Posted by hopefullynow on December 15, 2010, at 7:15:37
In reply to Re: Phobia has destroyed my life, posted by bleauberry on December 10, 2010, at 17:43:51
Good point bleauberry, as always :).I had the same problem with plain generalised anxiety
and along with Anafranil a low dose Licorice was wonderful.> This sounds like a chronic low cortisol condition to me. Too long to discuss here, but do some google research on adrenal fatigue and hypoadrenalism. Cortisol is our stress hormone. It allows us to handle daily physical and mental stressors. When it is low, the body tries to compensate by making adrenaline and epinephrine instead, which is why the fears, phobias, anxieties, and insomnias dominate in low cortisol conditions. The antipsychotics and benzos actually make the condition worse over time, though they help for a few hours, because they further suppress the adrenal glands and cause even less cortisol...that is until the med wears off at which time there is a cortisol rebound that feels like intensified phobia, fear, nervousness, and insomnia.
>
> Cortisol has a profound effect on our neurotransmitters, sort of like the conductor of an orchestra. So if cortisol is messed up, everything will be in chaos. Depression is almost certain. When the fears/phobias are momentarily calm, depression is usually not as severe either. When the fears/phobias are temporarily really bad, the depression will be too.
>
> That's my take on it. I think it would be wise to get a 24 hour 4 sample salivaa cortisol test, which you can actually order on the internet yourself, and go from there. These tests cost between $100 and $150. They tell you a lot.
poster:hopefullynow
thread:972951
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20101203/msgs/973621.html