Posted by bleauberry on December 14, 2009, at 19:06:07
In reply to physical causes of depression/BP-- tests needed?, posted by inanimate peanut on December 13, 2009, at 11:54:06
I don't intend for my discussion to be focused on Lyme, but I did want to start by commenting on the previous post of the absurd rate of Lyme in England. I think whatever the source was, it was read wrong. A few zeros were out. Not 1 in 100,000, more like 10,000 in 100,000.
The CDC estimates that for every case diagnosed, there are 9 others walking around (or bedridden with depression) that are undiagnosed.
Since psychiatric symptoms of all kinds are almost unanimous amongst Lyme infected people, whether they know they are infected or not, that means there are a lot of psych people walking around with Lyme. That's the primary reason I talk about it a lot here. It is highly misunderstood, misdiagnosed, and mistreated.
Whenever psych symptoms are present, Lyme has to be a consideration to rule in or rule out. Not to be blown off. The usual attitude is, "oh it wasn't that kind of tick"; "oh that only happens to other people not me"; "oh I don't live in a place where there are ticks"; "oh I don't remember ever being bit by a tick"; "oh my doctor says it is hogwash and I don't have Lyme". How the heck does HE know that? Did he try you on a potent Lyme antibiotic to see what would happen? Cost $4? Very likely the answer is NO. That is the only highly accurate way to find out for sure. Ticks come in three stages, all equally infectious. The first stage, the babies, are so small you would probably not see them on you.
On to physical testing:
1. You've got the thyroid thing covered I see.
2. Adrenal Stress Index test. This measures cortisol curve over a 24 hour period via saliva samples taken 4 different times. This is intimately tied to the thyroid, and intimately tied to psychiatric wellbeing, so it is important to know and easy to test. Any other kind of cortisol testing, such as a single random sample or an average over a 24 hour period, is useless. Don't waste your money on those.
3. Heavy metals. History of amalgam fillings? Any known environmental exposure to mercury or lead? Petroleum products, plastics? Factories? Pesticides? Herbicides? The only real accurate test here is to take the chelation drug DMSA in small doses (25mg for example) every 4 hours, and then one big dose of 1200mg. Take a urine sample prior to starting DMSA, and then gather urine for 6 hours after the 1200mg dose. DMSA will pull heavy metals out of storage and will be seen in the urine, and will be determined as being "normal" exposure or elevated. I've done a dozen rounds on DMSA. As sensitive as I am, I am a fan since it is tolerable and safe when used properly. The few times I have felt near remission were when I was taking DMSA.
4. Infectious diseases. You can do these tests on your own fairly cheaply. Candida is a bigger problem than is recognized. All the symptoms we have at this forum, Candida can cause them all. Take drops of Oil of Oregano for a few days or a couple weeks. See what happens. For Lyme or similar infections, take Cat's Claw and/or Coptis Root. Cat's Claw in the Samento form is the most potent. Most Lyme people have huge reactions to even small amounts of drops of this tincture. To a non-Lyme person, it is no more potent than sugar. Another good one for Candida is Grapefruit Seed extract. Other Lyme herbs include Teasel root tincture, Japanese Knotwood, and Andrographis. All of these substances hit a bunch of different pathogens as well, and hit yeast and bacteria simultaneously, so you cover a lot of ground with one test. Besides their antimicrobial potency, they happen to offer amazing health benefits in a myriad of other unrelated ways. Japanese Knotwood for example is the primary source of the popular Reveratrol supplement, excellent for heart, immune, antioxidant, and the list goes on. All of these herbs have literally hundreds of clinical studies behind them. While we think of herbs as folklore, and some are, these happen to be heavily researched and confirmed in clinical practice.
5. Diet. Also underdiagnosed are dietary problems. Some clinicians go so far as to say there are certain diets for certain blood types. I am not sold on that, but I do know certain foods can be big offenders in the psych arena. The two biggest ones are gluten from wheat, rye, oats, or barley malt. The other is cassein from cow dairy products. While lab tests can show elevated antibodies to these if you are having an unsuspected reaction, you can more easily do an elimination challenge diet. That is, avoid all gluten products for 2 weeks and see what happens. Same with cow products. I have been gluten free for a couple years. Hard at first. Amazing how many good foods are out there now that are gluten free, many right at WalMart. A local pizza joint even sells gluten free pizza made from rice and potato flours instead of wheat flour, and tastes just like the real thing. Other than that, the diet should be mostly fresh or slightly cooked veggies and fruits, no junk food. Organic as much as possible.
In the infectious disease challenge tests, what you are looking for is a Herxheimer reaction. That is a flu-like condition, or worsening of symptoms along with new symptoms, caused by the die-off toxins of millions of pathogens. The body cannot excrete them fast enough. If you aren't heavily infected, you won't get a Herx. If you are, you most likely will. My Herx's have become easy for me to identify...a very sore shoulder and hip, extreme fatigue and lethargy, foggy eyes, brain fog, worsened depression, and just a general sense yuck. Once that diagnosis is made, you also already know the substance that works. The idea now is to reduce the dose to a tolerable level, and slowly build it up as the Herx lessens.
The standard lab tests for Lyme are pitifully inaccurate and subject thousands of people to a life sentence in jail with no chance of parole. The stories of people highly infected yet testing negative are by the thousands. The organisms involved have developed genius methods of deception and evasion, so that neither your own immune system or tests can see them...that is how they insure their own survival. And it is how they cause all the psych symptoms. Anyway, you are looking for a Herx. Or not. Either way, at least you'll know for sure what to consider and what not, instead of guessing or blowing it off. The herbs I mentioned cost about $15 each and you can do it on your own.
The most accurate test for Lyme is the Western Blot, but not just any Western Blot, the one done by Igenex Labs specifically. They have the equipment and expertise in Lyme that other labs do not have.
I don't know of any other useful tests for depression and psych symptoms. Neurotransmitter tests, fatty acid tests, methylation tests, and all that stuff, I have personally done them and not found them helpful in guiding treatment. If they are messed up, they are messed up for a reason. The most common reasons I am aware of are heavy metals or infectious organisms.
> Hi,
>
> I just got this from an answer to another thread from bleauberry but I know several people have mentioned it-- that there may be physical health problems that are missed that could be causing depression/bipolar and stopping the psych meds from completely solving the problem. I know Lyme Disease has been mentioned. How do you get tested for that? I know Vitamin D is an issue and I take a supplement for that. What other tests/issues should I make sure my doctors have looked at to make sure they're not causing my symptoms? I've had tons of trouble with my stomach throughout my life and have been diagnosed with IBS (in other words they don't know what's wrong with me). Is there a likely connection there and what does that mean for what I should do with my meds? I just want to make sure I look at this holistically.
poster:bleauberry
thread:929081
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20091206/msgs/929256.html