flagator96

Thanks for all your helpful replies.

I don't know if she is going through the menopause at the moment , nor does she, but she is at the right age (48)

We went to our local doctor yesterday who said that only counseling will have any long term effect. She believes that there is some underlying problem here. My wife says she has no worries at all, but of course there may be some underlying problems that even she is not aware of, so it's worth pursuing.

However she prescribed Seroxat 20mg and Zalepion and Zolpidem.

When she went to the local hospital previously they gave her Tranmed 5 Sertraline Alpruzolen and Lorazepam all of which have had zero effect.

I shall see what kind of results we get from the new batch of drugs, if nothing changes in a few days will definatley take her to the sleep clinic and request Melatonin.

I do tell her that we should sleep separately but she just won't have it, but the longer this goes on she may change her mind. JAS 21 I will look up CFS and pm you if I need further info-thank you.

Thank you to all the people who have responded to this thread. I will keep you informed about what happens next.

Dear ThaiPauly,

The medications are the most likely culprit for her continuous symptoms. How long has she been on them? These medications that she got from the hospital can make the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis malfunction only after 2 weeks of usage. Did she stop the meds cold turkey? there is even more of a risk for insomnia and more after doing that. Even if she is still taking them they can cause tolerance problems and many interactions among each other. It is an awful cocktail of harmful chemicals that need to be weaned off slowly if not helping. Even if she had symptoms of insomnia prior to taking them, they will only make her worse sooner or later.

She probably would benefit from a basic work up to rule out general illness such as complete blood count, a full thyroid panel, liver and kidney function, glycohemoglobin, and urinalysis. An EKG might also be a good idea if she has palpitations and such.

Usually chronic insomnia, if most medical conditions have been ruled out is due to anxiety or depression or both. Cognitive behavioral therapy, and nutritional supplementation supervised by a knowledgeable medical professional will be a good choice in m opinion.

Most medicinal drugs like the ones you mentioned are highly addictive and can cause worsening of her symptoms and chronic disease that can take years to go away.

I wish her all the best.

Dear OP,

Sorry to hear about your father's situation.

You probably need to take action sooner than later to ensure good outcome. I presume your father is already in the hospital with a confirmed diagnosis of clot/brain stroke, and probably on anticoagulants already. If not he needs to get to a hospital immediately!

it would probably be most helpful to state your location if you want specific hospital recommendations from other folks here.

I wish him a speedy recovery.

flagator

In the monastery grounds at Wat Suan Mokkh there are a number of buildings including male and female dorms, historical displays and dining hall.

Across the road and 1 - 2 kms down a laneway there is the international retreat nestled in rambling gardens and bushland.

The loudest sound you'll hear is the sound of the bell struck at key times through the day.

Beyond the retreat there is extensive bushland incorporating walking tracks Monk quarters, meditation huts, & khutis.

There is a British Monk who practices here and appears as a guest speaker at the retreat.

I recommend a 10 day stint at the retreat and then approach the Monk.

You don't have to ordain or wear Monks clothing.

Everyone is welcome to live in the dorm indefinitely at no cost.

Meals are 25 baht approx and served at set times by the volunteers.

If the Monk accepts you, you can stay in a khuti and live off the Monks alms.

Wat Suan Mokkh is a short drive from Surat Thani.

They practice Theravada and embrace Anapanasiti.

rochyysdt,

This sounds really great. Thanks for the post.

Do you, by chance, have a contact number, email, or web site URL? Or do you know if the people at Wat Suan Mokkh would have contact information?

Thanks.

Kind regards,

JJ

Hello JJ,

http://www.suanmokkh-idh.org/idh-rules.html

This is the link for Suan Mok

Also if you are looking for long term meditation and practice this may also be an option.

http://www.paaukforestmonastery.org/aboutUs.htm

With metta,

flagator

Is Xanax similar to Zoplicone ??

I had that for 6 years 15mg a night and then one day GP refused to renew prescription. Didn't sleep for couple days but after that was fine

The so called "Z drugs" for sleep are very similar to benzodiazepines. You are very lucky your insomnia lasted for 2 days going off the drug "cold turkey" . I guess your doctor is/was ignorant about the potential nasty withdrawal and did not even offer you tapeirng. Of course this is nothing new. Incompetent and ignorant doctors endangering peoples lives are an epidemic nowadays. Your insomnia could have lasted for 2 years along with a slew of other intolerable side-effects from abrupt withdrawal.

And just because you were lucky the last time it does not mean you will have the same good luck in the future...

Doctor had no choice. City where I live issued some directive (not sure of the full story) that all Benzo's sleepers were to be withdrawn from immediate effect except in the case of family death whereby one sleeping tablet only would be precribed.

100's were effected not only just me I might add

In my opinion there is almost always a choice and exceptions can be pursued but the doctor has to work on it. There is always a choice to prescribe something else. Also there is the option of herbs as well as supplements that could have "eased you off " instead of going cold turkey and ruining your life. Did he warn you of the potential withdrawal ? Did he offer you any alternative options?

Where was this by the way?

Is Xanax similar to Zoplicone ??

I had that for 6 years 15mg a night and then one day GP refused to renew prescription. Didn't sleep for couple days but after that was fine

The so called "Z drugs" for sleep are very similar to benzodiazepines. You are very lucky your insomnia lasted for 2 days going off the drug "cold turkey" . I guess your doctor is/was ignorant about the potential nasty withdrawal and did not even offer you tapeirng. Of course this is nothing new. Incompetent and ignorant doctors endangering peoples lives are an epidemic nowadays. Your insomnia could have lasted for 2 years along with a slew of other intolerable side-effects from abrupt withdrawal.

And just because you were lucky the last time it does not mean you will have the same good luck in the future...

About cross tolerance and withdrawal for xanx valium and ativan: i think it is actually possible to become addicted to more than one at the same time and taking one will NOT relieve the withdrawal from another. Is this scientifically true?

They all have the same mechanism of action which is GABA A receptor stimulation. This results in the brain down regulating these receptors which leads to withdrawal (cross, tolerance or otherwise) as well as dependence and addiction,

If you want a through discussion of benzodiazepine withdrawal you can google " Ashton Manual" and you will find a very thorough discussion on this subject.

Unfortunately there are probably a great many detrimental things these and most pharmaceutical drugs do that we will never know about, as they are skillfully hidden by the criminal syndicate called Big Pharma.

Thanks.

Is today Buddha day ?

It is actually in May. It will be May 25 2015 next time it is celebrated.

It is also a national holiday for some SE Asian countries like Sri Lanka, Burma, Singapore and of course Thailand.

How do recomend fixing the gut? I to had many years of drinking on an empty stomach and never thought it could be a link to my anxiety.

Well it is the gut as well as the whole body. You can read Dr Mercola's article linked above.

There is a great deal of good information in it. You can also do a nutritional balancing program by following Dr Lawuence. Wilson's protocol to restoring the body. You can google Dr Larry Wilson for the website.

It is important to remember that this is a process. There is no quick fix in healing the body from years of stress and various insults. With time and patience however as well as using the right tools, our bodies can reverse the damages and gain back good health. The sooner you start to do these things the better. Time is of the essence.

My problem seems to be an overly sensitive nervous system as a result of too many years of drinking beer on an empty stomach which means that going to noisy crowded places with bright lights definitely leaves me on edge. But when I'm at home I never take Ativan because I guess that's my "safe zone".

I can identify Ron

It's not like i'm looking for things to make me nervous it's like there's a mechanism in me looking for danger that's way too over sensitised.

A loud noise and I duck for cover.....then look round to see other people just acting normal.

I even start to feel dodgy at a place where there's a slight vibration in the floor from machines......I'm sure my danger radar is watching out for something primordial like an earthquake.

I'm off Ativan and have had to stop drinking because even beer or two leaves me even more sensitised next day......I do my best to "act normal" and I largely have a nice life, but have to say if there was something I could take long term without side effects I would like that.

Just can't seem to find anything.

Your symptoms are due to chronic GABA A receptor dowregulation / dysregulation. Benzos, alcohol and chronic stress can all contribute to this.

You can take probiotics with Lactobacilus cultures in them. Also you can eat lactofermented dairy foods like yoghurt sour milk etc. It is important to get good early sleep, each night to normalize stress hormones, and perhaps try some breathing meditation on a regular basis. These practices can restore your nervous system back to normal. It takes time and patience , but you can do it!.

It's very ironic that you mentioned the probiotic cultures Lactobacilis because I just started taking those a week ago to restore my gut after having screwed it up from drinking too much and a bad diet. And now you tell me it helps with anxiety? Wow, that's great! I can kill 2 birds with one stone.

Fixing the gut is equivalent with fixing anxiety. So you are actually addressing two sides of the same coin. Lactobacilus bacteria in your gut communicate with the brain via the vagus nerve. that communication commands your brain to activate it's genes for creating and increasing the number of GABA A receptors in the brain which leads to more relaxation, better sleep, and better overall emotional well being.

You may want to check these out:

1 http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/evolutionary-psychiatry/201206/do-probiotics-help-anxiety

2 http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/07/25/probiotics-new-prozac.aspx

3 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21876150

Why did you stop taking Ativan?

I went on a meditation retreat.

One morning I started feeling extremely strange and sensitive and later had to leave to go home.

It was like driving in a cloud and I was in fact in a depression.

My (pretty aware) doc had read that benzos could bring on depressions and he just said that's it we've got to get you off them.

(I had done it once before but travelling around Canada I got too agoraphobic to carry on and a doctor friend gave me enough ativan until i got home.....and I was on it again. )

So my doc changed me to diazepam and put me on tricyclics to aid sleep and withdrawal and I toughed it out over quite a long period and that's been it no more.

After effects of booze have gradually got me off that despite being very heavy including DT withdrawals too many times.

I'll add that i found after being on Ativan a long time and three doses a day.....typical then....because of the short half life it was very much up and down each day.

It's certainly best avoided but remarkably I functioned extremely well i did a lot of stuff in my Ativan years. The fact is an anxiety prone psyche is very painful and does not function well, stagnation by procrastination etc..... and depending on stage of life etc, in some cases an addiction to the right drug.....even til death....may just occasionally be the lesser of two evils.

It sounds like you had a negative experience with meditation. The fact that you were already on medications then is probably the cause of the bad experience. Overall all these meds (benzos, trycyclics, SSRIs) they will exacerbate chronic anxiety and depression because they do not work on the real cause of the problem. They just treat symptoms. More over will slowly and surely poison the body in the long run. Alcohol and stress are also destabilizing factors as they contribute to imbalances in brain chemistry. Meditation and relaxation techniques can and will heal your body. It is process though and it takes time to fully heal just as it took time to develop these problems in the long run. Most people feel better every week after they clean their life out of all these toxic chemicals and learn how to manage stress with meditation and perhaps some CBT ( cognitive behavioral therapy) counseling if needed. Breathing meditation can heal on it's own as well. It is taught all over Thailand as Anapanassati ( breathing meditation) Once you start cleaning your body out from all these chemicals you will feel better and better every week/month till you are back to normal. Aother great resource on nutrition and healing is Dr Larry Wilson's website. You can google that at your leisure. Long story short is that the body can and will heal itself if it is given the right conditions and tools.

My problem seems to be an overly sensitive nervous system as a result of too many years of drinking beer on an empty stomach which means that going to noisy crowded places with bright lights definitely leaves me on edge. But when I'm at home I never take Ativan because I guess that's my "safe zone".

I can identify Ron

It's not like i'm looking for things to make me nervous it's like there's a mechanism in me looking for danger that's way too over sensitised.

A loud noise and I duck for cover.....then look round to see other people just acting normal.

I even start to feel dodgy at a place where there's a slight vibration in the floor from machines......I'm sure my danger radar is watching out for something primordial like an earthquake.

I'm off Ativan and have had to stop drinking because even beer or two leaves me even more sensitised next day......I do my best to "act normal" and I largely have a nice life, but have to say if there was something I could take long term without side effects I would like that.

Just can't seem to find anything.

Your symptoms are due to chronic GABA A receptor dowregulation / dysregulation. Benzos, alcohol and chronic stress can all contribute to this.

You can take probiotics with Lactobacilus cultures in them. Also you can eat lactofermented dairy foods like yoghurt sour milk etc. It is important to get good early sleep, each night to normalize stress hormones, and perhaps try some breathing meditation on a regular basis. These practices can restore your nervous system back to normal. It takes time and patience , but you can do it!.

[continued, because the forum limits tha number of quote tags per post]

And the European Commission's EMF-NET comments:

There is a lack of balance in the report; no mention is made in fact of reports that do not concur with authors statements and conclusions. The results and conclusions are very different from those of recent national and international reviews on this topic.

The stated purpose of the BioInitiative Report is to assess the scientific evidence of health effects of low-level EMF exposure below current international limits, and to establish which changes are needed to reduce public health risks from EMF exposure. If this report were to be believed, EMF would be the cause of a variety of diseases and subjective effects, including: Sleeplessness, headache, fatigue, skin disorders and changes in skin sensitivity, loss of appetite, tinnitus, impairment of memory and concentration, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease, cardiac problems, changes in brain and nervous systems activity, stress reactions, inflammatory and allergic reactions, genotoxic effects, changes in immune system function, and many types of cancers.

None of these health effects has been classified as established in any national or international reviews that assessed biological and health effects from exposures below internationally accepted EMF limits when the whole database of scientific literature is reviewed according to well-accepted international risk assessment methods and criteria.

And the German Office for Radiation Protection:

[The Bioinitiative Report] failed to differentiate between the health effects of low-frequency and high-frequency electromagnetic fields, which is scientifically unacceptable.

Here is a video for you.

I do not expect you to change your mind over it. Regardless of what you or me think about this issue, there is an increasing body of evidence that non ionizing electromagnetic fields are associated with harm in humans. It will be prudent and fair since the science has not been settled yet not to force people to irradiated against their will in public places.

Women that put their cellphones in their bras are increasingly coming down with breast cancer.

I watched the story. There was a lot of "it might be this or that" and "we just don't have enough data to know one way or another". Woman have always gotten breast cancer. Just because they've recently started carrying phones next to their cancers doesn't establish causation. If men start carrying their phones in their butt cracks, can we start blaming our prostate cancers on them?

For more info on research on electromagnetic radiation effects you can check out www.bioinitiative.org.

I stopped reading after the first nonsensical claim (which means I never made it to the second page).

You may want to take a look at the conclusions page :

http://www.bioinitiative.org/conclusions/

This page provides a much more precise review of the findings.

I switch everything off, because I do not believe in the waste of energy resources and depleting them when not in use.

But primarily, for my health, radiation will kill me one day.

I could not agree more. Moreover, it surprises me how many people are willing to have their brains microwaved by wi-fi, cell phones and smart meters day and night.

Just because you do not feel an effect it does not mean the effect is not there. Independently funded studies ( no money from telco corporations) find again and again that brain cell DNA is damaged from wifi, cell phones and microwaves in general. Your body can keep up with repairing that DNA damage up to a point but beyond that the damage is irreversible. No wonder demential, alzheimers disease, autism and other neurodegenerative disorders have skyrocketed in the last 25 years. Is it all chance?

You can check the facts here:

www.bioinitiative.org

Sheryl, thanks so much for your advice. I will seek counselling. Lumpini, I will explore your links shortly, thanks, and to inbangkok, re the difference between addiction and dependancy, am I right in guessing that addiction is being physically dependant on the substance whereas dependance is more of a psychological nature?

Hi Peterh,

Taking benzodiazepines for more than 2 weeks creates both a physical and emotional dependency, addiction, whatever you want to call it. The seat of your emotions is usually your brain. The brain gets structurally changed by the benzos usually after 2 weeks. In some people this happens sooner and in some later. Basically the GabaA receptors which relax your brain and body ( and do a whole lot more things) become down regulated by your own brain. The medication makes them super active and as a result your brain seeks equilibrium and reduces their numbers. Some people start with less GabaA receptors to begin with due to genetics or chronic stress ( the stress hormone cortisol also down regulates GabaA receptors), and some start with more receptors. The more you have available the more you can take the medicine without being dependent on it or experiencing any side-ffects from it. The more you stay on the medicine though, the more likely you are to become dependent. After a year or more it is a sure bet that someone is dependent.

As far as doctors are concerned, you need to find one that is either educated with the Ashton manual or that is willing to be educated about it and willing to help you. There is no other solution to my knowledge. Indeed as previously said most doctors are utterly clueless that it can take years for the brain to upregulate GabaA receptors again and how to help patients safely get off benzos. Benzobuddies is a great resource as well for support with this difficult but very important process. A lot of people have safely and effectively gotten off these dreadful meds by utilizing Ashton's manual and the website mentioned.

Now as far a getting to "the root of the problem", you will need to look beyond western medicine and the way it is practiced in my opinion. The reason is that western medicine in the majority of cases only treats symptoms, and not the underlying cause of a problem. It is a sick care system driven bgy financial motives more so than humanistic motives of helping people to find a cure. There are exceptions to this but they only prove the rule.There are exceptions were western medicine is superb such as emergency surgery, orthopedics, treating acute infections, cuts and bruises, etc. However, when it come to treating chronic illness a lot is left to be desired. Care appears to geared toward keeping people as a patients forever and not fully healthy, instead of curing them.

I like the work of Dr Lawrence Wilson, and you can google him if you wish. I think he offers the most sane approach in healing illness and restoring health. Nevertheless, you would need to wait until your brain is fully healed before you engage in a new wellness program that may involve supplements. It is important to stay off supplements as Dr Aston says in order to allow your brain to fully re-calibrate as quickly and as effectively as possible during and after the taper.

I wish you the best and if you have any other questions feel free to PM me.

Yeah. I really want to sit on a 12 hour flight to LHR listening to what some prat beside me rattling on about what he had for dinner last night.

Still don't have a mobile phone. Never have; never will. Refuse to turn into a brain dead, pathetic moron waddling the streets peering into a small plastic box or shouting into one on a bus.

Sent from my two tin cans with Thaivisa app and a brain

Cell phones and electromagnetic radiation from them is classified by the WHO as a carcinogen.

http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs193/en/

Incidence of brain cancer has surged in the last 20 years (since cell phones and wi-fi begun) by 40 % in the EU and US, Many tumors are located at the area where the headset/phone touches.

http://www.healthandenvironment.org/brain_cancer/peer_reviewed

Women that put their cellphones in their bras are increasingly coming down with breast cancer. See this:

http://www.ktvu.com/videos/news/special-report-keeping-cell-phone-in-bra-may-lead/vhPF8/

People in a plane should be able to make a cell calls but the rights of people who do not want to be radiated next to them should also be respected. Maybe special areas in the planes can be dedicated for calls, or a section of the plane dedicated to cell phone/ tablet, wi-fi users. Also, a growing number of people are sensitive to radiation from cellphones and get headaches etc.

Unfortunately convenience many times bears undesired consequences more and more nowadays. Especially when the technologies involved have not been independently tested before( cellphones, genetic engineering and more)

For more info on research on electromagnetic radiation effects you can check out www.bioinitiative.org.

Posted 2014-08-13 20:41:52

If you haven't already read him, try Stephen Batchelor's books: "Buddhism without Beliefs" and

"Confession of a Buddhist Atheist." His spiritual journey is very interesting.

Thanks, I will try and find those books.

Dear Nideunimaitre,

I would highly recommend to google "access to insight" (one word).

Once on the website you may look at the Beginnings section and go from there.

The message of the Buddha appears to have been distorted through the millennia, as one would expect. A lot of superstitious beliefs, rites and rituals have been added. In my opinion the Pali Canon, seems to hold the most original and genuine teachings as they were most likely delivered by the master 2600 years ago. The ultimate proof however is putting the teachings to work on a trial basis and seeing if they work, That is what the Buddha recommended, instead of just having "blind faith". You just have to get to the right teachings first. It was a lot easier to do that in the past, and the genuine message gets more and more distorted until it disappears completely as the Buddha predicted at some point down the road.

I would also highly recommend to you to listen to Ajaan Thanissaro's teachings on line. You can google Dhammatalks, with his name and it should come right up. The evening talks are a wealth of wisdom from a genuine practioner with so much wisdom offered along with practical steps. He is an American born monk who ordained and spent decades in Thailand. He is now the abbot of a Thai monastery in the States. I find his teachings, succinct, and able to get right to the heart of the matter.

If you have any other questions or concerns please feel free to ask.

Best regards.

OP, I do understand your anger and frustration.

Just for a moment, forget she is in Pattaya and what she is doing.

You seem you liked her very much.

She liked you also, and that is the reason she did not reveal to you her real trade.

But, I believe you should give her a chance.

May be she will be the best wife and carring mother for your children.

Thousands of farangs got married to bar girls and they had a wonderful life after.

Please don't ignore her, give her another chance.

Yia sou Ke Kosta,

The problem is that she also lied to him about how long she has been living in Pattaya. From my perspective it is very difficult to trust someone in the future who is lying. Lying is usually a bad omen when it comes to relationships in my experience.

Just saying.....

yiannis