Posted by Larry Hoover on October 26, 2004, at 9:02:14
In reply to Re: Q about paint dust » Larry Hoover, posted by gromit on October 26, 2004, at 3:00:50
> > Well, I don't know just what your problems are, so it might be hard to link them, eh?
>
> Well what you said below, cognitive impairment, memory loss. That is the part I was wondering about I guess. Also social anxiety, depression, what my doctor called Excessive Daytime Sleepiness.Perhaps you're working under a less appropriate model for what ails you? It seems that chronic fatigue syndrome might be a useful symptom cluster to consider.
I think in terms of symptom clusters, not diagnoses per se. The reason is that many of my symptoms covary. As one in the cluster worsens, the whole group worsens, and vice versa. My symptoms do not fall nicely into the little symbolic box called major depression.
Non-restorative sleep is a key issue to resolve. I suspect that what you're calling daytime sleepiness is nothing more than sleep failing to do its job of permitting you to wake fully rested.
> > First off, there are isocyanates and then there are isocyanates. Very broad chemical category, but they are very reactive chemicals. Bhopal India/Union Carbide was an isocyanate exposure incident.
> >
> > The most likely damage is respiratory. Some of that damage is permanent, I'm afraid. Expect problems with diminished capacity for oxygen uptake, via various mechanisms. If you are a smoker (of anything), quit.
>
> Yes I quit smoking everything but cigarettes right when I quit the auto body business. Quit the smokes about 5 years ago. Could my constant tiredness and brain fog be a lack of oxygen?Only if you're weasing, feeling a struggle to breathe. Emphysema, for example, or asthma that doesn't respond to meds.
> > There's a lot of other nasty stuff floating around paint shops. Solvent exposure (all quick-drying paints are quick-drying because of the volatility of the carrier solvent) is linked to permanent cognitive impairment and memory difficulties. However, new information about brain plasticity does suggest that you can restore some brain function by working your brain. Just as with muscle, use it.
>
> Yeah, I even used to clean my hands after work with lacquer thinner and a scotch brite pad :< not to mention the stuff in the air.Yes, not to mention the stuff in the air. You become used to the daily exposure, hardly noticing the smell. Yet, someone comes into the shop for the first time, and it's overwhelming.
Also, skin contact permits direct trans-cutaneous exposure. Skin is remarkably porous, especially to organic solvents, as they dissolve into the skin.
> > I'm not going to get into too many details of my own history, but let it be said that I ought not to have a functional brain right now, given what I exposed it to.
>
> Well you wouldn't know it by reading your posts.Well, you see, I am speaking from experience. All is not lost.
I suppose I got a fairly decent helping of intelligence, way back when, but for many years, I just about did my utmost to destroy that all. Have you ever seen the anti-drug commercial where they represent a brain as a bunch of coiled wires, and drugs are like wire cutters, breaking connections? Sparks flying, smoke in the air? I was using bolt cutters, and hey, I came out the other side. One example....I purposely overdosed on PCP every day for over a year. Me and the boys, we were playing overdose chicken. First guy to come to, was a wuss.
> > Work that brain, dude. Mental pushups.
>
> I just realized why your posts are so easy to understand, at least the reason for me. White space is your friend.Thank you. I am a gifted public speaker. I try to write like I speak.
>
>
> Thanks
> Rick
>I don't know where your "geek threshold" is, but a guy by the name of Pall has developed a unifying theory for chronic fatigue, PTSD, and multiple chemical sensitivity (your solvent exposure may have been the triggering stimulus). Here's a link to a full-text article. The intervention is antioxidant supplementation, and increased intake of the substances which are damaged by oxidative stress. More, anon.
http://www.fasebj.org/cgi/content-nw/full/16/11/1407There are hotlinks in the references. Make sure you click on reference #28.
Lar
poster:Larry Hoover
thread:381874
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/health/20041005/msgs/407377.html