of weeks(basically stuck with this daily amount).
With settling with 1400mg/day (some suggest taking 2100mg/day), I noticed the effects I listed above. You need to be patient with this chemical, though some effects are noticed fairly quickly, others take time and you might not even notice the change until something happens (ie- I didn't notice an effect on my reaction time until I was consistently catching things I would have ordinarily fumbled).
I tested an additional theory out: would the benefits remain even after ceasing administration of aniracetam? Because I didn't perform any definitive tests to verify it, it should be seen as anecdotal also, but 1-2 month administrations of aniracetam seemed to have lasting effects for months that diminished differently based on the effect. I only tried this twice because I prefer to take it continuously.
Dosing might be different for you, you might need more, you might need less, you might even have a VERY different reaction, so be wise and start low. There are some natural alternatives to racetam drugs, but they are by no means as effective. These findings on the effects of aniracetam are based purely on personal observations.
Friday, April 17, 2015
A quick touch on sunlight: the good and the bad.
Studies have proven the benefits of sunlight and the disadvantages of too much, but that's not all there is to it. Too much sunlight exposure is linked to certain types of skin cancer; too little has been linked to an increased risk of a variety of diseases, illnesses, and depression.
Top links on google for a search of benefits of sunlight include:
National Institutes of Health
Mind Body Green
Healthline
They are all worth looking at and comparing. Through further investigation of more sites in the result of this simple search on google shows that there is more knowledge on what benefits sunlight exposure has and less knowledge on how sunlight causes these beneficial changes. If you search for your own answers, avoid relying on sites that basically advertise sunlight's benefits and base your decisions on the information provided by sites that explain how sunlight causes the benefits or if the sites offer where the information was derived (preferably a source that conducted scientific studies or research to support the information) or if links to sites and studies that rely on scientific methods to produce their conclusions.
Sunlight's potential to prevent and heal diseases appears to be completely awesome, but watch out for the things that increase risks for acquiring health problems. Sites that call "anti-sunlight" people "paranoid" probably don't understand the science supporting the risks of over-exposure or exposure to high UV sunlight. Weather reports don't include a "UV index" for fun- over-exposure to UVR or even short exposures to sunlight with high levels of UVR can damage the cells in the skin and even your retina.
Things to watch out for:
-Long duration exposures
-Exposures to midday sunlight
-UV index- ozone depleted zones in the stratosphere can create a high risk location (ozone helps to block harmful radiation)- Australia and New Zealand, for example
-Products designed to block UVR can be bad for you in many ways
Tips for adding sunlight to your life:
-Limits are good: short exposures will maximize benefits and minimize risks, to an extent; watch your UV index forecast; choose the right kind of sunlight- midday light is best avoided; eat a proper diet (different colors can add nutrients, fun, and flavor!)
-Vitamin D- Unless your deficient and eat foods that have it, you shouldn't need to add a vitamin D pill to your intake; plus not all vitamin D pills are equal and absorption and sunlight are key
-Don't throw your antidepressant pills out just yet- Some people have medical problems that can even prevent sunlight from being very helpful for depression alone: reason for this is there are many different serotonin problems via pathways in the brain and metabolic problems. Sunlight can easily be a missing puzzle piece in making your antidepressant as effective as it could be.
-Antioxidant support- If you work out a lot and require more calories to compensate it or you have other other forms of increased levels of free radicals, a diet high in antioxidants will be helpful in protecting your cells genetic material. The effectiveness of some antioxidant supplements is often argued to be nowhere near as effective as consuming the same chemicals via food sources.
A fun fact: fluorescent lights produce a good bit of UV light and have protective lenses or coatings to help this problem.
Protect your eyes: UV damage to your retinas is truly no joke. They offer UV protecting lenses for prescription eye glasses, UV protecting contact lenses, UV protecting sunglasses (common practice, but I wouldn't suggest that sunglasses at the dollar stores always have the same protection), and UV protecting windows for your home.
Top links on google for a search of benefits of sunlight include:
National Institutes of Health
Mind Body Green
Healthline
They are all worth looking at and comparing. Through further investigation of more sites in the result of this simple search on google shows that there is more knowledge on what benefits sunlight exposure has and less knowledge on how sunlight causes these beneficial changes. If you search for your own answers, avoid relying on sites that basically advertise sunlight's benefits and base your decisions on the information provided by sites that explain how sunlight causes the benefits or if the sites offer where the information was derived (preferably a source that conducted scientific studies or research to support the information) or if links to sites and studies that rely on scientific methods to produce their conclusions.
Sunlight's potential to prevent and heal diseases appears to be completely awesome, but watch out for the things that increase risks for acquiring health problems. Sites that call "anti-sunlight" people "paranoid" probably don't understand the science supporting the risks of over-exposure or exposure to high UV sunlight. Weather reports don't include a "UV index" for fun- over-exposure to UVR or even short exposures to sunlight with high levels of UVR can damage the cells in the skin and even your retina.
Things to watch out for:
-Long duration exposures
-Exposures to midday sunlight
-UV index- ozone depleted zones in the stratosphere can create a high risk location (ozone helps to block harmful radiation)- Australia and New Zealand, for example
-Products designed to block UVR can be bad for you in many ways
Tips for adding sunlight to your life:
-Limits are good: short exposures will maximize benefits and minimize risks, to an extent; watch your UV index forecast; choose the right kind of sunlight- midday light is best avoided; eat a proper diet (different colors can add nutrients, fun, and flavor!)
-Vitamin D- Unless your deficient and eat foods that have it, you shouldn't need to add a vitamin D pill to your intake; plus not all vitamin D pills are equal and absorption and sunlight are key
-Don't throw your antidepressant pills out just yet- Some people have medical problems that can even prevent sunlight from being very helpful for depression alone: reason for this is there are many different serotonin problems via pathways in the brain and metabolic problems. Sunlight can easily be a missing puzzle piece in making your antidepressant as effective as it could be.
-Antioxidant support- If you work out a lot and require more calories to compensate it or you have other other forms of increased levels of free radicals, a diet high in antioxidants will be helpful in protecting your cells genetic material. The effectiveness of some antioxidant supplements is often argued to be nowhere near as effective as consuming the same chemicals via food sources.
A fun fact: fluorescent lights produce a good bit of UV light and have protective lenses or coatings to help this problem.
Protect your eyes: UV damage to your retinas is truly no joke. They offer UV protecting lenses for prescription eye glasses, UV protecting contact lenses, UV protecting sunglasses (common practice, but I wouldn't suggest that sunglasses at the dollar stores always have the same protection), and UV protecting windows for your home.
Personal choice or evidence based supplementation?
This post's purpose is to pose an important question in the mind of any reader of my blog: why are you taking your supplement? WebMD suggests that we're idiots who buy a supplement for treating a condition based on no evidence. Chances are there is a decent percentage who fall victim to news casts, recommendations of friends and family, or some other evidence-lacking motivation. Is that to say that these sources are never right?
WebMD's explanation in full
This really says it all. A point to make is that Regan Bailey, who works at nih.gov must not read any of nih's publications because she say's,"...The majority of scientific data available do not support the role of dietary supplements for improving health or preventing of disease." When nih.gov not only provides supportive data with the beneficial effects of certain supplements in their publications, but, more often than not, conducts a preliminary study on the supplement on either mice, humans, or both (albeit, not often controlled, double-blind trials- which is generally what is required for medical professionals to accept said findings).
So, yes, those of us who use supplements are probably idiots in the eyes of the very people who are part of organizations that test the effectiveness of supplements. If these supplements have no value, why do some doctors suggest them? Not an all to common practice with most doctors, but some continue to educate themselves and wouldn't make such recommendations without seeing evidence to back up their suggestion.
Here is another question to pose- Do we need medical professionals who work with our doctors in regards to supplements? Say a person finds out that omega-3 fatty acids and/or plant sterols can further lower their cholesterol levels and they simply go out, purchase, and start using these. Something happens to this person and they go into surgery. Even if they aren't taking Warfarin or another blood-thinner prescribed by their doctor, enough omega fatty acids can thin the blood and then the mess ensues: patient gets put on something to clot the blood in response to higher than normal bleeding, then while in the hospital bed the omegas diminish and now this person's clotting is too effective... And, it could end up being a catastrophic miscalculation. Let's face it, rarely do people carry a list of supplements and/or always inform their physician. Adding a professional to fill the gap or increasing the educational standards of doctors would not only prevent potential dangerous interactions but also could make treating a condition with a medication and supplement (should that person qualify) increase effectiveness of the treatment of ailment.
There is a wealth of information about supplements benefits, but far less on interactions. Frankly, some things that suddenly become mainstream likely lacked the motivation to test effectiveness and interactions previously. So, keep that story in mind when you take medications or plan on getting a surgical procedure done, something you take that the doctor isn't well educated on or even know about could impact these things. Be safe with anything you take, you can always put something into your body, but it's not an easy thing to take it back out :-).
WebMD's explanation in full
This really says it all. A point to make is that Regan Bailey, who works at nih.gov must not read any of nih's publications because she say's,"...The majority of scientific data available do not support the role of dietary supplements for improving health or preventing of disease." When nih.gov not only provides supportive data with the beneficial effects of certain supplements in their publications, but, more often than not, conducts a preliminary study on the supplement on either mice, humans, or both (albeit, not often controlled, double-blind trials- which is generally what is required for medical professionals to accept said findings).
So, yes, those of us who use supplements are probably idiots in the eyes of the very people who are part of organizations that test the effectiveness of supplements. If these supplements have no value, why do some doctors suggest them? Not an all to common practice with most doctors, but some continue to educate themselves and wouldn't make such recommendations without seeing evidence to back up their suggestion.
Here is another question to pose- Do we need medical professionals who work with our doctors in regards to supplements? Say a person finds out that omega-3 fatty acids and/or plant sterols can further lower their cholesterol levels and they simply go out, purchase, and start using these. Something happens to this person and they go into surgery. Even if they aren't taking Warfarin or another blood-thinner prescribed by their doctor, enough omega fatty acids can thin the blood and then the mess ensues: patient gets put on something to clot the blood in response to higher than normal bleeding, then while in the hospital bed the omegas diminish and now this person's clotting is too effective... And, it could end up being a catastrophic miscalculation. Let's face it, rarely do people carry a list of supplements and/or always inform their physician. Adding a professional to fill the gap or increasing the educational standards of doctors would not only prevent potential dangerous interactions but also could make treating a condition with a medication and supplement (should that person qualify) increase effectiveness of the treatment of ailment.
There is a wealth of information about supplements benefits, but far less on interactions. Frankly, some things that suddenly become mainstream likely lacked the motivation to test effectiveness and interactions previously. So, keep that story in mind when you take medications or plan on getting a surgical procedure done, something you take that the doctor isn't well educated on or even know about could impact these things. Be safe with anything you take, you can always put something into your body, but it's not an easy thing to take it back out :-).
Wednesday, April 15, 2015
Preliminary assessment of CBD (cannabidiol)/hemp as medicine
Ok, this might be a little vague and/or hacked up, but I decided to try CBD products and see if it could assist some of my symptoms. I initially tried it for anxiety, but experienced little relief and abandoned it. Possible reasons for that failure: 1) sub-therapeutic dosing 2) ineffective product 3) other. When I first tried it, I followed directions indicated on that product and it could have fallen below the therapeutic range effective for CBD to treat anxiety. The product itself might have lacked potency or had a poor formulation rendering the CBD difficult to absorb (research indicated that the FDA tested and determined the product to contain .3% CBD which suggests that it contained an adequate amount serving). The other issues involved that sparked my curiosity was the fact that I might have been consuming something to make it less effective (ie. supplement, medicine, food, etc) or that the product I initially tried lacked synergistic agents (triterpenes and the like) causing loss of CBD's potential that is seen with the other chemicals found in hemp.
Cannabidiol has various properties and likely others that are not yet known. It is a CB1 antagonist, thus counteracting THC's (agonist) effect, but strangely enough increases THC serum levels suggesting that it could lengthen the effect of the THC + CBD combo (I have not found documentation to validate that CBD would indeed lengthen the high obtained from smoking THC containing marijuana while consuming CBD). CBD also has NMDA modulating potential- exact mode of action not specified. It can reduce pain, inflammation, oxidative stress, and inhibit progression of certain cancers (among many other uses). They have oil, concentrate, gum, e-liquids(for e-cigarettes), salves, and patches on the market. I plan to test various oil-based products as well as e-liquids based on personal requirements and curiosities.
Warning! CBD isn't cheap. In fact, pharmaceutical medications are waay cheaper. I calculated the cheapest avenue I found available (for personal supplementation, not for formulation purposes) and it is quite literally 5 times more expensive than buying pure gold, by weight.
What I found with the oil:
Differing products are not equal. In fact, when the FDA tested various CBD/hemp products, many that claimed to have a certain potency of CBD contained no cannabinoids at all! Do your homework and maybe accept the fact that an unregulated item, like CBD-based products, do not have to comply with certain regulatory rules. That being said, there is a component of trial-and-error with choosing a CBD product.
Treating symptoms of schizophrenia: I suffer from various symptoms like paranoia, delusions, dissociative states, etc. I have been placed on many different medications over the years and nearly all failed to effectively treat all of the symptoms (risperidone being an exception, the only one). I finally decided that enough was enough and sought after answers and alternative treatments. Many documents indicate a therapeutic dosage that would cause this treatment's cost to skyrocket to at least $900/month. I found that though it is more effective at higher dosages, 4mg/day seemed to work really well. I initally tried taking 2 doses of 2mg/day (once in the morning, once in the evening), but found, through experimentation, that the more divided the dosing is, the more even and effective it becomes. 4 divided doses of 1mg each seemed to work.
Treating anxiety: Against my prediction that therapeutic dosage of CBD to treat anxiety would be lower than the dosage effective in treating schizophrenia. Maybe my physiology is simply strange- I responded very well to low levels of CBD for eliminating my paranoia (a symptom that seemed very treatment resistant across the board). Moving along, I found that nearly twice the dosage effective for my schizophrenia symptoms was effective for my anxiety.
Keep in mind that I do take medications and supplements which potentially play a role in CBD oil's effectiveness. It was so effective in treating my schizophrenia symptoms that I was able to remove Saphris from my combination. I don't suggest stopping any medications like I did- you could have a severe reaction by doing that. One last thing: as with taking any supplement or medication, start low and work you way up, because you can always take more of something, it's pretty damn hard to un-take something.
Cannabidiol has various properties and likely others that are not yet known. It is a CB1 antagonist, thus counteracting THC's (agonist) effect, but strangely enough increases THC serum levels suggesting that it could lengthen the effect of the THC + CBD combo (I have not found documentation to validate that CBD would indeed lengthen the high obtained from smoking THC containing marijuana while consuming CBD). CBD also has NMDA modulating potential- exact mode of action not specified. It can reduce pain, inflammation, oxidative stress, and inhibit progression of certain cancers (among many other uses). They have oil, concentrate, gum, e-liquids(for e-cigarettes), salves, and patches on the market. I plan to test various oil-based products as well as e-liquids based on personal requirements and curiosities.
Warning! CBD isn't cheap. In fact, pharmaceutical medications are waay cheaper. I calculated the cheapest avenue I found available (for personal supplementation, not for formulation purposes) and it is quite literally 5 times more expensive than buying pure gold, by weight.
What I found with the oil:
Differing products are not equal. In fact, when the FDA tested various CBD/hemp products, many that claimed to have a certain potency of CBD contained no cannabinoids at all! Do your homework and maybe accept the fact that an unregulated item, like CBD-based products, do not have to comply with certain regulatory rules. That being said, there is a component of trial-and-error with choosing a CBD product.
Treating symptoms of schizophrenia: I suffer from various symptoms like paranoia, delusions, dissociative states, etc. I have been placed on many different medications over the years and nearly all failed to effectively treat all of the symptoms (risperidone being an exception, the only one). I finally decided that enough was enough and sought after answers and alternative treatments. Many documents indicate a therapeutic dosage that would cause this treatment's cost to skyrocket to at least $900/month. I found that though it is more effective at higher dosages, 4mg/day seemed to work really well. I initally tried taking 2 doses of 2mg/day (once in the morning, once in the evening), but found, through experimentation, that the more divided the dosing is, the more even and effective it becomes. 4 divided doses of 1mg each seemed to work.
Treating anxiety: Against my prediction that therapeutic dosage of CBD to treat anxiety would be lower than the dosage effective in treating schizophrenia. Maybe my physiology is simply strange- I responded very well to low levels of CBD for eliminating my paranoia (a symptom that seemed very treatment resistant across the board). Moving along, I found that nearly twice the dosage effective for my schizophrenia symptoms was effective for my anxiety.
Keep in mind that I do take medications and supplements which potentially play a role in CBD oil's effectiveness. It was so effective in treating my schizophrenia symptoms that I was able to remove Saphris from my combination. I don't suggest stopping any medications like I did- you could have a severe reaction by doing that. One last thing: as with taking any supplement or medication, start low and work you way up, because you can always take more of something, it's pretty damn hard to un-take something.
Tuesday, April 14, 2015
Account Security- Password Protection Tips (not very all inclusive)
Account security is a pretty basic concept where the motivation can be inferred from a possible hard-wired desire to keep others from getting what's ours. As humans evolved, we devised ever more complicated methods of securing ownership, but when computers, computer networks, the internet, communication systems, etc came into the picture- ahha, spawned the historical opponent wanting what's not theirs and the apparent, ever-increasing methods to get it: basically, the hacker and the hack.
I am not going to get into hardly any technical information because I simply don't have the knowledge of it. There are ways to snatch information off your personal computer/device or simply as it is being transmitted. I am not going to go into all the different ways this is done: that would take too long and involve methods that I don't understand well enough. So, how do hackers get into your password-protected accounts? Well, that actually doesn't really matter too much. This is because when what once worked no longer does, these imaginative "pirates of code" will exploit some other method. Now, since we are a little ways away from computers "really" being able to identify a person against an imposter, we are working towards that eventuality.
Biometric authentication is currently the evolving method of secure access. If you've ever seen various spy movies, you might remember seeing this. Typically, it involves a password combined with a technological identification of the authorized subject with a far more narrow window for the unscrupulous to be able to exploit. Fair secondary methods to a password that are advancing are: finger print, iris or retina identification, DNA, and even brain imagine techniques are being explored.
Motivation for bothering to write about this? I have been developing my password creation techniques for over ten years now. I invented fairly moronic and easy to guess passwords when I first started. As the power shifted in regard to information acquisition, I decided to up my game.
Here's the best tip I can give you is this: the more random and devoid of any discernible correlation to any aspect of your life (especially if your password contains ANYTHING that can be found out about you). There are many places on the internet that give OK advice on creating strong passwords that probably work just fine right now. Ask yourself this, do you want to make your password 'sufficient' or very secure? Now for the meat of the post: common mistakes and tips on making and remembering a very secure and complex password.
Don't:
-Use one word passwords. Reason: hackers can either guess or utilize code to figure it out.
-Use passwords using information about yourself or someone you know that can easily be acquired. Reason: you might think that your mom's middle name and part of your social security number should make a pretty decent password, but that information can be acquired through simple searches on the internet and incorporated in a hacker's toolbox of goodies. Avoid birthdays, addresses, names, social security numbers, phone numbers, how many kids you have, even your dog's name, etc.
-Use the same password for all accounts. This is hard because most people can't remember different, easy, insecure ones for the different accounts- how in the world is someone supposed to remember a bunch of complicated ones? The reason for not using the same password is that when a person guesses that one password, they suddenly have access to all your accounts and this can result in someone, in one swoop, acquiring a generous amount of power and can with one password, wreak havoc on your life.
*There are many more tips, but I wanted to move on from the Don't's because the Do's are more useful anyway.
Do:
-Use a combination of letters(uppercase + lowercase), numbers, and symbols. The more random and essentially meaningless, the better.
-The longer the password, the better. I can see this becoming a problem with using different and complicated passwords. Generally, people use shorter passwords because it's easier, but that can change if you train yourself to store the password in your mind.
Here are some things I've noticed about remembering passwords:
-Association: This helps by coming up with a password that you can remember by using a combination that your unique mind already has reference points to go on. A simple example is a line in a song you like or favorite prayer and using the first letters or last letters. Those are not examples of a secure sources of letters, but that method can be employed on low-risk accounts with decent effectiveness.
-"It's you!"- Using something you have never told anyone about, wrote about, or documented anywhere. For example: say your a woman (suppose men occasionally experience this) and your best friend's boyfriend in grade school, high school, registered a pervasive thought that was A) not something you told anyone B) not something someone could know any other way. This would be something unique to your mind, your memories, your psyche and becomes more secure the more obscure it is. Let's say you liked him or you thought he was scum and you simply never said anything or acted it out because, well, she was your best friend, right? This example was brought up as a useful possibility for a dating site (last thing you want is some asshole hacking your dating account and really screwing with your profile). Not a perfectly practical suggestion of mine, because a lot of people who date online have more than one account.
-Practice!!!- This one worked the best for me. Ever play a musical instrument? How does a person remember piano keys, positions on a trombone slide, or anything else? Well, pianists remember how to play without actively trying to remember what key, where the fingers should be, how to press the keys, etc. This is because storage and retrieval of that kind of information simply isn't the same as a name of something, a color, an emotion, etc. So, even if your password is: 9n745F*mx@8p, you can train your mind to store that piece of information by repetitively typing it and continuing to access the account regularly enough to maintain the memory (Similar principal with not doing something, as skill, for a while and go and try to do it and it seems to require more thinking to do it). Sometimes it's good to write down the really complicated and long passwords until you've got them practiced into memory then put those passwords somewhere safe (or destroy it if you'd like).
-Default rescue account- The idea behind this is that forgetting any of your passwords can and will likely happen; having an account with a strong password that's impossible to forget (for whatever reason) that your other accounts are linked to in case you forget the password, security question, or an account does get hacked (even bullet-proof passwords can be bypassed, sucks huh?).
Choosing this account is pretty basic: A) Choose one that has added security features (ie. security question, linkable to a separate device like a phone, biometric authentication capabilities are becoming more and more common and don't hurt) B) try not to use it for anything else C)Pick an account with a low-risk potential for becoming a target for a hacker (anything that is linked to a desired account in this manner has the potential for becoming a target.
In the end, the math on this is simple: if you have something a excellent hacker or better yet a government and/or well financed group with resources and skills wants, you're password might as well be "password". The evolution of an authentication that is 100% error-proof is really required in an age where a person's identity is sacred to that person but could be nothing more than a commodity to someone else.
I am not going to get into hardly any technical information because I simply don't have the knowledge of it. There are ways to snatch information off your personal computer/device or simply as it is being transmitted. I am not going to go into all the different ways this is done: that would take too long and involve methods that I don't understand well enough. So, how do hackers get into your password-protected accounts? Well, that actually doesn't really matter too much. This is because when what once worked no longer does, these imaginative "pirates of code" will exploit some other method. Now, since we are a little ways away from computers "really" being able to identify a person against an imposter, we are working towards that eventuality.
Biometric authentication is currently the evolving method of secure access. If you've ever seen various spy movies, you might remember seeing this. Typically, it involves a password combined with a technological identification of the authorized subject with a far more narrow window for the unscrupulous to be able to exploit. Fair secondary methods to a password that are advancing are: finger print, iris or retina identification, DNA, and even brain imagine techniques are being explored.
Motivation for bothering to write about this? I have been developing my password creation techniques for over ten years now. I invented fairly moronic and easy to guess passwords when I first started. As the power shifted in regard to information acquisition, I decided to up my game.
Here's the best tip I can give you is this: the more random and devoid of any discernible correlation to any aspect of your life (especially if your password contains ANYTHING that can be found out about you). There are many places on the internet that give OK advice on creating strong passwords that probably work just fine right now. Ask yourself this, do you want to make your password 'sufficient' or very secure? Now for the meat of the post: common mistakes and tips on making and remembering a very secure and complex password.
Don't:
-Use one word passwords. Reason: hackers can either guess or utilize code to figure it out.
-Use passwords using information about yourself or someone you know that can easily be acquired. Reason: you might think that your mom's middle name and part of your social security number should make a pretty decent password, but that information can be acquired through simple searches on the internet and incorporated in a hacker's toolbox of goodies. Avoid birthdays, addresses, names, social security numbers, phone numbers, how many kids you have, even your dog's name, etc.
-Use the same password for all accounts. This is hard because most people can't remember different, easy, insecure ones for the different accounts- how in the world is someone supposed to remember a bunch of complicated ones? The reason for not using the same password is that when a person guesses that one password, they suddenly have access to all your accounts and this can result in someone, in one swoop, acquiring a generous amount of power and can with one password, wreak havoc on your life.
*There are many more tips, but I wanted to move on from the Don't's because the Do's are more useful anyway.
Do:
-Use a combination of letters(uppercase + lowercase), numbers, and symbols. The more random and essentially meaningless, the better.
-The longer the password, the better. I can see this becoming a problem with using different and complicated passwords. Generally, people use shorter passwords because it's easier, but that can change if you train yourself to store the password in your mind.
Here are some things I've noticed about remembering passwords:
-Association: This helps by coming up with a password that you can remember by using a combination that your unique mind already has reference points to go on. A simple example is a line in a song you like or favorite prayer and using the first letters or last letters. Those are not examples of a secure sources of letters, but that method can be employed on low-risk accounts with decent effectiveness.
-"It's you!"- Using something you have never told anyone about, wrote about, or documented anywhere. For example: say your a woman (suppose men occasionally experience this) and your best friend's boyfriend in grade school, high school, registered a pervasive thought that was A) not something you told anyone B) not something someone could know any other way. This would be something unique to your mind, your memories, your psyche and becomes more secure the more obscure it is. Let's say you liked him or you thought he was scum and you simply never said anything or acted it out because, well, she was your best friend, right? This example was brought up as a useful possibility for a dating site (last thing you want is some asshole hacking your dating account and really screwing with your profile). Not a perfectly practical suggestion of mine, because a lot of people who date online have more than one account.
-Practice!!!- This one worked the best for me. Ever play a musical instrument? How does a person remember piano keys, positions on a trombone slide, or anything else? Well, pianists remember how to play without actively trying to remember what key, where the fingers should be, how to press the keys, etc. This is because storage and retrieval of that kind of information simply isn't the same as a name of something, a color, an emotion, etc. So, even if your password is: 9n745F*mx@8p, you can train your mind to store that piece of information by repetitively typing it and continuing to access the account regularly enough to maintain the memory (Similar principal with not doing something, as skill, for a while and go and try to do it and it seems to require more thinking to do it). Sometimes it's good to write down the really complicated and long passwords until you've got them practiced into memory then put those passwords somewhere safe (or destroy it if you'd like).
-Default rescue account- The idea behind this is that forgetting any of your passwords can and will likely happen; having an account with a strong password that's impossible to forget (for whatever reason) that your other accounts are linked to in case you forget the password, security question, or an account does get hacked (even bullet-proof passwords can be bypassed, sucks huh?).
Choosing this account is pretty basic: A) Choose one that has added security features (ie. security question, linkable to a separate device like a phone, biometric authentication capabilities are becoming more and more common and don't hurt) B) try not to use it for anything else C)Pick an account with a low-risk potential for becoming a target for a hacker (anything that is linked to a desired account in this manner has the potential for becoming a target.
In the end, the math on this is simple: if you have something a excellent hacker or better yet a government and/or well financed group with resources and skills wants, you're password might as well be "password". The evolution of an authentication that is 100% error-proof is really required in an age where a person's identity is sacred to that person but could be nothing more than a commodity to someone else.
Sunday, April 12, 2015
Augmentation and alternatives to psychiatric medications- specifics to come
The end of last year was pretty rough for me. I have several diagnosis and other potential ones- of which I don't really need to detail because diagnosis are sometimes inaccurate anyway. I was intensely suicidal; experiencing aggressive mood swings that resulted from various substances (even foods), environmental cues, and independent of any discernible initiating factor; engaging in risk taking behaviors both dependent and independent of mood disturbances; experiencing severe negative symptoms of a schizophrenic nature; had poor impulse control; and, severe drug seeking thoughts and dreams despite having abstained from engaging in the destructive pattern I had exhibited in the past.
Being on 5+ psychiatric medications for current diagnosis and receiving 2+ hours of psychotherapy (CST- CBT + substance abuse therapy) left me stable enough to not be admitted into the hospital, but the removal of self-medication seemed to initiate my suicidal behaviors/tendencies exponentially. Not long after I stopped(roughly Christmas of last year) I had definite plans of committing suicide and even had ways of doing so that would divert suspicion of suicide to an accidental death. I didn't want to leave my family feeling responsible or that they should have done more- I simply wanted out and to not live such a life where I felt that my mind was truly my biggest enemy. I never voiced my intentions of ending my life at this time because I had every intention of doing it right this time.
Something inside of me remained defiant to the option of ending my life despite my mind incessantly desiring such an end. I wasn't always a religious/faithful person, but renewed belief in GOD surely didn't hurt. I ended up searching for a legal replacement for my drug of choice, alcohol, since I don't drink alcohol because I am prone to violent and impulsive behaviors with said use. That being a blind alley, I diverted my attention from replacing the drugs I used to self-medicate with to a better option. I adopted the philosophy that I was not involved enough in my treatment and began to search for answers and solutions.
I will have to say that what was next, regardless of being successful and doing it very cautiously, is not advised. The main reason I say that is because this direction involved trying treatments of all kinds that are neither FDA approved nor treatments that prescribing doctors cannot truly advise on or predict the interactions of. Dietary changes, nutritional supplements, and plant-based treatments were employed. This is my final warning, no two people are alike and because something works for person A doesn't mean it will help person B and can, in fact, be VERY harmful for person B. Correlation is not causation and you should keep that in mind when you try anything that is anecdotal and not proven through scientific methods.
I am testing various theories and also employing treatments that have proven validity to their effectiveness AS WELL AS being very cautious about methodology and documenting when, how much, how, with what, for how long, and purpose of the treatment. Now, I not just taking about putting a substance in my body and we'll see what happens- but researching various treatments, how they work, what evidence supports efficacy or lack of, historical information, chemistry of treatment(if applicable), pharmacology, interactions, alternatives, and the "X" factors (ie- determining possible reasons for the success or failure of any treatment and basically try to factor that information into determining if it should be continued or not). Since not even the smartest of doctors can say for sure how a patient will respond to psychiatric medications because the mind and exactly how it works is not currently understood and may remain that way despite advances in medical science.
I will be sharing what I found to be successful in my case in due time. I will end with this: I probably would be dead and gone by now had I not changed my approach, but I strongly urge you to avoid doing as I did- If you truly have no other choice, as in my case, I have to let you know(if you are getting help and it's not working, you're not alone) one last piece of advice: you can always put more of something into your body, you can't just "un-take" something. Don't fret if being careful takes longer, it's a process and, as such, simply takes time.
Being on 5+ psychiatric medications for current diagnosis and receiving 2+ hours of psychotherapy (CST- CBT + substance abuse therapy) left me stable enough to not be admitted into the hospital, but the removal of self-medication seemed to initiate my suicidal behaviors/tendencies exponentially. Not long after I stopped(roughly Christmas of last year) I had definite plans of committing suicide and even had ways of doing so that would divert suspicion of suicide to an accidental death. I didn't want to leave my family feeling responsible or that they should have done more- I simply wanted out and to not live such a life where I felt that my mind was truly my biggest enemy. I never voiced my intentions of ending my life at this time because I had every intention of doing it right this time.
Something inside of me remained defiant to the option of ending my life despite my mind incessantly desiring such an end. I wasn't always a religious/faithful person, but renewed belief in GOD surely didn't hurt. I ended up searching for a legal replacement for my drug of choice, alcohol, since I don't drink alcohol because I am prone to violent and impulsive behaviors with said use. That being a blind alley, I diverted my attention from replacing the drugs I used to self-medicate with to a better option. I adopted the philosophy that I was not involved enough in my treatment and began to search for answers and solutions.
I will have to say that what was next, regardless of being successful and doing it very cautiously, is not advised. The main reason I say that is because this direction involved trying treatments of all kinds that are neither FDA approved nor treatments that prescribing doctors cannot truly advise on or predict the interactions of. Dietary changes, nutritional supplements, and plant-based treatments were employed. This is my final warning, no two people are alike and because something works for person A doesn't mean it will help person B and can, in fact, be VERY harmful for person B. Correlation is not causation and you should keep that in mind when you try anything that is anecdotal and not proven through scientific methods.
I am testing various theories and also employing treatments that have proven validity to their effectiveness AS WELL AS being very cautious about methodology and documenting when, how much, how, with what, for how long, and purpose of the treatment. Now, I not just taking about putting a substance in my body and we'll see what happens- but researching various treatments, how they work, what evidence supports efficacy or lack of, historical information, chemistry of treatment(if applicable), pharmacology, interactions, alternatives, and the "X" factors (ie- determining possible reasons for the success or failure of any treatment and basically try to factor that information into determining if it should be continued or not). Since not even the smartest of doctors can say for sure how a patient will respond to psychiatric medications because the mind and exactly how it works is not currently understood and may remain that way despite advances in medical science.
I will be sharing what I found to be successful in my case in due time. I will end with this: I probably would be dead and gone by now had I not changed my approach, but I strongly urge you to avoid doing as I did- If you truly have no other choice, as in my case, I have to let you know(if you are getting help and it's not working, you're not alone) one last piece of advice: you can always put more of something into your body, you can't just "un-take" something. Don't fret if being careful takes longer, it's a process and, as such, simply takes time.
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