44 replies to this topic

[YimYam]

Hey guys, I seriously need your help. For the TL;DR types, this will be worth your time, at the very least as a source of amusement, just because of how absurd my circumstances are. 

I have been told that my GABA receptors have been down regulated permanently from chronic stress, mainly because of having poorly functioning GABA receptors in the first place due to poor genetics. 

 

This link supports the theory: http://www.ncbi.nlm....pubmed/22632471

Everything I ingest sets off a stress response (you'll soon understand why GABA comes into this), the triggers of my stress response (SR) vary in severity in how strongly they set it off. The triggers are the following: Cigarettes, caffeine, marijuana (small doses are fine, high doses are the worst trigger), alcohol, low blood sugar, eating more than 10g of quick release glucose, exercise, all food, all herbal supplements and various random ones set it off. When the SR goes off it activates my nervous system and impairs my cognition. It takes me 1hr 15 mins to eat a standard 32g chocolate bar without SR going off....


I have had the SR go off about 5-10 times a day everyday for the past 4 years, one moment i'm barely functional, the next I'm completely dysfunctional, I'm sure you can see how this would affect my daily life in regards to work, socialising, maintaining relationships, personal development etc. As a consequence, because my HPA axis is being chronically activated so often, it has made my condition/cognition worse. As you'd expect from having something this bizarre and unheard of, my family and friends have slowly lets just say drifted away, despite me explaining things as eloquently as possible and showing an attitude of disbelief of just how mysterious and ridiculously bizarre this illness is, they have grown tired of this BS and just think its psychosomatic.


My planning/reasoning, problems solving, working memory, memory recall and processing ability is completely kaput. I have blocked thoughts, unable to access them, my mind is dead space. Therefore consistently and unrelentingly I have no brain activity that Im aware of going on. I can't hold a thought in my mind AT ALL. I can't access my memory recall, as if there is a wall in the way. My thoughts or lack of are completely jumbled up rather than effortlessly systematic in flow. I guess this is what compounds my issues and people's perspective of it, is the fact that I look fine on the outside, just a bit slow, low on confidence, edgy and anxious. From a concoction of having very poor cliquey friends and being unable to manage these symptoms, I have become socially withdrawn. 


My processing ability is non existent, I can't process films, TV series, books, basically anything....I just can't follow the line of the story due to my lack of ability to process things. I can't learn anything either, I've had personal development and countless self help/inspiring books just put on the back burner for months/years, its just insane, I can't even help myself by developing my self as a person or my work/life skills. I can learn very basic things of course, such as changing a light bulb kinda thing.


I have had these issues everyday for the past 4 verging on 5 years. Before this I was a very sociable, witty, kind and friendly person, who was very ambitious. Now comes the odd part, I am still that person. I have had no changes in personality or behavioural changes, its just something has been turned off/down in my brain. If this switch turned back on I'd be back to my normal self. I've had no significant issues with anxiety or depression, I have emotional baggage just like everybody else, although I have been unable to process through it for the duration of this illness. Of recent, to my utter amazement and realisation that I've made no significant improvement in this time period, my stress levels and low grade (situational) depression have got worse. I've become morose and bitter. Im stuck in this ridiculously incapacitated state, my "friends" think I'm a complete idiot and my future is looking very bleak if I can't get back a big part of my cognition back. The friends part now I really don't give a fuck about, of course at first it was deeply saddening but new and better friends can be found. What makes it so frustrating is the fact that I can't make new friends due to being unable to manage my symptoms and improve my cognition. 


Expanding on the 3^rd sentence in the above paragraph, if you were to ask my family if I had had personality/behavioural changes, they would say I have. I will explain my defence and there defence in how I can see there view. This stress response is constantly activated, so when I get stressed my body is already in a stressed state so being in stressful situations, being arguments for example, I can lose my temper very quickly, what exacerbates this is the fact that I am unable to communicate my point or thoughts, which is EXTREMELY frustrating. I also come across as edgy and anxious when in conversation, this is because again I am constantly very stimulated because of the SR being activated and unable to fluently and effortlessly get my thoughts/opinions out. I'm just stuck in this CRH/stress vortex.


An incredibly intelligent health consultant I have been working with has explained that my issues stem from the fact that there has been a PERMANENT alteration in my HPA axis activity and stress response from chronic stressors, some people are predisposed to this due to genetics, and obviously I am one of them. 


The stress response is supposed to go off in all humans with behaviours such as eating, smoking and drinking caffeine/alcohol, but there's a control mechanism involved. One control mechanism are GABA receptors and the inhibition of CRH neurons in the paraventricular nucleus (PVN). CRH is released by the PVN, but GABA can inhibit its release and this is one of the main control mechanisms to stop the stress response. Because my receptors are damaged, my stress response is unable to be controlled effectively. As a result this it causes a cascade of symptoms such as chronic sinusitis, shortness of breath, hypertension, popping/gluey ears,hard eyeballs (??), head pressure, twitching/spasms, clicking/popping ankle & knee joints, constantly being on edge/feeling irritable and chronically cognitively impaired. 


Therefore my day to day quality of life is about 15% of my normal ability to function.Throughout the day everyday I use my phone (which is an asbolute god send with this disorder) as a tool to to keep my mind occupied and distracted doing mindless things, quite the opposite of what I would like to be doing with my time, but I have no choice because the things I want to do I can't get absorbed into, simply due to my lack of ability to process them. My brain is compeletely brain dead, so if I didn't have my phone or some sort of multifunctional electrical media device I just wouldn't be able to cope. Boredom would just be too intolerable.


I have a shed load of devices and GABA agonist supplements which don't seem to cut the mustard, there pretty good at suppressing an activated stress response but don't cause any significant improvements in cognition, quite possibly because the damage is so severe, obviously I hope not but as time goes by my hope is fading. 


Benzo's are the only thing which has shut down the stress response, improved my glucose tolerance and kept me balanced. But ideally I wouldnt want to stay on them for the long term for various reasons. Baclofen works on the GABAb receptor and has been shown to inhibit the HPA axis and looks like a much better option due its lower tolerance.


I get no sense of reward on a daily basis, so I continued to smoke MJ (now stopped) and eating an obscenely poor diet, instead what remains are these obscene eating habits and needing to be using my phone the whole time, otherwise its just insanely boring as I don't have thoughts/ideas to get lost in anything.


I clearly need some psychiatric help and help getting my life back together but have no idea what to do. Help would be greatly appreciated. If anyone has any resources they use for spiritual, focus meditation or "getting your shit together", I would be immensely grateful.

Thankyou for taking the time to read my story. 

[YimYam]

Does anyone know of any new Gabab agonists drugs, similar or better even in regards to pros and cons than Baclofen and Benzo's at inhibiting the HPA axis? 

 

I want to inhibit my HPA axis overactivity for the long term as safely as possible, so far natural GABA supplements aren't strong enough. Hi Maize has been the strongest so far but then stopped working for some reason. It's clear pharmaceuticals will be my only course of action, I don't want to go on benzo's for obvious reasons so if anyone knows of anything, I'd be so unbelievably grateful. 

[tunt01]

The stress response is supposed to go off in all humans with behaviours such as eating, smoking and drinking caffeine/alcohol, but there's a control mechanism involved. One control mechanism are GABA receptors and the inhibition of CRH neurons in the paraventricular nucleus (PVN). CRH is released by the PVN, but GABA can inhibit its release and this is one of the main control mechanisms to stop the stress response. Because my receptors are damaged, my stress response is unable to be controlled effectively. As a result this it causes a cascade of symptoms such as chronic sinusitis, shortness of breath, hypertension, popping/gluey ears,hard eyeballs (??), head pressure, twitching/spasms, clicking/popping ankle & knee joints, constantly being on edge/feeling irritable and chronically cognitively impaired. 

 

 

Cortisol is the primary negative feedback mechanism.  What are your cortisol figures?  Have you had a 24/hr testing of any kind (urine, dex/crh)?  Mifepristone/RU486 can re-regulate this negative feedback loop.

 

You will probably want to look at Science Guy's long thread about Anxiety, Benzos.  I think Bacopa should probably be on your radar.  And you will undoubtedly see anxiety relief from memantine.

 

 

Also, please note that while CRH is seen as being primarily released by the PVN, but it is also released in the hippocampus itself (appears to be an autocrine of sorts).  Source.

Edited by prophets, 24 March 2015 - 02:39 PM.

[YimYam]

 

The stress response is supposed to go off in all humans with behaviours such as eating, smoking and drinking caffeine/alcohol, but there's a control mechanism involved. One control mechanism are GABA receptors and the inhibition of CRH neurons in the paraventricular nucleus (PVN). CRH is released by the PVN, but GABA can inhibit its release and this is one of the main control mechanisms to stop the stress response. Because my receptors are damaged, my stress response is unable to be controlled effectively. As a result this it causes a cascade of symptoms such as chronic sinusitis, shortness of breath, hypertension, popping/gluey ears,hard eyeballs (??), head pressure, twitching/spasms, clicking/popping ankle & knee joints, constantly being on edge/feeling irritable and chronically cognitively impaired. 

 

 

Cortisol is the primary negative feedback mechanism.  What are your cortisol figures?  Have you had a 24/hr testing of any kind (urine, dex/crh)?  Mifepristone/RU486 can re-regulate this feedback loop.

 

Also, please note that while CRH is seen as being primarily released by the PVN, but it is also released in the hippocampus itself (appears to be an autocrine of sorts).  Source.

 

 

Thanks for taking the time to reply. I've had most testing done you could possibly have to look for chronic disease, I must of had my cortisol levels checked. I don't think I've done a 24hr testing of any kind. I guess I should get a 24hr urine and DEX CRH done? My doc knows I have a stress response/HPA axis system out of whack, why would he not be pushing these tests forward? It seems pretty obvious if you have fairly good knowledge of medicine...

[YimYam]

"Also, please note that while CRH is seen as being primarily released by the PVN, but it is also released in the hippocampus itself (appears to be an autocrine of sorts).  Source."

 

Thanks for this info, does that mean there's another avenue of targeted therapy to try?

[tunt01]

My doc knows I have a stress response/HPA axis system out of whack, why would he not be pushing these tests forward? 

 

 

I once met with a doctor about similar issues and their answer to me was that Yoga would cure everything.  Who knows why some doctors make the decisions or statements that they do.  It's hard to characterize a stress disorder in any single individual because we are talking about hormone and neurotransmitter issues that are going on in the brain.  The secondary messaging that is going on throughout the body (i.e. cortisol) may just be a biproduct of the underlying pathology.  Maybe that's why he didn't test in this manner because they think it might only rule out a Cushing Syndrome disorder.

 

I would go read Science Guy's thread on dealing w/ Anxiety safely.  It is probably one of the more useful resources you will read.  Bacopa will probably be at the top of your list after reading it.  Propranolol should be considered for situational or even daily stress maintenance issues.

 

 

Thanks for this info, does that mean there's another avenue of targeted therapy to try?

 

 

 

Several studies show that CRF R1 or CRHR1 antagonists stop the anxiety cascade by blocking the action of CRF/CRH.  This blocking action happens on both the hypothalamus (PVN) and hippocampus.  But I'm not aware of any approved FDA medications which have this sort of action.  Several drugs like this are in development with varying results.  You can look up data/studies on the drug antalarmin, as one example.

 

Another consideration might be an AT1 receptor blocker like an ARB.  In one model of stress (isolation stress), they appear effective in modulating the CRF stress cascade.

Edited by prophets, 24 March 2015 - 03:21 PM.

[YimYam]

I have no ego in the way here, I genuinely don't experience significant anxiety. The stress response goes off In varying severity, depending entirely on what I've ingested which leads to varying irritability, cognitive impairment and change in mood. Physiologically speaking I understand it's the same process as the mechanisms of anxiety disorders, but this is what makes my case so unusual, instead of psychological stimuli setting off my stress response/HPA axis, it is in fact anything I ingest, being food and exercise for example. To reiterate, I understand this is a normal primal response to stressors, but my stress response goes off about 10x more strongly which competely incepacitates my ability to function. For example I want to exercise because this whole ridiculous situation and what it's done to my life makes me depressed, but I can't because it makes me feel worse...

I very much appreciate your insight into what other avenues of treatment I could go down.

In simplistic terms (to help myself understand) I need to control/inhibit my overactive HPA axis and improve my cognition. Once my HPA axis is under control I am able to feel balanced and remain functional as you'd expect, but still my cognitive dysfunction remains but obviously not nearly as bad as when my HPA axis/stress reponse is contantly activated to some degree.

So far Phenibut and Hi maize have been able to control the cortisol cascade very well, but only for a little while before there effect begin to wane. Could you explain how they are helping control my stress response? Increasing GABA, therefore increased ability to inhibit cortisol is how I'm reading it.

[DavidFrance]

JDMC123

I found this post on on Google search looking for something related to GABA agonists and I read your post and reality completely shatters as I read the exact description of my life and illness.

You know exactly how I feel.

[YimYam]

JDMC123

I found this post on on Google search looking for something related to GABA agonists and I read your post and reality completely shatters as I read the exact description of my life and illness.

You know exactly how I feel.

 

I'm sorry to hear about that, David. It's a tough situation for sure. Drop me a message when you get a chance so we can discuss things. 

[Blackkzeus]

How long did it take you to write your original post? Judging from your original post you seem to be functioning at an above average level mentally. How is that you can't think when you can construct such a competent post?

[YimYam]

That's a perfectly reasonable question to ask. It took me about 3-4 hours to write spaced out over a couple of days. I've also written this kind of post numerous times before and just redrafted.

[OneScrewLoose]

First of all, your anxiety is not psychosomatic. However, you are taking a hypochondriac approach to it.

First thhing's first. Your GABA receptors ARE NOT PERMANENTLY DAMAGED, PERIOD. If you want to argue that, then I guess I can't help you much. The 'doctor' who told you that your HPA is permanently damaged is such a fucking quack that his voice doesn't even eccho. The body bounces back from stress, check out this mitochondrial study:
http://www.cell.com/...9822(15)00322-X

The body bounces back from all but the most severe trauma.

You also don't know if it's the HPA, GABA, or something else that is causing the stress. Stress can come from many neurotransmitter systems, and they should all be explored. My first place to look would be norepinephrine, as it is the primary neurotransmitter of the sympathetic nervous system, which is the flight or fight response. This seems to be a large part of the issue, your body would easily have a constant stress response if it is constantly convinced of a sense of danger. I would recommend trying Clonidine first, which agonizes the alpha 2 receptor and lowers NE. Do you have insomnia? Take it at night, Clonidine can regulate the HPA, only if you are sleep deprived, by shutting down Orexin production.

Next I would look at Baclofen, which is a GABA-B agonist with a low rate of tolerance and dependency. DO NOT USE PHENIBUT. It is more potent, addictive, and more quickly builds a higher tolerance than benzos. I would say it should be banned, but that would just make it a popular street drug...

The new SSRIs, Viibryd and Brintellix, are different from the rest of them. They agonize the 5HT1a receptor, which can significantly reduce anxiety. Brintellix is weaker as an SSRI than Viibryd and stronger at 5HT1a than Viibryd, so I would recommend that.

One approach you can do is shut down the stimuli from ever reaching parts of your brain, so you don't even need GABA. I am on 35mg of Memantine for this purpose. Memantine is what's called an uncompetitive antagonist (at NMDA). This means, that unlike traditional antagonists, it does not block the complete signal. It only starts working after the receptor fires, which means it acts like an audio compressor on the strength of the signal. This did wonders for my neuropathy. Few can tolerate that high of a dose of Memantine though. It took 2-3 months to build up to it as well.

Then there's CBD, a legal, otc cannabinoid that is an inverse agonist at CB2, thereby increasing GABA instead of decreasing it like THC does (how does weed settle with you?) My recommend mode of ingestion would be vaping. The most concentrated/best deal I've seen is this:
http://www.ehookahbr...h-vapor-flavors

Some only have 20mg per 10ml. This has a whopping 300mg per 10ml.

You're not broken, and if you think you are then you're just plain stupid. I'd be glad to offer more recommendations if you're interested. Disposition can greatly effect anxiety, and working with the idea that this is readily fixable, however much patience you need to find the right approach, will itself reduce your anxiety. I also highly, highly recommend meditation. I can write a few paragraphs on that if you'd like.

Edited by OneScrewLoose, 04 May 2015 - 10:06 PM.

[AlexCanada]

Your intense stress reactions are extremely similar to what I been going through for the past few years. I would even fear eating most foods because anything would seemingly set me off. Adrenal exhaustion likely plays a huge role and inbalance of cortisol which leads to inbalance of blood sugar. For some it is too much cortisol but for others such as myself it is levels which are far too low and thus the body would be unable to handle/fight stress. Past month or so I have had some very significant relief from it. Avoiding all potential stress factors can do wonders. Even if this means you have to avoid certain people, stay at home, avoid negative media and so forth. I have just watched many seasons of Survivor other the past few weeks and avoided facebook.

 

What substances have I taken which may have helped in the past month? Most notable would be 3mg pregnenolone oral every 2-3 days. It recycles itself and stays in the body for over a week. Helps body produce more cortisol and works as a gaba antagonist oddly enough. Yet there is much sense of calmness which usually manifests shortly after dosing. Sometimes a surge of desire/motivation but usually quickly fades only to return to some small extent the next day or evening etc. Long term pregnenolone may not be the safest option unless you try transdermal. I sometimes would develop some harsh pains in my jaw but this is likely more due to my low levels of estrogen.

 

Vortioxetine 5mg may have played a more significant role. It doesn't necessarily do a whole lot for my depression and even gives me some uncomfortable anxiety but something has allowed me to resist stress remarkably this past month and this may be a part of it. Though I have withdrawn to 2mg to reduce anxiety and stress response is still very low.

 

What substances do you take right now? I have been withdrawing from valium for years. Down to 1.2mg now but it used to be brutal and painful a month ago. Yet now I am able to resist increasing dose. Long term benzo withdrawl may mess with your blood sugar levels and hypoglycemia can cause horrid anxiety and stress like reactions including harsh negativity and irritability towards others. 

 

Also you may want to examine whether or not you have Candida. It is something I have had for 2+ years. If you happen to be taking certain supplements which kill it off you may be experiencing intense die off reactions which further lead to intense stress reactions. Magnesium for instance can intensify candida and since stopping magnesium I have been doing better and better. This may be the biggest factor for me oddly enough. Plus the dopamine antagonism from magnesium is not necessarily good for everyone. 

 

You may want to examine what supplements you are taking. Something might be chronically setting you off or making you worse. Even if it's a daily multi-vitamin. 

[OneScrewLoose]

I have never seen adrenal fatigue/exhaustion ever be used as a serious term in medial literature. Could you show me?

2-3mg of pregnenolone are micro and placebo doses. There's an interesting study showing that around 400mg of Pregnenolone can drastically increase levels of the neurosteroid, allopregnanolone. Remember pregnenolone is the precursor to every steroid, made directly from cholesterol. Your body makes a lot of it and I doubt 2-3 mgs will have any non-placebo effect.

5mg of vortioxetine will give a clear pharmacological response, though it is still quite a low dose, usually used as a starting dose on the way up to standard 20mg. 2mg, on the other hand, it would be very hard to say that that's more than palcebo,, no matter what you claim to feel.

There is absolutely, positively no evidence for issues with Candida in non-immuno-comprosed patients. It's pushed online to sell shit. And notice how each of those sources has their own shit to sell? When every place offers a different treatment, that's a huge red flag. This is as bogus as homepathy.

Sorry to be so disagreeable, you could just say I was very able to disagree with your statements...cause they're wrong.

[Metagene]

Don't apologize for telling the truth. Before I knew better I went to a homeopath who "diagnosed" people all day long with candida and heavy metals using a ectrodiagnostic device.

"Candida yeasts are generally present in healthy humans, frequently part of the human body's normal oral and intestinal flora, and particularly on the skin; however, their growth is normally limited by the human immune system, by competition of other microorganisms, such as bacteria occupying the same locations in the human body."



http://en.m.wikipedi...iki/Candidiasis

[YimYam]

First of all, your anxiety is not psychosomatic. However, you are taking a hypochondriac approach to it.

First thhing's first. Your GABA receptors ARE NOT PERMANENTLY DAMAGED, PERIOD. If you want to argue that, then I guess I can't help you much. The 'doctor' who told you that your HPA is permanently damaged is such a fucking quack that his voice doesn't even eccho. The body bounces back from stress, check out this mitochondrial study:
http://www.cell.com/...9822(15)00322-X

The body bounces back from all but the most severe trauma.

You also don't know if it's the HPA, GABA, or something else that is causing the stress. Stress can come from many neurotransmitter systems, and they should all be explored. My first place to look would be norepinephrine, as it is the primary neurotransmitter of the sympathetic nervous system, which is the flight or fight response. This seems to be a large part of the issue, your body would easily have a constant stress response if it is constantly convinced of a sense of danger. I would recommend trying Clonidine first, which agonizes the alpha 2 receptor and lowers NE. Do you have insomnia? Take it at night, Clonidine can regulate the HPA, only if you are sleep deprived, by shutting down Orexin production.

Next I would look at Baclofen, which is a GABA-B agonist with a low rate of tolerance and dependency. DO NOT USE PHENIBUT. It is more potent, addictive, and more quickly builds a higher tolerance than benzos. I would say it should be banned, but that would just make it a popular street drug...

The new SSRIs, Viibryd and Brintellix, are different from the rest of them. They agonize the 5HT1a receptor, which can significantly reduce anxiety. Brintellix is weaker as an SSRI than Viibryd and stronger at 5HT1a than Viibryd, so I would recommend that.

One approach you can do is shut down the stimuli from ever reaching parts of your brain, so you don't even need GABA. I am on 35mg of Memantine for this purpose. Memantine is what's called an uncompetitive antagonist (at NMDA). This means, that unlike traditional antagonists, it does not block the complete signal. It only starts working after the receptor fires, which means it acts like an audio compressor on the strength of the signal. This did wonders for my neuropathy. Few can tolerate that high of a dose of Memantine though. It took 2-3 months to build up to it as well.

Then there's CBD, a legal, otc cannabinoid that is an inverse agonist at CB2, thereby increasing GABA instead of decreasing it like THC does (how does weed settle with you?) My recommend mode of ingestion would be vaping. The most concentrated/best deal I've seen is this:
http://www.ehookahbr...h-vapor-flavors

Some only have 20mg per 10ml. This has a whopping 300mg per 10ml.

You're not broken, and if you think you are then you're just plain stupid. I'd be glad to offer more recommendations if you're interested. Disposition can greatly effect anxiety, and working with the idea that this is readily fixable, however much patience you need to find the right approach, will itself reduce your anxiety. I also highly, highly recommend meditation. I can write a few paragraphs on that if you'd like.

 

 

 

As you can see it has taken me about 4 days to find an appropriate moment to respond to this, my cognitive/stress response symptoms are very debilitating, frustrating and hard to control/improve. Apologies its taken so long. First of all, thanks so much for taking the time to write such a thorough and informative response. 

 

I don't think my anxiety is psychosomatic. I was told by the guy from selfhacked that my issues are very difficult to treat, if treatable at all and have been told to settle for going on disability....He says I have a rare form of an anxiety disorder. My stress response (SR) goes off to food and exercise rather than just psychological stimuli. I've not found anyone with similar issues on the internet which is bizarre, perhaps I will with AlexCanada, who knows. I'm not completely blindly accepting his opinion but he seems to be pretty onpoint with my issues so far. I don't want him to be right, hence why I'm on here looking for alternate opinions. 

 

 

He suspected I had a CRH, CCK and GABA issue. When I took supplements which increase GABA or reduce CRH or CCK my stress response symptoms reduce. But all it takes is for me to eat or do a stressor more intense than walking for the supplements effects to be nullified, so the frustration is strong with this one! When I eat fat or protein (which produces CCK) my stress response goes off, in varying severity depending on how much I've eaten. When I take EDTA, which reduces CCK, it reduces my symptoms. When I took 5g licorice it stopped me reacting to things and then stopped working after one day... When I took a benzo I completely stopped reacting to everything, that's the closest I've found as a “cure” to my HPA dysfunction. Cold air exposure significantly reduces my symptoms when I'm symptomatic, apparently it reduces CRH.

 

 

Another interesting finding which happened about a fortnight ago was when I went out drinking and drank 4 GnTs and 4 pints of cider over the course of the night, the next morning I just felt better, I woke up feeling the most rested I've felt in ages, non symptomatic, light, more within myself... I just couldn't put my finger on why, until I ate...somehow it felt like it normalised my HPA, turned off the stress response. When I ate a burger low and behold my stress response and symptoms came back. I think I've read somewhere it's some sort of temporary dopamine upregulation. So all in all I don't think I have issues with just GABA...

 

 

 

So surely I have pretty good evidence at least to suggest that I have a problem with my HPA and have GABA issues?

 

When I take a benzo my strong SR stops going off to everything eg exercise, food. Symptoms remain balanced, glucose tolerance, CCK/CRH overproduction normalises etc etc.

 

 

I will try Baclofen for the sake of it but I had a mostly negative reaction to Phenibut, despite what I said in my first post. I've learnt they're very similar in MOE. It made me into what I imagine someone with severe depression is like. Turned me into a zombie.

 

 

 

When I eat things I normally react to in small doses my stress response doesn't go off, for example when I eat a bite of a chocolate bar every 20 mins my stress response symptoms remains very low, if go off at all, if I eat that whole chocolate bar in one go then my stress response symptoms will go wild.

 

It has to be at least something causing blood sugar control issues, surely? 

 

 

The new SSRIs, Viibryd and Brintellix, are different from the rest of them. They agonize the 5HT1a receptor, which can significantly reduce anxiety. Brintellix is weaker as an SSRI than Viibryd and stronger at 5HT1a than Viibryd, so I would recommend that.

 

One approach you can do is shut down the stimuli from ever reaching parts of your brain, so you don't even need GABA. I am on 35mg of Memantine for this purpose. Memantine is what's called an uncompetitive antagonist (at NMDA). This means, that unlike traditional antagonists, it does not block the complete signal. It only starts working after the receptor fires, which means it acts like an audio compressor on the strength of the signal. This did wonders for my neuropathy. Few can tolerate that high of a dose of Memantine though. It took 2-3 months to build up to it as well.

 

Then there's CBD, a legal, otc cannabinoid that is an inverse agonist at CB2, thereby increasing GABA instead of decreasing it like THC does (how does weed settle with you?) My recommend mode of ingestion would be vaping. The most concentrated/best deal I've seen is this:

http://www.ehookahbr...h-vapor-flavors

 

Some only have 20mg per 10ml. This has a whopping 300mg per 10ml.

 

You're not broken, and if you think you are then you're just plain stupid. I'd be glad to offer more recommendations if you're interested. Disposition can greatly effect anxiety, and working with the idea that this is readily fixable, however much patience you need to find the right approach, will itself reduce your anxiety. I also highly, highly recommend meditation. I can write a few paragraphs on that if you'd like.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Will I be able to get a prescription of these SSRI's from a doctor or psychiatrist in the UK?

 

Im 11 days into trying fluoxetine. Fluoxetine and 5htp were the only two things which improved my cognition very temporarily....but cognitive effect were both nullified when a stress response would go off such as if I ate something or drank a beer when socialising, so cognitive impairment and general symptoms were set off. So all in all the conclusion my consultant and I came to was that an SSRI was not strong enough to inhibit my HPA but of course I'm trying it again.

 

Weed's a strange one, it can be my worst stress response trigger of my SR. But If I take it in 2 tokes I'm fine if I take more the stress effect on my HPA can be huge and I start uncontrollably freezing up, spasming, twitching. When I take a benzo or licorice I was able to smoke 3 times the amount with no stress response effect.  Interestingly when I took mushrooms and MDMA, when I was on them I stopped my stress response didn't go off to things like weed....

 

 

 

One approach you can do is shut down the stimuli from ever reaching parts of your brain, so you don't even need GABA. I am on 35mg of Memantine for this purpose. Memantine is what's called an uncompetitive antagonist (at NMDA). This means, that unlike traditional antagonists, it does not block the complete signal. It only starts working after the receptor fires, which means it acts like an audio compressor on the strength of the signal. This did wonders for my neuropathy. Few can tolerate that high of a dose of Memantine though. It took 2-3 months to build up to it as well.

 

 

 

 

So to simplify this in my head it looks like your saying that memantine would stop the stress reaction happening?

 

Of course I am willing to try anything if it means I won't have to go on benzos for life....that is not even something I want to even think about but it seems it will have to be a last resort.

 

So at the moment in my simplistic understanding, I need to control my HPA axis before I can get any cognitive effect from any meds/supplements, as I have experienced this issue with the fluoxetine and 5htp where the Cog effect is nullified by a SR which is unable to be controlled by my HPA. In my head the only thing strong enough to inhibit it is a benzo, so I'd be very happy to know there's another way of going about controlling my it.

 

 

 

 

- I will look into CBD.

- I will be experimenting with Mifepristone soon.  

- I will be seeing an endocrinologist and a Psychiatrist in the next 6 weeks

[YimYam]

Blimey....sorry about all the change in fonts! Don't know whats happened there.

[YimYam]

Your intense stress reactions are extremely similar to what I been going through for the past few years. I would even fear eating most foods because anything would seemingly set me off. Adrenal exhaustion likely plays a huge role and inbalance of cortisol which leads to inbalance of blood sugar. For some it is too much cortisol but for others such as myself it is levels which are far too low and thus the body would be unable to handle/fight stress. Past month or so I have had some very significant relief from it. Avoiding all potential stress factors can do wonders. Even if this means you have to avoid certain people, stay at home, avoid negative media and so forth. I have just watched many seasons of Survivor other the past few weeks and avoided facebook.

 

What substances have I taken which may have helped in the past month? Most notable would be 3mg pregnenolone oral every 2-3 days. It recycles itself and stays in the body for over a week. Helps body produce more cortisol and works as a gaba antagonist oddly enough. Yet there is much sense of calmness which usually manifests shortly after dosing. Sometimes a surge of desire/motivation but usually quickly fades only to return to some small extent the next day or evening etc. Long term pregnenolone may not be the safest option unless you try transdermal. I sometimes would develop some harsh pains in my jaw but this is likely more due to my low levels of estrogen.

 

Vortioxetine 5mg may have played a more significant role. It doesn't necessarily do a whole lot for my depression and even gives me some uncomfortable anxiety but something has allowed me to resist stress remarkably this past month and this may be a part of it. Though I have withdrawn to 2mg to reduce anxiety and stress response is still very low.

 

What substances do you take right now? I have been withdrawing from valium for years. Down to 1.2mg now but it used to be brutal and painful a month ago. Yet now I am able to resist increasing dose. Long term benzo withdrawl may mess with your blood sugar levels and hypoglycemia can cause horrid anxiety and stress like reactions including harsh negativity and irritability towards others. 

 

Also you may want to examine whether or not you have Candida. It is something I have had for 2+ years. If you happen to be taking certain supplements which kill it off you may be experiencing intense die off reactions which further lead to intense stress reactions. Magnesium for instance can intensify candida and since stopping magnesium I have been doing better and better. This may be the biggest factor for me oddly enough. Plus the dopamine antagonism from magnesium is not necessarily good for everyone. 

 

You may want to examine what supplements you are taking. Something might be chronically setting you off or making you worse. Even if it's a daily multi-vitamin. 

 

Will PM you skype contact. 

[Anewlife]

OP does anyone in your family even cousins have schizophrenia or schizotypal personality disorder?

[OneScrewLoose]

 

First of all, your anxiety is not psychosomatic. However, you are taking a hypochondriac approach to it.

First thhing's first. Your GABA receptors ARE NOT PERMANENTLY DAMAGED, PERIOD. If you want to argue that, then I guess I can't help you much. The 'doctor' who told you that your HPA is permanently damaged is such a fucking quack that his voice doesn't even eccho. The body bounces back from stress, check out this mitochondrial study:
http://www.cell.com/...9822(15)00322-X

The body bounces back from all but the most severe trauma.

You also don't know if it's the HPA, GABA, or something else that is causing the stress. Stress can come from many neurotransmitter systems, and they should all be explored. My first place to look would be norepinephrine, as it is the primary neurotransmitter of the sympathetic nervous system, which is the flight or fight response. This seems to be a large part of the issue, your body would easily have a constant stress response if it is constantly convinced of a sense of danger. I would recommend trying Clonidine first, which agonizes the alpha 2 receptor and lowers NE. Do you have insomnia? Take it at night, Clonidine can regulate the HPA, only if you are sleep deprived, by shutting down Orexin production.

Next I would look at Baclofen, which is a GABA-B agonist with a low rate of tolerance and dependency. DO NOT USE PHENIBUT. It is more potent, addictive, and more quickly builds a higher tolerance than benzos. I would say it should be banned, but that would just make it a popular street drug...

The new SSRIs, Viibryd and Brintellix, are different from the rest of them. They agonize the 5HT1a receptor, which can significantly reduce anxiety. Brintellix is weaker as an SSRI than Viibryd and stronger at 5HT1a than Viibryd, so I would recommend that.

One approach you can do is shut down the stimuli from ever reaching parts of your brain, so you don't even need GABA. I am on 35mg of Memantine for this purpose. Memantine is what's called an uncompetitive antagonist (at NMDA). This means, that unlike traditional antagonists, it does not block the complete signal. It only starts working after the receptor fires, which means it acts like an audio compressor on the strength of the signal. This did wonders for my neuropathy. Few can tolerate that high of a dose of Memantine though. It took 2-3 months to build up to it as well.

Then there's CBD, a legal, otc cannabinoid that is an inverse agonist at CB2, thereby increasing GABA instead of decreasing it like THC does (how does weed settle with you?) My recommend mode of ingestion would be vaping. The most concentrated/best deal I've seen is this:
http://www.ehookahbr...h-vapor-flavors

Some only have 20mg per 10ml. This has a whopping 300mg per 10ml.

You're not broken, and if you think you are then you're just plain stupid. I'd be glad to offer more recommendations if you're interested. Disposition can greatly effect anxiety, and working with the idea that this is readily fixable, however much patience you need to find the right approach, will itself reduce your anxiety. I also highly, highly recommend meditation. I can write a few paragraphs on that if you'd like.

 

 

 

As you can see it has taken me about 4 days to find an appropriate moment to respond to this, my cognitive/stress response symptoms are very debilitating, frustrating and hard to control/improve. Apologies its taken so long. First of all, thanks so much for taking the time to write such a thorough and informative response. 

 

I don't think my anxiety is psychosomatic. I was told by the guy from selfhacked that my issues are very difficult to treat, if treatable at all and have been told to settle for going on disability....He says I have a rare form of an anxiety disorder. My stress response (SR) goes off to food and exercise rather than just psychological stimuli. I've not found anyone with similar issues on the internet which is bizarre, perhaps I will with AlexCanada, who knows. I'm not completely blindly accepting his opinion but he seems to be pretty onpoint with my issues so far. I don't want him to be right, hence why I'm on here looking for alternate opinions. 

 

 

He suspected I had a CRH, CCK and GABA issue. When I took supplements which increase GABA or reduce CRH or CCK my stress response symptoms reduce. But all it takes is for me to eat or do a stressor more intense than walking for the supplements effects to be nullified, so the frustration is strong with this one! When I eat fat or protein (which produces CCK) my stress response goes off, in varying severity depending on how much I've eaten. When I take EDTA, which reduces CCK, it reduces my symptoms. When I took 5g licorice it stopped me reacting to things and then stopped working after one day... When I took a benzo I completely stopped reacting to everything, that's the closest I've found as a “cure” to my HPA dysfunction. Cold air exposure significantly reduces my symptoms when I'm symptomatic, apparently it reduces CRH.

 

 

Another interesting finding which happened about a fortnight ago was when I went out drinking and drank 4 GnTs and 4 pints of cider over the course of the night, the next morning I just felt better, I woke up feeling the most rested I've felt in ages, non symptomatic, light, more within myself... I just couldn't put my finger on why, until I ate...somehow it felt like it normalised my HPA, turned off the stress response. When I ate a burger low and behold my stress response and symptoms came back. I think I've read somewhere it's some sort of temporary dopamine upregulation. So all in all I don't think I have issues with just GABA...

 

 

 

So surely I have pretty good evidence at least to suggest that I have a problem with my HPA and have GABA issues?

 

When I take a benzo my strong SR stops going off to everything eg exercise, food. Symptoms remain balanced, glucose tolerance, CCK/CRH overproduction normalises etc etc.

 

 

I will try Baclofen for the sake of it but I had a mostly negative reaction to Phenibut, despite what I said in my first post. I've learnt they're very similar in MOE. It made me into what I imagine someone with severe depression is like. Turned me into a zombie.

 

 

 

When I eat things I normally react to in small doses my stress response doesn't go off, for example when I eat a bite of a chocolate bar every 20 mins my stress response symptoms remains very low, if go off at all, if I eat that whole chocolate bar in one go then my stress response symptoms will go wild.

 

It has to be at least something causing blood sugar control issues, surely? 

 

 

The new SSRIs, Viibryd and Brintellix, are different from the rest of them. They agonize the 5HT1a receptor, which can significantly reduce anxiety. Brintellix is weaker as an SSRI than Viibryd and stronger at 5HT1a than Viibryd, so I would recommend that.

 

One approach you can do is shut down the stimuli from ever reaching parts of your brain, so you don't even need GABA. I am on 35mg of Memantine for this purpose. Memantine is what's called an uncompetitive antagonist (at NMDA). This means, that unlike traditional antagonists, it does not block the complete signal. It only starts working after the receptor fires, which means it acts like an audio compressor on the strength of the signal. This did wonders for my neuropathy. Few can tolerate that high of a dose of Memantine though. It took 2-3 months to build up to it as well.

 

Then there's CBD, a legal, otc cannabinoid that is an inverse agonist at CB2, thereby increasing GABA instead of decreasing it like THC does (how does weed settle with you?) My recommend mode of ingestion would be vaping. The most concentrated/best deal I've seen is this:

http://www.ehookahbr...h-vapor-flavors

 

Some only have 20mg per 10ml. This has a whopping 300mg per 10ml.

 

You're not broken, and if you think you are then you're just plain stupid. I'd be glad to offer more recommendations if you're interested. Disposition can greatly effect anxiety, and working with the idea that this is readily fixable, however much patience you need to find the right approach, will itself reduce your anxiety. I also highly, highly recommend meditation. I can write a few paragraphs on that if you'd like.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Will I be able to get a prescription of these SSRI's from a doctor or psychiatrist in the UK?

 

Im 11 days into trying fluoxetine. Fluoxetine and 5htp were the only two things which improved my cognition very temporarily....but cognitive effect were both nullified when a stress response would go off such as if I ate something or drank a beer when socialising, so cognitive impairment and general symptoms were set off. So all in all the conclusion my consultant and I came to was that an SSRI was not strong enough to inhibit my HPA but of course I'm trying it again.

 

Weed's a strange one, it can be my worst stress response trigger of my SR. But If I take it in 2 tokes I'm fine if I take more the stress effect on my HPA can be huge and I start uncontrollably freezing up, spasming, twitching. When I take a benzo or licorice I was able to smoke 3 times the amount with no stress response effect.  Interestingly when I took mushrooms and MDMA, when I was on them I stopped my stress response didn't go off to things like weed....

 

 

 

One approach you can do is shut down the stimuli from ever reaching parts of your brain, so you don't even need GABA. I am on 35mg of Memantine for this purpose. Memantine is what's called an uncompetitive antagonist (at NMDA). This means, that unlike traditional antagonists, it does not block the complete signal. It only starts working after the receptor fires, which means it acts like an audio compressor on the strength of the signal. This did wonders for my neuropathy. Few can tolerate that high of a dose of Memantine though. It took 2-3 months to build up to it as well.

 

 

 

 

So to simplify this in my head it looks like your saying that memantine would stop the stress reaction happening?

 

Of course I am willing to try anything if it means I won't have to go on benzos for life....that is not even something I want to even think about but it seems it will have to be a last resort.

 

So at the moment in my simplistic understanding, I need to control my HPA axis before I can get any cognitive effect from any meds/supplements, as I have experienced this issue with the fluoxetine and 5htp where the Cog effect is nullified by a SR which is unable to be controlled by my HPA. In my head the only thing strong enough to inhibit it is a benzo, so I'd be very happy to know there's another way of going about controlling my it.

 

 

 

 

- I will look into CBD.

- I will be experimenting with Mifepristone soon.  

- I will be seeing an endocrinologist and a Psychiatrist in the next 6 weeks

 

I said that your stress WAS NOT psychosomatic. What I did say, is that you're being a hypochondriac in insisting your fundamentally broken.

 

You're stressed. Being shut down by a benzo and having a lot of stress is no where near enough to say that your entire HPA axis is broken. But you insist anyway, and it doesn't seem I can stop you. It would be far wiser to explore your brain chemistry and psyche from a wider perspective until you did have the evidence.

[YimYam]

OP does anyone in your family even cousins have schizophrenia or schizotypal personality disorder?

 

No, is their anything in particular which makes you suspect I could have this type of disorder?  

[YimYam]

 

 

First of all, your anxiety is not psychosomatic. However, you are taking a hypochondriac approach to it.

First thhing's first. Your GABA receptors ARE NOT PERMANENTLY DAMAGED, PERIOD. If you want to argue that, then I guess I can't help you much. The 'doctor' who told you that your HPA is permanently damaged is such a fucking quack that his voice doesn't even eccho. The body bounces back from stress, check out this mitochondrial study:
http://www.cell.com/...9822(15)00322-X

The body bounces back from all but the most severe trauma.

You also don't know if it's the HPA, GABA, or something else that is causing the stress. Stress can come from many neurotransmitter systems, and they should all be explored. My first place to look would be norepinephrine, as it is the primary neurotransmitter of the sympathetic nervous system, which is the flight or fight response. This seems to be a large part of the issue, your body would easily have a constant stress response if it is constantly convinced of a sense of danger. I would recommend trying Clonidine first, which agonizes the alpha 2 receptor and lowers NE. Do you have insomnia? Take it at night, Clonidine can regulate the HPA, only if you are sleep deprived, by shutting down Orexin production.

Next I would look at Baclofen, which is a GABA-B agonist with a low rate of tolerance and dependency. DO NOT USE PHENIBUT. It is more potent, addictive, and more quickly builds a higher tolerance than benzos. I would say it should be banned, but that would just make it a popular street drug...

The new SSRIs, Viibryd and Brintellix, are different from the rest of them. They agonize the 5HT1a receptor, which can significantly reduce anxiety. Brintellix is weaker as an SSRI than Viibryd and stronger at 5HT1a than Viibryd, so I would recommend that.

One approach you can do is shut down the stimuli from ever reaching parts of your brain, so you don't even need GABA. I am on 35mg of Memantine for this purpose. Memantine is what's called an uncompetitive antagonist (at NMDA). This means, that unlike traditional antagonists, it does not block the complete signal. It only starts working after the receptor fires, which means it acts like an audio compressor on the strength of the signal. This did wonders for my neuropathy. Few can tolerate that high of a dose of Memantine though. It took 2-3 months to build up to it as well.

Then there's CBD, a legal, otc cannabinoid that is an inverse agonist at CB2, thereby increasing GABA instead of decreasing it like THC does (how does weed settle with you?) My recommend mode of ingestion would be vaping. The most concentrated/best deal I've seen is this:
http://www.ehookahbr...h-vapor-flavors

Some only have 20mg per 10ml. This has a whopping 300mg per 10ml.

You're not broken, and if you think you are then you're just plain stupid. I'd be glad to offer more recommendations if you're interested. Disposition can greatly effect anxiety, and working with the idea that this is readily fixable, however much patience you need to find the right approach, will itself reduce your anxiety. I also highly, highly recommend meditation. I can write a few paragraphs on that if you'd like.

 

 

 

As you can see it has taken me about 4 days to find an appropriate moment to respond to this, my cognitive/stress response symptoms are very debilitating, frustrating and hard to control/improve. Apologies its taken so long. First of all, thanks so much for taking the time to write such a thorough and informative response. 

 

I don't think my anxiety is psychosomatic. I was told by the guy from selfhacked that my issues are very difficult to treat, if treatable at all and have been told to settle for going on disability....He says I have a rare form of an anxiety disorder. My stress response (SR) goes off to food and exercise rather than just psychological stimuli. I've not found anyone with similar issues on the internet which is bizarre, perhaps I will with AlexCanada, who knows. I'm not completely blindly accepting his opinion but he seems to be pretty onpoint with my issues so far. I don't want him to be right, hence why I'm on here looking for alternate opinions. 

 

 

He suspected I had a CRH, CCK and GABA issue. When I took supplements which increase GABA or reduce CRH or CCK my stress response symptoms reduce. But all it takes is for me to eat or do a stressor more intense than walking for the supplements effects to be nullified, so the frustration is strong with this one! When I eat fat or protein (which produces CCK) my stress response goes off, in varying severity depending on how much I've eaten. When I take EDTA, which reduces CCK, it reduces my symptoms. When I took 5g licorice it stopped me reacting to things and then stopped working after one day... When I took a benzo I completely stopped reacting to everything, that's the closest I've found as a “cure” to my HPA dysfunction. Cold air exposure significantly reduces my symptoms when I'm symptomatic, apparently it reduces CRH.

 

 

Another interesting finding which happened about a fortnight ago was when I went out drinking and drank 4 GnTs and 4 pints of cider over the course of the night, the next morning I just felt better, I woke up feeling the most rested I've felt in ages, non symptomatic, light, more within myself... I just couldn't put my finger on why, until I ate...somehow it felt like it normalised my HPA, turned off the stress response. When I ate a burger low and behold my stress response and symptoms came back. I think I've read somewhere it's some sort of temporary dopamine upregulation. So all in all I don't think I have issues with just GABA...

 

 

 

So surely I have pretty good evidence at least to suggest that I have a problem with my HPA and have GABA issues?

 

When I take a benzo my strong SR stops going off to everything eg exercise, food. Symptoms remain balanced, glucose tolerance, CCK/CRH overproduction normalises etc etc.

 

 

I will try Baclofen for the sake of it but I had a mostly negative reaction to Phenibut, despite what I said in my first post. I've learnt they're very similar in MOE. It made me into what I imagine someone with severe depression is like. Turned me into a zombie.

 

 

 

When I eat things I normally react to in small doses my stress response doesn't go off, for example when I eat a bite of a chocolate bar every 20 mins my stress response symptoms remains very low, if go off at all, if I eat that whole chocolate bar in one go then my stress response symptoms will go wild.

 

It has to be at least something causing blood sugar control issues, surely? 

 

 

The new SSRIs, Viibryd and Brintellix, are different from the rest of them. They agonize the 5HT1a receptor, which can significantly reduce anxiety. Brintellix is weaker as an SSRI than Viibryd and stronger at 5HT1a than Viibryd, so I would recommend that.

 

One approach you can do is shut down the stimuli from ever reaching parts of your brain, so you don't even need GABA. I am on 35mg of Memantine for this purpose. Memantine is what's called an uncompetitive antagonist (at NMDA). This means, that unlike traditional antagonists, it does not block the complete signal. It only starts working after the receptor fires, which means it acts like an audio compressor on the strength of the signal. This did wonders for my neuropathy. Few can tolerate that high of a dose of Memantine though. It took 2-3 months to build up to it as well.

 

Then there's CBD, a legal, otc cannabinoid that is an inverse agonist at CB2, thereby increasing GABA instead of decreasing it like THC does (how does weed settle with you?) My recommend mode of ingestion would be vaping. The most concentrated/best deal I've seen is this:

http://www.ehookahbr...h-vapor-flavors

 

Some only have 20mg per 10ml. This has a whopping 300mg per 10ml.

 

You're not broken, and if you think you are then you're just plain stupid. I'd be glad to offer more recommendations if you're interested. Disposition can greatly effect anxiety, and working with the idea that this is readily fixable, however much patience you need to find the right approach, will itself reduce your anxiety. I also highly, highly recommend meditation. I can write a few paragraphs on that if you'd like.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Will I be able to get a prescription of these SSRI's from a doctor or psychiatrist in the UK?

 

Im 11 days into trying fluoxetine. Fluoxetine and 5htp were the only two things which improved my cognition very temporarily....but cognitive effect were both nullified when a stress response would go off such as if I ate something or drank a beer when socialising, so cognitive impairment and general symptoms were set off. So all in all the conclusion my consultant and I came to was that an SSRI was not strong enough to inhibit my HPA but of course I'm trying it again.

 

Weed's a strange one, it can be my worst stress response trigger of my SR. But If I take it in 2 tokes I'm fine if I take more the stress effect on my HPA can be huge and I start uncontrollably freezing up, spasming, twitching. When I take a benzo or licorice I was able to smoke 3 times the amount with no stress response effect.  Interestingly when I took mushrooms and MDMA, when I was on them I stopped my stress response didn't go off to things like weed....

 

 

 

One approach you can do is shut down the stimuli from ever reaching parts of your brain, so you don't even need GABA. I am on 35mg of Memantine for this purpose. Memantine is what's called an uncompetitive antagonist (at NMDA). This means, that unlike traditional antagonists, it does not block the complete signal. It only starts working after the receptor fires, which means it acts like an audio compressor on the strength of the signal. This did wonders for my neuropathy. Few can tolerate that high of a dose of Memantine though. It took 2-3 months to build up to it as well.

 

 

 

 

So to simplify this in my head it looks like your saying that memantine would stop the stress reaction happening?

 

Of course I am willing to try anything if it means I won't have to go on benzos for life....that is not even something I want to even think about but it seems it will have to be a last resort.

 

So at the moment in my simplistic understanding, I need to control my HPA axis before I can get any cognitive effect from any meds/supplements, as I have experienced this issue with the fluoxetine and 5htp where the Cog effect is nullified by a SR which is unable to be controlled by my HPA. In my head the only thing strong enough to inhibit it is a benzo, so I'd be very happy to know there's another way of going about controlling my it.

 

 

 

 

- I will look into CBD.

- I will be experimenting with Mifepristone soon.  

- I will be seeing an endocrinologist and a Psychiatrist in the next 6 weeks

 

I said that your stress WAS NOT psychosomatic. What I did say, is that you're being a hypochondriac in insisting your fundamentally broken.

 

You're stressed. Being shut down by a benzo and having a lot of stress is no where near enough to say that your entire HPA axis is broken. But you insist anyway, and it doesn't seem I can stop you. It would be far wiser to explore your brain chemistry and psyche from a wider perspective until you did have the evidence.

 

 

I wasn't trying to argue or debate with you, to make it clear I am looking for your opinions and help on exploring my brain chemistry. I thought asking you 3 questions at the very least showed I had engaged and was interested in what you had to say. I'm not insisting I'm fundamentally broken either, as I said that is what I've been pretty much told, not something I have decided myself. I'm on here because 1) I doubt that I am broken and that the only way I can live some sort of functional life is to go on benzos and 2) want alternative opinions on the situation. 

 

I am now 12 days into taking Fluoxetine @ 20mg and for some reason my glucose tolerance has significantly improved. I can eat a whole chocolate bar now without my stress response symptoms going crazy. So at the very least a positive! 

[OneScrewLoose]

Sorry if I came off strong, I was just trying to let you know that I agree with you, that your symptoms are not psychosomatic.

The first thing I would try in your case, in addition to what you are taking, is CBD. I talk about it a lot here. It's a non=psychoactive cannabinoid that's 100% legal OTC. It works as an inverse agonist at the CB2 receptor, which causes a release of GABA. It is in no way habit forming, either.

How do you get a long with regular weed, btw?

[YimYam]

Looks like a great video but I'm just way too cognitively impaired to do that kind of job. I live in the UK, do you know of any commercialised vapors which are sold internationally which you would recommend? Or just a place where I can pick up a cheap and fairly durable device? I just want to buy the vapor and juice and that be it, nice and simple! 

 

Weed is a weird one as of all the different substances my stress response goes off to, weed is the worst, but its entirely dose dependent. If I smoke two puffs I'm good, If i smoke say more than 4 puffs I will go into full on seizure mode, I freeze up, I get severe hypertension and head pressure. But I had an occasion where I took 5g of licorice and went from being able to smoke 2 small puffs to 4-5 large ones in one go. I had this same experience with weed when I experimented with shrooms and mdma.

[maxwatt]

Dihydroxymyricetin blocks alcohol from binding to GABA receptors.  It might block some of your other stress triggers.  Worth a try?

[YimYam]

Dihydroxymyricetin blocks alcohol from binding to GABA receptors.  It might block some of your other stress triggers.  Worth a try?

 

Thanks for your input Maxwatt. 

 

Can you explain how "Dihydroxymyricetin blocks alcohol from binding to GABA receptors" might benefit me and shut off my stress response? 

[maxwatt]

 

Dihydroxymyricetin blocks alcohol from binding to GABA receptors.  It might block some of your other stress triggers.  Worth a try?

 

Thanks for your input Maxwatt. 

 

Can you explain how "Dihydroxymyricetin blocks alcohol from binding to GABA receptors" might benefit me and shut off my stress response? 

 

 

you said

 

Everything I ingest sets off a stress response (you'll soon understand why GABA comes into this), the triggers of my stress response (SR) vary in severity in how strongly they set it off. The triggers are the following: Cigarettes, caffeine, marijuana (small doses are fine, high doses are the worst trigger), alcohol, low blood sugar, eating more than 10g of quick release glucose, exercise, all food, all herbal supplements and various random ones set it off. When the SR goes off it activates my nervous system and impairs my cognition. It takes me 1hr 15 mins to eat a standard 32g chocolate bar without SR going off....

 

As these mostly activate GABA receptors, blocking them might be helpful for you in general.  It's something to explore if you want.

[AlexCanada]

I have never seen adrenal fatigue/exhaustion ever be used as a serious term in medial literature. Could you show me?

2-3mg of pregnenolone are micro and placebo doses. There's an interesting study showing that around 400mg of Pregnenolone can drastically increase levels of the neurosteroid, allopregnanolone. Remember pregnenolone is the precursor to every steroid, made directly from cholesterol. Your body makes a lot of it and I doubt 2-3 mgs will have any non-placebo effect.

5mg of vortioxetine will give a clear pharmacological response, though it is still quite a low dose, usually used as a starting dose on the way up to standard 20mg. 2mg, on the other hand, it would be very hard to say that that's more than palcebo,, no matter what you claim to feel.

There is absolutely, positively no evidence for issues with Candida in non-immuno-comprosed patients. It's pushed online to sell shit. And notice how each of those sources has their own shit to sell? When every place offers a different treatment, that's a huge red flag. This is as bogus as homepathy.

Sorry to be so disagreeable, you could just say I was very able to disagree with your statements...cause they're wrong.

 

Adrenal Insufficiency would be the more proper term. And I honestly do not care what the modern medical literature states as the current health care system is 2 decades behind and always will be. Depression some decades ago was not considered a real medical condition. How times have changed since then. And what about all those homosexuals? They used to classified as mentally ill. I guess if the medical texts state it one way then it must be the truth right? Sorry but I don't prescribe to this joke of a health care system.

 

 

 

placebo dose? There are countless people who derive significant effects from 5mg pregnenolone. Even on this forum. I guess they must be full of it? I used to take 12mg but it made my jaw hurt and the skin reaction I was having was very intense. My eyes would sting intensely and I would not be able to look at the television. I still have eye stinging reactions even at 3mg doses but am able to tolerate it.  When I took certain other supplements such as magnesium out of the equation the more severe side effects subsided to a degree. Likely a cross reaction.     We are all different and I myself am hypersensitive to all medications.    Please don't insult my intelligence by telling me when my vision changes to the point where I see purple and pink tones from low doses of pregnenolone that it is somehow placebo. Or when very clear acne emerges on my previously clear face 8 hours after dosing and whole host of other effects. 

 

 

 

And if it's not candida then it has to be something very similar relating to my gut because anything I have taken for killing candida has intense negative die off effects. "Herxheimer reaction". Something which your medical journals surely have mentioned. I get them from Caprylic Acid, Royal Jelly, Tumeric, Oil of Oregano, DGL.  And just about any anti-fungal. Intense negativity, dark mood, dark vision, aggression and downright hostility emerges for several hours.   Do you have an explanation for that? Even substances that I didn't even know had anti-candida action until after looking them up. I was astonished as to how many supplements gave me these reactions.             

 

Just because Candida Albicans is not widely recognized by modern doctors at this time (how many medical conditions has this been the case for through out history??) does not mean it doesn't exist. 

 

The first few times when I took Vortioxetine I had intense sick to my stomach sensations when starting at 2mg and my stomach bloated up significantly with noticable pain.   Perhaps I should have taken a photo of my bulging stomach as proof.         We are here on this forum trying to help one another and you're just trying to discount everything I say as some kind of joke. These are not effects that I have imagined.

 

 

Edited by AlexCanada, 29 May 2015 - 09:37 PM.

[AlexCanada]

Furthermore so called ''low doses'' of SSRIs and similar classes of meds have obvious benefits. Low doses of SSRIs are often prescribed for IBS and anyone with IBS such as myself usually gets significant benefit on just that aspect alone. Even at your so called placebo doses.  You should not be so quick to dismiss others.  I don't think you understand how you can really push people away and make it more difficult for us to find a friendly environment where we can attempt to help one another when most common venues such as the doctor's office have failed us time and time again.

Edited by AlexCanada, 29 May 2015 - 09:32 PM.

[AlexCanada]

Don't apologize for telling the truth. Before I knew better I went to a homeopath who "diagnosed" people all day long with candida and heavy metals using a ectrodiagnostic device.

"Candida yeasts are generally present in healthy humans, frequently part of the human body's normal oral and intestinal flora, and particularly on the skin; however, their growth is normally limited by the human immune system, by competition of other microorganisms, such as bacteria occupying the same locations in the human body."



http://en.m.wikipedi...iki/Candidiasis

 

I don't see how this is any different from doctors who would prescribe SSRIs for any condition under the sun. There will always be a lot of doctors looking to just cash in.

 

Everyone has candida but it's only a problem when there is systemic candida overgrowth. I have it all over my toe nails, my elbow and I have some fungus on my back. It wouldn't be a stretch of the imagination for there to be a fungal issue in my stomach as well. 

 

The majority of our neurotransmitters are produced in the gut. It is like our second brain. If our stomach is unhealthy then it can effect mental health as well.       

Edited by AlexCanada, 29 May 2015 - 09:20 PM.