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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 8 of 8. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Vincent_QC on December 17, 2012, at 12:03:49
I just receive my blood tests results and some of them are borderline low, low or high and I wonder if it can be linked to the extreme anxiety disorder I have right now?
First Vit D level is low, testosterone free level is also low at 2 and need 4 or more, shgb sex hormone binding is very high with 140 and normal are usually between 7 and 70. The monocytes are high who can mean infection. Calcium is low, liver enzymes are borderline high the ast-atl particularly, I had 2 intestinal obstructions and 1 bile duct obstruction in 2011...
My symptoms are mainly psychosomatic anxiety with chronic physical symptoms like headache with facial and jaw pain, extreme fatigue, insomnia, chest pain with tachycardia and lot of palpitations, low blood pressure with dizziness and vertigo and orthostaric hypotension with sometimes high blood pressure especially if I leave my house, I have also intestine pain with cramps, bloating, constipation who don't resolve with laxatives use, have general anxiety, do around 5 to 10 panic attacks a day, have social phobia, many simple phobias like being in a car or stay alone at home, feel very agitated all the time, eyes pain, tremors and muscles pain and general weakness, overall I feel very bad and I'm homebound and have no energy at all and I'm completely paralyze by all the anxiety I feel inside me.
My meds are 7 mg of Klonopin a day who do nothing at all for my anxiety anymore and lead to rebound anxiety between each dose, take 20 to 30 mg of propranolol each day, take 50 000 units of vitamin D each day, 30 000 units of vitamin A each day, 1 strong centrum multivitamins, 600 mg of omega 3, since I had a gastric by pass to loose weight 11 years ago I have to take those vitamins each day at rhose strong dose. I dont take the calium 500 mg as im suppose to take since its making the stools even harder and same for the iron 300 mg day that I dont take either cause it worse the constiparion. I take 30 mg of Prevacid fast tab to prevent heartburn but it stop working recently. And cant take any orher meds since I'm med sensitive now...
My iron level is normal, same for the hemoglobin, vitamin b12 is high so no anemia...
Any ideas about what mean my blood results tests? The testosterone free was high last year and now it's very low and he shgb was normal and now it's double the normal amount! I read it can be from a testicular cancer, mental anorexia? Also for the liver enzymes, they are not above upper limit but near it, so normal but not so normal... And the monocytes? I don't have an infection so I don't understand why it's high?
My Doc think that magnesium injections will help me with the anxiety and some physical symptoms but my magnesium level is in the normal middle range. He also think I may have bad bacteria in the intestine who lead to the intestine pain and think some Flagyl will help? I took some Flagyl often in the past between 2003 and 2007 to control the diarrhea I had at the time and the intestine pain and it was magical to stop the pain but had little effect on the diarrhea, since I have constipation now I think the Flagyl can be a good option, of course followed with probiotic supplements after the 10 days treatment.
Posted by Phillipa on December 17, 2012, at 15:14:10
In reply to Blood tests results + can it be linked to anxiety, posted by Vincent_QC on December 17, 2012, at 12:03:49
Glad to see you posted them. Phillipa
Posted by Vincent_QC on December 17, 2012, at 15:48:17
In reply to Re: Blood tests results + can it be linked to anxiety » Vincent_QC, posted by Phillipa on December 17, 2012, at 15:14:10
> Glad to see you posted them. Phillipa
Hi Phillipa,
Well I have nothing to loose...The nurse call me back and the Gastric by-pass Doc RX a 10 days of Flagyl antibiotic, she fax the RX to my pharmacy so have to go to pick up the pills, wanted to go tonight but we have a bad snowstorm here, 30 to 40 cm of snow and strong wind for tomorrow and today we have 15 cm and strong wind as well...so will go later this week... If the Gastric Doc RX it I guess my enzymes levels are ok since it's an antibiotic who is hard on the liver... The nurse said it's only 10 days at 250 mg x 3 a day so 750 mg day. She also said dont drink with it, she said that cause it will be hollidays so she didnt want me to have problems, anyway I told her I dont drink. In the past I was used to drink and take SSRI with it with no problem, now if you take a SSRI or drink you cant take it!
I just remember that Flagyl is not an easy antibiotic to take for some peoples and a lot of anxiety related symptoms and mood problems... I do hope im not sensitive to it now, in the past I used it often to resolve the intestine pain and liquid stools, it had no effect on the liquid stools but was very effective to stop the intestine pain, so I think I may have bad bacterias in the intestine and that's why i'm in pain so much. The kind of gastric by-pass I had lead often to bad intestine pain, one clue about the bad bacterias is the smell of "fart"... if it's horrible, and it is right now, greater the chance that you have bad bacteria in the intestine. Also more pain from probiotic mean that bad bacterias are find in bigger amount then good ones so it's best to kill the bad ones first and then make newer good ones after the antibiotic treatment with good probiotics supplements. That's what the nurse told to me today... As I well remember, I never had a problem or never had increase anxiety with the Flagyl, just remember that the taste is horrible.
So will not see the Doc before the 8th january, so in the meantime I dont know what I will do for the other symptoms? The prevacid dont work anymore to prevent heartburn I it's a big problem since I can't eat a lot especially after 3 PM, it's when the heartburn and gerd is at it's maximum effect. Did try Zantac 150 mg and it did nothing so I buy some Pepcid 10 mg and will try it right now, I only hope it will not worse my headache like the Zantac do...
Posted by jono_in_adelaide on December 17, 2012, at 17:05:42
In reply to Blood tests results + can it be linked to anxiety, posted by Vincent_QC on December 17, 2012, at 12:03:49
Given your anxiety, I'd definatly consider adding an SSRI and/or mirtazapine to your treatment - say Zoloft 100mg in the morning and mirtazapine 30mg at night..... this might help you slowly wind back the Klonopin dose
Hormone replacement might be usefull for you - ask your doctor about trying it, you have everything to lose and nothing to gain. testosterone patches would be a good way to start
Posted by Vincent_QC on December 17, 2012, at 18:35:50
In reply to Re: Blood tests results + can it be linked to anxiety, posted by jono_in_adelaide on December 17, 2012, at 17:05:42
> Given your anxiety, I'd definatly consider adding an SSRI and/or mirtazapine to your treatment - say Zoloft 100mg in the morning and mirtazapine 30mg at night..... this might help you slowly wind back the Klonopin dose
>
> Hormone replacement might be usefull for you - ask your doctor about trying it, you have everything to lose and nothing to gain. testosterone patches would be a good way to startHummm, I can't tolerate even a small 1 mg of Paxil, i'm med sensitive especially for all the AD...same for the AP...For the mirtazapine it's the same thing, I use 2 mg to 4 mg before bedtime for the insomnia but it's not working anymore, I still use it but I find that when I dont take it at all, the day after even if I dont sleep at all, I feel less anxious... and if I take more than 4 mg, the day after I have too much noradrenaline and adrenaline and feel more agitated... Before 2010 I was able to take all those meds without any problems...The Remeron-mirtazapine was good to reduce the Klonopin for sure, too bad I can't take it anymore...
Will ask my Doc about the hormones... I read that testosterone patch can be good... but the problem is that I dont know why i'm having low testosterone and high sex hormone binding, some explanations giving on wikipedia lead to mental anorexia or testicular cancer or breast cancer, since I have bad intestinal pain and I don't eat a lot, i'm starving myself and avoid to eat cause it give to me too much pain, so maybe the sex hormone binding level is high cause I don't eat enough?
Anyway thanks for your answer ;-)
Posted by jono_in_adelaide on December 17, 2012, at 21:08:20
In reply to Re: Blood tests results + can it be linked to anxiety » jono_in_adelaide, posted by Vincent_QC on December 17, 2012, at 18:35:50
In that case, doxepin might be a good antidepressant to add, it is only as weak inhibitor or noradrenalin reuptake, but it is a strong blocker of the 5HT2A receptor 9strong anxiolytic effect)
It will help you sleep, and help you feel less anxious, and so might help you cut down on the clonazepam.
I'd start with 25mg at bedtime, and slowly build up to 100-150mg at bedtime over a few weeks. It can cause drowsiness initialy, but this passes.
Are you taking a regular multivitamin/mineral, given that you're eating so little. A daily Centrum, and a food supplement such as Complan, Sustagen or Ensure might be a good idea
best of luck
Posted by Vincent_QC on December 17, 2012, at 21:49:43
In reply to Re: Blood tests results + can it be linked to anxiety, posted by jono_in_adelaide on December 17, 2012, at 21:08:20
> In that case, doxepin might be a good antidepressant to add, it is only as weak inhibitor or noradrenalin reuptake, but it is a strong blocker of the 5HT2A receptor 9strong anxiolytic effect)
>
> It will help you sleep, and help you feel less anxious, and so might help you cut down on the clonazepam.
>
> I'd start with 25mg at bedtime, and slowly build up to 100-150mg at bedtime over a few weeks. It can cause drowsiness initialy, but this passes.
>
> Are you taking a regular multivitamin/mineral, given that you're eating so little. A daily Centrum, and a food supplement such as Complan, Sustagen or Ensure might be a good idea
>
> best of luckHi, thanks for your help. Sadly I'm also very sensitive to TCA's...I think the surmontil (trimipramine) is the one you wanted to suggest since its not affecting the noradrenaline reputake or serotonine and dopamine but have the strongest sedative effect cause of its strong histamine binding... If I cant tolerate the mirtazapine I will not even imagine myself trying the trimipramine...it work in the same way than the seroquel minus the D2 effect and blocker of the 5HT2A are not anxiolytics for me, they also give reflex tachycardia who is not good for me and the strong action on the A1 receptor as an antagonist will also cause a lot of tachycardia... I remember that a low dose of nortriptiline of 10 mg lead to an irregular heart rate of 160 and it was before I was hit by this bad anxiety with chronic physical symptoms... Same thing happen with th clomipramine and the imipramine and desipramine...
The doxepin is a strong noradrenaline reuptake so I'm sure you mean the trimipramine...
I take strong doses of vitamins, 1 strong centrum a day, 50 000 units of vitamin D a day, 30 000 vitamin A day, skip the calcium and iron cause of th constipation...
Also my gastric Doc RX 2 shake supplements a day call peptamen AF, made by nestley, it's very expensive around 250$ for 24 cans...
It's made of Enzymatically Hydrolyzed Whey Protein (from Milk), Medium Chain Triglycerides (from Coconut and/or Palm Kernel Oil), Cornstarch, Refined Fish Oil (Anchovy, Sardine), Soybean Oil, Fructooligosaccharides (Soluble Fiber), Soy Lecithin, Inulin and a lot of vitamins, l-carnitine and taurine. That kind of whey protein are easier to digest than the one use in the ensure...also the fish oil give 600 mg a day of EPA and dha...
The main problem is to drink it since it taste horrible and give bad nausea and don't find it easy to digest and tend to increase my headache pain...so far I drink 1 a day and eat mostly eggs, some yogurt Activia, and crave for sugar so eat a lot of candies...can't eat fiber so no fruits or vegetables and can't eat nuts seeds or dried fruits cause it can lead to another intestinal obstruction so I'm on a low residues foods diet. I don't know why I crave so much for sugar since when I eat too much I have a panic attack but its like I'm addicted to sugar...wasn't like this before...
Well thanks for your help -:)
Posted by hyperfocus on December 25, 2012, at 10:36:03
In reply to Blood tests results + can it be linked to anxiety, posted by Vincent_QC on December 17, 2012, at 12:03:49
Have you ever read anything about or been diagnosed with Complex PTSD Vincent? I'm sorry that things are so difficult for you -- I feel overwhelmed just reading about your symptoms so I know how overwhelming and confusing and distressing they must be for you.
Do you have any history of chronic abuse? You mention social phobia and other phobias but your extreme anxiety can actually be rooted in the dissociation of Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder resulting from severe abuse. CPTSD goes way beyond typical depression and anxiety and requires specific targeted treatment and therapy. Do you feel like you have dissociation or a fragmented consciousness or that your anxiety is very 'cognitive' in nature and extreme and persistent and confusing, as opposed to 'visceral' like a fear of heights?. Do you have problems controlling your emotions and trusting others or a history of substance abuse? Somatization of psychological trauma can result in multiple puzzling physical conditions that can appear and disappear and confuse physicians. If you search for Complex PTSD on the net you can find a huge amount of info on it. Meds can help with CPTSD but you would need to be able to resolve the trauma first and learn cognitive and behavioral skills to help manage the effects and put your life back together. If you want I can send you some links with some of the therapeutic steps and techniques that work for me.
I know it's extremely difficult going through life day-to-day but what I can tell you for sure is that your pain and distress and illness are not who you are. Everything inside you that matters and is important is untouched by whatever negative circumstances you endure. Every person who goes through severe adversity emerges from it as a better person. You know sometimes we're lucky to avoid adversity and sometimes we're lucky to have the strength to get through it. Pain and suffering and distress are things which every human is equipped to cope with -- it is a fundamental part of our nature and is really the only way that we can grow and progress as a species.I know you feel like you're missing out on a lot of things in life, but the truth is a lot of the stuff that we consider important actually isn't. EVERYBODY who recovers from a major illness or tragedy realizes this. You're still very young and you still have a opportunity to do and experience the things that are truly important in life.
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