Combining Ayurvedic/Tibetan Medicine and Herbs & Supplements

Discuss any health or dietary topics which lie outside mainstream Western medical thinking, from Ayurveda to Reiki.
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Lhug-Pa
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Combining Ayurvedic/Tibetan Medicine and Herbs & Supplements

Post by Lhug-Pa »

Some relevant websites:

Siddhienergetics, Jcrow or Jcrows, and Shangshungstore (Italy).


Out of the following medicines...:

Chyawanprash or Chyavanaprasha, Semde or Sems-dBe or Sems-bDe, Shilajit, Triphala, Sorig, Agar or Agar 35, Purification Medicine Treatment, Bimala or Vimala, Jing Builder, Tulsi, Ashwagandha, Pippali, Vacha, Dutsi or Dhutse, Chulen OR Chudlen, and Rinchen.

Which ones should definitely not be taken at the same time, if any?


Some Rinchen, and Precious Pills such as various Dhutse and Chulen, should be accompanied with a specific method (there's a thread about this here somewhere).

I'd like to try Chyawanprash, with Semde in the morning, Shilajit in the late afternoon, and Bimala an hour before bed.

Also, are there any medicines here that can be taken during pregnancy?

Last question for now, are there any herbs or medicines, or websites, not listed here that are of similar importance?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

As a side-note, here are some supplements for energy, libido, calm, and focus, that I've jotted down over time that are not Ayurvedic or Tibetan, that may be useful:

Maca, Longifolia, Safed Musli, Pygeum, Saw Palmetto, Nettle Root, Heal All & Chrysanthemum Combo, Strong Man Bao, Arginine, Tyrosine, natural Iodine (such as Iodoral), B-5/Pantothetic Acid, Beta Alanine, Natto-K, Schizandra Berry, Catuaba, Damiana, Passiflora Incarnata, and Lypo-spheric Vitamin C (best taken with tomato or orange juice for additional bioflavanoid absorption).
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Lhug-Pa
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Re: Combining Ayurvedic/Tibetan Medicine and Herbs & Supplements

Post by Lhug-Pa »

For Chyawanprash/Chyavanaprasha, Banyan, Vadik, Organic India, and Himalayan Institute brands all look promising. Or if on a budget, Dabur seems to be classic, yet inexpensive.

As for my questions, I'm not too worried. The combination mentioned above should be fine: Semde, Shilajit, and Vimala. Although in reading the thread here about Shilajit, it seems that it might be cooling, which wouldnt be good for Tummo practice; although it was also said that Shilajit could have a warming after-digestion effect. Who knows. If doing Tummo practice, then maybe replace Shilajit with Jing Builder. :yinyang:

And I think it's probably safe to say that none of the medicines from the first list (and most from the second list) above are worth risking for a woman to take during pregnancy.

Anyway, any suggestions for additional websites, or medicines, herbs, or supplements not mentioned above? If anything, we can have this be an edumacational resource thread. :reading:
Malcolm
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Re: Combining Ayurvedic/Tibetan Medicine and Herbs & Supplements

Post by Malcolm »

Lhug-Pa wrote:Although in reading the thread here about Shilajit, it seems that it might be cooling, which wouldnt be good for Tummo practice; although it was also said that Shilajit could have a warming after-digestion effect.
Quite the opposite, Shilajatu is very warming.


Pregnant women in general should take no herbs at all.
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Nemo
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Re: Combining Ayurvedic/Tibetan Medicine and Herbs & Supplements

Post by Nemo »

Where does Shilajit come from now? It is a completely different colour than it was years ago.

Did Nagarjuna leave any of his recipes for mercury medicines? I just read about his alchemical practices last night. Perhaps we should dig up his old recipes for turning iron into gold to support the Dharma.
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Re: Combining Ayurvedic/Tibetan Medicine and Herbs & Supplements

Post by Malcolm »

Nemo wrote:Where does Shilajit come from now? It is a completely different colour than it was years ago.

Did Nagarjuna leave any of his recipes for mercury medicines? I just read about his alchemical practices last night. Perhaps we should dig up his old recipes for turning iron into gold to support the Dharma.
Shilajatu is a kind of bitumous exudate that oozes from cliffs in the heat of summer.

Nagarjuna's method of processing mercury into mercury sulfate still exists and is used in Tibetan mediciune.
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Lhug-Pa
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Re: Combining Ayurvedic/Tibetan Medicine and Herbs & Supplements

Post by Lhug-Pa »

In reading this thread, it looks like Shilajit is more-or-less neutral temperature-wise, yet maybe in the end leaning a little towards warming.

As for herbs during pregnancy, I know that some are considered safe (like the "Yogi" brand tea called Mother-to-Be); but if we don't know for sure about a particular herb or herbs, then yeah better to err on the safe side and not administer them.
Last edited by Lhug-Pa on Fri Jan 20, 2012 10:35 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Malcolm
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Re: Combining Ayurvedic/Tibetan Medicine and Herbs & Supplements

Post by Malcolm »

Lhug-Pa wrote:In reading this thread, it looks like Shilajit is more-or-less neutral temperature-wise, yet leaning a little towards warming.

You are right, I was in error. In Tibetan medicine is used to reduce fevers.

N
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Nemo
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Re: Combining Ayurvedic/Tibetan Medicine and Herbs & Supplements

Post by Nemo »

Namdrol wrote:
Nemo wrote:Where does Shilajit come from now? It is a completely different colour than it was years ago.

Did Nagarjuna leave any of his recipes for mercury medicines? I just read about his alchemical practices last night. Perhaps we should dig up his old recipes for turning iron into gold to support the Dharma.
Shilajatu is a kind of bitumous exudate that oozes from cliffs in the heat of summer.

Nagarjuna's method of processing mercury into mercury sulfate still exists and is used in Tibetan mediciune.
It's not the same as it was years ago. It used to come from the Himalayas and was black. It contained arsenic and was banned. Now they get it from somewhere else. It's brown and arsenic free. It seems to still work fine. I miss the almondy taste though. I wondered if it was as good. I still have a tiny stash of the old stuff, but it seems to be slowly losing it's potency. I think there may be more than one type of shilajit and they have different properties.

Any idea what types of mercury Nagarjuna preferred? I prefer black, most people prefer red. Did they preserve the mantras for the purification process? Without that I wouldn't touch the stuff.
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Re: Combining Ayurvedic/Tibetan Medicine and Herbs & Supplements

Post by Malcolm »

Nemo wrote:
It's not the same as it was years ago. It used to come from the Himalayas and was black.

Try Siddhi Energetics stuff. It is from Ladakh and it is as black as obsidian. Tell em I sent you.
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Re: Combining Ayurvedic/Tibetan Medicine and Herbs & Supplements

Post by Malcolm »

Nemo wrote: I think there may be more than one type of shilajit and they have different properties.

.
Traditionally there are several kinds, depending on what minerals are present in it.
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Re: Combining Ayurvedic/Tibetan Medicine and Herbs & Supplements

Post by catmoon »

OMG are you guys serious? You are eating things laced with mercury and arsenic? That's crazy dangerous.


HistoryPhysical
CausesShow AllMultimedia Library
ReferencesHistoryArsenic exposure is usually suicidal, malicious, homicidal, or occupational.
To reveal the exposure, record a careful work history on individuals with symptoms of a painful peripheral neuropathy. If the setting is not occupational, a careful epidemiological history of those affected and those unaffected must be undertaken.
Exposure to arsine gas is usually the result of an occupational accident; in most cases, the worker presents rapidly and is brought in with the material safety data sheet (MSDS).
Determining unusual cases requires a careful history regarding dietary and nutritional habits, particularly the use of nutritional supplements and ayurvedic medicines, hobbies, and alcohol abuse.
Often, patients with neurological symptoms are subjected to "heavy metal screens" by their primary care practitioners or even neurologists. Often, the laboratories used are not the standard medical reference laboratories, and the results are of questionable reliability. In other cases, the results are reported in concentration of total arsenic in urine or blood, and this is not generally accepted as valuable in the determination of possible exposure or toxicity.
Next Section: Causes
Physical
Acute severe arsenic poisoning
•Vital signs - Tachycardia and hypotension, even shock
•CNS - Altered mental status, delirium, coma, and seizures (acute encephalopathy)
Frequently, patients exposed to arsenic have a garlic smell to their breath and tissue fluids.
In trivalent arsenic poisoning, clinical effects depend on the chronicity of exposure.
•Acute exposures generally manifest with the cholera-like gastrointestinal symptoms of vomiting (often times bloody) and severe diarrhea (which may be rice-watery in character and often bloody); these patients will experience acute distress, dehydration (often), and hypovolemic shock.
•Chronic toxicity is more insidious and may manifest as a classical dermatitis (hyperkeratosis with a classical "dew drops on a dusty road" appearance) or peripheral neuropathy (usually a painful paresthesia that is symmetrical and stocking-glove in distribution).
•Also, whitish lines (Mees lines) that look much like traumatic injuries are found on the fingernails.
•Multiple reports of cardiac arrhythmias exist in the literature. Reports of prolongation of the QT and ventricular fibrillation after acute arsenic intoxication make careful attention to cardiac status imperative.
•Chronic hepatic and renal damage is common with chronic exposure.
Arsine gas exposure manifests with an acute hemolytic anemia and striking chills. Hemoglobinuria causes the urine to appear black (see the image below), and the patient becomes rapidly obtunded and shocky. Shaking chills are often described in these patients. Black water urine from a patient with massive hemolysis secondary to arsine exposure at a gas tank cleaning operation.
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Malcolm
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Re: Combining Ayurvedic/Tibetan Medicine and Herbs & Supplements

Post by Malcolm »

catmoon wrote:OMG are you guys serious? You are eating things laced with mercury and arsenic? That's crazy dangerous.
Arsenic is not present in all Shilajit.

"Mercury" used in Ayurveda and Tibean Medicine is a form of processed mercury, processed into mercury sulfate, which is inert in the human body, but very useful for treating many kinds of serious diseases. Mercury preperations are not commonly dispensed, however.

Both Ayurvedic and Tibetan medical texts are filled with warnings about using and handling raw mercury.
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Re: Combining Ayurvedic/Tibetan Medicine and Herbs & Supplements

Post by Ngawang Drolma »

What would be good for a common cold/virus? My antibiotics didn't work.

Thanks :)
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Re: Combining Ayurvedic/Tibetan Medicine and Herbs & Supplements

Post by catmoon »

Um, if mercury sulfate is inert in the human body, why do the MSDS sheets all quote an LD50 of 57 mg per kg? This means ingesting five or six grams will be fatal in half of all trials, for a 100kg human. (The trials are done on rats of course)

And here's a nice little story about a guy who ingested a gram of the stuff...
Introduction: Inorganic mercury poisoning is uncommon, but when it occurs it can result in severe, life-threatening features and acute renal failure. Previous reports on the use of extracorporeal procedures such as haemodialysis and haemoperfusion have shown no significant removal of mercury. We report here the successful use of the chelating agent 2,3-dimercaptopropane-1-sulphonate (DMPS), together with continuous veno-venous haemodiafiltration (CVVHDF), in a patient with severe inorganic mercury poisoning.
Case Report: A 40-year-old man presented with haematemesis after ingestion of 1 g mercuric sulphate and rapidly deteriorated in the emergency department, requiring intubation and ventilation. His initial blood mercury was 15 580 µg/l. At 4.5 hours after ingestion he was started on DMPS. He rapidly developed acute renal failure and so he was started on CVVHDF for renal support and in an attempt to improve mercury clearance; CVVHDF was continued for 14 days.
The fellow spent 50 days in hospital and was lucky to escape with his life.
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Malcolm
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Re: Combining Ayurvedic/Tibetan Medicine and Herbs & Supplements

Post by Malcolm »

catmoon wrote:Um, if mercury sulfate
My error, mercury sulfide.

In any case, detoxified mercury is not a commonly used medicine, because it si difficult to make, and if prepared improperly, can harm the patient. That being said, it is used, it is prepared, and when used properlt, is quite beneficial for many diseases.

Quite frankly, people get all het up about mercury, but think nothing of doing chemo.

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Re: Combining Ayurvedic/Tibetan Medicine and Herbs & Supplements

Post by Nemo »

Black mercury is with calcined copper. They are old medicines only meant to be taken when you can live a yogi lifestyle with no distractions. They are as profound as they are dangerous. To live a normal life and take them would kill you. Simply becoming angry will break the bonds on the mercury flooding your body with poison. But if you are sick and unable to recover there is no greater tonic than properly prepared alchemical rasayanas IMO. The preparation involves mantras, initiations and sincere worship. If someone merely followed the recipe you would be buying poison.

I must have taken 4 or 5 times the "lethal" dose and the only side effect was mild excessive heat. That is a signal that you need to stop the cycle of medicine. In the weeks that followed I gained about 20 pounds, no longer looked like a chemo patient, increased my stamina and had better meditative concentration. This effect was permanent. Though the prayers of a good Lama played a big part in that as well.
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Re: Combining Ayurvedic/Tibetan Medicine and Herbs & Supplements

Post by Nemo »

I wish you could edit your posts longer.

I should add that I did two cycles a year apart and never felt the need to do it again. I did do a blood test for mercury levels. Though detected they were not worrisome. I took some ground pink coral anyway. Which has been used for millenia to detox heavy metals in Ayur Veda. I would reccommend it if you go on serious retreat. I find black mercury especially brightens the mind and improves memory. It strengthens many relative meditative states. A very miraculous medicine IMO. The red brings back youth and vitality, but is more heating.
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Re: Combining Ayurvedic/Tibetan Medicine and Herbs & Supplements

Post by Lhug-Pa »

Any thoughts on Amrita Meditation Water?

http://www.siddhienergetics.com/product ... tion-water" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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Re: Combining Ayurvedic/Tibetan Medicine and Herbs & Supplements

Post by padma norbu »

I absolutely love damiana tea and was a bit bummed when Alvita stopped making it, but I've found another brand through the internet.

What is strange about damiana to me is that it:

- increases libido
- relieves anxiety
- relieves depression
- stimulates digestion
- suppresses hunger

among other things, but just these ones alone seem a little almost contradictory. Gets you horny AND relieves anxiety? Stimulates digestion AND suppresses hunger? I wonder if it's warming or cooling overall...

Anyway, I started drinking this when I felt like I could use a glass of wine and have found it to be the perfect substitute. I think because alcohol craving is related to blood sugar, anxiety, depression and a desire to consume, damiana turns off all these switches with 1 cup. Amazing, really. I have found it more useful than any Tibetan medicine (I've only tried Agar-35 and Happiness of Mind) and many other supplements such as Niacin, Kava, St. John's Wort, Valerian Root, etc. which for the most part did nothing.

1 cup of damiana tea in the morning and 1 cup at night... strangely relaxing and energizing at the same time. Should be more well known.
"Use what seems like poison as medicine. We can use our personal suffering as the path to compassion for all beings." Pema Chodron
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Lhug-Pa
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Re: Combining Ayurvedic/Tibetan Medicine and Herbs & Supplements

Post by Lhug-Pa »

Bimala and Semde as you probably know, are supposed to take effect in the long run rather than feeling the effects right away as with something like Damiana or caffeine. Although I did feel a slight immediate effect from Bimala and Semde the first time I took them.

Whole-plant Passion Flower is supposed to be excellent as well. There's a Guayaki Yerba Maté flavor called Passion that has Damiana and Catuaba in it that I drink often (one of my favorite drinks in fact). But I'd like to try Damiana and Catuaba aside from that drink too, and Passion Flower also.

On another forum people were discussing how to maintain chastity, and some were even considering how to lower their testosterone; and so then I explained that having lower testosterone would actually make sexual problems even worse, because lower libido is a cause of depression, and depression can lead to even more sexual excesses/addictions. It might sound strange that having higher libido is more conducive to having more control over sexual energy, but it's true. For example, any low-testosterone depression-case can artificially stimulate themselves with pornography, even repeatedly, yet this would only lead to further depletion of Ojas, more nervousness, and more depression. Whereas someone with high libido who, whether he or she is having sex or not, sublimates their libido through healthy activities such as working-out, various forms of Yoga, meditation, etc., is going to have less problems with things like depression and neurotic sexual addictions. I'd imagine that on a similar note good digestion would be more conducive to less problems related to food addiction.

Anyway, the Chulen sold by Siddhienergetics is said to replenish what Chinese Medicine calls Ancestral or Prenatal Jing, which is otherwise apparently very difficult to do. And that Chulen is already blessed and consecrated by H.E. Trulshik Rinpoche, although I'm sure that it would complement Mandarava practice very well.
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