Posted by bleauberry on December 17, 2008, at 17:37:22
In reply to Chemical testing for anxiety and depression...., posted by jms600 on December 16, 2008, at 16:28:39
The problem is that there are many biological causes of depression.
Measuring neurotransmitters in urine or blood is probably not useful for psychiatry because it doesn't tell you what is going on at a cellular level in the nervous system. And it doesn't show anything about the condition or behavior of the receptors that receive those neurotransmitters.
Some of the primary causes of depression can be measured, in my opinion. They include:
-Lyme disease...lab tests often negative, but an LLMD can make or rule out a clinical diagnosis.
Primary symptoms are neuropsychiatric. If not Lyme, there are several co-infections that mimic it and are diagnosed or discovered at the same time Lyme investigation is going on.-Heavy Metal Accumulation...a one-time challenge test of high dose DMSA can measure mercury and lead and other metals in urine (DMSA is a chelation drug that pulls metals out of tissues). All of us have a certain amount of heavy metals, but the test shows whether they are out of a normal range. That being said, no amount of mercury is safe. Even tiny bits can cause severe symptoms, mostly neuropsychiatric. The biggest risks are with amalgam fillings.
-Thyroid freeT3,T4, and antibodies.
-24 hour saliva cortisol, four samples taken over a day to see the daily pattern compared to how it should look.
-Candida. Too much of this yeast floods the brain with endotoxins and neurotoxins. While measuring candida directly by antibodies or stool can be faulty or misleading, there is a test called Organix Dysbiosis Urine that measures the waste products unique to candida in your urine.
If cortisol or thyroid or candida look suspicious, it is likely due to an ongoing undiagnosed infection or metals. So in reality, the first two causes listed above cover the majority of things, as I see it. Genetics obviously play a huge role, determining how susceptible we are to the various environmental insults, and how radically our bodies respond to them.
There are many causes, but the above cover most of the biological ones that I personally consider big players, usually overlooked or unsuspected, but with tests that are easily accessible and affordable. These are my own opinions. Not fact, but strongly supported by a lot of science and research.
poster:bleauberry
thread:869127
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20081214/msgs/869315.html