Log Of Curious Events

[Mittir]

If your neck is not swollen then possibly you can use small dose of
progesterone without causing hyperthyroid state. Progesterone will
improve thyroid condition by lowering estrogen and will improve mood.
If you think progesterone is risky, then pregnenolone is a safe
option. Since , body can handle large dose of pregnenolone
and you do not have to worry much about adjusting dose.
Pregnenolone is also very good at improving mood.
I have only used small dose DHEA (3-5 mg) and i find it very
useful in increasing energy. You do not need prescription for
these three supplement.

 

[Swandattur]

Mittir, thanks for the advice. I'm not sure about this because I do have a goiter although it isn't that big. I have been going through a rough time, I think still due to the Synthroid since it doesn't go away that fast. I had agitated depression and weird kind of panic attacks. My psychiatrist changed my medications somewhat, and today I feel better. He actually mentioned that my Endocrinologist might prescribe some T3 along with T4 for a better effect.

 

[Peata]

Haven't had an update in a while. How are you?

 

[Swandattur]

Thanks for asking Peata. I have been going through a rough time with depression combined with stress from a Vietnam Vet husband with PTSD. I have even had ECT treatments. Just haven't been in good enough shape to even come on the forum. I hope that I am improving now. Just the fact that I felt good enough to respond and write this is hopefully a good sign.

 

[Blossom]

That is a good sign! Hang in there.

 

[Peata]

It's good to hear from you, Swan. I missed you and was starting to worry. Sorry for what you're going through and hope things keep improving for you.

 

[Swandattur]

I have been doing much better, and am gradually doing normal activities again. It is a relief to feel better, to feel alive again. I am hoping this lasts. I think I need to find ways to lower stress levels. I have just started going to a support group for families of veterans with PTSD, and am meeting up to talk with someone in my area who has both a husband and son with combat PTSD. I am also looking around for social and relaxing activities I can get involved in.
Thanks Peata and Blossum for the concern and encouragement!

 

[Swandattur]

Sorry I took this long to respond. I must have missed a notification in my email, and time seems to slide by. Things I did a few weeks ago seem like I did them a few days before.

 

[charlie]

Swandattur, thank you for the update. Good to hear from you.

 

[SQu]

Best of luck with support group, and stress lowering.

 

[Swandattur]

Thanks Charlie and sueq! Just in the last few days, I have been feeling much better than I have in years, I think. I realize for some time I have had depressed mood in the evenings on most days, even though the rest of the day might have been good. I think the support group is really going to be helpful, too.

I do want to mention a couple of very good things I've noticed on a fairly Ray Peat diet (in which I really try to steer clear of as much polyunsaturated oils as I can.) I have been eating a little starch in the last month, because I just wanted to try it. Now, it seems a little starch isn't such a problem with my blood sugar.
Anyway, I have noticed that I don't seem to sunburn easily like I used to. Also, although I have had allergies, I haven't been sick with viral or bacterial infections in about a year and a half at least. I wonder if staying off the polyunsaturated oils is why. I wish I could get my older son to try staying off the polyunsaturated oils, because he really has trouble with sun burn. He enjoys outdoor activities, so that's one reason he gets sunburn, but I wonder if he changed his diet that way, it might help. He has to ease into any dietary changes in order to avoid stressing about it. So, I don't push it at all. I just mention what I'm doing diet wise now and then and that I seem to burn less.

 

[Blossom]

I'm glad to hear you've been feeling better. I think social support is so important for us humans. That's just my opinion as a fellow 'depression' sufferer but I doubt many people would disagree on the healing power of love and acceptance. My husband was worried about me lately because I was so stressed over a family health crisis. I was pleased with my ability to handle and recover from the stress and credit that to of all of the Peat inspired changes I've made. Recently I found this free course online that I'm really enjoying a lot. It's just simple mental exercises you can do to help develop better coping skills. I think it's tough when you've been stuck in stress mode for decades to break out of it for good. For me it's taking a holistic approach in the true sense of the word. I was so focused on healing physically that I put the emotional/mental aspects on the backburner so to speak. Now that I've figured out the physical aspects for the most part I at least feel capable of confronting those longstanding negative thought processes and such that were keeping me stuck in a low level stress state. I probably have PTSD from working in crazy, intense, life or death situations for years. People at work often do compare it to a war zone. No offense to people who have really been in a war zone but we had the SWAT team in here the other night so it can get stressful! I just came to the realization that the right diet and lifestyle is necessary to cope optimally but I probably needed to make an effort to find additional reasonable ways to work on breaking old stress patterns. I almost asked on the forum if anyone knew of a Peat inspired counselor! This free program seemed to come at the perfect time for me especially since I've been off work without pay to care for an ailing family member. I like it too because it's not spiritual or way out in left field(imo). I always got sick of people trying to convert me to one religion or another as the answer to all of life's problems. Your posting on this topic has been helpful for me because not a lot of us talk openly about these issues. Maybe others don't have them? I'm happy if they don't! I think it's just levels of healing. I'm pleased to have to energy, insight and fortitude now to deal with 'problems' instead of becoming overwhelmed and withdrawing. So thanks for sharing your situation, it means a lot.

 

[Swandattur]

Blossum, I'm glad, too, for anyone who doesn't suffer from depression. I think it's good that Robert Sapolsky , a neuroendocrinologist at Stanford University, made the statement that depression is arguably the worst illness a person can have.

That's really great that you now have energy and fortitude and insight for dealing with life's problems. Those are things I have really felt in need of. Now that I'm feeling so much better I have had a lot more of those. Maybe the course on dealing with depression was about cognitive therapy? That is supposed to be helpful for depression. I understand how you feel about religion being pushed as a way to feel better. The thing is, spiritual or religious beliefs are personal and shouldn't be pushed on anyone.

It sounds as if you have a very stressful job, and I'm sure it could cause psychological problems. It seems to me PTSD or something like it could be a result. So, I'm glad you have found something that helps. It seems to me your job should pay for counseling to help with the extreme stress.

 

[Blossom]

They do have an employee assistance program that offers free short term counseling which is nice. I used it once about 5 years ago. I've worked places that had nondenominational chaplains available too. I have to say my worst days since discovering Peat's work are far better than my best days before! Recently I added theanine after listening to a KMUD radio program where Peat mentioned it and have found that beneficial for anxiety. Many of the Peat inspired supplements that I use for other reasons also have positive 'psychological' effects.
I think the human mind is very powerful and that with practice we can learn to enhance our lives by finding ways to 'train' it to view and respond to life in a healthier way. For me it involves paying attention to eating, sleeping, breathing and enjoying life as well. It never made sense to me to separate the mental and physical but now those distinctions have become even more blurred. I'm glad you're feeling better! That's encouraging to others.

 

[Swandattur]

Blossum I forgot to say, but I agree about the social support, too. Being around other people who are in a positive mood can help a lot.
Also, maybe it's important to realize that stressful life circumstances need not doom a person to anxiety and depression. As you say, maybe the way we look at our circumstances is important, too. I need to find ways to circumvent the stress. Like quit waiting for the other shoe to drop. It may never drop or may not be that bad if it does.

 

[Swandattur]

I have had to quit eating any meat after five or five thirty, because if I do I get awful bloating some time in the night after laying down. I think it might be this thing called splenic flexure syndrome since it happens about 7 or 8 hours after eating meat in the evening. Anyway, it can get extremely uncomfortable and last most of the night. I was thinking it might be that syndrome, because food should get to the colon in that many hours. I don't know why meat does it. Other foods don't seem to do it, although I can get indigestion from some other foods like lettuce, cucumbers, and peppers. I can eat cottage cheese with impunity anytime.

 

[Mittir]

Digestion slows down at the evening. That is why RP recommends
eating most of the protein during day time, carb and fat in the evening.
High tryptophan and high phosphorus in meat can cause problem.
If you want you can take some extra calcium with meat and see how it
feels. I have noticed that if i get some extra calcium with food
in the evening i get better sleep. I usually do that if i do not drink
sugar+coffee+ milk before bed. But,excess calcium supplement can
cause constipation.

 

[Blossom]

Blossum I forgot to say, but I agree about the social support, too. Being around other people who are in a positive mood can help a lot.
Also, maybe it's important to realize that stressful life circumstances need not doom a person to anxiety and depression. As you say, maybe the way we look at our circumstances is important, too. I need to find ways to circumvent the stress. Like quit waiting for the other shoe to drop. It may never drop or may not be that bad if it does.

That phrase "the other shoe to drop" is so true and insightful! I have spent my whole life that way until just recently. It's no way to live but it can be a challenge to change the pattern. I'm still working on changing it. Regaining my health has helped me have the strength to do this vital work.
When my health started to improve I noticed that I had previously created a pattern of virtually isolating myself. At first it seemed overwhelming but I've come to realize it is never to late to change negative patterns (thanks to Peat). I've been trying to face perceived 'problems' head on lately instead of letting myself handle things in the old ineffective ways. One thing that is helpful for me is to think of my problem as getting larger and larger to the point that it couldn't be worse and then let it go, just let it fall away. This helps me feel I'm identifying issues and that no matter how overwhelming a 'problem' seems it really can't hurt me. I had a good 15 years where I wasn't fully living so I have to learn some things now like healthy coping skills that I should have already ideally worked through I guess.
I realized recently that certain issues from childhood were still triggering a stress response in my body. Before I would have just attributed my symptoms to my health but when I entered the situation in a better state of health than I've experienced since childhood and felt the extreme stress bring on certain symptoms I knew I had to come up with a plan to deal with the emotional/mental stress in addition to the other lifestyle/diet changes I had made after discovering Peat's work. It's been like blossoming into life and finding that the garden needs some extra attention. I'm hopeful now and grateful you have been willing to share your experiences because we all have something to contribute and we never know when that might help another.

 

[Blossom]

I found an awesome Ray Peat quote from Nutrition for Women page 6 that seems to sum things up nicely:
Ray wrote:

The perception of possibility, of a vista that extends convincingly toward a better future life, seems to modify the metabolic aparatus. Successful struggle takes a little while to get organized.

 

[j.]

^^ Peat is so right.