Methylene Blue

[JonnyCraig]

Very curious what people's opinions of MB are here (namely gbolduev, mattb, etc)

It's been fairly well established now that low doses (under ~4mg) of MB tends to be neuroprotective, increase cognitive performance/memory, boost mitochondrial function. Even delaying skin aging in healthy people, but more importantly, there are benefits seen even in patients with Progeria. That is pretty insane.

"We tried very hard to examine the effect of methylene blue on all known progeria symptoms within the cell. It seems that methylene blue rescues every affected structure within the cell. When we looked at the treated cells, it was hard to tell that they were progeria cells at all.

"It's like magic."

Kan Cao PhD, Associate Professor, Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics, University of Maryland, and senior author.

https://selfhacked.com/blog/methylene-blue-the-cheapest-cognitive-enhancer/
http://pubmedcentralcanada.ca/pmcc/articles/PMC4783354/
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/acel.12434/full
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-02419-3
http://www.visembryo.com/story4455.html
http://learnmem.cshlp.org/content/11/5/633.full
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1074742706001079

For the average person it appears using MB at lower dosages is the way to go, 4mg or less is good, perhaps even lower like 1-2mg or less (as high dosages have pro-oxidative effects). MB is also a Reversible Inhibitor of Monoamine oxidase A (RIMA) at higher dosages (and usually when dosed via IV). At sub-milligram oral doses there is likely nothing at all to worry about.

According to Wiki (I know..):

MAOIs tend to have pronounced (sometimes fatal) interactions with a wide variety of medications and over-the-counter drugs. If taken with foods that contain very high levels of tyramine (e.g., mature cheese, cured meats, or yeast extracts), they may cause a potentially lethal hypertensive crisis. At lower doses the person may be bothered by only a headache due to an increase in blood pressure.[90]

In response to these adverse effects, a different type of MAOI has been developed: the reversible inhibitor of monoamine oxidase A (RIMA) class of drugs. Their primary advantage is that they do not require the person to follow a special diet, while being purportedly effective as SSRIs and tricyclics in treating depressive disorders.[91]

So, would love to hear everyone's thoughts on MB.
Does anyone here use MB?

I used to take it. I stopped. I just took 100mcg in water about an hour ago, and feel pretty darn good. Subtle energy boost, feel like I can breathe easier, elevated mood.

Wondering if taking this at 100mcg/daily longterm would be beneficial, given the skin-aging studies, cognitive performance, etc.

 

[tfcjesse]

Also interested in this, any input on the neurotoxic effects / decreased dendritic branching?

 

[Canari]

I still have oxidal too... The best effect was coloring my white night and bed clothes, even 1 drop is insane! Then tried to rub with both wrists / forearm, funny, the look from people on the colored skin of my wrists... Nice green with the mix with liquid Bs!!!

When I was sleeping bad, I did notice some calming effect, but not enough.

My QUESTION:
WHO can benefit from it? People with acidosis or alkalinosis tendencies? Has it something to do with the quantity of CO2 in the blood?

 

[Rid]

I've heard a lot of good and some bad from MB- i'm curious what others think. It's shown to increase memory significantly in studies and anecdotally I've seen that it's completely cured people of eczema and even hair loss. For the pennies that it costs per dose I believe it's worth it, but I just don't know where to source some good stuff. there's something offputting about putting fish tank cleaner from walmart in my system, but that's what a lot of people have results with haha.

 

[Canari]

there's something offputting about putting xyz in my system, but that's what a lot of people have results with haha.

Yes hahaha, I have even heard about men thinking the same as you said about women's abortion drugs!

 

[Rid]

hey, as long as it works, right??

but seriously, I would never tell anyone I use fish meds for my health hahah

 

[JonnyCraig]

I still have oxidal too... The best effect was coloring my white night and bed clothes, even 1 drop is insane! Then tried to rub with both wrists / forearm, funny, the look from people on the colored skin of my wrists... Nice green with the mix with liquid Bs!!!

When I was sleeping bad, I did notice some calming effect, but not enough.

My QUESTION:
WHO can benefit from it? People with acidosis or alkalinosis tendencies? Has it something to do with the quantity of CO2 in the blood?

I used to use it only on my tongue (Oxidal, but also HealthNatura's MB, which is only MB, USP grade and 100mcg per drop).

However, pouring drops into a glass of water is apparently just as effective as topical application.

I read some interesting reports of people using it..

Check this out:

MB has changed my life. I take MB every day, I supplement every two hours. When I wake up at night I dose with MB before returning to sleep. When I travel there is only one supplement that I bother to pack, MB. I intend to take MB every two hours religiously for the rest of my life. I'll tell you why:

Writing this is quite cathartic. The brain is at the root of all of our competencies, and until recently both "it" and "they" were in a precipitous decline for me. I am 62yrs old and I have heart disease/hardening of my arteries. My arteries are partially blocked by plaque, and blood flow is reduced. About six months after I started taking medication to control my blood pressure I noticed symptoms that I now associate with deficient blood supply to the brain, i.e. memory loss, vertigo, blurred vision, lowered alertness, inability to focus attention, constant tiredness, etc. I became absent-minded/forgetful. I suddenly lost coordination and the ability to play tennis and softball well. My memory suffered greatly. I had particular trouble with recalling the names of people that I had known for years but had not seen recently. When waking up in bed on many mornings I would be hit with vertigo. The spinning made it difficult to get up, but it got worse if I stayed in bed. The vertigo induced nausea and on a few occasions I was physically ill. Attributing my symptoms to my blood supply is an assumption based on the nature of the BP medication and my understanding of MB and it's effects.

These symptoms were debilitating and progressive. For quite a while I assumed that what I was experiencing was due to normal ageing, but the insidious decline of my abilities eventually caused me to become alarmed. It took more than a year before I realized that it was the blood pressure medication that was causing these problems. I stopped taking the medication and my symptoms abated, but did not go away completely. I then started taking 160mcg of MB every 2-3hrs about 6 months ago and my symptoms of brain/oxygen deficiency are gone. I can readily remember things that eluded me before. For decades I have enjoyed all types of music, but especially the Blues. Just prior to starting on MB I remember a conversation where I mentioned my love for the Blues and was asked who my favorite artists were... I couldn't remember the names of any Blues artists, not even one. I had to Google them post-MB to restore them to my memory but now I can recite B.B. King, Son Seals, Willie Dixon, Buddy Guy, John Lee Hooker, Etta James, Koko Taylor, Robert Johnson, Stevie Ray Vaghan, etc. without looking them up.

I used to struggle at work, it requires me to remain alert and react quickly. I would "space out" and was on the verge of losing my job. With MB I can retain my focus and my job is secure. My vision was getting so blurry before that I couldn't distinguish the letters on the licence plate of a car right in front of me... my vision has returned to normal. I no longer experience the dizziness and vertigo that had become a regular burden for me pre-MB. I have never had problems sleeping but while taking my BP medication I didn't dream at all, sleep felt like a total loss of consciousness. Post MB my dreams have returned. In retrospect I would guess that I am on the cusp of having blood supply issues to my brain which makes me hyper-sensitive to the benefits of MB... MB improves the brain-oxygen cycle just enough to avoid the debilitating effects of oxygen deprivation due to restricted blood supply. I would expect that based on my results MB would have beneficial effects for everyone, but if your physiology is more normal you would not experience the benefits as dramatically as I do. And yes, I experience all of these benefits at a very low micro-dose level. Based on my initial research and an over-abundance of caution I formulated a solution designed to deliver a dose of about 80mcg per drop taken sublingual. I intended to take a one-drop dose but as I have become less concerned with negative side-effects I now routinely take 160mcg (i.e. two drops and still an infinitesimally small amount).

My source is a Ukraine supplier on eBay... supposedly Rx grade 99.9% pure. I mix .5 gm MB in 300ml of distilled water then transfer that into 60ml dropper bottles. According to my calculations that gives me approximately 80mcg/drop. Put a couple of drops on a spoon and place spoon under tongue for a few seconds. Not difficult. Avoid spilling, even at this low concentration it is hard to remove from anything but the most impervious surfaces. I get a chuckle when I read other submissions advocating multi-mg dose levels per kg body weight and stating categorically that there is no evidence that micro-dosing has any effect... my experience is that profound effects and benefits are fully realized at micro-dose levels. In fact in my experience supplementing beyond the 160mcg/two drop level every 2-3hrs (eg. 3 or more drops) produces no discernible additional benefit. I use about 20 drops/day which works out to about 1ml/day. So a 60ml dropper bottle lasts 2 months, and my .5g/300ml mixed solution is good for about 10 months. At 17 cents/g, the cost for a full years supply of MB is about 10 cents.

The blood pressure medication that I was taking was Sandoz-Valsartan, 80mg daily. The side-effects that I experienced are not typical. In addition to those listed above I also lost sensation/experienced numbness in my tongue. This has now returned to normal as well. I was investigated for hydrocephalus about 25 years ago but received no treatment and experienced no ongoing symptoms. At the time CT scans showed excess fluid versus brain mass. Subsequent lumbar puncture injection of an isotope allowing the measurement of the absorption rate of CSF put me off the mean but within the normal range... according to my doctors. This may contribute to the strength of the benefit I perceive from MB. Prior to taking MB I had tried a few "supplements" but discontinued taking them as I could either discern no benefit or it was too subtle to interest me. I wrote off the "supplement" industry as being populated by snake-oil salesmen taking advantage of gullible health-hysterics (I'm an old cynic lol).

After my MB experience my mind and attitude have changed. I've started taking Piracetam and Choline based on some recommendations received here. I don't notice any additional benefit but I was not expecting to. My experience with Valsartan has convinced me that my brain health is compromised and fragile and I'm willing to take recommended supplements "on faith". My sense is that Valsartan accelerated some inherent brain health issues that I have and triggered a rapid descent into dementia-like symptoms, taking place over months instead of years. The severity of my symptoms would lead me to believe that my brain cells were dying so i'm pleasantly surprised that not only has the decline stopped but MB has enabled a significant degree of recovery of my abilities. I'm hoping that either MB or some of the other supplements that I'm now taking will have long-term beneficial effects in addition to the immediate relief that I experience. I have some Nattokinase on order which I intend to add to my regimen also based on recommendations here as an alternative to Valsartan... which I will never take again as I feel it was rapidly turning me into an invalid. Not recommended here but for general health purposes I am now also taking Low-Dose Aspirin, Nicotinamide Riboside, Berberine, and reduced dosage Metformin Hydrochloride. And no, I'm not diabetic.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Nootropics/comments/61twuc

 

[JonnyCraig]

I've heard a lot of good and some bad from MB- i'm curious what others think. It's shown to increase memory significantly in studies and anecdotally I've seen that it's completely cured people of eczema and even hair loss. For the pennies that it costs per dose I believe it's worth it, but I just don't know where to source some good stuff. there's something offputting about putting fish tank cleaner from walmart in my system, but that's what a lot of people have results with haha.

If your looking where to buy good quality.. HealthNatura has never let me down, it is USP grade. I would also say Oxidal is a good product too. But with HealthNatura product you can control dosage more.

 

[Canari]

I've heard a lot of good and some bad from MB-

I read some interesting reports of people using it..

Check this out:

MB has changed my life.

I think the route is to undersand WHY it is good for some people + check out in what case you are = decide with more cards in your game how you are going to play...

Trying will never be a zero risk route, but don't we want to up our chances of nailing it?

 

[Rid]

From what I understand MB is pretty low risk with some potentially high rewards, I've seen some professionals say it's going to be the next thing as highly rec'd as vit D... but who knows, the research and reach of MB have been greatly shunted because of it's multiple applications, first of most being a dye, making it a sort of "baking soda" like substance.

I'll check out Healthnatura, thanks!