Watch out, I'm medicinin' all up in here. 
I suffered terribly with my Midlife Meltdown, and I didn't even know I was an Aspie. While it was a great relief to discover what was going on, and I am proud to be one, it was a bit of a shock to discover that medical science could do very little for me; even though I was in bad shape.
The best advice I got was from my long-suffering gem of a General Practitioner doctor here in the States. While he never could figure out what was going on (and I don't blame him: when a doctor looks at a middle-aged woman in the throes of a hellish menopause, someone with good eye contact, verbal fluency, and a job where she deals with the public, it's about the last thing he'd think.) He said I was under great stress, and anything I could do to address that stress would help me out. With this in mind, I improved my sleep, started stress management strategies, and discovered niacin.
Most people know it as Vitamin B3, and think all we need to do is take enough to ward off pellagra. When it is actually an amino acid and we need much more of it than the RDA: especially if we are under stress.
In fact, it can seem like it is the anti-stress vitamin.
I got a book, Niacin: The Real Story: Learn about the Wonderful Healing Properties of Niacin, which is a compendium of the work of several doctors in various fields. They all have long experience using niacin for all kinds of ailments, from PTSD to high cholesterol. They quote scientific papers. There's a lot of chemistry and biology explaining how it works.
I started using it for my sleep, and it did wonders. But once I got the book, I thought there might be some utility in going Full Metal Niacin. This is a therapeutic program of particular vitamins to support what is considered a high dose of niacin; the goal is 3g a day. That's six 500mg tablets of pure niacin.
Their recommended dosing schedule is: 1g of niacin, a B complex, and Vitamin C, three times a day with meals. But I ramped up to this! DO NOT start with this. It's not dangerous, but it will be uncomfortable.
When most people first take niacin, there's the flush. This is like being embarrassed while our skin is waking up and being all hot and itchy. It starts with the head and moves down the body. It's beneficial! It is breaking down histamine, opening up capillaries for better blood flow, and reducing body-wise inflammation. And it doesn't last all that long, several minutes. Then there's this lovely cool breeze of relaxation.
As we continue with niacin therapy, the flush disappears. I no longer have it! But it is a great feedback mechanism that helps us gauge our dosing and timing.
So I'm several days into it and I am already experiencing vivid dreams, deep sleep, a feeling of calm, lessened anxiety, and better blood sugar regulation. I will use this post to update my self-experimental journey.
I am so tired of feeling lousy. This intensive stress management is supposed to heal my body from the effects of stress, and help me cope with it better so I can actually get better, faster; instead of the glacial pace I've been dealing with.
And if anyone is wondering why this stress strategy isn't common knowledge -- they would be assuming our current medical professionals know all, aren't they? And if anyone should be skeptical of that, it's an Aspie.
I suffered terribly with my Midlife Meltdown, and I didn't even know I was an Aspie. While it was a great relief to discover what was going on, and I am proud to be one, it was a bit of a shock to discover that medical science could do very little for me; even though I was in bad shape.
The best advice I got was from my long-suffering gem of a General Practitioner doctor here in the States. While he never could figure out what was going on (and I don't blame him: when a doctor looks at a middle-aged woman in the throes of a hellish menopause, someone with good eye contact, verbal fluency, and a job where she deals with the public, it's about the last thing he'd think.) He said I was under great stress, and anything I could do to address that stress would help me out. With this in mind, I improved my sleep, started stress management strategies, and discovered niacin.
Most people know it as Vitamin B3, and think all we need to do is take enough to ward off pellagra. When it is actually an amino acid and we need much more of it than the RDA: especially if we are under stress.
In fact, it can seem like it is the anti-stress vitamin.
I got a book, Niacin: The Real Story: Learn about the Wonderful Healing Properties of Niacin, which is a compendium of the work of several doctors in various fields. They all have long experience using niacin for all kinds of ailments, from PTSD to high cholesterol. They quote scientific papers. There's a lot of chemistry and biology explaining how it works.
I started using it for my sleep, and it did wonders. But once I got the book, I thought there might be some utility in going Full Metal Niacin. This is a therapeutic program of particular vitamins to support what is considered a high dose of niacin; the goal is 3g a day. That's six 500mg tablets of pure niacin.
Their recommended dosing schedule is: 1g of niacin, a B complex, and Vitamin C, three times a day with meals. But I ramped up to this! DO NOT start with this. It's not dangerous, but it will be uncomfortable.
When most people first take niacin, there's the flush. This is like being embarrassed while our skin is waking up and being all hot and itchy. It starts with the head and moves down the body. It's beneficial! It is breaking down histamine, opening up capillaries for better blood flow, and reducing body-wise inflammation. And it doesn't last all that long, several minutes. Then there's this lovely cool breeze of relaxation.
As we continue with niacin therapy, the flush disappears. I no longer have it! But it is a great feedback mechanism that helps us gauge our dosing and timing.
So I'm several days into it and I am already experiencing vivid dreams, deep sleep, a feeling of calm, lessened anxiety, and better blood sugar regulation. I will use this post to update my self-experimental journey.
I am so tired of feeling lousy. This intensive stress management is supposed to heal my body from the effects of stress, and help me cope with it better so I can actually get better, faster; instead of the glacial pace I've been dealing with.
And if anyone is wondering why this stress strategy isn't common knowledge -- they would be assuming our current medical professionals know all, aren't they? And if anyone should be skeptical of that, it's an Aspie.
