Feel Crazy, Docs Aren't Helpful, Depressed. I'm Desperate

bionicheart

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Joined
Mar 15, 2017
Messages
142
This probably isn't the forum to post this on but I'm really scared. You men and women seem to have more wisdom than the people on anxiety/depression forums that encourage SSRI's and excessive exercise, valerian root and meditation. (all of which I've tried with no success)
I've recently been prescribed Adderall (for treatment resistant depression) and have been on clonazepam for over a year now for GAD/panic attacks. First, I was taking 0.5mg of clonazepam twice a day, then went to taking up to 4mg a day when I take the Adderall (up to 30mg but usually 10-20mg). I've had 4 weeks where I consistently took 4mg and I really want to taper down to 1mg. But I don't want to do it so slow it takes a year, nor too fast that I have a seizure. I know it sounds like I'm abusing this stuff, but I'm just trying to take the edge of the Adderall off, so I need to stop that first--I'm just so depressed in the morning, it's the only thing that is motivating me to get out of bed. My doc told me if Adderall didn't work, we could try lithium....any thoughts lithium carbonate? I tried going to another doc but she didn't believe I was on that high a dose of clonazepam, so I'm sticking with my current one so I can taper off.
But on top of being a neurotic mess, I'm still anemic so I can't experiment with B vits/herbs too much because I get headaches easily (only been trying to treat it with liver supps and orange juice for a couple weeks now, and less dairy), and overall undernourished.
My current situation is this: I stopped using cannabis in all forms two days ago because I believe it may be making it difficult for me to recover from anemia and the dry mouth is upsetting my dental health. I recently broke up with my boyfriend of 5 years (I'm 28 now) and have to make a career change soon as well as move. I don't have much support here except my therapist, whom isn't all that helpful. I work as a cosmetologist so eating habits are erratic in that environment and I'm not making enough money to continue. I don't drink alcohol because it makes my anemia worse (I get an instant headache or start seeing swirling spots in my vision)

Any medicine suggestions/food/spiritual/general advice, etc.. would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks for reading, and again, I apologize if this isn't the appropriate place for this post.
 

Dhair

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Joined
Jul 29, 2015
Messages
880
I think most of us won't feel comfortable recommending anything until we see blood tests. I can tell you that many of us have found "treatment resistant" depression to be some kind of hormonal issue.
 
D

danishispsychic

Guest
going out on a limb here - im sure i will hear about it but here goes - know your all of your numbers- blood glucose, temps, heart rate, blood pressure. get a cbc and full thyroid test, and have your gyno do basic test but try to get an ultrasound also ( fibroids? anemia? ) and some kind of basic hormone panel. "Everywell" has some decent home tests- order your own labs when you can and also use your doctors. i have taken Adderall and it does help, by my depression was coming from histamine issues and when i took ClaritinD after I had water in my inner ear ( as per my doc) all of a sudden no depression. when i stopped eating gluten my depression also stopped. so did my panic attacks. im serious, i was like a new person about a week after going gluten free. BIG DOSES of magnesium really changed my am depression because i would do these super strong epsom salt baths like 3 times a week and sleep like a rock, and woke up super happy. the last piece of the puzzle for me was progesterone. it really does have a calming affect. cannabis? love the stuff but actually when i switched from indica and hybrids to sativa things also got happier. indica is a big ol downer for me. breaking up from a 5 year r-ship is hardcore and im sure it is effecting things. this forum has some brill people on it and if you can just start to read ALL of Ray Peats articles online. i mean it, he is the god head. you will learn so much. the last thing i am going to point out - in terms of being around tons of toxins/allergens all day with what you do for work, it cant be helping either. i am a believer in detoxing to the core ( master cleanse , water fasts , juice fasts, colonics ) and then working with a new nutrition plan, life plan etc. PS- blackstrap mollasses and b12 shots ( methyl) work wonders too. hope you work your away through this- it really involves REALLY getting to know what you need. doctors for the most part ( allopathic ) can be super lame.
 

lampofred

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Joined
Feb 13, 2016
Messages
3,244
Can you provide details of your diet/lifestyle/stresses and anything unique you've done in the past (like being a vegetarian/taking iron supplements/and so on)?

I think Peat would say that requiring Adderall to function is a sign of low dopamine and requiring benzodiazepines to avert panic attacks is a sign of low GABA. Dopamine and GABA are highly energetic substances that require great thyroid function to work. Low motivation/anxiety is a sign of high serotonin, high prolactin, high estrogen, and high lactic acid (along with low carbon dioxide). Getting headaches easily is also a sign of high estrogen. Marijuana is also estrogenic. And I would guess that your cortisol is high too. And what high serotonin, high prolactin, high estrogen, high lactic acid, and high cortisol all have in common (even though they seem completely different from one another) is that they are all stress hormones which arise due to insufficient biological energy or hypothyroidism.

It sounds to me like it might be better to focus on fundamental, "broad" things like getting some T3 or T4+T3 along with eating a thyroid-supportive diet so that your cellular energy goes up as opposed to focusing on "narrower" actions like meditating or exercising. Biological energy is very fundamental in mental health from past personal experience. I would equate things like meditation to be oil changes for a car that's out of gasoline... Yeah an oil change will make a car run smoother if it's already working well, but no matter how many times you change the oil, the car is not going to run unless put in gas in the first place (thyroid) which is why the thyroid/metabolism seems to be the first place to focus on in issues like these.

Also, something you can do really quickly right away to relax/increase motivation/and fight panic attacks is to bag-breathe to increase your carbon dioxide content.
 

Constatine

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Joined
Sep 28, 2016
Messages
1,781
Can you provide us with a lot more details regarding your lifestyle and depressive symptoms. SSRIs and Adderall are likely to worsen your mental health over time. Are you depressed for no reason or do you not have the ability to cope with negative situations (your break up or what not)? Eating liver will help with anemia. I think the SSRI is a huge cause of your depression. Especially if you've already been on it a full year.
 
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bionicheart

bionicheart

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Joined
Mar 15, 2017
Messages
142
I think most of us won't feel comfortable recommending anything until we see blood tests. I can tell you that many of us have found "treatment resistant" depression to be some kind of hormonal issue.
Thanks for your honesty. Here are some labs from last month:
Recent labs:
TIBC:232mcg (LOW) (NR-- 250mcg-400mcg)
Iron % Sat: 38% (NR--14%-50%)
Iron: 89mcg (NR--35mcg-145mcg)
Ferritin:31mcg/L (NR--11mcg-307mcg)
RBC:3.93x10(12) (NR--3.90x10-5.03)
B12: 467ng/L (NR--180ng/L-914ng/L)
Platelet: 192 x10(9)/L (NR--150 x10(9)/L - 450 x10(9)/L)
TSH: 1.28mIU
MPV:11.3fL (HIGH) (NR--7.4-10.9fL)

I don't have access to the results at the moment, but 3 months ago I went to a Gyno and all of my steroid hormones (estradiol, progesterone, etc..) were within in the normal range. He just said I was low in vitamin D, so I have been taking 250mcg a day for three+ months.
Also I was taking progesterone for 2 months (about 3-9mg a day to relieve painful menses, which it did completely!) then took two weeks off and started taking it on the 14th day of my cycle.
 
OP
bionicheart

bionicheart

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Joined
Mar 15, 2017
Messages
142
Can you provide us with a lot more details regarding your lifestyle and depressive symptoms. SSRIs and Adderall are likely to worsen your mental health over time. Are you depressed for no reason or do you not have the ability to cope with negative situations (your break up or what not)? Eating liver will help with anemia. I think the SSRI is a huge cause of your depression. Especially if you've already been on it a full year.
Hey, I never stayed on any SSRI for more than a week and that was years ago... (minus taking mirtazapine for about 2-3 months, which helped a lot until I started getting anhedonia and increased adrenaline symptoms..) I know I'm undereating, so my I'm probably running on stress hormones often (especially at work, I'll drink coconut milk/cow's milk with sugar and/or juice, in between clients because it's quick and easy.) I was diagnosed as "borderline" when I was 17 but my current therapist and one I saw for years said I wasn't. Just GAD with OCD symptoms, I had anorexia/bulimic episodes for about 9 months when I was in hair school and lost a lot of weight (2015) lost 20lbs due to eating only in the morning and evening. I can "handle" stress, but not coping that well...I conceal it well, for the most part.
I wanted to cut before I spoke with my boyfriend but I haven't done that in 5 years... so I push through that feeling. I don't want anymore scars and it's not worth it--is what I tell myself. I thought I was going to marry this man so I'm more unstable then usual.
Can you provide details of your diet/lifestyle/stresses and anything unique you've done in the past (like being a vegetarian/taking iron supplements/and so on)?

I think Peat would say that requiring Adderall to function is a sign of low dopamine and requiring benzodiazepines to avert panic attacks is a sign of low GABA. Dopamine and GABA are highly energetic substances that require great thyroid function to work. Low motivation/anxiety is a sign of high serotonin, high prolactin, high estrogen, and high lactic acid (along with low carbon dioxide). Getting headaches easily is also a sign of high estrogen. Marijuana is also estrogenic. And I would guess that your cortisol is high too. And what high serotonin, high prolactin, high estrogen, high lactic acid, and high cortisol all have in common (even though they seem completely different from one another) is that they are all stress hormones which arise due to insufficient biological energy or hypothyroidism.

It sounds to me like it might be better to focus on fundamental, "broad" things like getting some T3 or T4+T3 along with eating a thyroid-supportive diet so that your cellular energy goes up as opposed to focusing on "narrower" actions like meditating or exercising. Biological energy is very fundamental in mental health from past personal experience. I would equate things like meditation to be oil changes for a car that's out of gasoline... Yeah an oil change will make a car run smoother if it's already working well, but no matter how many times you change the oil, the car is not going to run unless put in gas in the first place (thyroid) which is why the thyroid/metabolism seems to be the first place to focus on in issues like these.

Also, something you can do really quickly right away to relax/increase motivation/and fight panic attacks is to bag-breathe to increase your carbon dioxide content.

Thank you for the suggestions, I have haidut's tyromix, but haven't taken it due to undereating and fear of making things worse. I was a strict vegetarian for 11 years(didn't eat many veggies though but LOTS of soy and legumes, ice cream). I tried doing the paleo diet in 2015, which is why I think I lost so much weight and felt more stress. So lots of chicken, eggs, baked potatoes w/butter, Ezeikel (sp?) sprouted bread with almond butter/ jelly and coconut milk ice cream.
Then I was eating more Peat like for a good 6months, minus probably undereating most days. Mostly grassfed milk, OJ, haagen daaz, and pizza (thanks MJ!) and shrimp maybe once a month. I've had maybe 4 burgers in the past year, it's difficult for me to cook raw meat...
Now, I know dairy interferes with iron absorption and I've been getting almost all of my protein from dairy. So, against Peat rules this is what I've been eating these past two weeks: Eden's organic soymilk with coconut sugar, OJ, sugared coconut milk, white rice with cheese and/or buttered tempeh, grilled cheese with sourdough bread, occasional scrambled egg with buttered potatoes. Coffee tends to make me more anxious on or off meds, so I avoid it completely. I suffered trauma in my childhood, watching my mom get sick with heart failure (led to a transplant in 2012) and a business driven father that was out of town most of the time growing up, so I've been told I look to other men for "father figures and acceptance."
I also get out of breath easily, like I can't have long winded conversations because I feel "air-hungry" and even start shivering to the point my voice shakes, not sure if it's anxiety but I feel like it started shortly after I started using MJ.
I only take b1 100mg, b6 20mg VERY occasionally (because it's given me headaches before), progesterone, d3, grassfed liver supps (3000mg daily), and just added thorne's ferrasorb the past week, but didn't take it the last couple days because I think I need more folate/chlorophyll not iron... I took floridix in the past and that seemed to help my ferritin, but my TIBC just keeps dropping regardless of what supps I've taken. I know the main starting point is eating more. I gave blood when I was 22-23 and was always fine after...
 
OP
bionicheart

bionicheart

Member
Joined
Mar 15, 2017
Messages
142
going out on a limb here - im sure i will hear about it but here goes - know your all of your numbers- blood glucose, temps, heart rate, blood pressure. get a cbc and full thyroid test, and have your gyno do basic test but try to get an ultrasound also ( fibroids? anemia? ) and some kind of basic hormone panel. "Everywell" has some decent home tests- order your own labs when you can and also use your doctors. i have taken Adderall and it does help, by my depression was coming from histamine issues and when i took ClaritinD after I had water in my inner ear ( as per my doc) all of a sudden no depression. when i stopped eating gluten my depression also stopped. so did my panic attacks. im serious, i was like a new person about a week after going gluten free. BIG DOSES of magnesium really changed my am depression because i would do these super strong epsom salt baths like 3 times a week and sleep like a rock, and woke up super happy. the last piece of the puzzle for me was progesterone. it really does have a calming affect. cannabis? love the stuff but actually when i switched from indica and hybrids to sativa things also got happier. indica is a big ol downer for me. breaking up from a 5 year r-ship is hardcore and im sure it is effecting things. this forum has some brill people on it and if you can just start to read ALL of Ray Peats articles online. i mean it, he is the god head. you will learn so much. the last thing i am going to point out - in terms of being around tons of toxins/allergens all day with what you do for work, it cant be helping either. i am a believer in detoxing to the core ( master cleanse , water fasts , juice fasts, colonics ) and then working with a new nutrition plan, life plan etc. PS- blackstrap mollasses and b12 shots ( methyl) work wonders too. hope you work your away through this- it really involves REALLY getting to know what you need. doctors for the most part ( allopathic ) can be super lame.

Thanks for the supportive reply. I take progesterone and failed to mention magnesium taurate 1-3 times a day for heart health... I take Benadryl to help me stay asleep at night and have been using it for years, since I was a teenager, I'm going to try cypro soon.
I felt that indicas helped me fall asleep so I leaned heavily on those, and was paranoid that sativas would make me more anxious, but I think the hybrids may have been the most helpful--however, I really want to take a break from MJ since I've been using it almost every night for about 3 years... I don't believe I'm well enough to tolerate a fast at the moment, but I know changing careers will keep me away from all those chemicals, I hate it, and only use natural products or cleaning products I've made myself at home.
I was diagnosed with hypoglycemia shortly after I started a paleo diet and had hypoglycemic episodes. but over a year later, I no loner have serious issues with my blood sugar, I have a glucose meter and it's always normal fasting and before/after meals so I don't even use it anymore.
My BP is generally on the low side 110/68 is typical, but HR is usually 80-90.
My waking temp is 98.6 or higher during times of my cycle up to 99.2...
my gyno did a thyroid/hormone panel and everything was normal except my D3 was low, so I've been supplementing for 3 months, and will get retested in another month. I'm going to get some b12 sublinguals to start, as I'm afraid of needles... thanks again for your insight
 
D

danishispsychic

Guest
Thanks for the supportive reply. I take progesterone and failed to mention magnesium taurate 1-3 times a day for heart health... I take Benadryl to help me stay asleep at night and have been using it for years, since I was a teenager, I'm going to try cypro soon.
I felt that indicas helped me fall asleep so I leaned heavily on those, and was paranoid that sativas would make me more anxious, but I think the hybrids may have been the most helpful--however, I really want to take a break from MJ since I've been using it almost every night for about 3 years... I don't believe I'm well enough to tolerate a fast at the moment, but I know changing careers will keep me away from all those chemicals, I hate it, and only use natural products or cleaning products I've made myself at home.
I was diagnosed with hypoglycemia shortly after I started a paleo diet and had hypoglycemic episodes. but over a year later, I no loner have serious issues with my blood sugar, I have a glucose meter and it's always normal fasting and before/after meals so I don't even use it anymore.
My BP is generally on the low side 110/68 is typical, but HR is usually 80-90.
My waking temp is 98.6 or higher during times of my cycle up to 99.2...
my gyno did a thyroid/hormone panel and everything was normal except my D3 was low, so I've been supplementing for 3 months, and will get retested in another month. I'm going to get some b12 sublinguals to start, as I'm afraid of needles... thanks again for your insight[/QUOTE

sounds like you have it all figured out. personally - if i were you i would completely detox and start over WAY too many chemicals going on.
read everything Dr Ray Peat has written. additionally look into really detoxing if you want to fix your body because clearly it is out of whack.
if you dont know your DNA markers and dont know all you exact levels you are still not knowing your body also. i get super depressed in regular benadryl at night- i would not touch that stuff. blessed herbs makes a great colon cleanse- it would at least clean up some of the toxins going on from all the chemicals and MJ detox. low blood pressure is also a sign of infection in the system- and " normal " from your gyno on your hormones? check out what Ray Peat thinks is normal ( progesterone ) and i can bet you are low by his standards. how are your cortisol levels? have you had any pathogen screenings?
 
D

danishispsychic

Guest
Can you provide us with a lot more details regarding your lifestyle and depressive symptoms. SSRIs and Adderall are likely to worsen your mental health over time. Are you depressed for no reason or do you not have the ability to cope with negative situations (your break up or what not)? Eating liver will help with anemia. I think the SSRI is a huge cause of your depression. Especially if you've already been on it a full year.
totally agree .
 
OP
bionicheart

bionicheart

Member
Joined
Mar 15, 2017
Messages
142
I definitely don't have this figured out by any means....I looked at the numbers for my hormones and re read some of peat's articles about progesterone/estrogen and searched here and they were in the normal range, according to what I gathered--also I was on my period when the blood was drawn so that may have effected the results..? This is what they were in October of 2017:
TSH= 1.89 mIU
T4 is 1.0 ng/dL
estradiol=51 pg/mL
progesterone=0.5ng/mL
I would love to detox from everything, but my main concern is I can drop everything except the clonazepam, I don't want to put myself at risk of seizures. I'm at 3.5mg a day right now.
I've been tested for parasites, giardia, blood in stool and all results have been negative. But a general pathogen test, no, not that i'm aware of..
I believe my blood pressure became low when I started taking beta-blockers 7 years ago for cardiomyopathy (which I no longer have and been off BB for 2 years now) it's not near as low as it was but I have days that it's 116/75 or higher, but not usually.
I'm going to try the carrot/coconut oil/vinegar for a bit to see if that helps. Might raise it if I do have an infection....? Thanks, Also, I'll stop with the Benadryl too
 
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lampofred

Member
Joined
Feb 13, 2016
Messages
3,244
Thank you for the suggestions, I have haidut's tyromix, but haven't taken it due to undereating and fear of making things worse. I was a strict vegetarian for 11 years(didn't eat many veggies though but LOTS of soy and legumes, ice cream). I tried doing the paleo diet in 2015, which is why I think I lost so much weight and felt more stress. So lots of chicken, eggs, baked potatoes w/butter, Ezeikel (sp?) sprouted bread with almond butter/ jelly and coconut milk ice cream.
Then I was eating more Peat like for a good 6months, minus probably undereating most days. Mostly grassfed milk, OJ, haagen daaz, and pizza (thanks MJ!) and shrimp maybe once a month. I've had maybe 4 burgers in the past year, it's difficult for me to cook raw meat...
Now, I know dairy interferes with iron absorption and I've been getting almost all of my protein from dairy. So, against Peat rules this is what I've been eating these past two weeks: Eden's organic soymilk with coconut sugar, OJ, sugared coconut milk, white rice with cheese and/or buttered tempeh, grilled cheese with sourdough bread, occasional scrambled egg with buttered potatoes. Coffee tends to make me more anxious on or off meds, so I avoid it completely. I suffered trauma in my childhood, watching my mom get sick with heart failure (led to a transplant in 2012) and a business driven father that was out of town most of the time growing up, so I've been told I look to other men for "father figures and acceptance."
I also get out of breath easily, like I can't have long winded conversations because I feel "air-hungry" and even start shivering to the point my voice shakes, not sure if it's anxiety but I feel like it started shortly after I started using MJ.
I only take b1 100mg, b6 20mg VERY occasionally (because it's given me headaches before), progesterone, d3, grassfed liver supps (3000mg daily), and just added thorne's ferrasorb the past week, but didn't take it the last couple days because I think I need more folate/chlorophyll not iron... I took floridix in the past and that seemed to help my ferritin, but my TIBC just keeps dropping regardless of what supps I've taken. I know the main starting point is eating more. I gave blood when I was 22-23 and was always fine after...

It sounds like you intuitively know what to do already. Eating more will raise blood glucose so that you can relax/not have as many panic attacks/raise GABA and will help in numerous other ways. I got similar anxiety/hyperventilation in the past whenever I overdid stimulants and simultaneously underate. What helped was eating a lot, avoiding stimulants, and focusing on reducing stress (very common sense and "boring" approach but it worked). Gelatin (high doses, even about 100 grams a day) and taurine also helped me a lot because of their GABA-enhancing/relaxing properties. They help to combat estrogen as well. Especially since you mentioned you were vegetarian for 11 years, combined with the facts that you're 28 and experience anxiety/hyperventilation/panic (estrogen reduces GABA and increases glutamate, the excitatory neurotransmitter) it sounds like excess estrogen/lactic acid may be a major reason for your issues. Eating lots of high quality protein, taking progesterone, taking aspirin, taking gelatin + taurine, getting lots of sleep, bag breathing/breathing less, increasing zinc while reducing copper, making a conscious effort to slow all your movements down will all help to raise GABA and lower estrogen. Also eating lots of salt/solid food while minimizing liquid intake.

I also would suggest being very careful with coming off the benzo that you're on because it already sounds like you have low GABA and suddenly quitting a benzo may be extremely hard on your body... Coming off the adderall may help a lot in reducing panic attacks though in my opinion. It may be hard to get out of bed for a while after stopping the adderall but maybe your body just needs rest. But quitting amphetamines i don't think would have any potentially deadly symptoms like quitting benzodiazepines might.
 
D

danishispsychic

Guest
I definitely don't have this figured out by any means....I looked at the numbers for my hormones and re read some of peat's articles about progesterone/estrogen and searched here and they were in the normal range, according to what I gathered--also I was on my period when the blood was drawn so that may have effected the results..? This is what they were in October of 2017:
TSH= 1.89 mIU
T4 is 1.0 ng/dL
estradiol=51 pg/mL
progesterone=0.5ng/mL
I would love to detox from everything, but my main concern is I can drop everything except the clonazepam, I don't want to put myself at risk of seizures. I'm at 3.5mg a day right now.
I've been tested for parasites, giardia, blood in stool and all results have been negative. But a general pathogen test, no, not that i'm aware of..
I believe my blood pressure became low when I started taking beta-blockers 7 years ago for cardiomyopathy (which I no longer have and been off BB for 2 years now) it's not near as low as it was but I have days that it's 116/75 or higher, but not usually.
I'm going to try the carrot/coconut oil/vinegar for a bit to see if that helps. Might raise it if I do have an infection....? Thanks, Also, I'll stop with the Benadryl too

No parasite stool testing in US is really that effective or telling. The best way to find out if you have candida overgrowth and/or parasites is to do coffee enemas. they are awesome for detox btw and i think actually kind of peaty. you can also so the spit test ( google ) it to see if you have candida. i think Dr. Peat does not really care about candida but it really does link up with depression and endotoxins. also
I definitely don't have this figured out by any means....I looked at the numbers for my hormones and re read some of peat's articles about progesterone/estrogen and searched here and they were in the normal range, according to what I gathered--also I was on my period when the blood was drawn so that may have effected the results..? This is what they were in October of 2017:
TSH= 1.89 mIU
T4 is 1.0 ng/dL
estradiol=51 pg/mL
progesterone=0.5ng/mL
I would love to detox from everything, but my main concern is I can drop everything except the clonazepam, I don't want to put myself at risk of seizures. I'm at 3.5mg a day right now.
I've been tested for parasites, giardia, blood in stool and all results have been negative. But a general pathogen test, no, not that i'm aware of..
I believe my blood pressure became low when I started taking beta-blockers 7 years ago for cardiomyopathy (which I no longer have and been off BB for 2 years now) it's not near as low as it was but I have days that it's 116/75 or higher, but not usually.
I'm going to try the carrot/coconut oil/vinegar for a bit to see if that helps. Might raise it if I do have an infection....? Thanks, Also, I'll stop with the Benadryl too
your progesterone is low and super low if you look at what Peat thinks to estrogen should be Progesterone Levels Chart (Low, Hi, Normal progesterone levels Explained) - Blood Test Results Explained
 
OP
bionicheart

bionicheart

Member
Joined
Mar 15, 2017
Messages
142
No parasite stool testing in US is really that effective or telling. The best way to find out if you have candida overgrowth and/or parasites is to do coffee enemas. they are awesome for detox btw and i think actually kind of peaty. you can also so the spit test ( google ) it to see if you have candida. i think Dr. Peat does not really care about candida but it really does link up with depression and endotoxins. also

your progesterone is low and super low if you look at what Peat thinks to estrogen should be Progesterone Levels Chart (Low, Hi, Normal progesterone levels Explained) - Blood Test Results Explained
Thanks for this! I didn't realize it was that low. the blood was drawn on the last day of my period, if not later because I was barely spotting AND taking small doses of progesterone (health natura). I keep reading people taking doses up to 100mg, I took about 45 last night (been taking only 3-9mg generally) and felt better than normal, I keep reading two weeks on two weeks off, but when I stopped for my period to start last month, I got a migraine, which I haven't had since being on BCP years ago. So it must definitely be an estrogen increase, should I take high dose progesterone for a couple cycles (all month) then try again (2 weeks on then 2 off)..?
I also skipped Benadryl last night and I don't feel as slow/foggy this morning so thanks for the suggestion!
Also, I have done the candida spit test a couple times in the morning and it was always positive.
I guess I don't know what to eat without gaining a lot of weight (ice cream) or eating meat/eggs (which I have an aversion to) while avoiding starches... :[
I'll look into coffee enemas too
 
D

danishispsychic

Guest
Thanks for this! I didn't realize it was that low. the blood was drawn on the last day of my period, if not later because I was barely spotting AND taking small doses of progesterone (health natura). I keep reading people taking doses up to 100mg, I took about 45 last night (been taking only 3-9mg generally) and felt better than normal, I keep reading two weeks on two weeks off, but when I stopped for my period to start last month, I got a migraine, which I haven't had since being on BCP years ago. So it must definitely be an estrogen increase, should I take high dose progesterone for a couple cycles (all month) then try again (2 weeks on then 2 off)..?
I also skipped Benadryl last night and I don't feel as slow/foggy this morning so thanks for the suggestion!
Also, I have done the candida spit test a couple times in the morning and it was always positive.
I guess I don't know what to eat without gaining a lot of weight (ice cream) or eating meat/eggs (which I have an aversion to) while avoiding starches... :[
I'll look into coffee enemas too
If you google what Dr. Peat says about Progesterone levels and dosing i think it will explain it all. I like Progest E and I like Progestelle. What I like almost even better is pregnenalone because it balances all your hormones and ups progesterone too. Sometimes I take both. Careful with progesterone creams- something from Idealabs or Progest E is not going to be too weak and cause more estrogen dominance. As for Candida, I think one of the best things for that is drinking food grade H202 for that. Coconut oil makes it worse for me. H202 in water sipped throughout the day really makes a huge diff for me. As for what to eat- I take the Peat food lists I find and work around it. I dont eat ice cream and drink a bunch of milk and eat a bunch of meat. Detoxing your system is going to do more for your body fat/ weight that anything you eat imo. Again, I say really read Dr. Peats articles. It's alllll in there - its like getting a degree to learn it all. :) I have be at if for years of and on.
 

alywest

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Joined
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going out on a limb here - im sure i will hear about it but here goes - know your all of your numbers- blood glucose, temps, heart rate, blood pressure. get a cbc and full thyroid test, and have your gyno do basic test but try to get an ultrasound also ( fibroids? anemia? ) and some kind of basic hormone panel. "Everywell" has some decent home tests- order your own labs when you can and also use your doctors. i have taken Adderall and it does help, by my depression was coming from histamine issues and when i took ClaritinD after I had water in my inner ear ( as per my doc) all of a sudden no depression. when i stopped eating gluten my depression also stopped. so did my panic attacks. im serious, i was like a new person about a week after going gluten free. BIG DOSES of magnesium really changed my am depression because i would do these super strong epsom salt baths like 3 times a week and sleep like a rock, and woke up super happy. the last piece of the puzzle for me was progesterone. it really does have a calming affect. cannabis? love the stuff but actually when i switched from indica and hybrids to sativa things also got happier. indica is a big ol downer for me. breaking up from a 5 year r-ship is hardcore and im sure it is effecting things. this forum has some brill people on it and if you can just start to read ALL of Ray Peats articles online. i mean it, he is the god head. you will learn so much. the last thing i am going to point out - in terms of being around tons of toxins/allergens all day with what you do for work, it cant be helping either. i am a believer in detoxing to the core ( master cleanse , water fasts , juice fasts, colonics ) and then working with a new nutrition plan, life plan etc. PS- blackstrap mollasses and b12 shots ( methyl) work wonders too. hope you work your away through this- it really involves REALLY getting to know what you need. doctors for the most part ( allopathic ) can be super lame.
Would you have any more information or ideas as to why Claritin D might alleviate depression?
 
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danishispsychic

Guest
gosh im not totally sure but i would say it is the pseudoephedrine. pretty much a stimulant but also it is a super antihistamine. for me , it works like adderral but better. i used to take it everyday. now, i only take it like half a 12 hour tab and only when i feel like it super need it. it works for me better than any other antidepressant and i have been on many. i only was told to go get some because i swim a lot and got water in my inner ear and my doc told me to get this stuff. after i started on it , i was like OMG, my life is different. gone were the food cravings, gone was my depression, up was my focus and i was not all speedy and weird. it is amazing stuff kinda. you have to get the kind behind the counter at the pharmacist because of the p.e. in it. im sure big pharma put it there because then they would not sell as many crap SSRIs if people knew it is the best antidepressant in the whole universe. but i digress.....
 

alywest

Member
Joined
Apr 19, 2017
Messages
1,028
gosh im not totally sure but i would say it is the pseudoephedrine. pretty much a stimulant but also it is a super antihistamine. for me , it works like adderral but better. i used to take it everyday. now, i only take it like half a 12 hour tab and only when i feel like it super need it. it works for me better than any other antidepressant and i have been on many. i only was told to go get some because i swim a lot and got water in my inner ear and my doc told me to get this stuff. after i started on it , i was like OMG, my life is different. gone were the food cravings, gone was my depression, up was my focus and i was not all speedy and weird. it is amazing stuff kinda. you have to get the kind behind the counter at the pharmacist because of the p.e. in it. im sure big pharma put it there because then they would not sell as many crap SSRIs if people knew it is the best antidepressant in the whole universe. but i digress.....

Wow, that is super interesting. Thank you! I have been wondering if I have an inner ear issue as I get super sea sick and when I travel I get crazy vertigo, like I have to hold onto things to feel like I won't fall over.
 
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danishispsychic

Guest
Wow, that is super interesting. Thank you! I have been wondering if I have an inner ear issue as I get super sea sick and when I travel I get crazy vertigo, like I have to hold onto things to feel like I won't fall over.
me too! i went on a cruise once... well that was hell basically. i have read the inner ear issues are common with hypothyroid issues. what Claritin D does is dry thing out- really works well for the inner ear. you kind of have to drink liquids when you take it and make sure to add a little extra fat in your diet so you elimination doesnt get all messed up , if you know what i mean. x
 

fradon

Member
Joined
Sep 23, 2017
Messages
605
This probably isn't the forum to post this on but I'm really scared. You men and women seem to have more wisdom than the people on anxiety/depression forums that encourage SSRI's and excessive exercise, valerian root and meditation. (all of which I've tried with no success)
I've recently been prescribed Adderall (for treatment resistant depression) and have been on clonazepam for over a year now for GAD/panic attacks. First, I was taking 0.5mg of clonazepam twice a day, then went to taking up to 4mg a day when I take the Adderall (up to 30mg but usually 10-20mg). I've had 4 weeks where I consistently took 4mg and I really want to taper down to 1mg. But I don't want to do it so slow it takes a year, nor too fast that I have a seizure. I know it sounds like I'm abusing this stuff, but I'm just trying to take the edge of the Adderall off, so I need to stop that first--I'm just so depressed in the morning, it's the only thing that is motivating me to get out of bed. My doc told me if Adderall didn't work, we could try lithium....any thoughts lithium carbonate? I tried going to another doc but she didn't believe I was on that high a dose of clonazepam, so I'm sticking with my current one so I can taper off.
But on top of being a neurotic mess, I'm still anemic so I can't experiment with B vits/herbs too much because I get headaches easily (only been trying to treat it with liver supps and orange juice for a couple weeks now, and less dairy), and overall undernourished.
My current situation is this: I stopped using cannabis in all forms two days ago because I believe it may be making it difficult for me to recover from anemia and the dry mouth is upsetting my dental health. I recently broke up with my boyfriend of 5 years (I'm 28 now) and have to make a career change soon as well as move. I don't have much support here except my therapist, whom isn't all that helpful. I work as a cosmetologist so eating habits are erratic in that environment and I'm not making enough money to continue. I don't drink alcohol because it makes my anemia worse (I get an instant headache or start seeing swirling spots in my vision)

Any medicine suggestions/food/spiritual/general advice, etc.. would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks for reading, and again, I apologize if this isn't the appropriate place for this post.

welcome to your saturn return (just a little astrology there)..

now i would begin with healing your digestion which could be the biggest of your problems. You might have low stomach acid which would contribute to just about everything you have. Your body needs protein to make neurotrasmistters. but it needs strong stomach acid to break it down. You also need strong stomach acid to absorb vitamins and minerals like iron. and with low stomach acid your body will not dump bile so you will have problems absorbing all your fat soluble vitamins.

I would work on your diety with out a bit more protein no more than 2-3 oz with some vegetables and limist processed carbs and grains. you can all buy some bitters, or some betain hcl but if you do use them only with protein meal. Processed foods like chips cookies and cakes really shut down the digestive system and leads to leaky gut...

also if you can get like 30 minutes of sunlight for the vitamin d and for muscle and neutrotransmiiter building.
 

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