I took doxycycline, an MPP inhibitor, to make sure my blood-brain barrier would restore from my injury. MPPs, matrix metalloproteinases, are enzymes that break down proteins in the extracellular matrix. A side effect I had was that as proteins built up in my cerebrospinal fluid, they increased its volume by absorbing water, causing pressure on my brain and, worse, on my eyes. As this can cause glaucoma, I stopped using doxycycline and hoped 2 weeks was enough to rebuild the blood-brain barrier.
At the same time, I forgot to bring the ginkgo I'd been using to increase my cerebral blood flow, and when my guests didn't finish their coffee, I drank the rest, further decreasing my cerebral blood flow (adrenaline is a vasoconstrictor). The excess cerebrospinal fluid pushes on my blood vessels from the outside, further reducing blood flow, which reduces the fluid in my neurons, making them "swim" in CSF. This is why my brain feels wobbly and drained. It gets better when I raise my hands above my head, probably because the increased amount of blood in my brain pushes the blood vessels open.
When resuming to take ginkgo, the sensation went away. Intraocular pressure slightly increased from increased blood volume, but because glaucoma is caused by ischemia through pressure-induced vasoconstriction, ginkgo has been shown to protect from glaucoma.
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