Posted by bleauberry on January 31, 2009, at 20:02:28
In reply to Suicidal, please help!!, posted by G-man885858 on January 31, 2009, at 0:22:56
Many psych drugs suppress cortisol function, so if you have hypoadrenalism it is no wonder they make you feel worse. Exquisite sensitivies is also a hallmark of low cortisol.
The test you need is from an Integrative MD, Alternative MD, or Naturopath. You can also order it online by mail without a doctor. It is called the Adrenal Stress Index. Searches might include that, as well as something like home lab tests.
The test measures cortisol 6 hours apart throughout 24 hours. Spit into 4 test tubes. It shows the daily curve and whether it is below or above where it should be, and at what times of the day or all day. If an MD or Endo tests you, they will take a single blood sample that tells you absolutely nothing. They might do a challenge to see how the adrenal responds, which again tells you nothing other than whether the adrenal is totally dead or alive, but nothing inbetween.
I have a theory, pure theory, that ssris and remeron with longterm use can cause hypoadrenalism by burning out the adrenal glands trying to work so hard to keep up. But it is most often blamed on too much stress, which in your case certainly fits.
Most people feel a ton better on either licorice root extract, adrenal cortex extract, or low dose hydrocortisone. But, usually one and not another. And in many cases it ends up being hydrocortisone that is needed, in physiological replacement doses of 2mg to 20mg max. Not the high doses used for other things. You just want to replace what is missing and give the adrenals a rest without shutting them down. Without getting tested, you could even do a challenge test yourself and see if these things help at all. Licorice and adrenal cortex are easy to get. If you rub hydrocortisone cream on a thin-skinned part of your body some of it will absorb into the blood. It usually takes a week or two to see.
Almost everyone suffering from amalgam illness has hypoadrenalism and psych issues. If you have, or ever had, silver fillings, you need to get them out, replaced with white fillings, and buy the book Amalgam Illness.
I would also mention Lyme, but that gets into a little more lengthy discussion. Please do take an hour or two to do a search on websites that specialize in Lyme to see the symptoms, see if you see yourself, get to know the physiology of Lyme and why it is so unrecognized and underdiagnosed. It mimics psychiatrict issues, especially when psych drugs make things worse. That is a strong clue. But low cortisol or heavy metals give the same clue.
The main thing is hope. Getting some medical answers that have not been offered yet opens up a whole new chapter of hope. Believe me, when it comes to difficult psych issues, there are other heavy hitting chapters in the book besides just psychiatry. That's why the folks on the psych wards have been so impotent in helping you. Their job is to stabilize you, but not to know a thing about what is causing you to feel so bad.
A healthy way to distract oneself from the pounding burdensome weight of suicidal thoughts is to absorb oneself online to discover what it is that is making you feel so bad that doctors aren't considering. If you've ever seen the show Medical Mysteries, there are hundreds of people just like you who in the midst of hopelessness and frustration discovered through their own hunting and escape what their diagnosis was.
In terms of meds, I agree with SLS that Zyprexa is a good choice to cross taper away from Seroquel. Zyprexa is known for anti-suicide where Seroquel is not. For some reason, Prozac and Zyprexa go together like magic, often taking bedridden disasters and getting them back to life in as little as week. With sensitivities, you would want to INSIST of brand name Lilly Prozac, NOT a generic. For custom small doses empty a capsule into orange juice. Drink 1/4 glass of 10mg for a 2.5mg dose, for example. Or just a sip for 1mg. Stir well each time, store in the fridge for a week.
Lots of hope. I say that because common things that fit your description with high suspicion are wide open for inspection.
At this board we focus on psych meds to relieve sytmptoms. I could show you hundreds or cases of people with absolutely crushing hopeless psych issues that were totally cured with non-psych meds. That's because the depression all along wasn't a psych issue. It was the brain under insult from something else gone awry in the body.
Either way, Zyprexa or Zyprexa with Prozac sounds like a decent move.
poster:bleauberry
thread:877295
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20090104/msgs/877441.html