Posted by Larry Hoover on June 1, 2003, at 12:22:55
In reply to Re: Larry, Zinc/Selenium/Vitamin C questions » Larry Hoover, posted by johnj on June 1, 2003, at 11:05:42
> HI Larry,
>
> Well I had to back off the remeron and am down to 15 mg. I just couldn't shake the heavy headed feeling. I did have 4 days of feeling good, but something just wasn't right. I experienced this before so I am not totally suprised. It is almost like a paradoxical feeling.I thought 15 mg was way too sedating for most people....
> I made an appointment with the local university at the anixety/depression clinic. I think I will be able to get a good DX since my pdoc really doesn't seem interested in talking with me. I am hoping they have a good pile of references and can point me in a the right direction.
One of things I bet they'll offer you is group therapy. I hope you take them up on the offer if it comes. Groups let you talk coping strategies with people who really understand what it's like, those with similar diagnoses.
> I stared some zinc and selenium today too. Last Friday I was out working and had a big lunch(mexican). About 2 hours later I had a ton of anxiety while driving. The same thing after lunch yesterday that lasted for about 30 minutes and left a knot in my stomach. Then a spaced out feeling after dinner. I did have a blood glucose test over a year ago, but don't think it told much since I had it on an empty stomach in the morning. I am not sure how this is related to depression or anxiety. I can only guess it is blood sugar levels??? Any guesses?
How about glutamate sensitivity?
MSG is everywhere, added to foods you wouldn't expect it in. Unless you prepare foods totally from scratch, you're probably exposed to it.
Usually, it's hidden on the ingredient list, under disguised names like "natural flavour".
> Could this explain why working out disrupts my sleep?
That's likely got more to do with endorphins and hormones, in my opinion. Don't work out past noon, and see if that makes a difference.
> It is hard to find a doctor that will listen. Usually I get the "hmmm, excercise helps depression" speech and believe me I have tried all kinds of excercise.
Doctors, like members of any profession, tend to be highly informed about the narrow parameters of their professional focus, yet strangely devoid of the ability to link those ideas to other philosophies not intimately linked to their own. Just as you wouldn't hire a carpenter to fix your plumbing, you may want to consider other sorts of practitioners than those with an M.D. Naturopathy comes to mind.
> You mentioned before that you tried trazadone. I was only looking at it since I would not have much withdrawl(or so I think) if I stopped it. And it may have some AD effect. Has temazepan worked well for you on a long term basis?Temazepam continues to work for me, after nearly three years? I'm guessing at the duration. I don't make note of things like that.
Trazodone gives me a massive hangover effect. It doesn't wear off in the course of the night-time. Your experience may differ. I had no obvious antidepressant effect, even when it was prescribed in high doses as an antidepressant.
> I had a suprise call from a friend at my old job of which I left 5 years ago. We kept each other sane and got along so well. I just happened to be at my mom's house and he called. We got to talking and he said he started paxil 1 year ago due to anxiety. We are very much alike. He called to see how I was doing. He doesn't know I was on meds at the time when we worked together. I was in remission at the time and had few problems for 5 years or so. He said the paxil has helped him a great amount and he takes 10 mg, a very low dose. I found it very strange since I had just made the appointment at the univeristy and out the blue here comes this call. We hadn't talked in two years. He said paxil has taken the edge off and he doesn't feel overwhelmed anymore. He sounded very good. To be honest, I am scared of the ssri's. I only tried lexapro for a few days and didn't care for it. Have you ever tried paxil.Yes. It gave me akathisia and insomnia. It may be coincidence, but I never had problems sleeping before I used SSRIs.
> Anxiety is my #1 issue which leads to depression. I don't know how different paxil is than benzo's. I was hoping for cymbalta to try, but I am not sure how much longer I can wait. I am not so bad if I get out of bed but the last two days I have laid around til 9 or longer. I am really looking forward to the clinic an getting started on something to help me mold my thoughts in more tune with reality.
That's a major coping strategy you're considering. Good for you.
> Thanks a bunch Larry. I look forward to your thoughts on CBT.
Well, I gave a big blurb in the magnesium thread, but Dr. Bob redirected that to Psychological Babble.
I believe very strongly that anyone, absolutely anyone, can benefit from CBT.
>Hope things are going well for you.
> johnjYep, they are, thanks. My recent successes permit me to consider the idea of going off my disability pensions altogether. My income frequently makes me temporarily ineligible for benefits, but I'm talking about ending it altogether.
That's a decision for the future, but the very fact that it occurs to me to weight the evidence leaves me feeling very optimistic.
Lar
poster:Larry Hoover
thread:230511
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030530/msgs/230582.html