MDMA Recovery (Stories & Support - 7) [ALL LTC posts go here]

[badooking]

I had brain fog at times yes but wouldn’t say I had severe memory issues. If its just really bad brain fog that can be hormonal

 

[semisober]

I agree that brain fog, anxiety, depression, etc. can all result from the mdma -> HPA issues discussed here, and that this is the much more common presentation of “LTC” that we see. I think anyone in this category can fully recover, and if you look at the many reports over the years, (A) the overwhelming majority do recover and (B) almost every report from someone who says they recovered were in this camp. I think this accounts for over 80% of people who have posted here over the years.

Within this group, one of the most harmful things they can do is get panicked by reading through the forums, triggering the cortisol vicious cycle that exacerbates their issues.

The 5-20% that present with real, severe neurological issues (Nambo, for example) seem to clearly represent a different set of issues and it creates a variety of issues trying to lump everyone under this same “LTC” concept.

 

[badooking]

I agree that brain fog, anxiety, depression, etc. can all result from the mdma -> HPA issues discussed here, and that this is the much more common presentation of “LTC” that we see. I think anyone in this category can fully recover, and if you look at the many reports over the years, (A) the overwhelming majority do recover and (B) almost every report from someone who says they recovered were in this camp. I think this accounts for over 80% of people who have posted here over the years.

Within this group, one of the most harmful things they can do is get panicked by reading through the forums, triggering the cortisol vicious cycle that exacerbates their issues.

The 5-20% that present with real, severe neurological issues (Nambo, for example) seem to clearly represent a different set of issues and it creates a variety of issues trying to lump everyone under this same “LTC” concept.

Agreed the severe issues are probably not just HPA axis/hormonal. Stuff like profound anhedonia and emotional blunting for example is more than just HPA axis. It could still be allopregnanolone related though-but thats a neurosteroid and not in the measurable part of the HPA axis. For example Finasteride the hair loss drug causes anhedonia by depleting alloP.

Another possibility is gut is impacted. Testing for SIBO and treating that is also one route. Even if the initial insult was neurological it can impact the vagal nerve and thus the gut. There are reports of moderate anhedonia with SIBO.

If you have mainly stuff like insomnia, stress intolerance, obsessive thoughts, “depression” of the non-anhedonic just low mood, brain fog, anxiety/panic then that can be HPA axis hormonal

 

[Mystery10]

Not sure if this is the right place to ask, but as someone who hasn't experienced LTC and doesn't know much about it, I'm quite interested in the level of MDMA use that caused the LTC, if other drugs were involved, onset of the LTC, pre-existing conditions, etc. Reading through the old thread it was always hard to tell whether someones LTC was caused by a single pill one night, or if it entailed longterm/excessive use.

If this place is purely for support and no probing questions, say so and I'll delete this!

i used untested mdma once. dealer said it was just a point. got brainfog ever since for 3.5 yrs

 

[Veebonacci]

It’s become very apparent that there’s two ends of the spectrum here.

On one end there’s the highly anxious catastrophic thinkers that are certain they’re brain damaged, and the other end that are entirely reductionist and think some multivitamins and positive thinking is the solution.

The reason you get such a sour response from sufferers when you tell them it’s all just anxiety is because it’s like telling a cancer patient they’ve got cancer because they haven’t been taking enough vitamin d or something trivial like that.

It’s just insulting to reduce, perhaps the most turbulent and challenging part of someone’s life, into something trivial like a vitamin deficiency or anxiety - or even worse - that this condition doesn’t exist and it’s all in our head. Don’t insult our intelligence. You haven’t the slightest clue how distressing this ordeal has been or the faintest idea of how tough some of the days have been, even if you claim to know.

My fellow long haulers, it’s perfectly fine to feel despair at times. But don’t give up. You will improve over time, i promise - stay strong as you have done already for so long now!

If you think vitamins/minerals are trivial, you are absolutely insane. They are literally vital to human functions in the body. Without your nutrients, you are depriving your body of the necessary resources to function properly. You could run into serious problems that you would never think of.

Most people thinks their current diet has everything they need but current farming practices rape the land of its nutrients. Nowadays you have to be super aware of what you ingest otherwise you’re most likely deficient in something. Eating pizza and McDonald’s thinking you’re eating healthy because you got a chicken sandwich instead of a quarter pounder is beyond silly. Put down the soda and drink some fresh spring water

I agree they might not be the cure, but I only see upside to making sure you are getting all your macro and micro nutrients. I think everyone can agree with this.

I’m willing to bet you can greatly improve your diet. You just don’t want to. If you look at the people posting that they recovered, they tend to recommend eating a healthier diet on top of other things.

I don’t know exactly what you guys are going through but i saw one of my closest friends lose their mind over a period of a year. And the method that I took from G_chem worked. it may not work for everyone but if this post can help just one person avoid this tragedy. It’ll be time well spent.

 

[Richi1]

If you think vitamins/minerals are trivial, you are absolutely insane. They are literally vital to human functions in the body. Without your nutrients, you are depriving your body of the necessary resources to function properly. You could run into serious problems that you would never think of.

Most people thinks their current diet has everything they need but current farming practices rape the land of its nutrients. Nowadays you have to be super aware of what you ingest otherwise you’re most likely deficient in something. Eating pizza and McDonald’s thinking you’re eating healthy because you got a chicken sandwich instead of a quarter pounder is beyond silly. Put down the soda and drink some fresh spring water

I agree they might not be the cure, but I only see upside to making sure you are getting all your macro and micro nutrients. I think everyone can agree with this.

I’m willing to bet you can greatly improve your diet. You just don’t want to. If you look at the people posting that they recovered, they tend to recommend eating a healthier diet on top of other things.

I don’t know exactly what you guys are going through but i saw one of my closest friends lose their mind over a period of a year. And the method that I took from G_chem worked. it may not work for everyone but if this post can help just one person avoid this tragedy. It’ll be time well spent.

Your stubbornness knows no bounds.

“If you think vitamins/minerals are trivial” do you even read properly? I clearly said reducing the condition down to a lack of vitamins or minerals was trivial. Not vitamins and minerals being trivial themselves.

You seem to be very insistent on the idea that people in this condition aren’t living healthy or taking their vitamins for some reason.

 

[Veebonacci]

The reason I highlighted the “partying and drinking” in my post is because I am still intrigued by the connection alcohol has with this condition.

When I’m having a normal week there’s no kick back from it, but there is when I’m having a bad one.
I didn’t mention it because I’m drinking and partying all the time or because I think it’s a good idea.

Ive should’ve remembered who you were when I submitted my last post. I totally forgot this was you

“It’s just insulting to reduce, perhaps the most turbulent and challenging part of someone’s life, into something trivial like a vitamin deficiency or anxiety - or even worse - that this condition doesn’t exist and it’s all in our head. Don’t insult our intelligence. You haven’t the slightest clue how distressing this ordeal has been or the faintest idea of how tough some of the days have been, even if you claim to know.”

Really? If it was the most turbulent and challenging part of your life, you decide it’s intriguing to experiment with alcohol? Please tell me I’m not the only one that thinks this is ridiculous to be writing both those statements then say “don’t insult our intelligence.”

Reducing this condition down to lack of vitamins and minerals is anything but trivial. YOU think it’s trivial. Notice a pattern here?

Are you telling me you’re living a healthy lifestyle? While youre continuing to drink? I don’t think it’s necessarily unhealthy in all cases, but when you’re going through LTC, yeah I’d call that unhealthy. I’m willing to bet you’re making other unhealthy choices in your life as well You can lie to yourself all you want but we both know you could be doing better.

If you think my idea won’t help you then why don’t you just ignore me? To be honest, I’m not looking to help people like you. I’m looking for people who read what I wrote, it makes sense to them, and want to try it out. I’ve wrote numerous times that I don’t know if it’ll work for everyone but that’s what I want to find out. It’s perfectly fine if you think it’s bologna. I don’t have a gun to your head shouting take your vitamins you unhealthy fuck

 

[Deep_Fried]

There's no need to insult one another - remember we are here to help each other. There's some merit to both standpoints and you could just agree to respectfully disagree.

I have been taking around 400mg of magnesia a day for a few weeks now and I can indeed attest some positive changes:
- more energy
- less appetite
- the cycles seem to go faster
- music sounds better
- turds are fluffier but far from liquid

I will continue with that dosage and am looking forward to spring when I can exercise outdoors more regulary.
All the best

 

[MoePingas]

Hello all, so I have read many post here and then I come to seek some information.

I took some ecstasy 3 weeks ago, and since then I experience what people call hypnic jerk/spasmes when I get to sleep. It is shortening my night and gets me anxious, it is the first thing I think of when I open my eyes in the morning, and prevent me of having full night of recover. If I'm tired I currently mannaged to sleep but in the morning, when I have the night behind me, I can't go back to sleep.
I read that some people had these symptoms but I can't know if they healed, my question is how they are feeling today ? Will these muscle jerk will eventually pass ? How much time I would exept if so ? Beside this and a headache, I'm in a relatively good health, I'm doing sport 6/7 days, eat healthy, in a good shape.
Thx for all

 

[G_Chem]

Your stubbornness knows no bounds.

“If you think vitamins/minerals are trivial” do you even read properly? I clearly said reducing the condition down to a lack of vitamins or minerals was trivial. Not vitamins and minerals being trivial themselves.

You seem to be very insistent on the idea that people in this condition aren’t living healthy or taking their vitamins for some reason.

Well when we up to 75% of the US population deficient in magnesium, 42% is Vit D deficient, 10% children iron deficient, we can begin to see that indeed many people aren’t living healthy.

When most of the population is unhealthy, then you add in a condition such as this. I find it very unbelievable when it seems everyone who comes in here with this affliction has “tried all that already.”

As been said, the people that push hard to try for healthy diet and exercise always miraculously seem to be the ones getting better.. The ones that scoff at the idea or say they tried it already usually don’t or at least not quickly.

-GC

 

[Deep_Fried]

Will these muscle jerk will eventually pass ? How much time I would exept if so ?

Those symptoms resided within a few months in my rather extreme case. Try not to think about it, stay calm and you´ll be fine realtively quickly.

 

[MoePingas]

Those symptoms resided within a few months in my rather extreme case. Try not to think about it, stay calm and you´ll be fine realtively quickly.

Thx for the answer, did you get these symptoms as well ? When you say extreme case, you mean you had this several time ? One time is enough to me, I won't touch this again.
My night under mdma was not even that hard, only a big nausea the day after, Ive seen way worse. But the next morning I woke up and directly feel these twitch as I tried to go back to sleep. I immediatly noticed that these werent normal.

 

[Deep_Fried]

Thx for the answer, did you get these symptoms as well ? When you say extreme case, you mean you had this several time ?

I binged a 10 gram MDMA crystal in 2 weeks. The brainzaps were nasty, but went away rather quickly. The muscle twitches were a minor issue compared to the other symptoms. You really shouldn´t worry and don't read too much in this thread as it can do more harm than good. All the best

 

[Veebonacci]

There's no need to insult one another - remember we are here to help each other. There's some merit to both standpoints and you could just agree to respectfully disagree.

I have been taking around 400mg of magnesia a day for a few weeks now and I can indeed attest some positive changes:
- more energy
- less appetite
- the cycles seem to go faster
- music sounds better
- turds are fluffier but far from liquid

I will continue with that dosage and am looking forward to spring when I can exercise outdoors more regulary.
All the best

I’ve been waiting to hear from you and I’m glad it has had a positive effect for you. I cannot wait for spring because I’m noticeably happier when I get some sunshine. I’m looking forward to your full recovery Deep_Fried. I wish you the best of shits

Nice to see you again GC. I will be forever grateful for the research you have done and putting that info out there. I would never have guessed to really look into magnesium if it wasn’t for you. A bit unrelated, but I got my whole family on mag now and we’ve never been happier. The difference in the mood is night and day in my household. We are constantly making jokes and laughing at each other. I cannot remember the last time any of us had an argument. Thanks GC

 

[badooking]

I noticed some cases of Long Covid also seem to have very similar symptoms. And the medical community is not very good at treating that either, many get gaslit into “its all in your head” when clearly something physiological triggered it. LC sufferers also show the same obsession with the symptoms themselves due to the suffering

 

[Richi1]

Well when we up to 75% of the US population deficient in magnesium, 42% is Vit D deficient, 10% children iron deficient, we can begin to see that indeed many people aren’t living healthy.

When most of the population is unhealthy, then you add in a condition such as this. I find it very unbelievable when it seems everyone who comes in here with this affliction has “tried all that already.”

As been said, the people that push hard to try for healthy diet and exercise always miraculously seem to be the ones getting better.. The ones that scoff at the idea or say they tried it already usually don’t or at least not quickly.

-GC

I actually really like your viewpoints chem, but are you really going to quote stats from the USA. Notorious for having the healthiest of diets. Really?

 

[Veebonacci]

I stumbled upon an interesting podcast with Chris Palmer suggesting mitochondrial dysfunction plays a role in mental illness. He suggests a ketogenic diet can help fix mitochondrial dysfunction which can alleviate mental illness (this is a ROUGH summary I suggest listening to the whole podcast for a better understanding) Not in all cases but it has helped some of his patients. I’m thinking this can maybe also help some of you guys who are experiencing LTC through the ketogenic diet + supplementing electrolytes. There are probably some of you unable to go into ketosis but for those that can, this again is seems like a very low risk high reward choice. We see it time and time again for people who got better. A common thread is a whole foods diet. Im thinking a ketogenic diet is even better. As always do your own research and feel free to dm me or ask me any questions on this forum

 

[SpiralusSancti]

I bet it works (somewhat at least) but in a sense it’s a chemical shock therapy
Well...almost

 

[Juicewrldfan]

So I used to have an MDMA addiction way back. I mean before they even called it molly lol. It was bad to the point I had jars and was taking like half jars a week. What I mean is I did that one week. It wasn’t possible physically and mentally to continue that intake and I didn’t. Seriously, and I’ve had brain zaps before from it but I guess what I’m trying to figure out is what is LTC? I know it’s a thing but I don’t know what it is. It seems to be something related to XTC withdrawal? Idk…google isn’t pulling anything up so thought I’d ask.

I will say that I have recovered completely from MDMA abuse and idk about serotonin receptors being damaged or anything but I did struggle with suicidal thoughts for a long time but to be fair I always struggled with that shit. I haven’t got a very long time now. I guess what I am trying to say is that you can recover from MDMA abuse. There was so many lies told about mdma back in the day from Opra and “holes” in the brain episode to the apes being given meth instead of mdma during a famous experiment. Anyway, you can recover.

And like @G_Chem was saying exercise and vitamins/nutrients along with adequate sleep are key and I’ll go a step further and say in ANY drug recovery process.

 

[Veebonacci]

keto is very stressing.

seems like a bad idea for ppl who are already super stressed.

If sb. wants to try it...go for it...but if it makes you worse, then stop it and dont fight through the bad effects

Can you explain how keto is very stressing? Like on the body? Or on your mental?

Should people not work out because exercise is stressful?