10/24/2016 How Megadosing On Vitamin B3/Niacin Saved My Life | Awaken Spirit

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How Megadosing On Vitamin B3/Niacin Saved My Life

Posted: February 14, 2013 in Depression, Lifestyle and Health, Self-Improvement

Tags: Adrenal, Adrenal gland, B3, Blood sugar, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Cortisol,
Depression, Diabetes mellitus, Glycogen, Hypoglycemia, Megadose, mental-health, Niacin,
paranoid schizophrenia, schizophrenia
17
It’s time for people to stop being afraid of being stigmatized and start having a real conversation
about mental illness. This article is the first step for me.

(https://karlgesslein.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/hatteras.jpg)

To say that the last year of my life has been the most challenging year ever would be a drastic
understatement. There was 3 months where every single day I wanted to end my life. I constantly
fantasized about suicide, I would have done anything to ease the pain. It started like most tragic
stories start, with a girl.

Her name was Elise and I was madly in love with her. The courtship lasted a year and it was the
most intense set of experiences I’ve had in my life. We were like two reactive chemicals, when we
were together something unpredictable would always happen. The energy was insane in every way,
and there was no boundaries, nothing was off-limits. Like most passionate romances, after a year it
came to an equally spectacular ending. For a month after we separated I was elated, then I unwisely
spent time with her again and the turmoil began. Half of me knew I could never have anything
remotely functional with this woman, the other half was completely convinced that I could somehow
make it work. I became a man at war with myself.

Each day was a downward spiral, my grip on reality started slipping further and further from my
reach. It wasn’t uncommon for me to take 4 or 5 hours just to get out of bed. There was no joy in
anything that I used to do. Even when I would kiteboard, I would end up crying hysterically.
Everything became a pointless distraction. I had no direction, felt no control and nothing seemed to
matter anymore. For 3 months I constantly wanted to end my life every single day. The only thing
that got me through the day was the hope that the next day would be better. It never was, and I was
giving up hope. There seemed like there was no way out.
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Things got frighteningly bad. For a week I started shaking uncontrollably, I couldn’t walk, and
brushing my teeth became impossible. I was so afraid and felt like there was no one I could turn to.
Then the voices started. There had always been a kind gentle voice in my head that quietly told me
what I needed to do to be satisfied. Suddenly the little voice got very, very loud. It kept telling me to
do things that were absolutely out of character. It kept repeating “Just end it now, end it NOW”.

After 3 months of hell, something happened and I started to pray. I had never believed in a god, I
was praying to something inside of me. I prayed to the part of me that honestly believed that things
could be better. I wasn’t present for my son or anyone else in my life. My closest friendships had self-
destructed under the stress of my mental illness and my relationship with my child’s mother was far
more stressed than it had ever been. I was desperate to heal myself.

Somehow the praying changed something in me. Subconsciously I think I knew a lot of the problems
I was experiencing but consciously I was without a clue. On a whim I bought a blood sugar meter
and started testing my own blood sugar. For 6 years I had used a gallon of OJ a day to regulate my
blood sugar whenever I was hypoglycemic. It turns out I had developed Reactive Hypoglycemia and
my pancreas was producing far more insulin than it needed to. On top of that I had also developed
something called Adrenergic Postprandial Syndrome. This meant when my blood sugar would spike
and I would produce way too much insulin causing it to drop very quickly. My body would freak out
thinking my brain was going to get starved for sugar and an adrenaline surge would start. This surge
of adrenaline would cause the liver to start burning Glycogen which would regulate my blood sugar
again. These constant Adrenal reactions were taxing the entire system and causing me to act like a
speed junkie. I was spiraling out of control so I decided to cut all sugar and starches out of my diet.

In the span of the next 3 months I spent almost $5000 on doctors and tests to figure out what was
happening with me. This was a leap of faith, as I hadn’t been able to work for almost 4 months and I
knew that it would be several more months before I could work again. It turns out my Adrenal
Glands were massively overactive and producing about twice the amount of Cortisol that they
should have been. On top of that I found out I was also Gluten intolerant. I switched to a diet of
mostly beans and squash and started feeling much better. For about a month I was fine, then I saw
Elise again and started spiraling out of control again. I tried Cognitive Behavioral Therapy as well as
EMDR and both helped a little but not as much as acupuncture. When I did acupuncture I would cry
the entire hour or two I was in the chair, but I would get one or two days of relief. I started to do
acupuncture two or three times a week.

In my prayers the reassurance I constantly received from myself was the message that if I believed
that my body could heal itself. A big part of this healing was through dance. I danced 3 or 4 times a
week, sometimes for over 15 hours a week. I danced like a man possessed by demons, I danced like a
monster, I danced like a god. I danced because I believed that my body needed to move to heal. I
danced because it really helped.

The entire time I was trying to heal myself I was reading constantly. I read over 50 books on
depression and mental illness. I can’t convey how strange it was to be so sick and to be working so
hard just to comprehend what was happening in my own mind. After 8 months of struggle I finally
stumbled on the solution.

A few sentences in an obscure book on Depression talked about experiments that were done in the
50’s in mental wards all over America where patients with extreme depression and schizophrenia
were given regular megadoses of Niacin (B3) and Vitamin C. They had found amazing results by
giving doses of 3000mg of Niacin which is about 12,000% USRDA.

http://www.doctoryourself.com/review_hoffer_B3.html
(http://www.doctoryourself.com/review_hoffer_B3.html)

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I took 500mg which is about 2000% the USRDA and went to bed after the flushing. When Niacin
flushes the blood vessels constrict, your skin turns bright red and it feels like a bad sunburn for 10
minutes to an hour. It was uncomfortable, but at this point I would have tried anything to make
things better. I remember clearly waking up in the middle of the night to take a piss and feeling
completely normal. I was floored, it was as if my life was a dream and I had suddenly woken up. I
went back to bed and woke up the next morning and everything seemed fine. I was still thinking
about Elise constantly but there wasn’t a desperation about it anymore, the sense of overwhelming
hopelessness was gone.

I ended up buying about $50 worth of Flush-free Niacin which was enough to last 4 months at
3000mg/day. Over the next several months I would fluctuate my dosage between 2000-3000mg a day
depending on my mental state. I also took 9000mg of vitamin C daily as well. If I forgot to take the
Niacin for a day I knew it, the darkness would start creeping in again. In time the voices in my head
became silent and I learned to trust my instincts again. When I saw Elise in the supermarket or on the
street I would tell her how much I missed her and how much I loved her, but I wouldn’t spiral out of
control for several weeks.

Niacin saved my life, and I don’t understand why the public is unaware that a simple vitamin might
 help severe mental illnesses. The only conclusion I can come to is that there is no money to be made
from selling a vitamin that costs only $10 a month to mega-dose on. When 1/2 of the undergrads at
Cornell University are taking some form of medication for depression, that medication represents a
HUGE amount of money. If you suffer from severe depression or schizophrenia you should know
that there is a chance that your condition might be corrected by a simple vitamin.

What have you got to lose? You might gain a little bit your sanity back. I did.

Update 10/28/2013: I’ve been off Niacin for almost 6 months now. I slowly cut back and when things
got bad I would just take more again. The voices stopped, the depression stopped. My brother passed
away and I could deal with it. I saw my ex girlfriend and instead of spiraling out of control I was just
fine. I am thankful for that short passage I found in that book on depression that talked about those
Niacin studies in the 50’s. It really saved my life.

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Comments
James Perry says:
November 10, 2013 at 6:37 PM
God bless you my friend. Turning to God from being a complete Atheist has helped my
schizotypal disorder substantially. It’s helping me to get out and face my fears for once, and to be
less ashamed. I am dosing on Omega 3’s, Niacin, multi vitamins, Vit c, Selenium, Magnesium,
Biotin, green concentrates, Zinc, and Vitamin A and feeling quite well. Exercising is key I can’t tell
you enough. God bless though don’t forget to pray to God and talk to him daily and stay away
from sin.

James

Reply
Beny Footworn says:
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January 15, 2014 at 11:52 PM

Does high doses of niacin cause a deficiency in the other B vitamins because they work together
synergistically?

Reply
Beny Footworn says:
January 15, 2014 at 11:55 PM
That is great how you found this cure yourself and you are not caught up in the psychiatric
system of treating “mental illness” with drugs. I wonder how you avoided that. And also, very
interesting article.

Reply
Beny Footworn says:
January 18, 2014 at 1:01 AM
Does high doses of niacin cause a deficiency in the other B vitamins because they work together
synergistically? And therefore other B vitamins need to be increased?

Reply
Sian Barry (@Sbarry25) says:
May 11, 2014 at 5:46 AM
My niacin bottle says 100mg a day and the other day when i took it without food it caused
extreme flushing. Is it safe to take more than the bottle recommends?

Reply
Karl Gesslein says:
May 11, 2014 at 9:11 PM
Get no-flush niacin and it is extremely difficult to overdose on vitamins. That being said I’m now
off the Niacin and doing well. Taking a lot of Niacin releases toxins in your cells and can overload
your liver if you take too much for too long.

Reply
MMalves (@Mmcalves) says:
July 27, 2014 at 7:28 AM
Some say that the no-flush niacin is not good as the flushing effect is somewhat related to healing
of depression. just take small doses in the beginning and gradually take more as you start
flushing bit. More info

http://www.foodmatters.tv/articles-1/how-to-take-niacin-vitamin-b3-for-depression-and-
anxiety

Reply
leena brit says:
June 21, 2015 at 7:19 AM
These are the common signs of depression, you mentioned in your blog.This blog will defiantly
help the people to identify about depression.

Reply
tawfeeq (@tawfeeq_314) says:
July 26, 2015 at 3:25 AM
that’s really great news to hear , hope you can give us an update , being checking the page from
time to time to see any update since January

Good luck
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Reply
Karl Gesslein says:
July 26, 2015 at 11:59 AM
My life is amazing. I am celebrating my one year anniversary to an amazing woman and I have
been very happy and well adjusted for a long time. Occasionally I get really sad for a day or two
and I take only 500mg of Niacin and exercise for about 5-6 hours and all is right in the world
again.

I never thought I could feel so good. My life is like a dream I keep trying to wake up from.

Reply
D Bulloch says:
August 15, 2015 at 3:30 PM
Hey so Niacin is a vaso-dilator, so to prevent flushing maybe combine it with a vaso-constrictor
like caffeine, or anti-histamines.

Reply
Mark Terpstra says:
September 5, 2015 at 8:55 AM
Beutiful story Karl! So nice to hear your doeing good now!

I myself, my mother and my brother want to try this because they also suffer from depresion.
I Myself have allittlebit of psychosis and i want to use it for fitness. When did you take the
Vitamins?
All together or spread over the day?
And are these ones good?

http://www.bodyenfitshop.nl/vitamines/vitamin-c/body-fit-sportsnutrition/vitamine-c-met-
rozenbottel/

http://www.bodyenfitshop.nl/vitamines/vitamine-b/puritans-pride/niacin-nicotinic-acid-500-
mg-puritans-pride/

I have tried these 2 but only 1 a day what would you reccommend me (70kilo 17years)
And my brother and morher are (100kilo’s)

So how much vitamins should we take? and all together, or spread over the day?

P.S sorry for my really bad english

Greetzz

Reply
Karl Gesslein says:
September 5, 2015 at 10:58 AM
I don’t know what brands are best, I bought the cheapest no-flush niacin I could get at
Walmart, 500mg tablets. As for vitamins again I can’t say, I feel like Niacin and fish oil had the
biggest effect on me. Vitamins never did that much for me.

Best of luck, I hope you can find some relief.

Reply
cfsrecoveryispossible says:
June 12, 2016 at 1:24 AM

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Karl, by no-flush niacin, do you mean inositol hexanicotinate? Can you check your bottle
and let us know?

Karl Gesslein says:

June 15, 2016 at 10:23 AM
Yes it is Inositol Hexanicotinate

Chris Kavanagh says:

April 7, 2016 at 5:00 AM
Dr Abram Hoffer was using Niacin to cure Schitzophrenia years ago. I believe there’s still a
particular video of a conference with various former patients speaking of how Hoffer along with
Niacin had cured them. . .

One nurse spoke of her son who had tried every drug known, and seen many MD’s, and nothing
helped until a colleague suggested Niacin, due to hearing Hoffer speak of it. The next morning,
her son was “normal” after taking a entire bottle of Niacin.

As Hoffer said, different people need diferent doses, but there are no known side effects other
than Flushing (which is good for you). Google him, and get the info for yourself.

Hoffer was a legend, who just passed away a few years ago
(http://www.doctoryourself.com/review_hoffer_B3.html). . .He and Linus Pauling were friends
and colleagues and both used Supplements to help 1000’s pf people.

PS Hoffer was a was a Canadian biochemist, physician, and psychiatrist. Hoffer was hired by the
Saskatchewan Department of Public Health in 1950 to establish a provincial research program in
psychiatry. . .In other words, he was no quack as some anti nutrition morons will suggest.

Reply
CW DP says:
August 1, 2016 at 12:34 PM
“Half of me knew I could never have anything remotely functional with this woman, the other
half was completely convinced that I could somehow make it work. I became a man at war with
myself.” Eloquently formulated. Seems your situation mirrored mine. Was the longest affair I’ve
ever had, off and on though it was.
I’ve never felt I was too far out of control, however, perhaps I should experiment with higher
doses of niacin to see what happens to me

Reply

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