The Dino-Aspie Ex-Café (for Those 40+... or feeling creaky)

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Here's some info on Co Enzyme Q10 (AKA ubiquinone, as it is found in almost every cell of the body):
This supplement is widely promoted for heart disease...increased exercise tolerance...chronic fatigue...HIV...and to stimulate the immune system.
Co Q-10 is a natural substance that's made by the body...and ingested from foods such as fish, meats, and soybean oil.
Some consider it a vitamin...because it's a cofactor in several metabolic pathways that help cells make energy.
Co Q-10 also has antioxidant effects.
There's evidence that Co Q-10 improves the signs and symptoms of heart failure. In fact, it's approved for this use in Japan.
It's also widely used in Japan for angina...hypertension...and arrhythmias.
The usual dose is about 100 mg a day.
Co Q-10 is usually well-tolerated. Some people get a little GI upset...some say it makes them feel "hyper."
Co Q-10 may be beneficial for ischemic heart disease...but there's not enough evidence yet to recommend it for other uses.
Keep in mind Co Q-10 can interfere with blood clotting. Patients who take Warfarin (Coumadin) should tell their physician...and have their INR monitored if they start...or stop...Co Q-10.
Researchers speculate that statins might cause neuropathy by inhibiting cholesterol synthesis and affecting nerve cell membranes.
Statins might also affect nerve function by inhibiting co-enzyme Q10 which plays a role in neuron energy utilization.
Researchers wondered if coenzyme Q10 would be beneficial for treating or preventing statin-induced neuropathy. It was thought that statins might affect nerve function by inhibiting coenzyme Q10. At this time, there is no evidence that taking a coenzyme Q10 supplement helps.
Whether or not it will help with statin-induced brain fog is still under investigation.

Here's a good Co Q-10 primer:
"Coenzyme Q-10

by Terri L. Levien, R.Ph., and Danial E. Baker, Pharm.D., FASCP, FASHP

Coenzyme Q-10 (Co Q-10, ubiquinone) is a benzoquinone with a 10-unit side chain that is involved in mitochondrial electron transport. A number of ubiquinones exist, with differing length side chains. Co Q-10 is exclusive to humans.1 Endogenous forms function as essential cofactors in a number of metabolic pathways and in reduced form (ubiquinol) also act as an antioxidant and membrane stabilizer.1,2

Co Q-10 supplements may be useful in treating ischemic heart disease, congestive heart failure, toxin-induced cardiomyopathy, essential hypertension, renovascular hypertension, ventricular arrhythmias, and mitral valve prolapse, and to protect ischemic myocardium during cardiac surgery or mechanical or chemical thrombolysis.1,3 They may also have a role in treating some forms of muscular dystrophy, periodontal disease, cerebral ischemia, diabetes, deafness, Bellis palsy and pemphigoid, and in improving exercise tolerance and stimulating the immune system.1,3 Apparently some 250 Co Q-10 containing products are available in Japan, where they are currently used by approximately 12 million Japanese patients for the treatment of cardiovascular disease and the drug is approved for the treatment of congestive heart failure.1,3 Widespread use has also been described in Europe and Russia.

In patients with congestive heart failure, Co Q-10 supplementation at doses of 50 to 150 mg daily in divided doses improves symptoms and clinical condition, improves stroke volume and ejection fraction, and reduces left atrial size.3,4 In patients with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy, Co Q-10 supplementation at a dose of 33.3 mg three times daily improves ejection fraction and improves New York Heart Association class.5,6

In patients with chronic stable angina, Co Q-10 in placebo-controlled studies has been shown to improve exercise time and reduce exercise-induced ST-segment depression. The frequency of anginal attacks and nitroglycerin consumption were also reduced slightly, but not significantly. Doses in the treatment of angina have ranged from 150 to 600 mg/day.3

In patients with hypertension who are Co Q-10 deficient, 30-100 mg/day can reduce blood pressure. It is believed to exert this effect by reducing peripheral resistance. Additional studies are necessary before Co Q-10 can be recommended as a therapy for hypertension.3,7

Preliminary studies suggest Co Q-10 may have a role in the prevention of doxorubicin cardiotoxicity and the protection of myocardium rendered ischemic and subsequently reperfused (open heart surgery).3

Diseased periodontal tissue may be deficient in Co Q-10; therefore, clinical trials have been performed to determine if supplementation will improve tissue healing. Oral and topical doses have been used. Preliminary results from some small studies suggested potential benefit; however, deficiencies in the design of these studies have been described and the results of controlled trials have not supported the efficacy of Co Q-10 in periodontal disease.8,9

Serious side effects have not been reported with Co Q-10 therapy. Infrequent side effects have included epigastric discomfort, loss of appetite, nausea, and diarrhea.1,3 Asymptomatic elevations in transaminase levels occur rarely.3 Use during pregnancy or lactation is not recommended due to a lack of information.1

Oral doses of 100 mg daily in two to three divided doses have been used most commonly in the treatment of congestive heart failure and hypertension, and up to 200 mg daily has been used for myocardial preservation in patients undergoing heart surgery. In stable angina, doses of up to 600 mg daily have been used.3 Therapy has been continued for as long as 6 years.5

Co Q-10 appears to be safe and well tolerated, and may be effective in the treatment of some cardiovascular conditions particularly congestive heart failure. It has been safely administered in conjunction with other cardiovascular medications. Patients considering taking this product for a cardiovascular condition should be encouraged to discuss its use with their physician or cardiologist so that therapy can be appropriately monitored.

References

1. Burnham TH, Hagemann RC, Threlkeld DS, eds. The review of natural products. St. Louis: Facts and Comparisons; 1997.
2. Ernster L, Dallner G. Biochemical, physiological and medical aspects of ubiquinone function. Biochim Biophys Acta 1995;1271:195-204.
3. Greenberg S, Frishman WH. Co-enzyme Q10: a new drug for cardiovascular disease. J Clin Pharmacol 1990;30:596-608.
4. Baggio E, Gandini R, Plancer AC, et al. Italian multicenter study on the safety and efficacy of coenzyme Q10 as adjunctive therapy in heart failure. Molec Aspects Med 1994;15(Suppl.):s287-94.
5. Langsjoen PH, Langsjoen PH, Folkers K. Long-term efficacy and safety of coenzyme Q10 therapy for idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy. Am J Cardiol 1990;65:521-3.
6. Folkers K, Langsjoen P, Langsjoen PH. Therapy with coenzyme Q10 of patient sin heart failure who are eligible or ineligible for a transplant. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 1992;182:247-53.
7. Digiesi V, Cantini F, Oradei A, et al. Coenzyme Q10 in essential hypertension. Molec Aspects Med 1994;15(Suppl.):s257-63.
8. Hanioka T, Tanaka M, Ojima M, Shizukuishi S, Folkers K. Effect of topical application of coenzyme Q10 on adult periodontitis. Molec Aspects Med 1994;15(Suppl.):s241-8.
9. Watts TLP. Coenzyme Q10 and periodontal treatment: is there any beneficial effect? Br Dent J 1995;178:209-13. "
(Note, most of these references, though from reputable sources, are not current)
...and from wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ubiquinone

...erm, my computer apparently wants to update everything in itself, AVAST, Java, etc. So I must let it do its thing...

This health site is good for general information. Cross reference any info you obtain from PDR (Physicians' Desk Reference) with at least one other source. (Such as MedlinePlus http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ ,
PubMed http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/PubMed/ , or MICROMEDEX http://www.library.ucsf.edu/db/record.html?idrecord=82 )

[FYI: pharmacists consider PDR a biased source of drug information, because the info comes only from drug manufacturers who pay PDR in order to include their drug info in the book (and on this site). PDR's drug information is not peer-reviewed. Pharmacists use it mainly to see what physicians know about drugs. Unfortunately, most physicians use this reference as their only, or most frequently used, drug information source. You can use PDR the same way - read what is in PDR, and you will know what your doctor knows.

Three references that provide very good peer-reviewed unbiased drug information are:
Facts and Comparisons
http://www.factsandcomparisons.com/
AHFS Drug Information 2009
http://www.ahfsdruginformation.com/
and the USP Pharmacists' Pharmacopeia series, including the veterinarian drug reference book:
http://www.usp.org/audiences/veterinary/

I consult these books in the pharmacy on a daily basis. They are expensive, but some pharmacies have a copy on-hand (although most pharmacies have "on-line" versions now) that you can ask to see and read while you are there. They are HUGE. Facts and Comparisons weighs at least 10 pounds (loose-leaf format, updated monthly). If your pharmacy has one, you won't have to buy your own. I know most people prefer "on-line books" these days, but I still prefer real books. I can write in the margins, make notes, see things that I hadn't intended to, and they work during power outages and computer slow-downs. I can also look information up faster from the books. Walgreens has Merck Manual online. When you click on its icon, it takes 10 - 20 minutes before it comes on-screen. It takes 1-5 minutes to go from one page to the next. The on-line Clinical Pharmacist Drug Identification database is even slower. Identifying one drug (from its number code) can take over an hour. I can be into and out of my PDA in seconds. Same with the books. When the ERs call with questions about drug overdose, etc., I have to be able to give fast and accurate information. I need to be on and off the phone in 30 seconds or less.

For PDA (personal digital assistant) use, Lexicomp's drug information is excellent, and updates monthly.
http://webstore.lexi.com/Store/ON-HAND
(lexi-COMPLETE (drug info) is good, as is lexi-NaturalProducts (herbs, vitamins, minerals)

A lot of the very best peeks at what's coming down the pipeline in drug Phase I, II, and III trials are through on-line sources, but these are extremely expensive subscriptions - $3,000.00 to $12,000.00 dollars per year. You can look at a lot of the research data in any drug trial through these. These subscriptions are largely unnecessary, as most Phase I, II, and III trials are shot down. The main benefit here is to see who is doing research, who does it well, and what is being studied.

Last edited by Chuck on 12 Feb 2009, 8:41 am, edited 1 time in total.

Postie, I do the same thing. When I do not take Focalin, I tend to self-medicate with caffeine - not unusual for me to drink 2-3 glasses of unsweetened tea with every meal. When on Focalin, I don't even want caffeine, and just drink water.

This forgetfulness - could be sleep related, diet related, drug related, disease-state related, age related, poisoning related, illness related, electrolyte related, hydration related, stress related... oy! So many things. Hope your physicians are monitoring everything closely for you right now. I have always done the "now, ...why have I come into this room?" thing. More so lately. I've just been very preoccupied lately - focusing on too many things at the same time. I function best when unitasking. I never was good at multitasking.

Maybe it's time for meditation, relaxation breathing techniques, yoga, almonds, fish oil, and health food?
Hope you start feeling better soon!

Here is an example of the type of information available from Facts and Comparisons:
(Concerns the new fibromyalgia drug Savella, which should be available next month):
http://www.fda.gov/cder/foi/label/2009/022256lbl.pdf

This is an example of the information from AHFS Drug Information 2009 :
[Concerns Acylovir (generic Zovirax), used to treat herpes and Varicella-Zoster (shingles)]:
http://www.ahfsdruginformation.com/docs ... lePage.pdf

Well forgetfulness and I are old friends, this was ride I've never seen before. It has calmed down to the point that I'm an NT again. Huh?

But as to your list you missed one, all of the above. Yes they are all possible. And any one of them has shown hints lately, but when don't they. I felt the signals of a sleep swing long ago and it still hasn't settled in which still indicates or is leaning more heavily towards the BP, but why the extreme? I dunno. Is this another aspie test?

I have back to backs with both the doc and the therapist, because I have brought it up before and was insistent that lack of good communication between priors was severely lacking, they caught the hint cause I shoved it in their face. That we may all in the room at the same time is very possible and yes, the regular doctor will be involved. They have opened the flood gates on this one. Umm let's just say I blew up the damn, I was that whacked out. They've known about my sleep problems for a long time and the ADHD was the first official DX, those should have been addressed long ago, but I forgot to remind them, like it's my job? Oh well it's in high gear. Things that had mentioned repeatedly they're finally listening to me. Man and I need a 2 x 4? I don't think they make a whacker big enough for them sometimes. Christ the last f****r never even read my damn records.

Meditation and my breathing techniques were out of the equation. And dude I moved the pain from a torn rotator cuff and made the arm perform as normal. Dumb ass move, but the wife didn't believe I could do it, well I showed her by damn. Can we say a collective DUH!! Yes I knew we could.

Sorry about that, I'm back now, did you miss me? Phone rang it was for me. It was Doctor, she asked how I was doing and I said I was an NT thanks to Chuck and no longer needed to see her and she said and I quote "You shmuck, who the f**k is Chuck". I didn't even know thy spoke that way from her native lands. Damn she's cool and very very open to other things that might be involved and that is another first.

Yeah she did just call and she too thinks it was a wicked swing and gave me instructions on what to do if it happens again. Now THAT was first, she actually read the therapists notes and called me and she's only been in the office for a little while. Did hell freeze over?

Or at least you don't remember seeing it before...

thanks for all the research, chuck!

Last edited by Nan on 15 Feb 2009, 10:03 am, edited 1 time in total.

You're beginning to scare me. But since you put up Cheap Trick not long ago, I won't run away, yet.

The one that freaked (nope bad word, but I'll still use it, because I still think on it from time to time) me out the most was when I was umm how to put this delicately...crazy. I saw a young black woman with very blond hair floating above a bunk in a Army barracks. Now normally I would have just waved high, but it was at night and she seemed busy, she was cut in half, like the magician trick with the lady in the box and the saw and then they separate the box halves. (remember what I had said about the pilots, this was part of the fall out). But she was lit up in kind of a black light, day glow paint, she wasn't painted she just sort of radiated. And subconsciously I could hear others in the back ground saying it was birthday gift. I had only just arrived on the new base. Hadn't been to town yet. Some time later a couple of guys asked me if i wanted to go to the Electric Circus and I said what the hell did you just say to me and they repeated it and explained it was just a pin ball arcade joint. So I said sure, why not. I walked in and there she was standing behind the counter. And me being shy I said nothing to her and didn't feel it was needed at all. She saw me and I saw her, however, upon walking out of the place I glanced down and saw a wallet, picked it up and there was a bunch of money in it. I turned around walked up to her and said, I think someone dropped this. I can't describe the look on her face.

Yeah I have told the shrink and we know what happened, what set off the break down. But after a while I started to enjoy it and started watching the show and was very calm about it. But when I got to this part of the little bit of the tale I said, explain that one to me, to the shrink.. She probably thought I was still in la la land when we went to the pin ball joint. She said, no I can't explain it. I knew the difference between reality and the symbolism my mind was projecting, I just didn't know why it had gone all out of whack to begin with. I couldn't just say call up the guys in my old unit to verify that indeed it happened just like I said it did in the pin ball arcade, as a matter of fact they asked me why I turned the wallet in. I didn't tell them I had to pay the price of the admission.

And yes I have read Hess. And most certainly listened to the old band Steppenwolf. Have I scared you yet? The price of admission is your mind. You can't imagine what I see in mine now and when I can't see it anymore... see the last hyper manic fall out. The most frustrating thing about it is, I can't express the symbolism I still see, I can't paint, I can't play music, I can't write well, for others to read, see or hear. Now that is the real frustration. It is not a nightmare, far from it. When she, the shrink, was still a fresh face to me, I think she was trying to give me a bit of peace with the bipolar by saying, you know, bipolars are often very creative people. I think I did my Spock thing on her. You know where he lifts just one eye brow.

And if you can see the types of symbolism I do and can't get it out? My deepest condolences.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdnSxVK0WzM[/youtube]

Oh and it isn't a wolf, it's a fox and the eyes aren't quiet as squinty. Humm the more I look at it, the ears aren't exactly right either, but it has been a while, some 35 years ago, the memory picture fades a little.

'Koala Man' footage not what it seems

It's still a good story, though.

Yes it is! He took the time to help an animal in need. Whether on the day of the big fires, or prior, during a backburn - who cares? It wasn't staged. I say good on him.

You weren't crazy, didn't "go" crazy. You left crazy. Departed it. Went mindward. The army said, "We own you, there is no escape - except by getting through this mess and receiving discharge, or by death."
You answered, "No?!? HoHo! Watch this!", and put Houdini to shame, proving that mind travelers are always in control, no matter the circumstance. No one can own you when you are a skilled mindward traveler.

Except you weren't a skilled mindward traveler, not yet, not like me with a lifetime of practice. (As some of you know, as I have written elsewhere, there is a universe inside my mind that I escape to, in which lives a lifelong friend - a blue bear). You were on a maiden flight. Flights are always vivid, that's why you remember this one so lucidly, even now, years later. You meld reality with unreality on such flights, and the trips back and forth between those worlds are blurry. Unreality is just as real as reality when you truly travel mindward. You hadn't had much practice prior, so this particular flight, so close to seeing the dead pilots, unsettled you then, and fascinates you now! You see the details as plainly now as then!



In mindward travels I sometimes meet people who I then see in "real life" later. I think what happens is, in the mindward travel, you see the person in a vivid way, as you did - a young black woman with very blond hair, radiating light, and cut in half. Then later, in reality, you actually do meet a black woman with very blonde hair, except she isn't radiating light, and she isn't cut in half. It freaks you out, because you remember that you have already met her mindward. If her face was drastically different from who you saw mindward you wouldn't have thought, "That's her!". But she was sufficiently similar, and the "real" woman's actual face then filled in the gaps that you did not notice were there in your mindward trip, and she then became the living embodiment of the woman in that trip. If you travel often enough, you will see that the faces of the people you meet are sometimes vague. You were paying a lot of attention to the light emanating off her, and to the fact that she was cut in half, and to the voices in the background saying that she was a birthday gift - so her face, though you saw it, was not quite fixed. Until you saw the woman at the Electric Circus Arcade. Then it became fixed.



Mindward travels are often helpful, and are useful when you need them. I always travel mindward when my teeth are being drilled, rather than receive anesthesia, because I do not like the way my mouth feels when it is numb. I just leave and come back when the dentist is finished. I can always tell what parts of life are "reality" and which parts "aren't", because I have had daily practice visiting both realms. Both places have their appeal. Not so surprising really that you mindward traveled after seeing the pilots. Also, not so surprising, for one who travels this way, that your trip would be "unsettling". Especially if your first mindward trip occurred as an adult, when "reality" and "unreality" were clearly delineated by your mind. I began travels as a child, when the division was unclear, and therefore not settled, and therefore not scary - I wasn't alarmed by leaving "reality", because I did not know that I should be.

You had not yet traveled that way (without the aid of drugs), so parts of it seem confusing to you. Trust yourself, however. If finding the wallet and returning it were reality, then they were. Meeting her was also reality. Seeing her on a prior mindward trip also happened. The girl in that mindward trip really had had an existence in your mind. She also had a living embodiment in reality at the arcade. Traveling mindward is very different than drug travel - less dreamlike, more like "reality". Why you met her in both realms may have just been coincidental. The meetings may have had significance. Maybe she was symbolic in one realm, and reality-anchoring in this one. Or vice-versa. Maybe she wasn't radiating "light" so much as "life". These kinds of things are interesting fodder for thought the rest of your life, as you have seen.



I understand that frustration. I oftentimes cannot draw what I want to draw. I rely on words when that happens. Words are your medium, and you will just have to use them to the best of your ability. You are skilled with your words - I can see her in my mind. It is too bad no such device exists: an audio/video machine that could plug into mind and show images, dreams, visions, and thoughts like a You Tube movie to those we wanted to show them to. I supposed if such a device did exist, it would be used for nefarious purposes.

And then, if mindward we could not escape, where would we cleverly go?

(I hope you appreciate your "birthday gift". Could have been the most important one you ever received. She may have saved your life by splitting reality with unreality just at a time when you needed that to happen. Maybe that particular birthday gift made all subsequent ones possible. Not everyone who can travel between both realms is wise enough to see this as a gift!)


_______________________________
le concierge de muse'e imaginaire
(the caretaker of the imaginary museum)
Glad you paid the price of admission.
It's really quite a show, n'est-ce pas?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsZYqaSc4cU

“I am getting so far out one day I won't come back at all.”

“In the magical universe there are no coincidences and there are no accidents. Nothing happens unless someone wills it to happen.”

William S. Burroughs

Yup use a lot Smashing Pumpkins vids and have many of them on my site on Youtube. I like that one too.

I once sketched a poem I couldn't get to work out right with the words. It looks like a flow chart and it "is".

What is not, is, what is

I am a butterfly
I left a flower

Last edited by postpaleo on 13 Feb 2009, 3:05 pm, edited 2 times in total.

Tupac Shakur: "Reality is wrong. Dreams are for real."
Albert Einstein: "Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one."
Lily Tomlin: "Reality is a crutch for people who can't handle drugs."
Lily Tomlin: "What is reality, anyway? Just a collective hunch."
Ralph Waldo Emerson: "Fiction reveals truth that reality obscures."
Ralph Waldo Emerson: "Reality is a sliding door."
John Lennon: "Reality leaves a lot to the imagination."
Jane Roberts: "You create your own reality."
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe: "Few people have the imagination for reality."
Garrison Keillor: "Sometimes you have to look reality in the eye, and deny it."
Nikos Kazantzakis: "Since we cannot change reality, let us change the eyes which see reality."

I hadn't seen your post and the two edits were
I dumped a lot of excess wordage
the second was, I decided I best add two commas.

Get outta my head dude, it's scary in here.

Edit: I spelled commas as comas the first time, I like that one two.