Posted by g_g_g_unit on May 17, 2013, at 8:22:19
I suffer from severe OCD combined with inattentive ADHD. Lifelong irritable bowel syndrome (though mostly in remission since switching to a gluten-free/dairy-free diet), sinusitis, and bouts of inflammation which recently resulted in a full-blown stomach infection that left me hospitalized.
One other thing which may or may not be related is the fact I've grown drastically more sensitive to *everything* in the interim. When I first became depressed 5 years ago, 20mg of Prozac was relatively tolerable, but now 10mg results in akathisia, panic attacks etc. I have ADHD but can barely tolerate micro-doses of dexamphetamine (2.5mg). My psychiatrist thought I might be a slow metabolizer, but I was unable to afford the genetic testing, and my new psychiatrist disagrees (for reasons unstated). One other troubling thing is that supplements that used to be beneficial now have the opposite reaction in me - Magnesium makes me more agitated/anxious, Vitamin D increases anxiety (even though I'm deficient), I can't tolerate Zinc (even though, once again, I'm deficient). I'm supposedly an undermethylator, but can't tolerate methylfolate or methyl-b12.
I've tried visiting one integrative medicine specialist, but they wanted to spend $400+ on hair-mineral analysis, methylation testing etc. However, even though I'm asymptomatic for strep, and fall outside the age-bracket for PANDAS, I've been curious about trialing an antibiotic for OCD (at the very least, due to glutamate-modulating properties .. I couldn't tolerate Memantine).
No GP will get on board with the idea, but I've spoken to one clinic (here: www.adhd.com.au) who use antibiotics in adult OCD when there are signs of inflammation. It would require testing for strep, examining gut content etc., fatty oil levels, running blood tests for "brain nutrients" .. whatever that means.
It's somewhat costly, so am I wasting my time? I really just want to try an antibiotic for OCD. Though it would be nice to know why I've grown dramatically sensitive to pretty much everything in existence. Everytime I present an ordinary GP with research on the off-label use of ABs in OCD, I'm dismissed as a hypochondriac who does too much research. It's happened three times now. I'd like to see them live with a completely debilitating disorder for 9 years and not commit to a passing modicum of research.
poster:g_g_g_unit
thread:1043823
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/alter/20130319/msgs/1043823.html