Unfortunately, I didn’t have the strongest start for yesterday for day 1. I felt like I was grappling with a mild cold, though I could just be paranoid. I have had a sore throat when swallowing, primarily in the mornings and at night, feeling more like swollen glands than the throat itself. I also had a subtle headache, so mild that taking ibuprofen seemed excessive. Yet, when I did take one, the pain vanished instantly. I feel a bit congested, primarily in the ears and deep within the nose, occasionally hearing a small pop or swish in my ears. Maybe I’m just worn down, but the silver lining is that my bloodwork doesn’t reflect this! The results are stellar. Protocol 1 seemingly had no negative impact on me, as judged by the labs. So, onward, I forge into Protocol 2, maintaining the same routine as the first: DON every four days, HBOT every other day, and therapeutic keto 24/7.
As usual, I prepped the night before the first day of Protocol 2. Now weighing 140 lbs/63 kg, I had determined I would commence Protocol 2 at 1mg/kg. Based on my experience with Protocol 1, this seemed a safe yet effective dose. Considering a two-week break, I didn’t anticipate significant residual effects, as I observed in the latter DON doses of Protocol 1. Hence, 1mg/kg was the chosen dose, translating to 63 mg. The last time I dosed at 1mg/kg, it required 67 mg. So, I’m economizing! My pre-DON ritual includes a healthy mix of psyllium husk and peanut butter, two tablespoons of each, accompanied by a large glass of water.
Contrary to my usual routine, I didn’t fast leading up to my DON day. I’ve been shedding weight rapidly. While I welcome the weight loss, I recognize that I’ll eventually need to halt the trend, ideally stopping around 130 lbs. Slowing down the weight loss now seems prudent. The only way to arrest the weight loss is to increase my caloric intake, primarily by consuming more oils and eating daily rather than having fasting days.
My glucose and ketones were very good during the two-week break. I adhered to a strict 4:1 keto diet, consistently maintaining my glucose levels at 4.1mmol or lower daily. The only modification I made to my diet was a deliberate uptick in oil consumption. The main lifestyle change was the absence of a 5-hour bi-daily commute to and from HBOT. So continuing this regimen shouldn’t affect my glucose levels, I thought.
On the morning of the DON day, I felt unusually full, as though weighed down by at least 4 cups of peanut butter in my stomach. However, I did not want to jeopardize Day 1, so I proceeded to the HBOT center. Arriving a tad early, I utilized the spare half-hour to shop for groceries – olive oil, avocados, and pepper salami. In my brilliance/stupidity (sometimes there is no way to tell them apart), I decided to put more food in my tummy to see if that made the full feeling go away. I sampled the salami, fashioning it into a cone, filling it with olive oil, and consuming it. I repeated this three times, so three little pieces of salami. Still, my glucose remained higher than my target, and now I felt full to the brim with salami and olive oil!
Inside the HBOT chamber, I felt mostly okay, though my glucose level remained irksomely high. Typically, within the chamber, I quickly drop to under 3mmol. I’ve even touched the mid to low 2’s; I’m pretty sure if I wasn’t in a state of ketosis, that would be the territory where I would have a hypoglycemic seizure. On this day, however, around the 1.5-hour mark, I felt slightly nauseous, confirming that 1mg/kg was an apt dosage.
The evening continued in the same vein. I struggled to manage my blood sugar levels despite no dietary missteps. I genuinely believe my activity level might be the culprit. I might be overexerting and need to rest more, which is a challenging concept for me.
So, that summarizes Day 1 of Protocol 2. My plan is to dose at 1.1mg/kg this upcoming Thursday.