Methylene Blue

[cman89]

Anyone tried methylene blue as a mitochondrial enhancer? Some nootropic websites and other sources talk about the effectiveness of this, both as an Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitor, antifungal, etc...I dont know if anyone out there has tolerated it or given it a try.

 

[South]

It's on my short list of things to read more about/think about.

It's antifungal, which could be a good thing for those needing it, but also can bring side effect symptoms if the yeast/fungi being killed are killed quickly. (die-off / herxheimer type symptoms )

A fairly small amount is absorbed from the gut, about 1/15th of the dose, according to this:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10952480
So the purported memory-enhancing and mitochondrial improving effects of the stuff, if true, are from the small amount that does make it from the gut into the blood.

The rest of it, that works its way down the gut and out of the body, would kill some yeast/fungi in the gut...in theory.
I say all this because this could explain why some people get awful headaches from it, and others don't, from the same dose.

Longecity.org has some discussion on it, but if you aren't a member of that site, the only way to read them is to do a google search from outside the site: methylene blue site:longecity.org in your google or whatever browser you use.

A quote from some of those discussions:

(from someone who got a nasty headache from it)
"my sister has been using the same source of MB as me (with the part intention of helping a semi-perm staph infection go permanently away) and she experienced none of the above symptoms that plagued my experience with MB"

The thread I found that is here:
http://www.longecity.org/forum/topic/51983-methylene-blue-experiences/

 

[cman89]

It has added to concentration for me, but not sure about antifungal/parasite effects.

 

[cman89]

I stopped taking it recently though, as it seemingly was having some bizarre side effects.

 

[Rand56]

I stopped taking it recently though, as it seemingly was having some bizarre side effects.

My bizarre side effect when I tried it was I got an ocular migraine. Keleidoscope vision that lasted for about 20 minutes before fading away. The only other time I ever experienced the same symptom, was when I was doing a higher dose of SJW.

 

[Hip]

I tried doses of up to 1 mg of methylene blue, but found it had an effect of reducing by desire and ability to speak.

Sometimes when ME/CFS is severe, the brain does not seem to have the energy or ability to formulate sentences. I often experienced this when my ME/CFS was more severe, or when I have significant PEM. Responses to people's conversation then get reduced to one-word answers (which some people unfortunately construe as rude), because you don't have the mental energy to say more.

It's one of those strange phenomena that you have to experience yourself to fully understand it. It's not that you can't formulate a whole sentence; it's just that it seems to take an inordinate amount of mental effort to do so.

I found that methylene blue brought on this phenomena where I lost much of the mental ability and energy to formulate complex sentences.

 

[Rand56]

I tried doses of up to 1 mg of methylene blue, but found it had an effect of reducing by desire and ability to speak.

I get this same exact symptom when my depression is at the low end of my spectrum. You're right, people either think that you are being rude, not understanding what they are saying, or they just think you're plain nuts.

 

[Rand56]

@Hip

Also if you can relate to this, me searching for words on a response, and the words coming out of my mouth, dont make as much sense as they should.

Edit: Then knowing that you just botched your response, you psychologically feel worse, and you actually "once again" proved to yourself that you are still a basket case.

 

[Hip]

Also if you can relate to this, me searching for words on a response, and the words coming out of my mouth, dont make as much sense as they should.

When I am in that state, I usually don't bother to even try to be precise, or to try to say what I want to say. I just wait for the bad period to pass, and keep my responses to one word, or even just grunts! Usually I am better by the next day, so anything I need to say can wait for then.

It's funny because normally I really enjoy explaining things to people. I enjoy the process of searching my mind for the best way or the best ideas/analogies for describing or detailing a subject. But when I get into this inability to speak state, even just the simple process of searching my own mind I find quite mentally exhausting.

 

[sb4]

I recently retried MB in higher doses (5-12mg). I noticed my mind was more switched on (in a good way), yet it was too busy at times (in a bad way). My heart palpitations after meals seemed to be reduced and my heart felt better in someway yet I had times where it felt "fuller" (bad)(possibly high BP). It wrecked my sleep pretty hard so I stopped after a few days.

I will try it again soon in a smaller dose. In theory it could help CFS/POTS in a number of different ways.

It is used to prevent methaemoglobinia which if I remember right could be a problem if there is a lot of oxidative stress.

It reduces Nitric Oxide and thus prevents vasodialation which could be why my POTS felt better.

It inhibits MAO which could lead to more dopamine, adrenaline, which could help with vasoconstriction / mood / thinking but it also increases serotonin with possibly links to headache / poor sleep / serotonin syndrome / etc. It should only be a MAO at high concentrations but if my racing thoughts and trouble sleeping where anything to go by then I imagine at can also work at lower doses. I tried riboflavin to counter this but it didn't seem to do much.

It helps ETC by removing NO and I think it can be used to donate/transport electrons. It also lowers lactate. This could be responsible for increased energy / thinking I felt.