I almost posted this in the Mushrooms section but thought better of it.

So here's the deal. I'm dealing with some severe, longstanding auto-immune/lyme/mystery illness/inflammatory and osteoarthritis. Just for a little bit of background. [Please don't suggest anything for this, that is not what this thread is about. This is just background for the topic at hand.]

I used to take a LOT of reishi, like in my early to mid 20s.

Now, whenever take reishi, or any medicinal mushroom, I feel a HUGE difference in the way I act, feel, behave, think, etc.

On reishi, I feel like I have lots of patience, calm, strong energy, and I feel comfortable doing the things that I usually don't want to do. My personal boundaries are also fortified.

With shiitake, I feel strong and graceful.

With Lion's Mane, I feel super smart. Like SUUUUUPER smart. Like I could keep track of 8 trains of thought at once. I once slept one half of my brain at a time while driving on Lion's Mane because I couldn't pull over to sleep.

Maybe it's superhuman, or maybe it's just a BIG difference from my normal day-to-day, which, quite frankly, is sick, depressed, fatigued, and foggy.

It's the extremes that worry me, but I suppose if I had to choose, I'd choose the positive. I guess I just hope the circumstances of my life don't become reliant on my taking these mushrooms, because they sure are drug-like.

My question is this: Does anybody else feel such extreme effects from taking medicinal mushrooms? Or is it just me, who has a LONG way to go in terms of healing. Because these herbs are adaptogenic--I have read that if you don't need them, you won't feel much.

Sshhhhhh! don't tell anyone, it's a sekret.

But then I feel bad interacting with my merely human friends and acquaintances as I flex my amazing shiitaked muscles and lion's maned neuronal networks, while caressing them in a protective energy forcefield begotten by reishi. I feel like I'm an at unfair advantage and it might make other people feel inadequate about themselves after encountering me.

(I know this all sounds silly, but... I'm serious. I hope that EVERYONE is this awesome, and it's just me who's getting up to snuff.)

I had damaged nerves from a bad accident. Had numbness from it. Dr. said it would take 6 months to a year to get rid of most of it, but some numbness would likely remain for the rest of my life

So I came across a research paper on Lions mane. Improved nerve recovery after damage was observed on the Lions mane rat group.

So I ordered supplements and started taking them.

A few days after that, I felt tremendous itching where the damaged had occured. Worried, I called the doctor. She says that the itching is good news: its the nerves growing back.

One week later the itching goes away. Numbness is also gone!

Amazed and humbled, I shortly order my first purple spore syringe. What else do these amazing mushroom have in store? Well... I was in for moar pleasant and amazing surprises

Right. Lion's Mane is amazing. I know someone who said that he cured his Lyme-induced Bell's palsy/facial numbness with Lion's mane. He said he also had a scar heal up, too.

Which is great for Lion's mane. That's amazing that it has a dynamic process that induces permanent healing. But what about Reishi? Does it induce a kind of permanent healing? I find that I accomplish more and better things when I'm on it--which is great--but when I stop taking it, I seem to revert back to my lethargic, lazy, irritable self. I guess that's not myself, that's my sick self, and I'm working on healing that with a specific, long-term, permanent healing plan involving herbs that I won't get into now.

I guess I wonder if me using the reishi will interfere with my long-term healing, speed it up, or just not affect it all, and just be awesome in the moment. I'm thinking it's that last one, but it's still a great mystery to me.

Sorry, I have limited personal experience with reishi.

One source of info is the international journal of medical mushrooms. Search for reishi, there is a bunch of research to go through. You can download the papers with interesting abstracts using sci-hub (which you may know already).

Best of luck.

Nature makes few mistakes. Mistake is a human concept. If you're feeling benefit, then it's not a mistake. If you feel like others will feel inadequate - don't tell. If they don't know - then they won't feel inadequate.

If they could possibly benefit from the mushrooms, then share.

Some people will always be envious of that which they don't have. For example: you were living a "less than ideal life" - compared to others (though it is you comparing...). Maybe you were envious at one point? Either way, the mushrooms did what they did.

I love the results of ganoderma, but the taste is offputting to many. That censors out a lot of people.

Take care!
ACY

Yes for reishi.

I abused severly MDMA for 2 days in a row like 2 months ago. Dosages were insane, 200-300mg plug sometime redosing 30min-1h after, for a total of 4-5g. Some 2CB oral (no more that 10-15mg) was spred at the end of both nights. Hopefully, I have huge tolerance. I had brainzaps for more than a week (lucky it went away fast after some valium at night to rest and a week work break...). Not glorious.

From this day I do sport, eat healthy and meditate around 45min/day. I feel extremely better that the first fews days after the 'incident'. CBD oral really help my sleep with some valeriane and melatonine.

But I still suffer from memory problems and mental exhaustion. I'm in a point on my life when I have to function at my max perf. Conferences and presentations are arriving. I feel that my stress is greatly reduced by both CBD and my meditative practice. But the memory problems are frustrating. I just ordered some Lion mushroom. Do you think it can help with my mental exhaustion that arrive extremely rapidly at work, because as a PhD student I'm always learning new stuff and have to be creative in my solving problems on top of that.

I may start to supplement myself with some caapi extract or syrian rue too. I'm pretty happy, but feel some damage that sport and meditation can't fix are still lying around. All tips appreciated if a guy went throught that kind of stuff.

Great to hear that meditation and CBD are helping. They certainly are powerful tools.

Lion's Mane couldn't hurt. It could only help, in my opinion. My memory improves on it, for sure.

I ordered some, will give it a go. I also want superpowers hahaaha. Thanks guys for the info