(I am hoping I will have more informative posts but I wanted to put
this one up just so I can keep up with recording my experiences.)
Epitalon is a tetrapeptide (Ala-Glu-Asp-Gly) that is based off of epithalamin
that has been extracted from the pineal gland. It has been found to stimulate
melatonin synthesis and influence cortisol secretion.
Last night I tried a nasal dosage of 5mg resuspended in 300ul of
bacteriostatic water at midnight. Since I have had good experienced with DSIP and there is
suggestion that epitalon may benefit sleep I thought, why not? I found that I
had improved sleep but not nearly to the level I experience with DSIP (it still
took me a while to fall asleep and I still woke in the middle of the night),
abnormal nightmares and woke up in a surprisingly bad, irritable mood. Since
this is my first experience with epitalon, I definitely can’t make any
conclusions and doubt I should trust any subjective determinations as well.
However, the bad mood intrigued me. That was very abnormal for me (as
was the nightmares). My first thought was…serotonin. I have had a rocky history
with serotonin. I don’t take 5-HT and am an individual diagnosed with “Substance-induced
Bipolar” due to a history of tricyclic antidepressants causing this pathology.
I decided to look into whether or not epitalon was known to influence
serotonin. Due to the limited information on epitalon, I also looked into epithalamin.
In one study, rats were injected with 2.5mg/kg epithalamin in which
serotonin, N-acetylserotonin and melatonin was found to peak at night for young
rats (apparently only melatonin in older rats) [Bondarenko & Anisimov,
1992]. Unfortunately, I could only read the abstract for this paper. Epithalamin
is suspected to increase metabolism of serotonin into melatonin. So, there’s my
answer: yes, serotonin is influenced. It will be interesting to see if I
experience a rebound effect.
N-acetylserotonin (NAS) turns out to be an immediate precursor to
melatonin. Perhaps, actually- a factor in my sleep issues is, in fact, related
to my issues with serotonin. NAS has also been implicated in having
antidepressant and cognition-enhancing effects [Oxenkrug & Ratner, 2012]
with decline of NAS being a factor in age-associated decline.
The following links should be helpful if looking for more information:
http://joshmitteldorf.scienceblog.com/2014/06/26/v-n-anisimov-russian-optomist-on-longevity/
http://steroid.es/epitalon.html
I’m not sure how I feel about this. I know I have “serotonin issues”
but I also don’t know what that “means”. All I know is that I don’t know enough
that I am comfortable messing with it.
I have observed some negative emotional effect with DSIP as well, just
not to the extent that I experienced in this one case with epitalon. It could
also be a ‘starter’ effect. It could also be that DSIP and epitalon do the same
thing with serotonin. However, I doubt their actions are the same.
Subjectively, DSIP has helped me sleep absolutely while generally feeling good
in the morning with potentially some irritability later in the day. Knowing the
half-life of both of these peptides would be helpful. I think I recall seeing
something about “20hrs” for DSIP but I definitely need to check my sources.
Oh yeah, just a note: Mike also took this with me. He woke up pretty happy (he is usually an angry one) with weird dreams but no nightmares.
References:
Bondarenko, L.A.; Anisimov, V.N.
[age-related characteristics of the effects of epithalamin on serotonin
metabolism in the pineal gland of rats]. Biull. Eksp. Biol. Med. 1992,
113, 194-195.
Oxenkrug, G.; Ratner, R. N-acetylserotonin
and aging-associated cognitive impairment and depression. Aging Dis 2012,
3, 330-338.
Interesting link to Serotonin - any updates on your usage
ReplyDeleteI as well had very bad mood and irritable when researching with epitalon, I will never research with peptides ever again horrible mistake. No wonder this stuff isn't approved by the FDA!
ReplyDeleteUnknown how did you administer it ?
ReplyDeleteUnknown how did you administer it ?
ReplyDeleteInjections , sub Q , worst decision I've ever made in my life is to take the epitalon it truly has ruined my brain chemistry I am extremely irritable noatter how much intry to not be it's a constant feeling. If i could do anything to reverse it I would but no one knows how and I've had a company tell me I need to take more of their peptides to fix it , NO WAY IN HELL . Truly just has messed up my mental state and has not eased up since February and it is now end of August and I stopped taking it in February so it's been a complete nightmare to say the least!! Like being on a constant insane feeling that will not stop. Always have been cool calm and collected, I am 46 years old BTW. Been seeing pysch Dr for this now and they have no clue what to do but give me some meds which aren't helping either. That stuff truly messed me up.
DeleteHi, I have also had expierence. Also sleeping problems since epithalon und more pain from my autoimmune problems. It is horrible and it will not stop.
DeleteWhat kind of hell.
Is this effect still happening? Has it gotten any better at all? Are you sleeping any better? Odd that autoimmune problems got worse. I’d assume that it would get better. However, if I recall autoimmune problems would be a product of an unbalanced immune system. I believe Epitalon can boost it but not modulate it. Talk to you doctor first, especially before taking anything, however I would look into Thymalin and possibly Thymosin Alpha 1. Hope you are feeling better.
DeleteI though Epitalon claim to fame was that it helps extend telomeres and was useful in anti aging effects. I have never pinned it at night as it would keep me up. Also as a side helps me focus and gives slight energy.
ReplyDeleteHey, I’m curious if this effect is still going on? How long has it been? Is it getting better? I literally took it ones sub Q and had vivid nightmares that kept me waking up all night with elevated heart rate. I don’t think I’ve had night terrors like that since I was a child. Feel horrible in the morning. I don’t take any medication, nor have I in the passed. Heck I don’t even drink alcohol anymore. I took it alongside Thymalin. Wondering if I should drop the Epitalon and just take the Thymalin. If these nightmares keep up I’ll likely go insane.
ReplyDelete