DaveFoster
Member
Thank you for sharing. I doubt the withdrawal would kill you. It would need to be a taper. The problem with the benzodiazepines are their dose-dependent association with dementia.This is not very Peaty, but saved my life. And I only discovered Peat 10 months ago. After being sick for 35 years I took a different approach in 2007 when I learned I not only was VERY sensitive to mold but also had a Traumatic Brain Injury from a severe whiplash injury while in a car stopped at a red light and got rear-ended by an Olds 98 (a tank) going about 40. I was not unconscious or bleeding. Thought I was OK. Then about 8-12 weeks all my symptoms began to appear. I did not associate the symptoms with the accident. Diagnosing that damage took 35 years. It was the Amen Clinic (google them) who diagnosed the TBI. After brain scans and then meeting the doc he asked out of the blue "when did you have a whiplash auto accident?" It was that obvious to him. He also found other damage he related to "toxins". He decided that could definitely be mold toxins AND mercury amalgams I had removed in 1987. I highly recommend Amen Clinic. I went to them a year after they dramatically helped a dear friend with bipolar. She was on meds the docs were just guessing at. Amen pinpointed exactly what would help her and after a while, she became rock solid with no more months-long stays in institutions. 13 times in 4 years.
The Amen doc handed me a long list of supplements he wanted me to start taking. After reading the list I told him I was already taking every single one. He laughed and said that did not surprise him given the intense research I'd done to find supplements that helped me "somewhat." He also said it was typical for symptoms to begin to appear 8-12 weeks after an accident like that. He then told me I could be helped dramatically to add a few Rx meds to my regimen. I was not totally happy with that but after suffering as long as I had, I had to have relief if it is was possible. I said, "If I broke my leg, I'd use a crutch." I see good meds as potentially a miracle if you get them right. I did. Getting @haidut 's meds right is not any different. I'll get to the meds.
First is the mold. You HAVE to identify the source and get totally away from it. Whatever clothing and other things (books) that have been exposed you HAVE to get rid of. You may have to move out of your house totally. You cannot get well with ongoing exposure. In my case, I could not find the mold in my house after searching everywhere. Shoemaker directed me to an expert in Wash DC. He came to AZ and after about a 2-hour search he uncovered a massive amount of black mold under wallpaper in a walk-out basement. It was able to be remediated and I got rid of all my clothing and got new. It might be possible to wash it out with Borax but Shoemaker is not a big fan of that. Mold was big deal for me and I got much better. But it was not till the Amen clinic I can say I got my life back about 90-95% and have been that way still today. I am always trying to get that remaining 5-10% however. I think I am finding it here on this forum and experimenting with Idealabs supps/meds.
Amen Clinic recommended I immediately start Lamictal and Seroquel. Seroquel was a low dose (50 mg) that has worked for sleep since 2007. I gradually worked Lamictal up to 200mg (also a relatively low dose compared to some.). Lamictal brought me out of the pit for the most part within several weeks. Seroquel made it so I knew I'd sleep. They also made other recommendations for me to try over the next months working with a psych doc where I lived. Over the next year or so, I tried a number of things. A short trial of an SSRI which I hated. ADHD meds none of which helped me. Mirtazapine was a miracle and I use 30 mgs/day still today. It dealt with depression and to some degree anxiety, I constantly had. When I added Alprazalom SR to the mix, I was a new man and that has not changed one iota since about 2008. I do software startups that are VERY stressful. Almost nothing bothers me feeling little stress. I do take some Peaty pregnenolone too. I also used to take a small dose of hydrocortisone but found I did not need it when I added TyroMax to the mix. I also am trying Lanosterol and 10 Hydroxy Hamalan and Androsterone. Have tried other things but these seem to be a help. Thus my handle "biohacker."
On the forum, for the most part, Mirtazapine is considered positive. Lamictal not so much but for me, it is a Godsend. Benzo's are very much frowned on. For me, they have also been a Godsend and I expect to take them for life. The withdrawal at this point (I'm 68) just might kill me. They are physically dependent but at least for me, not addictive. Addictive means you have to keep taking more to get the same results. Not so with me since 2008. The study(s) on them causing big-time brain damage over time has just not been the case for me and were not very convincing. I am sharp as a tack. I had to change psych docs cause mine moved. The new doc listened to my whole story and asked if I "felt drugged." I answered, "Nope. I feel like I did in high school." He agreed he would not change a thing.
The way I see it, I suffered terribly for 35 years. I had brain damage from mercury, mold toxins, and a TBI. That damage was not going to magically go away or heal naturally. Whatever I could do to feel stable and normal was the right thing to do even if not Peaty and even if Rx. The difference between some modern meds is that some are better, some are much worse than the meds that Idealab sells. The 1st and 2nd generation of some meds are often better than new ones. It is possible I will find something from Ideal that is better than what I am taking. For instance, I've been thinking I may not need Seroquel because the Idealab stuff makes me sleep like the dead. We will see.
So there is a lot of my story/saga. I believe we should do ALL we can do to feel as normal as we possibly can including Rx meds that work for you and nutritional supplements. I've learned so much in this Forum and am grateful I happened on to it. I hope some of this is useful. BTW, I wrote an Amazon book about all this but am not going to plug it here. It has helped thousands by giving them hope that there are answers. Often the answers are simple but not what we want to hear or do. Confirmation bias is strong on this forum. Don't get me wrong though. I love this forum.