LONG TEXT AHEAD! I've decided, in my usual fashion to include every detail on my journey to make it easy for people going through a similar situation to relate and for those with experience to help out. I have also structured the post in such a way to make it possible for fellow TL;DRers to find the point easily.
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From the age of eleven I've excibited symptoms of what could be described as the standard array of modern western cognitive anomalies of OC(p)D, ADHD, GAD and MDD (with a hint of IBS). I have in fact been formally diagnosed as having all disorders by practicing psychiatrists in the past decade and a half and all have prescribed a number of medications, mainly of the various anti-depressent variety, designed to treat the symptoms of these conditions. I had mixed results symptom-wise, but it was clear that none even attempted the look for an underlying issue.
I am, frankly, desperate as I struggle to function acedemically and financially and so have turned to the library of scientific literature available publicly and anecdotes present on places such as this forum to try and make sense of my dilemma and for the past five years have been extremely mindful of my symptoms and how my body reacts to various things in order to get a good sense of what was happening and hopefully apply that information to a solution. This has led to many situations where I initiate lifestyle changes and suppliment regimens to note the changes to my symptomsand based on this and in light of the reading I've been doing I am convinced that my symptoms, which read like a textbook description of Multiple Sclerosis to me, stem from some form of autoimmune disorder.
I am due to begin tests tomorrow which should determine the presence of any inflammatory markers in my system. I have also requested a Testosterone check and a food allergy check as a prerequisite to a potential future solution. This aside I have had some clear chronic inflammatory symptoms over the years, the severy of which I can directly attribute to certain environmental factors, namely diet as shall be discussed later.
My symptoms are chronic and variable but I occasionally (roughly 2.5 times a month) go through a period of hightened symptoms, a relapse if you will, in which the following symptoms are much more acute and measures taken to relieve them are shorter lasting. During this period the cognitive symptoms leave me almost unsuited for everyday life and I can attest that the intensity of each and every one of these symptoms is linked.
Body Symptoms:
>>Sinus Blockage
I've brought this issue up to my GP several times over the course of some years and every time he would describe my nasal passages and being "swolen and laced with mucus". Without exception he always prescribed a deconjestant (ala short-term anti-inflammatory solution for sinus inflammation while avoiding the underlying issue) and a saline solution which does fuck all, I already go to the beach thank you. He did not seem very keen on addressing the question as to why this was chronic and the prescriptions seemed to only offer temporary relief.
BOLD = Only during relapse, always happen together.
>>Ringing in ears
>>Hot Flashes, Fever feel without high body temps; face and head physically hot
>>Flushing
>>Weakness and Lethargy. Quick mental and physical exchaustion. Slow recovery.
>>Folliculitis all over my legs and "cheeks"
>>High/irregular heart-rate, palpitations
>>Numb limbs, jaw
>>Shortness of breath
>>Trouble swallowing? This one is not chronic but at the height of my anxiety symptoms I used to "forget" how to swallow.
>>Tingling 'pins' sensations; unrelated to circulation, mainly on my neck and back. (very common after a hot shower.)
>>Vision problems. Blurry vision and irritation is common, as is a lot of 'floters'. My vision took a sharp turn from 100% to 4-eyes during the time my symptoms started. IIRC I was sitting in class one day, 10 years old, and realizing I could not make out if the blackboard had writing on it at all and remembering this wasn't the case the previous day. My left eye has gotten worse since then and I have experienced bouts of eye pain.
During relapses I have the same symptoms but at a higher intensity as well as a few additions such as the presence of folliculitis on other parts of my body, oral ulcers as well as a distinct dry rash on my forehead. The cognitive symptoms are what take the cake during these periods.
--Triggers-- Spoiler: Food, possibly.
I have found that both excercise (aerobic and resistance) as well as exposure to cold temperatures, like a cold shower, gave relief from most of the non-cognitive symptoms. Heat, such as a hot shower, blocks my nose up completely, shortens my breath and makes every follicle in my legs flare up like a supernova. I also notice an instant reoccurance of symptoms as I start to get cosy under the sheets. I now sleep completely bare with positive effects.
Eating is guaranteed to trigger all internal symptoms. I never eat processed food and avoid eating out, refined carbs and sugars as well as chemically extracted oils and my micros are great. I've been excluding and reintroducing foods in my diet to see if there was any particular food that was causing this and after singling out gluten/wheat/grains, soy, diary and going both low carb and high carb(starch) for months I came to no real conclusion as it seems that even filling my stomach up with water ellicits this inflammatory response and nothing but fasting seems to alleviate the symptoms. I have found, however, that a relapse often occurs from something in my diet as it is clear that some foods bring about an array of digestive and gut issues that eventually leads to a relapse such as the one I am experiencing while writing this thread. It starts as rancid-smelling gas from both ends, followed by bloating and a bit of nausia and then by stomach pain and watery, acidic stools. This usually lasts 3 days and during this time I find I have a greater chance of experiencing a sharp pain in my colon which at times has had me fall to the floor. What's strange to me is that this will start within an hour of eating a meal.
For reference, this is what I had today; I eat just enough in the morning to have my supps, then once at 2pm.
2 eggs lightly fried in coconut oil and salted.
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200g pork belly
Green onions, broccoli, carrots and spinach
100g white basmati rice
-----stir fried in coconut oil
Sauce:
Shoyu
Seasame oil
ginger and garlic paste in evoo
1tsp 5-spice
1tsp stevia
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Another 2 eggs lightly fried in coconut oil.
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5 dried figs
Something in that arrangement of ingredients is causing digestive issues and a relapse in symptoms.
Cognitive Symptoms:
>>The usual suspects of OC(p)D, ADHD, GAD are present and I feel that I don't need to aleborate too much on these. I get obsessive, reoccuring and persistant toughts, bad error management, quick to be distacted by outside stimuli, anxiety of all sorts is everpresent and the occasional panic attacks. Mood swings and bouts of depression are common too. I am a tense, nail-biting, RLSing mess.
>>Short-term memory.
I experience difficulty holding on to information for longer than a few seconds. This is peculiar to me because my long-term memory seems to not only be fine but surpasses those around me. I find it extremely difficult, painful even, to read, say, a paragraph of text and cross-referece different parts of it as by the time I reach the end I forget when the first part said. Again, it's strange to me because the "gist" of the content will be known to me and should it have been an insightful message would resonate with me and make it to my long-term memory but I cannot do anything with it in the moment. >>During relapses this is more of a relevant issue; I continiously, within minutes of each incident, misplace items I was just carrying, forget what I was doing, why I even came down here at all and seemingly forget skills for a split second. This is especially scary while driving and I forget which pedal to press. No joke!
>>Skill learning and language. Possible demyelination?
While I do not seem to have any issues retaining and expressing learned skills I have trouble learning new ones. I have been using a keyboard since I was 8 but despite my best efforts I am stuck at a certain level of skill. My typing speed is mediocre and I have to look at it else I can't type. I have seen this in each and every skill I have tried to get good at, be it juggling, first-person shooters or cooking. It seems that is any skill that requires a strong short-term memory and peak brain-limb coordination to master has a cap on it. This, as well as other cognitive symptoms seems to be consistent with demyelination which is a product of autoimmune disorders like MS and a known attributer to brain-fog.
>>Speech
I find it very difficult to keep a flowing conversation. Even without the anxiety I simply cannot transcribe tought to words fast enough to be an effective talker and my tonality and pitch makes me sound awkward. I easily forget words and have to describe them in another language (english is a second language here) just for the sake of saying a coherent sentence. I rarely speak more that a few sentences at a given time anymore and it has taken a big toll on my social life.
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How I plan to deal with this.
This all depends on the tests and whether or not inflammation is concerned, which in all likelyhood it is. From what I can tell my symptoms are very consistent with Multiple Sclerosis or at the very least cognitive decline from long-term oxidative stress. I have heard many theories to why this can happen and many point to food allergies and since I seem to be getting a strong autoimmune response from something I am eating I would like to pursue this first. The problem is I have exhausted many common options and am left with the more ("outlandish")? reasons, such as lectins found in many legumes, nuts, nightshade vegetables, starches and grain-fed animal products or pesticides. There is also evidence to suggest that certain diseases and viruses like Lyme and Hashimoto's could trigger chronic inflammation. Lastly I've found some anecdotes of people who have allegedly turned their life around by taking deworming pills. Which is something I might consider given that it's such a low-cost and risk-free option. So it really depends, on your input too 
I have begun a regiment of cheap and locally available supplements that have been shown to have anti-inflammatory, immune-stabilizing, antioxidant and neuroprotective effects. I have also compiled a list of supplements that I'd like to take should the case be that my cognitive decline is autoimmune-based but I don't want to be hasty as I have very limited finances. I have provided a list in the description; The ones above the red line and ones I am taking now and I'm also taking the Choline and Noopept.
At a later date I will post exactly why I think my symptoms are autoimmune caused and why these supplemets can benefit them. It's all over this forum already but just to be consistent.
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