Melatonin Part 2- Jury Still Out

 Again, I don't want to get my hopes up but if current trends continue, 2 out of my 3 demands will be met.  The first is for the inexplicable reactions to STOP.   

Liver Beef, Taurine and Colostrum gave me FITS in recent weeks.  This is the most maddening thing about this whole ordeal.  The last 2 days: No discernable reaction and I was actually marginally faster after taking the problem pill.  That's YUGE!

The second is no extreme dependency on any one pill.  Up until yesterday, that pill was Thym Adren.  I want to get to a point in which I can make it through a long weekend without it.  Just 3 days ago, I was nearly 2 minutes faster per mile IMMEDIATELY after taking the usual dosage. Yes, I had been taking it every day prior to that.  That should NEVER HAPPEN.  Tolerating one day off it is not enough to declare victory but I have to say that the prognosis looks good.

Today, I felt no discernable difference after taking the Thym Adren.  After the usual dose, I was only 15 seconds faster per mile over a short interval. Suppose I forget to pack it before a road trip.  I'd say chances are pretty good that it would NOT wreck the trip.  

The third demand is somewhat subjective.  I need enough energy to enjoy life and be productive.  I don't need to run a marathon but a 10K would be nice.  That way, at least, I can enjoy the social aspect of it.  Also, crashing on the weekends and having to take frequent naps is not acceptable.  

This demand has NOT been met as of yet.  Crashing on the 2nd lap of a Mile time trial will not be tolerated.  I would not have finished a 5K yesterday without walk breaks.  I feel groggy and unmotivated.  It's comparable to the zombie-like feeling of anti-depressants.  I wasn't sleepy yesterday evening but didn't want to do anything except lay awake in bed.  Melatonin is most definitely the culprit.

Best case scenario:

The Melatonin will be effective even if taken at low doses only a couple of times per week.  I can take 3 mg maybe only on Wednesday and Saturday and it will be enough to prevent the reactions and extreme dependency.  Low doses will be tolerated and will not cause significant side effects.

Worst case scenario:

I need 20 mg every day for it to be effective but the side effects are worse than the disease itself.

Prognosis:

I took 25 mg the first day and 20 mg the second day.  Clearly, that's too much.  I read that more than 10 mg is usually NOT recommended.  I will cut it down to 10 mg from now on and it must be taken before bed.  The million dollar questions:  Will the lower doses be enough?  If so, will the side effects be manageable?  

Early returns:

I've already lowered it from 25 to 20.  I only managed an 87 half lap yesterday.  Today, I clocked a 75 and it was just as effective in preventing the extreme dependency.  That's a good sign.  I've read that it's a sustained release pill.  That is, the full effect doesn't kick in for a few hours.  The fact that I felt an immediate positive impact suggests that I got results with a small amount in my system.  

Melatonin for Sensitivity

 Too soon to get my hopes up but I may have found something with Melatonin.

I took the at home urine test early this afternoon and as expected, it showed severe inflammation.  It was at least Level 5 out of 7 based on the color codes but I don't have any hard numbers or reference ranges.  This test was done in advance of my scheduled consultation with Dr. Cole, which will be done the morning of October 31.

What exactly did this test for?

It was a Meta Oxy test, which qualitatively measured the concentration of Malondialdehyde.  I had never heard of that stuff before today.  On an impulse, I looked up how to reduce it.  I had tried everything on the list except for Melatonin so I took a drive to the health foods store.  I was already in bad shape so what the hell did I have to lose?  I got the strongest form plus a bottle of Curcumin.

Results:

Curcumin seemed to be a non-factor, which was no surprise.  At least I didn't react badly to it as I have in the past.  The reaction to Melatonin was immediately POSITIVE.  My body loosened up and I was actually able to touch my toes.  Time for an impromptu interval test.  

On no additional pills, I clocked an 88 second half lap (8:48 pace).  Not great, but it was a better showing than the end of my Mile a few hours earlier.  I believe it would have been in the 11- minute range without it.  Next, I tried Colostrum, the very same pill that triggered this week's relapse.  Just 3 days earlier, I was fully 3 minutes slower per mile immediately after taking it.  Today, I felt no difference from the previous interval and actually finished marginally faster at 86 (8:36 pace).  Not enough to be significant but that's okay.  I only wanted to be able to hold the previous pace.  

On extra Melatonin, I clocked a 60 second half lap at Montreat.  That's right.  SIXTY seconds (6:00 pace).  Granted, I did increase the effort a bit but that is YUGE!  Later on that afternoon, I popped a Liver pill, which has also not been tolerated recently.  I felt no apparent ill-effects.  Though I didn't try an interval, I did sprint about 50 yards at the end of a one lap walk.  It felt GOOD and FAST.  That tells me enough.

I say it's too soon to get my hopes up because similar things have happened in the past.  The treatment showed promise early but later became a non-factor and in many cases, gave me trouble.

Why might this be different?

I believe that my Melatonin levels have been unbalanced for many years, perhaps since childhood.  I had a HORRIBLE time getting up in the morning when I was growing up.  Too often, I was late for school because I missed the bus and didn't feel fully awake until about 9 AM.  I thought that low adrenaline was the reason and maybe it was a factor.  However, the real problem was likely Melatonin.  The cycle was off.  Normally, it's high at night and low in the morning.  Most probably, mine was low in the evening but peaked in the early morning.  Yes, this phenomenon is common among autistic children.  Fortunately, getting up in the morning is no longer an issue for me.  Perhaps, my Melatonin levels remain low throughout the day.  Starting today, I will take it before bed and go with it until it stops working.  Hopefully, I will not require mega doses.  

Training 10/22-11/3

 10/22- 1 mile on Lakeshore in 8:47.  Very stiff but I was encouraged by how much I had left at the end.  I don't know the exact split but I may have been sub-8 pace in the last quarter mile.  Let's see if I can maintain it for a full mile.  

Distance-1.0

10/23-AM. Mission accomplished.  Vestavia Mile in 7:51 (3:55-3:56).  Pace was steady at 8:00 give or take with the exception of the first and last 200, both of which were around 56 seconds.  There may be room for improvement if I tweak the formula a bit.  21 seconds off my reset PR.

PM- 2 miles on Lakeshore in 17:14 (8:37 pace).  Dialed it down in terms of effort but this was sub-27 pace for 5K, which would have been a PR.  I estimate it was worth a 27:15-30.  Faded on the back half (8:34-8:40) and it took a late push to get it close to even.

Distance-3.5

10/24- Interval Testing.  Half lappers.

Opener-88 (8:48 pace)

3 Thym Adren- 69 (6:54 pace). 

Colostrum- 1:41 (10:06 pace)

Granted, I wasn't really warmed up for the opener but a gap of nearly 2 minutes is unacceptable.  Even more disturbing is that I was CRAP after taking the Colostrum.  This stuff actually helped last week.  I wonder if the Functional Med Doctor has any explanation.  I doubt it.

PM- Felt better in the afternoon but took the evening off as planned.

Distance-0.5

10/25- 1 Mile in 9:40.  Started off pretty well but the power cut off at 600 meters and I just slow jogged it in with a last half in 5:28.  Could have done a little better but not much.  No panic.  Most probably, the Colostrum and subsequent sugar test hasn't fully cleared.  I expect to be better tomorrow and back to the new norm by Sunday.

Distance-1.0

10/26- 2 miles at Heardmont in 18:14 (9:07 pace).  Not quite back to the pre-Colostrum form but almost there.  Splits were 9:12-9:02.  I pushed the last lap but didn't go all out.  I had plenty left for another Mile at this pace but I probably come up short in a 10K.  I'll take it and try to do better tomorrow.

Distance-2.0

10/27- A repeat of 2 days ago.  Planned on a 5K but had to bail after just 1 Mile in 9:50 (4:30-5:20).  I ran the first lap on target at 2:09 but the power had already cut off and it got worse with every lap.  Lap 4 was 2:46 so I had enough after that.  Signs point toward an adrenal spike.  VERY ANGRY about this one.  Glycine was supposed to stop this from happening.  I'll be in rough shape for the next few days too after overshooting.

PM- Impromptu interval session.  See the separate post for details.  Splits were 88-86-60.

Distance=1.5

10/28- Split decision.  Definitely feel different on the Melatonin and I was anxious to see how it would play out on the track.  I was shooting for a reset PR in the Mile (7:30).  Legs were loose and limber warming up and I was ready to roll. 

 I thought I was going to get it after passing 400 in 1:47 but the power cut off between 500-600.  Passed 800 still on pace at 3:44 but knew I couldn't hold it and would be hard pressed to break 8.  Called it after 900 and went back to my car to see what would happen on extra Melatonin.  The result was worse.  Pace slipped to the 10-minute range by the end.  Unclear if it's an adrenal spike or too much Melatonin.  I'll find out tomorrow.

Had just enough time for a 1 lap test after I got home.  Taurine is another pill that has given me fits in recent weeks.  Today, I was marginally better with it than without (90/87).  Almost an identical result as yesterday's Colostrum trial.  I really wanted to test out extra Thym Adren but just didn't have time.  

Distance-1.5

Reaction: An end of these inexplicable reactions would be YUGE!  THERE IS A CHANCE!  Why was I bad today?  Adrenal spike or too much Melatonin?  I'm rooting for the latter.  In recent years, I've had insatiable need for an effective pill, which eventually died down.  That doesn't appear to be the case this time as I did have ill-effects from a mega dose.  Perhaps this is different from the false hopes of the past.  More news to come later.

Update: No discernable reaction to extra Thym Adren this afternoon.  Tomorrow is BIG.  I don't care about my time.  I only want the Thym Adren gap to shrink.  If I run a 65 without and a 60 with, that's fine.  If it's a 90 without and an 85 with, that's just as good.  A 90/90 would be even better.  Even if the gap is small, questions will remain about the Melatonin.  How much can be tolerated?  Will the tolerable limit be enough to be effective?  This is far from over.

10/29- AM- Opened with a 77.5 (7:45 pace) after a half lap warm.   Not horrible but it did not feel sustainable and I probably would have crashed again in the 2nd lap.  I was not concerned about that, however.  I needed to know how I would do on 3 Thym Adren.  

I didn't feel much different and was only slightly faster at the finish.  Time was 75.0 (7:30 pace).  Enough to be significant?  I say that's borderline and a longer distance would tell me more.  Nevertheless, this is EXCELLENT NEWS!  Last time I did this, my times were 88/69.  It appears that 2 out of my 3 demands may have been met.  Jury is still out.

PM- Lakeshore 1.5 in 13:10 (8:47 pace).  Better than expected but there's pressure to improve on this tomorrow.  Power never cut off (6:37-6:33) and this felt sustainable.  

Distance-2.0

Reaction:

In the past, I had pills that I couldn't tolerate at all.  Even a few specks triggered a reaction. 

 In this case, I have seen enough to know that I will have less severe side effects on a lower dose.  I am pretty sure that 10 mg will be effective and do the job.  Unsure if it will be tolerated long-term.  If it's not, I go down to 5, which will almost certainly be better tolerated.  However, I am uncertain if 5 mg will be effective.  Overall, the news is excellent but the jury will be out for quite awhile.

10/30-AM No opener and closer.  Took the full dose before the sprint and it most probably didn't matter.  This is the first morning after 10 mg the previous day.  I was expecting a 65-67 versus yesterday's 75.0.  I was marginally better with a 72.3 (7:14 pace) but came away disappointed because it wasn't as good as expected.  I got a negative reaction last night from the Melatonin but it had mostly cleared by the morning.  

Reaction:

Unless I am significantly worse than yesterday in the evening session, I will stick with 10 mg for 1 more night.  However, it's pretty clear that it will be too much.  5mg will almost certainly be better tolerated.  Will it be effective?  That's now a multi-million dollar question.

PM- 2 miles on Lakeshore in 17:10 (8:35 pace).  Even pace with no real effort to kick.  Significantly better than yesterday.  Maybe I should stick with 10 mg.  I will do so for 1 more day but the goal is to find the lowest dose that is fully effective.

Distance-2.5

10/31- Half lap sprint in 73.9 (7:23 pace) plus a warm and cool.  Slightly slower than yesterday but slightly faster than 2 days ago.  Not enough to be significant in either direction.  The verdict is is on 10 mg:

Clearly effective but the dose is too high.  I get an immediate negative reaction to this dose before bed.  I am still sluggish and groggy in the morning but improve as the day progresses.  I was "almost good" yesterday evening.  

If I continue this dose, times will plateau at this level give or take about 15-20 per mile and caffeine is actually beneficial because it depletes excess Melatonin.  That's probably why I was better yesterday evening.  At any rate, tolerance is unchanged after several days of use.  Could be worse. 

 I will cut the dose gradually and hope it remains effective.  Tonight, I will take 8 mg.  I hope to be faster tomorrow morning with no significant reaction to problem pills.  Even if 10 mg is the lowest effective dose, this is still a big improvement over where I was before I started it.

PM- SHOCKER!  Another half lap sprint in 55.6.  I repeat FIFTY FIVE point SIX (5:33 pace).  Nearly 2 minutes faster than this morning.  The reason is definitely the clearance of excess Melatonin.  I expected to be significantly better than 73 (probably mid 60s) but I wasn't expecting anything like this.

Tomorrow's prediction: Even with a reduced dose, I won't come close to this level.  However, it should definitely be better than this morning.  I've got to set a benchmark.  If I can't break 60 in a morning sprint, the dosage is too high.  If I can break 60 with or without pills, that's very strong evidence.

Distance-1.0

11/1-AM- Got what I expected on the lowered dosage.  Still a bad reaction last night but less severe on 8mg.  Did the first sprint in 66.9 (6:41 pace).  Is the lower dose Melatonin still effective?  YES !  Once again, I was marginally better after the problem pills.  65.9 with (6:35 pace).  Significantly better than yesterday morning but not nearly as good as the evening.  Dosage is still too high.  I plan to stick with 8 tonight then drop it down to 6.

PM- 2 miles at Veteran's Park for a change.  Finished in 16:56 (8:28 pace).  Route was 3 times around the lake.  Probably translates to a sub-16:40 on Lakeshore because of the slow gravel trail here.  

Decent job overall but this was a bit of a downer.  Faded pretty badly on the last lap (5:29-5:33-5:54), which means the pace was approaching 9 by the end.  A 5K would have been ugly.  Adrenal balance feels just a little bit off.  Hopefully, there is an explanation.

Distance-2.5

11/2- AM Felt better after taking Glycine last night.  I thought Glycine would worsen Melatonin side effects.  Wrong.   I'm okay with that.  I didn't feel a little off until I missed 5 doses.  That's hardly extreme dependency.  Can I get away with a few missed doses of Melatonin?  I'll find out soon.  I will continue the plan of a gradual reduction.

Workout was 1 Mile at Heardmont in 9:34.  I'm okay with this too.  I knew that I would struggle in the morning and I will be better in the afternoon.  I was encouraged by the even pace (4:48-4:46) and I had some left in the tank.  Dose will be cut to 6 mg tonight.  The gaps between the morning and evening workouts should diminish on lower doses

#2- It was only 9 AM so I wasn't expecting much.  Did 1 lap at base effort at Montreat and clocked a surprisingly decent 2:44.0 (8:12 pace) but it didn't feel sustainable and I could feel a fade coming.

Popped 2 more Thym Adren and improved to 2:33.8 on the same effort (7:41 pace) and I did feel a difference.  Unfortunately, this is enough to be considered significant (MINUS 31) and it means that I must raise my dose.  More details to come.

11/3- AM.  Down to 6 mg with no sign of diminished effectiveness.  Once again, I was marginally faster on Taurine and Colostrum.  I did a 78.8 without and a 77.3 with.  Not a sprint.  This was done at standard training effort and without Thym Adren.  That's why it was slow.

Another thought:

I was fractionally better on the 2nd interval today than I was on 10/29's opener.  10/29 was an all out sprint.  Today was standard training effort.  That's the difference between 10 mg and 6 mg of Melatonin.

PM- YUGE DISAPPOINTMENT!  Attempted a 5K and had to bail after 1.5 miles in 13:07 (8:45 pace).  Passed 1 mile ahead of schedule at 8:20 and I thought I was going to PR.  SUDDENLY died after that.  Last half mile was 4:47 and the last lap was over 2:30.  No reason to keep going.  Culprit is most probably an adrenal spike.  5 pills won't cut it.  I need the max dose and even that may not be enough.

Distance-2.0

Health News (New Functional Med Doctor)

 I dipped under 8:00 for the Mile this morning for the first time since Spring.  I can't say that I felt good.  Legs were stiff and my breathing was labored starting after the first lap.  Nevertheless, I was able to maintain a fairly even pace.  Splits were 1:56-1:59-2:01-1:55, for a 7:51 finish, comfortably under the barrier.  This is 21 seconds away from my reset PR.  That will surely fall with any amount of consistent training.

Glycine has stopped the adrenal spike.  This was done on just 2 Thym Adren pills.  Maybe I could have done marginally better on 3 but beyond 4, I get worse.

Glycine has NOT stopped the sugar intolerance.  Well, maybe it improved the tolerance a bit but not by much.  I'll still be worthless for 36-48 hours if I cross the line with sugar consumption.  Better to avoid that stuff altogether even though it is difficult to do so.  It seems like if I cheat once, I can't stop and end up binging.  

Anything that "improves or strengthens the immune system" must be avoided like the plague.  That explains the trouble with Arginine.  

What baffles me is the Taurine.  It should be avoided but anything that indirectly lowers it should also be avoided.  You would think that if my Taurine is too high, CBS NOS or Probiotics would be helpful.  Not so.  It quickly drops it too low.  Adding back just a few caps of Taurine takes it right back to the other side of the spectrum.  WHAT THE ______!  Needless to say, I won't mess with either.

I have a phone consult with Dr. Will Cole, a Functional MD who specializes in autoimmune issues.  I don't have anything to lose and figure since it's affordable, it might be worth it.

I will receive a urine test kit that measures inflammation.  There is no need for lab analysis.  It will be color coded based on severity using test strips or reagent.  I don't know how it can be determined what my body needs based on so little information but I am willing to give it a try.  What I want to see is a lab value that is either off the scale high or undetectable that explains the reactions to certain pills.  

An Interesting Dating Question

 The following question was posed on Instagram, which I found to be thought provoking on another level.

If everything else is equal , who would you rather date?  

Julia has "zero achievements" and I took that to mean that she didn't even graduate high school.  She works at McDonald's but shows up every day with a cheerful disposition.  She is well liked by her co-workers and leaves a positive impression on her customers.  She was described as shy and submissive but peaceful and loving.

Janet is a Harvard graduate and a big shot in her office.  She earns well over $250K per year and had been successful in every endeavor.  She is arrogant and bossy and sometimes disliked by her peers.  She may be combative and overly critical.

While neither is an ideal match, if I had to choose one of those two, it's Julia all the way.  I didn't even give it a second thought.  Based on the comments that I read, it seems that upwards of 80 percent of men agreed with me.  For the record, no I don't believe women should be submissive BUT there should be give and take on both sides.

If the situation were reversed and the same question was posed to women, how would the vote play out?  I believe that the shy and submissive guy from McDonald's would be rejected most of the time.  The wealthy guy won't have any trouble in the dating market even if word gets out that he treats his women poorly.  It is sad but true.  

When I was in college, there was a super nice woman that worked as a cashier at the bookstore on campus.  I hadn't thought about her much in the last decade.  Hell, I don't even remember her name.  For some reason, she has been on my mind a lot over the past few days.  Why?  Perhaps, the question on IG made me think deeper than my initial answer.  

We first met when I paid for textbooks with a check.  I asked who to make it out to.  Even though I'm sure she was asked that question scores of times that day, she sweetly replied "Campus Shop, honey." She was about 2 decades older than I, so there was nothing flirtatious about this.  Just a sweet and friendly personality.  She left me with a warm and heartfelt smile, which I of course reciprocated.  

She always greeted me in a very friendly manner but I found it difficult to talk to her.  First, I was shy and second, the age difference was awkward.  It's more difficult for a 20 year old to be friends with a 40 year old than 30/50.  She was just as nice to other students too and I grew to greatly respect and admire her.  Regrettably, I never told her how I felt.  

Would I like to date a woman like that now that I am the same age as she was at the time?  Most definitely.  It would be a pleasure to be around that type of personality.  If I had a difficult day at work, that loving environment would be just what I need.  Once again, the only way that I would feel better about a chronic illness for so many years is if there is a woman out there that I would have overlooked if we met a decade ago.  Could I date a less educated woman?  Yes.  Not sure if I would have several years ago.

New Relapses and Culprits

 Thursday's workout was probably my best since the candida dump in late July.  It was 1 Mile in 8:32 with a strong negative split (4:23-4:09).  Surely, I  could have broken 8:30 with a faster start and felt like I could have sustained that pace for a few more laps.  I hoped to build on that on Friday.  Nope.  

Shooting for 2 miles, I settled for 1.5 in 14:53 (9:55 pace).  Though the splits were fairly even (7:22-7:31), it took a push in the homestretch to shore up a sub-10 pace overall when I expected a sub-9.  I had absolutely nothing left after I finished and slow jogged a cool down that might as well have been a walk.  

The culprit this time was the Lemonade that I drank with dinner the previous night!  A bad reaction to a Red Bull or even a Coke is understandable.  NOT a non-caffeinated and non-carbonated drink.  I confirmed it later that morning.  A Snapple drink made it MUCH WORSE!  The extreme sugar intolerance is back.

In the past, Glycine took care of the sugar intolerance so I tried it again.  I felt no better after the Glycine but no worse either.  By Saturday afternoon, I began to feel a little better and hoped to salvage a workout on Sunday.  I figured that the excess sugar was clearing my system.

Sunday was the worst day of all.  I lasted less than 1 minute before I called it quits and my pace had already slipped to the 10-12 minute range.  This time the culprit was Serine.  Apparently, combined with Glycine, it was too much of an adrenal suppressant.  The Serine had been a non-factor before and I planned to finish the bottle and be done with it.  I pitched it today.

Any good news?  Yes. Intolerance to sugar appears to be gone.  Yes, I need to limit sugar but it's almost impossible to avoid it completely.  The Glycine may have finally stopped the adrenal spike.  An extra Thym Adren pill made things worse.  I may be able to cut that dose from 6 pills down to 2-3.  Unfortunately, the next 2 days are going to SUCK!