Lion’s Mane vs Reishi

I've tried Lion's Mane...not for colds. So far it's done nothing for what I was using it for which was neuropathy.

Reishi is great for resisting colds. Lion's mane not so much. Lion's mane is better for improving cognitive function and memory.

But why not both? Medicinal mushrooms synergize really well together.

I take reishi every day. It's a great tonic.

Tea tree and eucalyptus oils in my nose really helps to keep the nasal passages clear and healthy

The fungus/mushroom question is a good one, CalmLittle. I have wondered that, but thought I had read certain ones will not bother Candida, which I also have. Someone more educated there might jump in.

Buhner said the mushrooms won’t cause Candida or fungal issues in that regard. He indicated the only issue may be if someone had a hypersensitivity to fungi.

I am not a mushroom expert, but my impression of reishi and lions mane is the same as what others mentioned. Reishi is more for immune boosting. Lions mane for nerve repair.

LittleB, what do the mushrooms have to do w/ Glutamate? Curious where you got that connection i didnt know about a connection between mushrooms and glutamate.

Excess glutamate is a byproduct of the transulfation (CBS) pathway, and can often indicate a methylation issue. Decreasing ammonia and sulfur levels can help. Might make sense to look into Amy Yasho's work. I had "vestibular migraines" for years until I figured this out. I would literally feel my body moving like i was on a boat, it was awful.

Ah didn’t know that mushrooms were high in glutamate.

Do you have a CBS mutation as well? Common in double MTHFR. If so this could be one of your problems causing excess glutamate. I have this issue and use Sparga Yucca and molybdenum to keep my ammonia and sulfur levels in check. Can buy quanto pee sticks on Amazon to see if sulfur is a problem, soooo easy.

But something else could be causing high glutamate levels. I remember Horowitz mentions another cause in Why Can’t I get Better but can’t recall, will check when I’m home.

Regardless, I started getting Vestibular migraines in Jan 2014. I basically had one/day until
2016. Was destroying my life. Went to see every specialist in nyc. Basically I’d get this dizziness, loss of balance, head zaps, a strange sensation in the back of my head and a feeling like my body was moving like I was on an elevator, but very little pain. Oddest feeling ever. They tried amitriptylene, some blood pressure medication, a few other things, nothing helped. Finally i started reading about glutamate and it made sense. The head zaps felt like mini seizures, like all my neurons firing for no reason, and it felt like my brain was overly excited...could glutamate be the cause? I proposed this to my dr at headache institute of NY. He liked the theory, and we tried klonipin. The headaches got a bit better, but I was still getting them every now and then. Then we proposed since it felt “seizure like”, let’s try gabapentin. Anticonvulsant that works on gaba/glutamate balance. Started w 800mg/day. Boom, the headaches stopped immediately. After 1y I went down to 400, then 300. Been off for a year and no headaches. Still use yucca/Sparga in case that CBS issue was part of the problem.

I take lion’s mane tincture from Beneficial Botanicals. If I remember right, it’s the only source Buhner recommended, although I can’t recall why unless it has to do with the ratio.

Anybody know the difference in effectiveness with tincture vs powder?

Where did you get powder from?

Dcd, I was never tested for the CBS mutation but I will look into it. Thank you for the suggestion on the supplements and book, that is crazy about your vestibular migraines, I'm glad you found something that helps. Do you have any side effects with gabapention? Thank you borre and WBF for the info as well, all very helpful advice!

Thanks CalmLittleBuddha! It's nice to know I'm appreciated.

I believe it! Drunk feeling sounds similar to what I experienced. I’d always say that I felt askance, like everything was off, of my perception was tilted. All of these are similar descriptions of a very subjective feeling.

Anything that works on gaba, and there are quite a few drugs, should help. But I’d start w gabapentin since it worked for me and it’s very safe

You all should check out a guy named Paul Stamets, he’s the mushroom guru and has many products he sells although I haven’t tried any of them. His work is amazing, look him up if you listen to podcasts, he’s been on several including joe Rogan. He explains so much about them. He has some research that’s supposed to help with the diseases that are killing bees. Very cool!