Supplements to recover from MDMA-induced damage

[DaftPunkFan]

Just a brief background, I've decided to stop taking MDMA due to anxiety issues which I believe were caused from my use. I have only used MDMA a handful of times, so I never abused the substance. However, I honestly don't feel like the same person that I used to be. I am on edge almost all day, I have trouble forming thoughts, I feel like my vision is slightly messed up, and I was having panic attacks daily for a while.

I know there are some very intelligent people on this website that know a lot about MDMA, so what I'm asking is if you can please tell me of some supplements/drugs that I can try that will hopefully reverse some of the damage that I've done to myself, if this is even possible at all. I've been taking Xanax almost daily, and about 1mg makes me feel somewhat "normal", though my memory suffers when I do take it. Things I've already tried include: St. John's Wort, 5-HTP, Xanax, Klonopin, and some antioxidant supplements.

I've read SEVERAL threads about things that can be taken pre/post rolling to reduce harm, but my question is related to whether or not there are things that I can hopefully take that will build up my body back to normal over a period of time.

My concern is MDMA recovery rather than MDMA harm-reduction, which is why I thought it belongs in advanced drug discussion. If this post belongs somewhere else, I apologize. I sincerely appreciate any suggestions that anyone has.

 

[any major dude]

its unlikely that a handful of MDMA experiences permanently damaged your brain. However, given your symptoms i would think it wise to discontinue usage of MDMA, cannabis, and alcohol at least temporarily. Any type of stimulant could well exacerbate these symptoms as well, so probably best to stay clean for a bit. Personally I would focus on a healthy diet, possibly augmented with a vitamin supplement, and regular exercise. You'd be surprised what those things can do. If you do all of that and still feel like you have an anxiety disorder, see a mental health care professional.

 

[rickolasnice]

St Johns Wort has been found to uprgulate serotonin receptors..

I've found it useful for anxiety / depression issues which may or may not have been caused by MDMA xP

 

[DaftPunkFan]

St Johns Wort has been found to uprgulate serotonin receptors..

I've found it useful for anxiety / depression issues which may or may not have been caused by MDMA xP

I may have to try taking it again on a regular basis. Is it ok to take St. Johns Wort daily if I'm also taking Klonopin/Xanax on an as-need basis?

Also I've tried to start eating healthy and exercising on a regular basis too, which I do notice help my anxiety.

I've already seen several health care physicians, and they all just want to prescribe me anti-depressants, which I don't really want to do. I'm looking for more natural supplements that will hopefully up-regulate serotonin receptors. Any other suggestions other than St. Johns Wort?

 

[DaftPunkFan]

its unlikely that a handful of MDMA experiences permanently damaged your brain. However, given your symptoms i would think it wise to discontinue usage of MDMA, cannabis, and alcohol at least temporarily. Any type of stimulant could well exacerbate these symptoms as well, so probably best to stay clean for a bit. Personally I would focus on a healthy diet, possibly augmented with a vitamin supplement, and regular exercise. You'd be surprised what those things can do. If you do all of that and still feel like you have an anxiety disorder, see a mental health care professional.

You probably are right, maybe other substances could have exacerbated my symptoms. I've quite smoking weed entirely, and have seriously cut back on my drinking as well. Do you have any vitamins in specific that you'd recommend?

 

[bben]

I have spend copious amounts of time in the past three years trying to answer this question. The answer is not want you are hoping to hear as there are no supplements that will undo the damage done to cognition and memory. Problems such as depression and anxiety can get alot better though and there are medications that help for this. I would urge against an ssri, as that is a bad idea for former mdma users although it might seem logical it usually doesnt help. I'd rather not explain why because it would take too long.

Give the brain time and dont further insult it with drugs. Time is really all you have as far as fixing your brain. The brain is pretty resilient and it knows what its doing, let the neuroadaptative re-wiring occur. In 3-5 years things will be totally different.

 

[chaos_destroy]

You could try one of the many 'racetams like piracetam or aniracetam. i found they helped a lot cognition and memory. 5-htp helped for me too.

 

[MeDieViL]

You probably are right, maybe other substances could have exacerbated my symptoms. I've quite smoking weed entirely, and have seriously cut back on my drinking as well. Do you have any vitamins in specific that you'd recommend?

Try to completely stop drinking, alcohol has been demonstrated to contribute to "MDMA" related long term problems.

CONCLUSIONS: These results revealed that, although ecstasy users demonstrate elevated levels of psychological symptoms and executive dysfunction, these symptoms are not statistically associated with their ecstasy consumption. Instead, other drug use (alcohol, marijuana, opioids, and inhalants) significantly predict psychological symptoms in this sample of polydrug users.

 

[any major dude]

You probably are right, maybe other substances could have exacerbated my symptoms. I've quite smoking weed entirely, and have seriously cut back on my drinking as well. Do you have any vitamins in specific that you'd recommend?

Personally I'd go with a multivitamin that has 100%+ of all the essential vitamins as these are important for various health concerns. But specifically for brain function, B-complex (especially thiamin, B6 and B12), folic acid, and omega 3 fatty acids.

Anti-oxidants are quite welcome as well, as they are thought to prevent free-radical damage.

On the supplement front Ginko Bilboa may help, though i'm unsure of its effectiveness. The -racetam's someone else mentioned might help also

 

[atara]

Benzos help with acute anxiety but make it worse in the long-term. We prescribe them mostly because there aren't any other effective anxiolytics. Agomelatine and other melatonergics are still a few years away from the market.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generalized_anxiety_disorder#Substance_induced

in approximately half of patients attending mental health services at one British hospital psychiatric clinic, for conditions including anxiety disorders such as panic disorder or social phobia, was determined to be the result of alcohol or benzodiazepine dependence. In these patients, cessation of their anxiety symptoms corresponded with stopping the use of the benzodiazepine or alcohol.

Kava might be a decent substitute; while popularly considered a GABAergic, it's pharmacology is actually quite complex and depends on direct interactions with voltage-gated ion channels (It is also a MAO-B inhibitor and a norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor). This should absolutely not be taken as evidence of safety or nonaddictiveness, and indeed kava overuse can get ugly.

The best solution to anxiety, though, is to not take things, be they herbal or pharmaceutical, and to find a productive outlet for all that extra neuronal excitation -- at least, if you ask me.

 

[DaftPunkFan]

You could try one of the many 'racetams like piracetam or aniracetam. i found they helped a lot cognition and memory. 5-htp helped for me too.

Thanks for the suggestion. I've tried to find out how to obtain either of these, but can I purchase these in the U.S.?

From what I've read online, it's not available to people in the U.S. I went into a health food store today and the guy had no idea what I was talking about haha

 

[DaftPunkFan]

Benzos help with acute anxiety but make it worse in the long-term. We prescribe them mostly because there aren't any other effective anxiolytics. Agomelatine and other melatonergics are still a few years away from the market.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generalized_anxiety_disorder#Substance_induced

The best solution to anxiety, though, is to not take things, be they herbal or pharmaceutical, and to find a productive outlet for all that extra neuronal excitation -- at least, if you ask me.

Hmm, that's an interesting thought. I try to still be as productive as I can, but it's really hard to focus sometimes because I feel very out-of-it.

 

[DaftPunkFan]

I have spend copious amounts of time in the past three years trying to answer this question. The answer is not want you are hoping to hear as there are no supplements that will undo the damage done to cognition and memory. Problems such as depression and anxiety can get alot better though and there are medications that help for this. I would urge against an ssri, as that is a bad idea for former mdma users although it might seem logical it usually doesnt help. I'd rather not explain why because it would take too long.

Give the brain time and dont further insult it with drugs. Time is really all you have as far as fixing your brain. The brain is pretty resilient and it knows what its doing, let the neuroadaptative re-wiring occur. In 3-5 years things will be totally different.

I have told my psychiatrist that I don't want to take an ssri, so that's why I've decided to go the benzo route for now.
So far, it's been a little over a year since I last took MDMA, but you think it will be 3-5 years before I start to feel normal again?

 

[Eliphaz]

Try picamilon. Although not a direct serotonin modulator, its powerful overall stabilizing effect should help you. When nothing else has worked for me, this is the one I can always trust. Certainly more beneficial than a benzo, with similar effects for many people.

With picamilon and possibly other suitable nootropics, combined with exercise, diet and lifestyle changes I'd be surprised if you didnt' feel an improvement in two weeks rather than several years.

 

[chaos_destroy]

Thanks for the suggestion. I've tried to find out how to obtain either of these, but can I purchase these in the U.S.?

From what I've read online, it's not available to people in the U.S. I went into a health food store today and the guy had no idea what I was talking about haha

Well all of mine i have ordered from the US so i can't see why you shouldn't be able to get them in the us. maybe not in stores but online. Unless this has changed recently

 

[ingo_1978]

I think the MDMA triggered an anxiety disorder... SSRI's are the way to go. Citalopram is especially good. I suffered for a while with anxiety thinking it was from MDMA but after a few months on citalopram and I was much better.

 

[m c f]

I've found out that distribution of piracetam is illegal in the US, but possession is legal (don't quote me on that though). So you can buy it online, but not in a store. I saw improvement in cognitive function after only a short time using it.

 

[bob_arctor]

/10.1097%2FJCP.0b013e318184ff5b]Agomelatine[/url] and other melatonergics are still a few years away from the market.

Some good advice - but agomelatine is available since last summer in several countries.

 

[/navarone/]

1) Omega 3-6-9 fatty acids
2) Lecithin and phophatidylserine
3) Strict vitamin B supplementations (along with other vitamins and minerals)
4) Drink a lot of mineral water everyday (1-2 liters) good wates are generally very hopotonic and contant a o of magnesium an potasium with very low leves of sodium, fluorine and almost absent of any heavymetals.

Also meditation!

 

[DaftPunkFan]

Try picamilon. Although not a direct serotonin modulator, its powerful overall stabilizing effect should help you. When nothing else has worked for me, this is the one I can always trust. Certainly more beneficial than a benzo, with similar effects for many people.

With picamilon and possibly other suitable nootropics, combined with exercise, diet and lifestyle changes I'd be surprised if you didnt' feel an improvement in two weeks rather than several years.

Thanks for the advice. I recently ordered both Piracetam and Picamilon, I'm just wondering what's a good dose that's worked for you?
Also, should I begin taking these at the same time?
And last question, are these ok to take with Xanax/Klonopin?

Thanks :D