Anxiety OH MY

[iLoveSugar]

I have been suffering with TERRIBLE anxiety,or maybe a more serious condition (that doctors can't pinpoint), and it's majorly hampering my life. Nothing Peaty, sugar, salt, thyroid, milk, fruit, etc seem to help. I get it at home, out, etc. It doesn't matter. It gets worse when I am out, but it's still quite bad at home, so it's not just generalized anxiety. I shake internally, get lightheaded, faint, etc. The only thing that seems to help is Xanax. Any suggestions? My gut has been a long known issue, and I am currently throwing the farm at it. I eat carrots/bamboo shoots daily, cascara from italy, etc.

Any suggestions?

Breathing, meditating, calming my thoughts don't come close to doing anything for me.

 

[j.]

Progesterone? 100 mg orally?

 

[j.]

Have you tried red light?

 

[kiran]

Have you tried Glycine(major component of gelatin)/Creatine/Taurine/Beta Alanine ?

How much meat are you getting?

 

[Such_Saturation]

Someone has suggested hyperdosing B1 for gut issues. I too have been wanting to try that.

 

[Kasper]

L theanine may be a beter option as medicine. I have taken it in quite large dosage. I don't have anxiety problems, but I still kind of feel it should help. I was reading a book outside alone, and a friend tried to scare me. Well he failed quite hard, and I felt it had to do with the theanine. I feel like even if a tiger would have suddenly appeared out of nowhere, it would have had zero effect on me. I would be like... Hmm I can react on this, or just read on, and the tiger will probably just go bother other people...

Besides this, I think hyperventilating can cause anxiety problems. Bag breathing or the frolov device are useful tools if you have hyperventilating problems.

 

[iLoveSugar]

Thanks for the replies thus far!
@J - Yes, I have gone through 2 bottles so far of Prog E, as much as full fingertip doses at a time. I haven't noticed anything. Also, I do have 2 chicken lights, but never notice much with it. I do feel better when I get sun, but that's easier said than done in this rainy/cloudy area. The lights seem to work well for many people, but nothing for me.

@Kiran - No, I have not tried glycine. I eat usually 4-8 oz of meat per day. Is that too much? To little?

@Such_Saturation - I've tried little doses (100mg) of B1 for quite a while. Again, never noticed anything. Never heard anything of larger doses doing anything.

@Kasper - I have a large amount of L-Theanine pure powder. I've tried it many times in tea, coffee, etc. No effect for me. Maybe my problems aren't just anxiety, and perhaps more serious. It sucks though because no doctor can figure it out.

 

[j.]

I guess one last try regarding progesterone could be progesterone with pregnenolone.

 

[HDD]

Are you getting enough calories?

From another post on anxiety by Dewitt -


"If calorie intake is inadequate (which can easily be the case on a mostly fat-free diet, since calorie requirements increase quite a bit), the lipolytic stress hormones (cortisol, GH, adrenaline, amongst others) are secreted at a higher rate, which may cause anxiety. As a reference: When I still used to get about 30g of fat a day, I had to eat at least 3500 kcals per day to feel good, while being quite sedentary."
viewtopic.php?f=56&t=3754

 

[HDD]

Anxiety is also a symptom of hypoglycemia.

Hypoglycemia can occur when your thyroid is perfect (If it happens to Ray Peat, it can happen to everyone). Many drugs cause it, eggs can cause it, skipping meals or high estrogen levels, stress in
every form of course. " -Rayser

Ray Peat wrote:
In the excessively sensitive condition produced by hypoglycemia, several things happen that contribute to the maladaptive exaggerated inflammatory response.

Adrenaline increases in hypoglycemia, and, if the adrenaline fails to convert glycogen into glucose, it will provide an alternative fuel by liberating free fatty acids from fat cells.

If the liberated fatty acids are unsaturated, they will cause serotonin to be secreted, and both serotonin and the unsaturated fatty acids will suppress mitochondrial respiration, exacerbating the hypoglycemia. They will stimulate the release of cytokines, activating a variety of immunological and inflammatory processes, and they will cause blood vessels to become leaky, creating edema and starting the first stages of fibrosis. Both adrenaline and serotonin will stimulate the release of cortisol, which mobilizes amino acids from tissues such as the large skeletal muscles. Those muscles contain a large amount of cysteine and tryptophan, which, among other effects, suppress the thyroid. The increased tryptophan, especially in the presence of free fatty acids, is likely to be converted into additional serotonin, since fatty acids release tryptophan from albumin, increasing its entry into the brain. Free fatty acids and increased serotonin reduce metabolic efficiency (leading to insulin resistance, for example) and promote an inflammatory state.

Fats in the blood-stream have easy access to the brain, and the unsaturated free fatty acids produce brain edema (Chan, et al., 1983, 1988). When brain edema is caused by vascular leakage, proteins that are normally excluded can enter. The stimulated, excited and fatigued brain exchanges glutamine for tryptophan, accelerating its uptake from the blood.

 

[miko]

Tianeptine is antidepressant and anxiolytic without dependence potential like xanax has. Another good option is cyproheptadine - I think some of anxiety could be from overactive HPA axis, and cyproheptadine decrease acitivty of HPA axis.

 

[SQu]

More salt? I recently added more in the form of very salty broth - I can add 2 tsps. to a big cup without it being unpalatable. I did this because I seem to be prone to adrenalin symptoms and sugar does not seem to work. And my appetite for salt seemed a bit low. And I can't force the issue with over-salting as it makes me feel nauseous. Also this is a good way to get glycine.

 

[haidut]

Since nobody suggested it yet, I will say it - niacinamide! At dosages of 1,500mg+ per day it should be able to replace your Xanax perfectly and give you some other health benefits while you work on fixing things. Search the forum for "niacinamide benzodiazepine".

 

[Such_Saturation]

Read here viewtopic.php?f=10&t=2669 we are talking at least a gram per day.

I also think that effect of theanine is tolerance prone, or so I remember.

 

[CellularIconoclast]

Have you found any effect from having sugar during one of these events? If a glass of orange juice does nothing helpful, I think you could pretty well rule out hypoglycemia.

 

[BigPapaChakra]

What tests have you had done?

I have severe HPPD and co-morbid disorders and panic attacks and anxiety are some of many symptoms. I've seen neurologists, osteopathic doctors, etc.

I believe diet will help, but it takes time, for now I'd recommend looking into:
- a QEEG to sequence the exact brain waves in very specific areas of your brain
- a Brain Map Test
- This amazing neurotransmitter repletion protocol (it's absolutely genius - I have yet to see anything that compares to it for neurological/psychiatric problems): http://www.neurosciencemyths.com/ it's all about fixing the OCT2 system which is the linchpin to repleting neurotransmitters; don't get all caught up in the "serotonin is terrible" information, Dr. Peat himself told me one can have too little serotonin, and everything that decreases serotonin (high dose niacinamide, negative ions, too large a dose of aspirin) put me in this weird delirious state on top of exacerbating every HPPD symptoms I have
- Neurofeedback - the literature on this is immensely dense and it really irritates me when people think it's b.s. because they find some study from like 10+ years ago saying it doesn't work even though the study didn't control for the type of neurofeedback. TAG-Sync (Theta-Alpha-Gamma Synchrony) seems fascinating and potentially therapeutic for just about any neuro-psychiatric problem, but there is also Alpha-Theta, SNR, LENS, and a few others

Also, have you looked into things such as:
- CES
- tDCS or HD tDCS
- rTMS
- transcranial low level light therapy (this has been the most helpful to me - red and/or near-infrared light to the skull induces axonal branching, changes in dendritic spines, and directly increases brain ATP levels, CO2 maintenance, blood flow, etc)
- red light 'acupuncture'
- red, infrared, or far infrared (or "full spectrum") saunas

Oh, there are also some interesting compounds such as Coluracetam, Oxiracetam, Cerebrolysin (an injectable porcine brain peptide with decades of research behind it and a ton of anecdotal reports for people using it to increase intelligence), Selank (intranasal anxiolytic peptide), Noopept, NSI-189 ("novel small molecule" that induces neural progenitor (pre-stem cell) cell growth in the hippocampus), Dihexa, and a few others.

There's actually a ton more that I can think of but don't want to make this more lengthy than it already is.

 

[BigPapaChakra]

Ahh, I also forgot, for anxiety, look into Etizolam - it is a non-scheduled anxiety drug in the U.S. because it is a "thieno"diazepine (as opposed to a benzo-diazepine); it causes proliferation of the specific GABA-subtype receptors it works on, thus causing a reverse tolerance effect (in the literature, at least), meaning, it works better the more it's used. It's supposedly more clear-headed than others and provides less sedation than benzos. I've used 0.25mg a few times with effects not dissimilar to xanax, though, again, with less sedation and less of a decrease in executive functioning (in fact, some people have claimed their best work was done on etizolam due to how relaxed yet clear-headed they become). There are some reports on it decreasing auditory hallucinations in schizophrenic's, and additionally, it works on platelet aggregating factor in a way that seems to mesh with Dr. Peat' views on that compound, meaning it's "Peaty" (though I have yet to send him studies on it).

 

[Blossom]

Ahh, I also forgot, for anxiety, look into Etizolam - it is a non-scheduled anxiety drug in the U.S. because it is a "thieno"diazepine (as opposed to a benzo-diazepine); it causes proliferation of the specific GABA-subtype receptors it works on, thus causing a reverse tolerance effect (in the literature, at least), meaning, it works better the more it's used. It's supposedly more clear-headed than others and provides less sedation than benzos. I've used 0.25mg a few times with effects not dissimilar to xanax, though, again, with less sedation and less of a decrease in executive functioning (in fact, some people have claimed their best work was done on etizolam due to how relaxed yet clear-headed they become). There are some reports on it decreasing auditory hallucinations in schizophrenic's, and additionally, it works on platelet aggregating factor in a way that seems to mesh with Dr. Peat' views on that compound, meaning it's "Peaty" (though I have yet to send him studies on it).

The main issue that concerns me is that Etizolam may increase prolactin. I do understand though that we all must weigh out the pros and cons of all supplements and meds and decide for ourselves what choices to make. I'm also sure that I take some meds for my context that wouldn't be appropriate for everyone. Thanks for sharing your experience.

 

[Dayman]

What tests have you had done?


Also, have you looked into things such as:
- CES
- tDCS or HD tDCS
- rTMS
- transcranial low level light therapy (this has been the most helpful to me - red and/or near-infrared light to the skull induces axonal branching, changes in dendritic spines, and directly increases brain ATP levels, CO2 maintenance, blood flow, etc)
- red light 'acupuncture'
- red, infrared, or far infrared (or "full spectrum") saunas

Just wondering what you use for your transcranial low level light therapy.
Also I have found researching CES to be confusing. From what I've seen the papers don't say what frequency to use.

 

[BigPapaChakra]

They normally use one of two frequencies: 100hz or 0.5-1.0hz; thus far I'm not sure which one I like more. I know I can't tolerate 0.5-1.0hz on the same power level as 100hz, but I'm not sure which one works better for me. Either way, they both have worked and one time when I really wanted to go full force "Peaty" and stated using things that drastically lower serotonin and was put in a week long delirium barely capable of walking or eating, the only thing that got me through it (besides a strong will and support system) was CES.

I use this for LLLT: http://www.ebay.com/itm/48-LED-Illumina ... 3a80a68672 (It's 850nm). When I first started using LLLT last year I was roughly 1/2-3/4 recovered from HPPD, along with other non-related cognitive improvements, for instance, making novel connections when learning new material, remembering things that happened long, long ago when I would randomly need to (for instance, in a conversation with family about one's childhood, or something similar), increased mental endurance, and a consistently elevated mood. I then stopped and the effects lasted (though gradually decreased) for 6+ weeks, but some intense stressors along with my symptoms slowlyyy coming back from not doing the treatments caused my HPPD to come back worse than ever; then attempted to use niacinamide and negative ions and I thought about hospitalizing myself. Soon thereafter, using LLLT again (though with much more Peaty+Matt Stone nutrition) and I'm slowly getting back to where I was.

I apologize for the lengthy response.