Vitamin and Supplements Regimen
 

*Updated regimen linked @ bottom of post.*

Here is the nutritional regimen I have followed for decades. It was prescribed for me by a doctor back in 1982. I have fallen of the wagon from time to time. Each time, my wife notices a difference and gets me back on the regimen. I have added a few things over the years.

The injured brain needs to do two things, First, it needs to cleanse itself of the toxic remnants of the injury. Second, it needs to regain strength (heal) in the damaged areas. B vitamins are the most important. I suggest:

B-12 (500 to 1000 mcgs daily)
a B-50 complex, for all the other B's so you get a good balance of B's
a high potency multi-vitamin like GNC Mega Women?Men. Centrum and One a Day are too weak.
Some extra anti-oxidants, Vit C and Vit E
D3, plenty of this, 1000 to 5000 iu's
Omega 3, 6, 9 fish oil
Calcium with magnesium

I also have added
Curcumin (pricy but worth it) 950 mgs daily This is a Turmeric extract
DHEA, 25 mgs , a hormone that helps the body balance the other hormones, If your skin gets oily try 1/2 of a 25 mgs tablet
a Costco High Energy multipack (7 pieces) in place of the multi-vitamin

I am currently trying CDC Choline to review it for the manufacturer. It appears to be helping with less foggy brain but after only three days, this could be just a coincidence. I'll post a better review of CDC Choline later.


good meat protein for the amino acids, pork is the best or for vegetarians, there is a seaweed based spirulina extract that sounds pretty good. Most vegetarians do not like to eat the seaweed directly.
a good amino acid supplement including essential fatty acid and BCAA (broken chain amino acid). Vegetarian diets are usually deficient in these so they need supplements. Spirulina is suggested as comprehensive enough.
avoid trans fats.

No caffeine, alcohol, MSG, artificial sweeteners (aspartame, Nutrasweet, Equal, Splenda, sucralose), high fructose corn sweetener, and only moderate natural sugar.

We should also avoid aluminum compounds. The most common aluminum is found in antiperspirants (aluminum chlorhydrate). They should be avoided.

My regimen based on the above costs about $1.30 to $1.50 per day including some non-brain supplements (arthritis).

I was started on the brain basics by a psychiatrist 30 years ago as a way to treat PCS depression and avoid medication. It was very effective. I am tempted to replace my paroxetine with 5-HTP or L-Tryptophan but have not been able to find any conversion factors.

The B-12 and the folic acid in the B-50 is important for repair of the myelin sheath that protects axon and dendrite fibers. The rest are for improving brain metabolism.

This regimen needs to be a long term or lifetime discipline. It take 4 to 8 weeks to see improvements.

After using the regimen for a month or so, it is good to get a blood test for the D3, B-12 and folate to make sure your blood levels are adequate. B-12 should be about 1000 pcgs/mL and folate at about 20 or higher.


There are three valuable resources for you to check out.

The TBI Survival Guide at Traumatic Brain Injury.
Print it out (84 pages)

The YouTube "You Look Great" 6 part series
[1 of 6] "You Look Great!" : Inside a TBI - YouTube

The brain line 'TBI Lost and Found'
Lost & Found: What Brain Injury Survivors Want You to Know

Share these with your family and/or friends. And, try to find a TBI support group to attend with your family. They can be a great source of support and understanding.

Home made Ice pack

My recipe for a flexible/crushable ice pack is simple. One part rubbing alcohol with three parts water in a zip lock baggies. Freeze them, three is good, so you can alternate them and always have a frozen one. Ice frequently for 15 minutes on and 30 minutes off and repeat. If you get any stiffness of head ache, get the ice pack out. The upper neck easily gets inflamed cause symptoms. This should make a difference.

7/2016---- Updated regimen which appears later on this thread --post #101:
http://www.neurotalk.org/1106982-post101.html

Mark, I am curious to hear your observations. I have been on 528mg a day for 30 days now. It's so difficult to self evaluate, cognitively my concentration and focus had returned to near normal levels until a recent significant decline. Could be simply lack of sleep as the kids have been sick lately so it's so hard to say.

I'd like to know about dosage and if you take it in combination with anything else and time of day.

Thanks for the information.

I take one capsule with the rest of my regimen. If your family has been sick, it is likely that your immune system has been working overtime to prevent you from becoming ill with the same. That combined with your lack of sleep can easily be a cause of a recent setback.

Mark, your list looks good. I have only 2 comments!

1) blue green algae is being looked at now, as a possible cause
of neurological toxicity.
Here is an article about it:
http://thedartmouth.com/2011/06/28/news/ALS
There are many others on Google if you want to look around.
Even Dr. Weil is now coming out publicly and warning people not to use any blue green algae product.

2) Curcumin is not well absorbed orally, but there are some brands now with improved absorption. Curcugel-500 is one (also available at LEF foundation), and LongVida makes one. It is unfortunately quite expensive still.
http://www.longvida.com/index.php

Please keep reminding people to take B12 on an empty stomach. It won't be absorbed well, orally when food is present.

I have been taking about 300-400 mcgs of B-12 on a full stomach for years and have good blood concentrations. My suggestion is take enough to get the blood concentration to about 1000 pcgs/mL.

I mention the spirulina because many vegans/vegetarians claim to get all they need from their normal vegan diet. Studies show some serious deficiencies in the vegetarian diet.

You are lucky.....you must still have some intrinsic factor activity.
This however can be blocked in many people who use acid blocking drugs for heartburn, or who have poor acid levels in the stomach due to genetic errors in intrinsic factor activity, or who are older. The presence of food in GI tract (small intestine) tends to absorb microgram amounts of certain drugs like digoxin and thyroid hormones. Studies have found poor absorption of microgram type doses.

There is a study done by a doctor measuring absorption under ideal conditions...of B12 and it is very small. About 13mcg for a dose of 1000mcg, on an empty stomach.
So unless everyone gets B12 tests periodically, they will never know if they are absorbing properly unless they take it on an empty stomach.

Here is the paper...
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2532799/

and the link to his table with doses:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti...able/T1/#TF1-4

In the younger age groups who post here, it is less common
to have low B12 unless the person has a terrible diet or is anorectic, or has the genes for pernicious anemia.

But for many of the posters on NeuroTalk, the empty stomach is
important.

Also another point... about 10-30% of the population has been found to be unable to methylate B12 and folic acid. This failure means that cyanocobalamin form will not work for them.
They require methylfolate and methylcobalamin for supplementation therefore. The 23andme website has now lowered its price again for DNA testing for this genetic error, and it is now $99. (for those interested.)

Those with Celiac and/or gluten intolerance, and those with inflammatory bowel diseases, malabsorption of B12 does occur.
So B12 is not a simple thing to supplement when all these factors may be present.

Mark - do you take your supplements at a certain time of day? I take mine with breakfast and have always wondered if that is ideal for the PCS brain or if it should be spread out over the course of the day. I take a Multivitamin, Vit C, D3, and probiotics.

Thanks :)

I take my full regimen after breakfast. I sometimes will eat half a banana after to push any stragglers down. Some tend to get stuck in my esophagus going down.

Musiclover, You regimen looks very weak. Most multi's are based on the RDA and are very weak on B's and folic acid. You also need strong minerals.

Hi guys! Mark, as an avid fitness enthusist and gym goer, I like the supplement list that you have posted in the first post. I take most of these on a regular basis :)

Hey guys, just to add on to Mark's first post, If you do a google search for NOW Foods supplements they are made with the highest purity, no filler products, and are very cheap.

For multi-vitamin: NOW FOODS ADAM
For Chlorella: NOW FOODS CHLORELLA
For Spirulina: NOW FOODS SPIRULINA

I have never taken the second and third product ever. But I have ordered some and just received them. I am going to start next week. I stumbled upon these products because I had 3 CT scans for my head in a span of four months. Two of those three were 7 days apart. I am worried about all the radiation that I have absorbed and apparently taking chlorella + spirulina absorbs and takes away a good amount of the negative effects of the radiation if taken over time. There are good research articles on google where these products were given to children of the chernobyl incident and within a few months their radiation levels dropped significantly.
These two supplements are also considered detoxing agents and people in the supplement reviews on various supplement websites have reported having more energy and feeling young and rejuvenated again. I will try to post my experiences with them after I have taken them for about 90 days or so.

I have a few questions
 

You have Magnesium with calcium.....I have been taking Magnesium 250-500mg alone at night...My calcium is in my multi vitamin I take at breakfast...Do you think this is a good amount of Magnesium? and is it ok without the calcium? And do you not take Melatonin?If not just curious why?

My psychiatrist told me when I brought all my vitamins that the DHA is a Hoax?What are your thoughts on this?Thank you and appreciate your time greatly:D