Sensetivity to medication and supplements

[Moldybread]

55 minutes ago, geriatrickid said:

 

Your statement is inappropriate. I am not going to provide a recap of endocrinology, but you are offering scatological  nonsense. There is nothing wrong with  consulting a psychiatrist. In case you were unaware, a psychiatrist is a medical doctor and has a duty to determine if a patient is presenting because of an actual physical illness or a mental illness or a combination of both. Many  mental illnesses offer a combination of an organic disorder and  a mental health issue.  If the psychiatrist  prescribes an anxyliotic for a period of time during treatment, then the patient should comply. It is not up to you, an unqualified person who has  no training and is not competent to offer an assessment of the lab work or physical exam, to tell a patient not to comply with a course of treatment. If you need guidance on how to respond to this type of issue, please read all of Oxx's answers: Measured and thoughtful and not causing harm.  Rule number 1 on any health issue is Do No Harm. Telling someone not to listen to medical advice can cause harm.

 

 

Yes, please do provide me a recap of endocrinology and educate me on biochemistry, tell me why my post is nonsense.

[Sheryl]

Please keep it civil.

 

OP, it appears that the doctors you have seen believe your condition to be related to your anxiety disorder.

 

I can understand your reluctance to take the medication prescribed (though hard to believe 3 different benzos were prescribed - what were they?). And benzos can be quite addictive.

 

I strongly advice you see a counsellor (pyschologist, not psychiatrist), there are some good ones in Bangkok listed in the pinned mental health thread.  Either therapy alone, or therapy plus judicious use of medication, are the preferred treatment for anxiety disorders. Not medication alone, and medication should be only if really necessary. Psychiatrists will always prescribe medication because that is what they do, they do not provide therapy, at least not in Thailand. Woirk with a therapist and if over time, the tehrapist thinks that medication is necessary as an adjunct to the therapy he or she will refer you to a doctor for a script. There are non-addictive alternatives to benzos. But in many cases -- arguably most - it is possible to manage anxiety disorders without medication, through things like gonitive behavioral therapy. 

The relationship with the therapist is more important than the specific technique the therapist uses (and many are eclectric, drawing from more than one technique based on the individual patient's needs and responses). So if you see one and it doesn't feel right, try another until you locate one you feel you can work with.

[geriatrickid]

14 hours ago, Moldybread said:

Yes, please do provide me a recap of endocrinology and educate me on biochemistry, tell me why my post is nonsense.

 

You have conveniently joined TVF to offer your "expert" (sic) medical advice. Huzzah. It's fantastic that you  will grace us with your recent adhesion. However, this is not the appropriate place to discuss how the adrenal glands situated in proximity to the kidneys and their inner portion, called the adrenal medulla produce hormones. For reference sake, hormones are not  neurotransmitters. Hormones are the body's little flag people sending signals throughout the body. A neurotransmitter is a messenger. Big difference. One controls and the other delivers.  

 

It's wonderful that you read something off of a website. Unfortunately, your attempt to bundle  it out of  context and  in relation to a subject  for which it was inapplicable is nonsense.  What's next, a directive on "energy" flows or perhaps some "homeopathic" remedies?  

 

These forums are filled with people who self medicate or who do not follow their attending physicians course of treatment protocol and then pop in to complain or to wonder why they have issues. I will make this crystal clear, in the absence of thorough lab work, and physical exam in conjunction with a diagnostic reference base, it is impossible to either diagnose or to offer an appropriate course of treatment. To do otherwise will most likely result in physical harm. If you need a reference as to a rational, helpful response, please read the response of Oxx. 

 

 

[blasteen]

16 hours ago, geriatrickid said:

 

 

 

If one has a chronic urinary track illness it suggests that there is a robust reservoir of bacteria or  a parasite colony. Or, and I am not being cheeky here, there is a self inflicted traumatic injury.  At the very least, the presence of a sexually transmitted illness should be ruled out.  Chlamydia is rather persistent and doesn't always present as pain in the testicles or with a discharge.  Unless IBS is actually diagnosed by a person who  knows the disease, the diagnosis is somewhat worthless. Only a small portion of those with IBS actually have a debilitating ailment. Crohn's disease, colitis etc. are manifestations of the illness where there is a real physical disruption.  Mild cases of IBS can often be related to emotional  issues.  The bottom line is that one can offer conjecture and guesses as I have done. The only viable and intelligent option is exactly what you suggest: See a qualified health professional and review.  My own education  indicates that the  patient is popping too many potions and pills. The more of these  things one ingests, the more likely there will be an adverse reaction.

No Infection had ever been identified, antibiotics had been prescribed assuming a hidden infection.

You talk about a self inflected injury, where would you suspect this injury to be localized ?

Tested negative for Chlamydia and Gonorrhea.

I myself have been against taken so many drugs, however the doctors treating me, did not give me any other choices

 

20 hours ago, Moldybread said:

DO NOT GO TO A PSYCHIATRIST OR TAKE BENZODIAZEPINES FOR YOUR CONDITION!

 

I don't even know why I consulted that psychiatrist in the first place, I knew the outcome before the consultation (leave the office after few minutes with a bag of random drugs) but I still went, I guess it was out of desperation. I have seen  my fair share of Psychiatrist in past and it seems as their treatment approaches  are only based on a trial-error which has the capacity for significant level of long term harm. The treatments they are offering might help some people with serious conditions but I think that's where the line should be drawn.

 

15 hours ago, Sheryl said:

I can understand your reluctance to take the medication prescribed (though hard to believe 3 different benzos were prescribed - what were they?). And benzos can be quite addictive.

 

I strongly advice you see a counsellor (pyschologist, not psychiatrist), there are some good ones in Bangkok listed in the pinned mental health thread.  Either therapy alone, or therapy plus judicious use of medication, are the preferred treatment for anxiety disorders. Not medication alone, and medication should be only if really necessary. Psychiatrists will always prescribe medication because that is what they do, they do not provide therapy, at least not in Thailand. Woirk with a therapist and if over time, the tehrapist thinks that medication is necessary as an adjunct to the therapy he or she will refer you to a doctor for a script. There are non-addictive alternatives to benzos. But in many cases -- arguably most - it is possible to manage anxiety disorders without medication, through things like gonitive behavioral therapy. 

 

Sorry they were not all Benzos, two were Brinrellix and Lexotan, the third one I can exactly remember.

 

I was seeing a therapist for few months few years ago it didnt help much, things have significantly changed, so  it might help

 

 

 

[Sheryl]

4 hours ago, blasteen said:

 

 

 

 

A bickering/flaming post has been removed. The purpose of this thread is to assist the OP with his health issues. It is not the place for bickering/feuding.

 

[Sheryl]

4 hours ago, blasteen said:

No Infection had ever been identified, antibiotics had been prescribed assuming a hidden infection.

You talk about a self inflected injury, where would you suspect this injury to be localized ?

Tested negative for Chlamydia and Gonorrhea.

I myself have been against taken so many drugs, however the doctors treating me, did not give me any other choices

 

I don't even know why I consulted that psychiatrist in the first place, I knew the outcome before the consultation (leave the office after few minutes with a bag of random drugs) but I still went, I guess it was out of desperation. I have seen  my fair share of Psychiatrist in past and it seems as their treatment approaches  are only based on a trial-error which has the capacity for significant level of long term harm. The treatments they are offering might help some people with serious conditions but I think that's where the line should be drawn.

 

Sorry they were not all Benzos, two were Brinrellix and Lexotan, the third one I can exactly remember.

 

I was seeing a therapist for few months few years ago it didnt help much, things have significantly changed, so  it might help

 

 

 

 Please give it (therapist) a try. As mentioned there are some good Western therapists in Bangkok.

 

In my experience, even in people who need psychotropic medications,  unless outright psychotic it is better to see a therapist for a while and then let the therapist determine whether a referral to a pyschiatrist for medication is indicated or not. If it is, the therapist will refer to a psychiatrist they know well and will relay to the psychiatrist their assessment -- based on hours of working with the patient -- of what the problem is.

 

Psychiatrists on the other hand spend such a short time with the patient that they may easily mistake the nature of the problem. And in the case of Thai psychiatrists in particular, they do tend to overmedicate.

 

You may well not need any psych meds at all. But you do need to work with someone who can help you with your anxiety.  As that gets under control the nature of any purely physical problems, if any will become a lot clearer.

[flagator96]

On 11/20/2016 at 11:52 PM, blasteen said:

I've been trying my best to stay away from meds as much as possible in past 2-3 years but I have noticed having issues with the following

 

 

1. Vit-C supplements  (after 1-2 days of it, I started to feel anxious, moody, physically agitated and depressed)

2. Fish oil (my experience with this was mostly agitation and a foggy brain)

3. Quercetin or prostate issues, was ok for 2-3 weeks, but after this slowly went through a period of elevated anxiety, physical agitation, foggy brain and stomach problems such bloating, pain and which subsided a week or two after stopping it

4. Xyzal, this makes me very moody and angry and makes it hard to think.

5. Vit-B6, B12, etccc, taking them for even one day make me very moody and cause a foggy brain.

6. Probiotics: these just make me tired, edgy and tired, after stopping them, I would feel very depressed for few days.

7. Antibiotics, these are the worth, I've some really bad experience with this, they can make me agitated, cause random mood changes, constipation, nausea and allot of tiredness. different ABs can effect me diffrently. There have been cases where after taking a typical antibiotics (trimethoprim) for few days I could hardly do anything for two weeks as I was just tired, agitated and depressed all the time.

- I've taking an antibiotic (Septrin) for nearly 10-11 months at one occasion, which I think now has damaged my gut pretty bad as I cant handle many different types of foods anymore. (elevation of liver enzyme could be because of this or due to 7 years of antidepressants which I had quit 3 years ago)

8. I always have been unable to drink alcohol, consuming alcohol can make very tired and give me a foggy brain for few days.

 

By food allergy, I am referring to a set of IBS symptoms which flare up following consuming certain foods. i.e. oily foods, spciy foods, some nuts, rice, apples, melons, beans, dates,etc.... the symptoms are usually a foggy brain, tiredness, nausea, bloating, lack of concentration, sleepiness. the length of a flare up could be short to few weeks

 

Dear OP,

 

After reviewing your history and symptoms it sounds like you may be dealing with protracted withdrawal syndrome from your abrupt cessation of taking anti-depressants after taking then for several years. It sounds like you may have not tapered adequately. Sensitivity to medications, foods and supplements is a classic symptom of the above condition. Your parasympathetic / sympathetic nervous system may very well be out of sync as well.

 

Chronic anti-depressant use causes structural changes in your brain that take years to reverse and / or normalize, but only after discontinuation. Frequently there is deregulation of the HPA axis (fatigue), as well as GABA receptor down-regulation (anxiety). These may take a few years to fully resolve. There can also be many many more symptoms that affect many bodily systems as your brain tries to recover form the damage that psychiatric medications can frequently cause. The brain and central nervous system (CNS) are some of the slower healing systems of our body, but with time and appropriate care you can fully recover. Needless to say the effectiveness of many of your hormones and their receptors may be disrupted.

 

It is important to avoid all supplements and avoid all medications unless it is absolutely necessary to take them. Also you may want to avoid all spices, alcohol and MSG as they frequently do have CNS effects.

 

Last but not least, try to reduce and / or eliminate chronic stress from your life. Excess cortisol and adrenaline secretion do prevent your CNS from fully re-balancing / normalizing. Relaxation and meditation practices will help normalize your CNS faster.

 

Please read-up on protracted antidepressant withdrawal syndrome as there is plenty of information online. In all likelihood you do not need any more psychiatric medications or medications of any kind if you hope to recover from your already injured brain and central nervous system. They are probably the cause of your problems to begin with.

 

May you feel better soon.

 

 

 

 

[blasteen]

On 11/12/2016 at 6:04 PM, flagator96 said:

Dear OP,

 

After reviewing your history and symptoms it sounds like you may be dealing with protracted withdrawal syndrome from your abrupt cessation of taking anti-depressants after taking then for several years. It sounds like you may have not tapered adequately. Sensitivity to medications, foods and supplements is a classic symptom of the above condition. Your parasympathetic / sympathetic nervous system may very well be out of sync as well.

 

Chronic anti-depressant use causes structural changes in your brain that take years to reverse and / or normalize, but only after discontinuation. Frequently there is deregulation of the HPA axis (fatigue), as well as GABA receptor down-regulation (anxiety). These may take a few years to fully resolve. There can also be many many more symptoms that affect many bodily systems as your brain tries to recover form the damage that psychiatric medications can frequently cause. The brain and central nervous system (CNS) are some of the slower healing systems of our body, but with time and appropriate care you can fully recover. Needless to say the effectiveness of many of your hormones and their receptors may be disrupted.

 

It is important to avoid all supplements and avoid all medications unless it is absolutely necessary to take them. Also you may want to avoid all spices, alcohol and MSG as they frequently do have CNS effects.

 

Last but not least, try to reduce and / or eliminate chronic stress from your life. Excess cortisol and adrenaline secretion do prevent your CNS from fully re-balancing / normalizing. Relaxation and meditation practices will help normalize your CNS faster.

 

Please read-up on protracted antidepressant withdrawal syndrome as there is plenty of information online. In all likelihood you do not need any more psychiatric medications or medications of any kind if you hope to recover from your already injured brain and central nervous system. They are probably the cause of your problems to begin with.

 

May you feel better soon.

 

 

 

 

Thanks for the comment. My taper was pretty quick, 4 months for 20mg of Seroxat. Its very much plausible that these might be related to the withdrawal symptoms, however since I have been past the worth part of my withdrawal (first 14 months after quitting) I didn't really contribute my symptoms to that. Nevertheless, I had experienced some of the sensitivities towards food and drug whilst on Seroxat too

[blasteen]

Hi All,

Just thought to make an update. Since, I last made an update I had to go under a gastroscopy with sedation two weeks ago, I was given Medazepam for sedation. I had no major issues, however after 2 days, my concentration and thinking capabilities have declined substantially

. I have been finding it slightly hard to come up with adequate words while trying to make up sentences during talking or writing.

 

My job involves R&D, and I need to read allot of scientific papers and solve technical issues. The lack of concentration and brain fog is making this task quite hard as I cant hold and analyze the information I read and cant gather everything I know efficiently while trying to solve a problem. now and I need to read something or think about things few times until I can partially understand it. I had experienced something like this years ago while taking antidepressants.

 

What could this be due to

[Sheryl]

Possibly reaction to the sedation but 2 weeks is an unusually prolonged time for that top persist, unless you are also taking other pysch meds. I am a little unclear about the timing as you first say 2 weeks and then say 2 days.

 

If it is 2 days then it likely is due to the sedation and will improve.

 

If it is 2 weeks, that's unusually long unless you already had some benzos on board and/or have taken other depressents (inc. alcohol) during this period  and/or have some liver impairment..

[blasteen]

I had the sedation 2 weeks ago. For the first 1-2 days following the sedation I was fine just slightly sleepy. but after that the issues with concentration and focus started.

 

Had the livery enzymes check 1-2 months prior to the sedation and all were fine this time. No benzo or antidepressants for nearly 4 years. no alcohol for 3 years.

[Sheryl]

2 weeks later it is very unlikely to be due to the sedation, especially given normal liver function.

 

Reviewing your initial posts in this thread it appears that foggy brain/trouble concentrating is something that has been an intermittent problem for you for a long time.

 

While you give a  long list of medications, foods and supplements that you feel cause this, the list is so long and so varied that it is more likely that any temporal associations were coincidental.

 

For problems with memory/concentration/"brain fog"  should exclude B12 deficiency, thyroid problem and low testeosterone level. f any of these are found to be a problem then of course treat . If all these are ruled out then next stop is a psychologist (not psychiatrist) or trained counselor as it may be stress related.

[flagator96]

5 hours ago, blasteen said:

I had the sedation 2 weeks ago. For the first 1-2 days following the sedation I was fine just slightly sleepy. but after that the issues with concentration and focus started.

 

Had the livery enzymes check 1-2 months prior to the sedation and all were fine this time. No benzo or antidepressants for nearly 4 years. no alcohol for 3 years.

 

6 hours ago, blasteen said:

Hi All,

Just thought to make an update. Since, I last made an update I had to go under a gastroscopy with sedation two weeks ago, I was given Medazepam for sedation. I had no major issues, however after 2 days, my concentration and thinking capabilities have declined substantially

. I have been finding it slightly hard to come up with adequate words while trying to make up sentences during talking or writing.

 

My job involves R&D, and I need to read allot of scientific papers and solve technical issues. The lack of concentration and brain fog is making this task quite hard as I cant hold and analyze the information I read and cant gather everything I know efficiently while trying to solve a problem. now and I need to read something or think about things few times until I can partially understand it. I had experienced something like this years ago while taking antidepressants.

 

What could this be due to

My father experienced similar symptoms like yours after he was given 2 mg of Ativan for a procedure he had as an outpatient just like you. His cognitive function was markedly reduced after that for a long while.

[Sheryl]

From earlier posts by OP in this thread, this is a problem he has had for soemtime and it flares up frequently. He has attributed it to a very wide range of medications, supplements, foods etc but the list is so long and unrelated that I suspect any temporal link is pure coincidence.

 

The differential diagnosis for chronic (including intermittent but over a long period of time, as opposed to developing suddenly which would have other possible causes) "foggy brain", poor concentration/memory includes (in no special order):

 

- psychological stress

- hypothyroid

- B 12 deficiency

- hormone imbalance (in men, low testosterone)

-Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, whioch can sometimes occur at an unusually young age

 

A sensible way for OP to proceed would be to check B12 and testosterone levels and get a thyroid panel unless these have already been done. Id they check out normal and he wants to be evaluated for possible Alzheimers I suggest this doctor

https://www.bumrungrad.com/doctors/Ketchai-Suavansri

Note that there is at present no way to diagnose Alzheimers etc on a single exam. What they can do is (1) measure cognitive function against norms and (2) also use the results as a baseline against which subsequent measures can be made. That is very useful diagnostically because one of the hallmarks of Alzheimer's is that it is relentlessly progressive.  If tests repeated at say 6-12 month intervals do not show a meaningful change that would tend to suggest a pyschological rather than physical cause.

 

Beyond the above, prior advice for OP to get counselling/therapy stands. Suggest

http://www.psiadmin.com/

or

http://www.ncs-counseling.com/

 

 

 

 

 

[blasteen]

On 2/4/2017 at 5:34 AM, Sheryl said:

From earlier posts by OP in this thread, this is a problem he has had for soemtime and it flares up frequently. He has attributed it to a very wide range of medications, supplements, foods etc but the list is so long and unrelated that I suspect any temporal link is pure coincidence.

 

The differential diagnosis for chronic (including intermittent but over a long period of time, as opposed to developing suddenly which would have other possible causes) "foggy brain", poor concentration/memory includes (in no special order):

 

- psychological stress

- hypothyroid

- B 12 deficiency

- hormone imbalance (in men, low testosterone)

-Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, whioch can sometimes occur at an unusually young age

 

A sensible way for OP to proceed would be to check B12 and testosterone levels and get a thyroid panel unless these have already been done. Id they check out normal and he wants to be evaluated for possible Alzheimers I suggest this doctor

https://www.bumrungrad.com/doctors/Ketchai-Suavansri

Note that there is at present no way to diagnose Alzheimers etc on a single exam. What they can do is (1) measure cognitive function against norms and (2) also use the results as a baseline against which subsequent measures can be made. That is very useful diagnostically because one of the hallmarks of Alzheimer's is that it is relentlessly progressive.  If tests repeated at say 6-12 month intervals do not show a meaningful change that would tend to suggest a pyschological rather than physical cause.

 

Beyond the above, prior advice for OP to get counselling/therapy stands. Suggest

http://www.psiadmin.com/

or

http://www.ncs-counseling.com/

 

 

 

 

 

5

- Thyroid and B-12 were fine. I had never done the testosterone test before. 

 

I am away from Thailand currently, I tried to make an appointment with Dr. Ketchai before but the dates were not good for me, so I saw a neurologist in Sukhumvit Hospital, her impression was that there wasn't any diseases in my brain, since if there were any, my condition would deteriorate over time and not get better.

 

I am looking into getting therapy done too.