Posted by yxibow on December 19, 2008, at 1:57:54
In reply to Re: Chemical testing for anxiety and depression...., posted by bleauberry on December 17, 2008, at 17:37:22
> The problem is that there are many biological causes of depression.
There are some -- but there are also many forms of depression, dysthymia, endogenous depression, major depression, depression with polarity, etc.
> 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.
Completely true -- there is no way of correlating blood levels of serotonin with depression or measuring any form of it. Also, serotonin and its receptors are present outside the blood-brain barrier -- in fact mostly in the gut.
> 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.Lyme disease is a very real organic disease, but there are many real organic diseases and probably more mosquitoes and deer ticks than people on this earth just in one city of this country. It doesn't follow that you are going to get Lyme.
It is largely confined to the Northeast, there are clear signs in at least 2/3 of the cases of distinctive rashes; yes I know, these don't always show up, but other medical pointers are known.
> -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)
And chelation therapy is medically unproven and can be dangerous, why do we keep coming back to this ?
There are only certain situations where chelation therapy (with EDTA formulations) has some genuine medical use and this is usually in the ER -- such as the hideous and bizarre use of thallium to poison people who speak against the former KGB.
Or a child who has broken a mercury thermometer (not really an issue these days since glass thermometers are rarely used any more with the advent of cheap and effective electronic thermometers and they have a thin amount of alcohol)
Possibly a child who lives in a house that has not been repainted and has consistently chewed paint that is known to have lead in it.
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.Again, the ADA has shown amalgams to be safe and effective in proper use. Yes, the jury is out on that one to a very limited extent, but between not being able to eat because your teeth have decayed and you're down to bridges, and having the choice of preventative medicine, I would gladly choose the latter.
That being said, if a filling is done in the front, it can usually be done with epoxy fairly well, but rear fillings with plastic generally don't stand up and may fall out.
> -Thyroid freeT3,T4, and antibodies.
Thyroid tests are important in diagnosing root organic causes, I'll give you that.
> -24 hour saliva cortisol, four samples taken over a day to see the daily pattern compared to how it should look.
Actually, the only completely effective method is a 24 hour urine catch, urinating in a large jar that you basically take around with you, hence a weekend or day off is better. If you exceed the jar, you just use a clean empty distilled water bottle. I've had this done before. Cortisol varies not just 4 times a day but many many times a day.
> -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.
This one I can't say much about. And candida is endemic in the human system.
> 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.
As I've said before you're entitled to your own opinion -- thyroid and cortisol are supported by known medical factors for depression, chelation therapy, Candida issues, heavy metals are generally considered out of the realm of evidence based psychiatry and medicine.
poster:yxibow
thread:869127
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20081214/msgs/869577.html