What Is Really Going On My Body And How Do I Fix It?

tsranga

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Joined
Feb 8, 2019
Messages
6
Hi

Just joined this forum as I am running out of options and trying to identify what's really going on with me, even after visiting all kinds of specialists.

Background-

Male:52, of south asian descent.. mostly vegetarian with a history of high cholesterol (ldl-300/tgl-377/small LDL >650, hdl-40) and chronic IBS-mixed for about 30 years.

Have been putting off statins and trying to fix cholesterol through diet and supplements (berberine) which hasn't worked.

Two years ago, I decided to overhaul my lifestyle by quitting smoking CT (was never a heavy smoker, about 3-6 /day over 30 years split over hourly smoke breaks). Also decided to reduce my wine intake (from 3-4 drinks/week to one every 2 weeks) .

The first 3 weeks went smoothly until I had an acupuncturist try the NADA protocol for addiction, which involves needles around the ear that stay on overnight. That didn't go well at all, with all sorts of sensations that I couldn't control and I had to take them off before I could get some sleep. I was still ok until my business trip to Vegas, where my IBS flared up along with huge anxiety/panic about being in a place where I could not indulge in old behaviors (smoking/women), and had to rush back home after a sleepless night.

This episode may have triggered sleep anxiety that started about 9 years ago, after the market collapse which triggered a layoff and a dead end Job to keep paying the bills as we pretty had no liquid savings. Interestingly, it was triggered after a jetlagged trip back home, where a sense of loneliness, and recognizing we are all mortal, led to a panic attack that lasted about a week. Since 2010, every trip back to India has caused insomnia, depression and anxiety that lasts for a week.

Two months after I quit smoking in 2017, my IBS had a flare-up that regularly would wake me up from sleep after about 90 minutes of sleep, and then I would spend the whole night burping..

These episodes triggered sleep anxiety again, along with food anxiety as I was scared to eat anything that may triggered IBS. I lost over 20 lbs in about 2 weeks, and had to start on an antidepressant (mirtazapine 7.5mg) to help me fall/stay asleep. I have been on 3.75mg since Jan 2018, and have been mostly functional.

Over the last year, I have worked with a functional MD to heal my gut (going off gluten was a huge help), but since Jan 2019, I have had days where I have struggled to fall asleep and my IBS is still there (mainly bloating and gas between 4-7pm)/ irrespective of diet.

I have also had days where as I fall asleep, my body seems to want to get me back to an alert state, and sometimes it's accompanied by trouble breathing..

The one new symptom that has stayed consistently since quitting smoking the last 2 years, is my middle ear starting to feel stuffed along with a sense of blood flowing around the sinuses. This is intermittent, usually when there is some anxiety related to sleep, or when the IBS acts up. Weather changes (rain/cold dry air) and elevation changes also trigger this.

Since last week, on the advice of my psychiatrist, I tried stopping mirtazapine. Previous attempts have failed as my IBS flares up along with sleep anxiety. This time, I was taught some deep breathing exercises, that significantly improved my IBS, and also is helping me stay calm despite the sleep anxiety, and I have been able to sleep for 6 hours, although there is some anxiety on waking up and in the afternoons..

So far, it appears that is something that is keeping me in a stressed state, even though I do not have any external stressors, and I am not working for the past year. Given that my prediabetes (125) and high cholesterol/tgl may be genetic, that could be a cause of inflammation/stress.

I am on vit b and d supplements which has helped raisw my B levels (420) but my vit d is on the lower end of the normal range (30). I also walk 4-5 miles daily.

Where do I go from here?

Hopefully, I can stay off the mirtazapine, although my anxiety episodes are more frequent and usually in the afternoons, but sometimes around food/sleep.

What do I do with my metabolism(lipids/insulin)?

I never thought stopping smoking would lead to all of this.. but hopefully I am on the right track to recovery..
 

Tenacity

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Joined
Mar 12, 2016
Messages
844
"I have also had days where as I fall asleep, my body seems to want to get me back to an alert state, and sometimes it's accompanied by trouble breathing.."

Could you describe this in more detail? What happens here exactly? How does your body get you back to an alert state?
 
OP
T

tsranga

Member
Joined
Feb 8, 2019
Messages
6
"I have also had days where as I fall asleep, my body seems to want to get me back to an alert state, and sometimes it's accompanied by trouble breathing.."

Could you describe this in more detail? What happens here exactly? How does your body get you back to an alert state?

As I am falling asleep, I have a sense that I am snoring or there is a post nasal drip or that I need to clear my throat, and I wake up. It's not a hypnic jerk, but very similar without the startle. Just focusing back on my breath eventually puts me to sleep most of the time. Some nights it would be a stream of thoughts that I can't stop or heavy flushing all over the head that comes in waves.. but I have not had this in a few months.
 

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