Posted by bleauberry on May 19, 2011, at 16:55:11
In reply to Memory loss - bipolar / depression, posted by uncouth on May 18, 2011, at 19:24:36
My memory was significantly impacted during ECT. But also from something else, likely Lyme. It isn't getting better, but at least it isn't getting worse. Yet. Aging is aging and there is no way to stay young.
Life itself is a continuous state of biological deterioration, no matter whether we can point a finger at an identifiable cause or not.
I think the hardest thing for anyone to do is accept what it is and do the best under the restrictions. I was a straight A student all through high school and college, hardly even had to study, graduated at top of class. If I had to go back and do it all over again, I would probably have to study really hard to just be a C+ or B- student. Yeah it sucks. But you know, we gotta put one foot in front of the other, move forward, and not let a change of life status deter our spirit. I have learned to adjust. I write myself notes. I double check something before I finalize it, such as transactions, car keys in pocket, whatever might mess me up. I'm really bad with names. Real bad. So that's a tough one. I have accepted the reality that my nervous system will never be what it was 10 years ago, 20 years ago, whatever. I try to do things to improve it or at least stop it from getting worse. But it will never be what it was. I think once someone fully grasps reality and the fact that life circumstances have changed, the problem becomes smaller and not as serious of an issue as it seems before they grasp it and accept it.
I guess everyone's chemistry is different so the things that might help will be different. In the Lyme circles some of the things written about to help are LDN, Huperzine, and the plants that are basically super powerful antioxidants, toxin binders, and nerve protectors. Some things are claimed to be nerve repairers. One of them happens to be St Johns Wort. Its nerve healing properties and antiviral properties are, in my opinion, probably much more pronounced than its mood properties. Plants do a lot of stuff with their dozens of active ingredients, only a few of which we have studied.
In terms of helpful meds, certain substances within the norepinephrine spectrum seem to be very helpful to me. My memory got a lot better about 2 weeks into Milnacipran for example. Immediate profound help comes from Ritalin. Vicadin also. I have a theory with that one that it helps so much because toxins have a high affinity for opioid receptors....vicadin gives them competition and occupies the receptor with stronger affinity than the toxin.
The choline strategies are supposedly helpful but I haven't tried them. I think Huperzine fits into that, though it does other stuff too.
Ginkgo biloba and some other less popular Chinese herbs have a fairly good body of science backing them in terms of memory and brain function. Those that don't have lots of science have thousands of years of actual usage backing them. That doesn't happen unless they actually do what is claimed.
Disease itself will cause progression of the problem. The difficulty there is that we probably don't know what the disease is. It is probably subtle, hidden, deceptive, and not easily or accurately tested. Any number of bacteria or viruses could be at play. Of course I could mention Lyme, of which memory loss and brain fog are major issues, but there are a variety of other similar organisms guilty of the same type of behavior.
Only the best foods, organic, no trace amounts of pesticides or herbicides, lots of greenery....specific supplements for protection, healing, and regeneration....exercising the mind....these kinds of things are in my opinion our best guns for the fight.
We live in a toxic world. Just a little bit of mercury, lead, cadmium, aluminum, etc, or some chronic low level infectious organism excreting nerve toxins in its normal living, these kinds of things send out massive tidal waves of oxidation. Large doses of vitamin C are hardly any match for the kind of insult we are exposed to. Other plants are more potent. Of course, suppressing any potential offenders is a worthy way of approaching that.
And there is inflammation, or blood flow restriction.
One particular plant that seems to cover a lot of the bases I have mentioned here is Japanese Knotweed, primarily from its high resveratrol content but other ingredients also.
Spirituality is extremely important as well, I feel. I happen to be Christian and I can say without a doubt that my faith in Jesus gives me strength where I am weak.
So as I see it, the whole memory loss thing is not a med issue, a herb issue, a food choice issue, a supplement issue, inflammation, infection, metals, aging, or whatever.....it is all of them. A comprehensive plan that covers all the bases helps significantly. But....we can never turn back the clock. Once we grasp that, we take control of "it" rather than "it" taking control of us.
Back to the spiritual side....the world is ruled by demons....for a time that is. Thank Adam and Eve for that. The doors were opened for illness and death, tools the demons rely heavily on. Demons are massively powerful, not the power of God, but a lot more than us. They are invisible enemies who have two goals: 1)to render you ineffective in fighting evil, 2)to make sure you never see heaven. As long as we are drowning in our symptoms or illnesses and not talking to Jesus all the time, evil triumphs. Their goals are met. They win, we lose. So not matter how bad things get, keep the thoughts focused on what really counts...a life with no evil and no illness, a life that is forever, a life that is so profound that our brains cannot even begin to comprehend. With all that in mind, I reluctantly take the memory loss kind of like a boxer would take a powerful punch that lands him on the canvas for a moment, but my focus is my knockout win in the end.
Well, what about someone who has had a perfect life? Great career, great spouse, lots of money, great health....those things are also tools of the demons....they distract from what really matters. So you see, while you are suffering from symptoms, someone else has a perfect life, both can potentially be huge distractions that land the person in a bad place forever and ever.
And of course, the pure reality is, we will never be what we were yesterday. Our physical biology deteriorates no matter what.
Could there be something good about memory loss? Well, God has a way of taking anything evil and turning it around to be good. Right now I'm trying to think of examples to illustrate but I'm coming up blank. I do know however, you or me would not be the first to ever take a troubling crippling symptom and somehow do something great despite it, something great we never would have been able to do without it.
Anyway, since this is a meds board....norepinephrine, dopamine, choline, endorphins. Those are the areas I would be looking at. Between prayers of course. :-)
poster:bleauberry
thread:985666
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20110515/msgs/985729.html