Posted by bleauberry on September 4, 2009, at 20:38:32
In reply to What lets ppl think more clearly? + Extraversion, posted by AdamCanada2 on September 2, 2009, at 2:52:08
As you described yourself, your history, and your symptoms, it struck close to home because you described very closely my own story. The ECT and everything. All of it.
I was so sick of it all I turned my back on routine medical profession and sought the assistance of an Integrative MD instead, and later a Nurse Practioner licensed in psychiatry and naturopathy as well. It was that journey that painted a bigger picture that had been there the whole time, unseen by routine MDs. What came out of that story was a barrage of lab tests and various trials that showed: Highly elevated mercury and lead levels; adrenal hypofunction; gluten intolerance; extremely low urine serotonin; and disregulated fatty acids; and genetic flaws in the MAO and COMT areas; and the nuclear bomb of them all, the presence of DNA bands unique to a bacteria called Borellia. That's scientific lingo for Lyme disease. The low serotonin was not useful, and neither was the fatty acids stuff. The other stuff, crucial.
I am not suggesting any of these things apply to you. What I am suggesting is that a journey in a new direction in uncharted waters is likely to open your eyes to real problems with real solutions. That demands an Integrative MD, not a routine MD. Someone who knows about all the things I've mentioned above and who has patients being treated for all the things I've mentioned above. They are usually licensed routine MDs with specialty training in naturopathy or homeopathy.
Brain fog. A common term to describe what you described. A common symptom of everything I listed above. Let's assume you have none of the above, but instead just a Candida overgrowth in the gut. Brain fog is number one symptom of that.
The symptoms you described are, in my judgement, not issues of a brain malfunction, but rather, issues of a body malfunction that is impacting the brain.
Forget all the above. Ok. Just a list of things to improve symptoms, maybe for a while at least. Modafinil. Forskolin. Time released T3. Bacopa, Ginkgo Biloba, and a handful of other healing herbs. I would have of course mentioned the stimulants, but you've already been there. The right supplement should improve symptoms quickly. Finding the right one involves some random but somewhat targeted luck. In the longterm, the real issue has to be uncovered. That takes some detective work.
ECT wiped out my name-recall capacity quite a bit. But speech and thought has returned to strong, pre-ECT, with the help of well chosen foods and treatments to address my known malfunctions. Brain fog now only occurs when I am on a round of killing bacteria and/or candida and experiencing a Herx reaction. Most other times, that brain fog that haunted me for so long is gone.
To make a long story short, it is my opinion your best healing is not going to come from the psychiatric toolbag.
poster:bleauberry
thread:915351
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20090902/msgs/915769.html