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Heavy Brain fog and energy fluctuation - history of depression and anxiety

Gondwanaland

Senior Member
Messages
5,092
I just read something very useful about vitamin C on another thread:

By Rich van K:
The idea is that the lower dosages supply antioxidant support without placing too large a demand on glutathione, which is depleted in many cases of CFS, mid-range dosages place a demand on glutathione for recycling vitamin C (according to Dr. Cheney, and I think he's right), and bowel tolerance dosages are able to raise the vitamin C concentrations sufficiently that vitamin C recycles glutathione, rather than glutathione recycling vitamin C, as is normal.
 
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Santino

Senior Member
Messages
209
I cannot tolerate vitamin C...:-/

But I now know why I am selenium deficient.

The ketogenic leads to selenium deficiency (there are several case reports showing this in childs).

So it is likely due to the ketogenic diet which I did 4 months and it is unlikely causative for my immune disorders because all my health trouble were there before the KD and got better when I did the diet.

Vitamin C triggers my symptoms (the sweating on face and feeling cold-like). But this reaction from this Vitamin often is also antidepressive...Really weird.

EDIT:
I took lactulose for 2 weeks as a prebiotic. It did help relieve my constipation!
 

Gondwanaland

Senior Member
Messages
5,092
I don't tolerate vit C either (now I can tolerate tiny amounts below 200mg) and I think it is because of glutathione depletion like explained in the quote I posted for you to read.

I wonder how I would react to a high amount of vit C but am afraid to try.
 

Santino

Senior Member
Messages
209
The quote does not explain why one should not tolerate vit C. If you are depleted in Gluthathion you should take even more vit c when following the suggestion made in the post.

200mg is very much for me. I would be really sick from that for 24h. What are yu afraif for? If you react to it, this reaction will go over, doesn´t it :) Vit C is fast used up and out of the body...
 

Santino

Senior Member
Messages
209
I can say for sure that the cause for this brain fog I have right now and the depression which I had sometimes last days is due to my gut problems!!!

I exactly know these symptoms from the time before keto diet. There is this specific feeling in my colon. I often noticed it when I was constipated. I tried to go jogging to get bowel movement but nothing helped.

I could provoke all this with eating either gluten or fodmaps. Maybe over eating (which I did often) also lead to this problem! I now notice that it is really difficult for me to not overeat on a high carb diet. On the keto diet this was sooo easy. You can´t believe the difference. I now do not overeat because I know it´s bad but I just notice the craving very often. When I am eating I would like to as long as I could not get anymore in and would still like to eat further... But I just stop with my willpower.

In any case, I really know the symptom-complex: brain fog, depression/anxiety, constipation! This was my last summer!

And it is coming back now although I do not eat fodmaps, but rice, potatoes and chicken(long and hot cooked to eliminate most vit c--> if I don´t do it, I get the sweating!).

So I think it also comes from the combination of constipation while eating carbs. The stuff which is hanging in my gut on high carb diet is very different then from keto diet. When eating keto, there is nothing the bad bacteria could eat from the crap lying in my gut. Now they can eat all that what is not absorbed in my small intestine and maybe just the potatoe starch or the rice starch... I don´t know.

But I can say for 100% that the changes which are finding place (brain fog came back+depression) is gut related. For me low carb would be the best. And that is the case since I first had the proctitis. BEfore that time I could tolerate any amount of carbs...


So I hope they find something in the clinic to eliminate this allergic like reaction. Maybe I can switch back to low carb then. I would choose keto for a month and then eat just low carb Paleo...

I hope that this will be possible. Otherwise I see myself getting depressive more often with brain fog.

Intermittend fasting or fasting days would be great to relieve that a bit, but when eating high carb, the body really get somewhat dependent on carbs. I really feel the cravings. Could eat every 2 hours a 400g of rice!
 

Gondwanaland

Senior Member
Messages
5,092
ever tried cbd oil?
Never
The ketogenic leads to selenium deficiency (there are several case reports showing this in childs).
Yeas now thst you mentioned it I remember reading about it.

I also remember reading that ketogenic will kill good bacteria in the long run. They do need fiber.

Also that ketogenic is diuretic and requires extra potassium and magnesium not available in the diet.
 

Santino

Senior Member
Messages
209
You eat lot of fiber for good bacteria on the ketogenic diet. You eat tons of veggies...(Brokkoli, cauliflower, salad, green beans, zucchini etc...)Also prebiotics are allowed as much as one likes.

So no starving for gut bacteria if done correctly...The same with potassium which is pleanty in veggies. You need to eat much more sodium than on a normal diet because you get deficient in sodium, especially in beginning.

That´s also what my nutrient analyses showed. Sodium deficiency and kalium was normal. Magnesium also normal...

There are plenty of magnesium, calcium and potassium in meat and also some in veggies, which oyu eat a lot...
 
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Santino

Senior Member
Messages
209
I wanted to try s. boulardii, but all I find is that is working against diarrhea and reduces bowel movements. Because I am mostly constipated, I ask myself if this is a good idea...?!

If you search on internet you find that a common byeffect is thirst and constipation...
 

Gondwanaland

Senior Member
Messages
5,092
I wanted to try s. boulardii, but all I find is that is working against diarrhea and reduces bowel movements. Because I am mostly constipated, I ask myself if this is a good idea...?!

If you search on internet you find that a common byeffect is thirst and constipation...
I am aware of that.

It doesn't make me more constipated than usual if I only take it 1x or 2x a week. I take it to reduce inflammation and histamines, and reduced histamine reduces BMs.

I personally think that boulardii reduces flora diversity (Chlostridia strains) and ordered tablets of Clostridium butyricum from Japan, but I am not sure it will pass through the customs in my country.

But I keep taking boulardii at least 1x weekly.
 
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Santino

Senior Member
Messages
209
It seems that lactulose does not work as well as it did during the ketogenic diet. Maybe it even makes things worse. I am not sure yet. I just notice that I have more brain fog and the depression is coming back now also...:-/

I have to look how things go on today...


either the diet high in carbs made my dysbiosis worse or SIBO is back again. I don´t know.

I know ordered prescript assist, a very expensive probiotic. I don´t know what to try else...Just can hope that I won´t have an allergic reaction to it...
 
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Santino

Senior Member
Messages
209
Yesterday I read a lot about Cannabinoids, CBD oil, THC(A)-oil etc.

I think that this i a very interesting topic for us, especially for you with thyroid-problems. Yesterday I coincidentally listened to the Bulletproof-podcast of Dave Asprey. The guest talked about a study which they are doing for CBD oil for hashi-T.

Why is it so interesting for me?

I often noticed, that when I was exposed to Cannabis (sitting in a room with people smoking joints) and I got high (I did not smoke myself, maybe 2x per year), I had great symptom relief from this flu like reaction.

I even made some butter with cannabis because of that maybe 3 months ago. I had vivid dreams for 2-3 days after that, but the first day after I used it I was completely symptomfree, although I had symptoms the day before and 2 days after that. I did not know what the trigger of the allergysymptoms was and I still can´t say when I look at the things I ate on these 3 days. Also interesting is, that my mood was great that day. I gave it the best value (1-10) in the last 7 months.

Now yesterday I did some research ( not a lot, just a bit, reading through some studies fast) and what I found was, that Cannabinoids seem to have influence also on opiod-receptors. Maybe that is the reason I got vivid dreams from it (I made my oil just with CBD and THCA, so no psychoactive form) and maybe that´s the reason it worked on this strange immune response.


Of course I need to make more experiments. But I noticed this effect always when I had the allergy symptoms and was exposed to cannabis which must have been 4-6 times in my life now. That was the reason I tried to make my own oil one day. It was after the liver experiment were I had really bad symptoms and I tried the self made oil to relieve.

So that maybe some hope. Maybe I can alleviate the symptoms. And if I can, then I could eat more like it would be good for me.

On the other hand: The vivid dreams were really bad. These dreams had to do with anxiety and depression. Really really bad dreams and they felt so real...But this would be a byeffect which could fade away (just like with LDN?!) And I always noticed more depression and anxiety as soon as the CBDs stopped working, which was mostly after 48 hours...


Maybe I will try that after the clinic.




EDIT:

+ CBD, THCA and maybe even THC (but I dod not read about THC) work very well for many people with seizures!

And I read a lot about the ketogenic diet and epilepsy. The mechanisms of having a seizure or having a sudden mood shift as it happens in bipolar II ultra rapid cycling seem to share a lot.

That´s the reason antiepileptic drugs also work for some patient with bipolar disorder.

So for me that would be the second reason to try it out. Maybe it can have the same stabilizing effects as the ketogenic diet had?

Last but not least there are many people reporting relief from IBS AND IBD with cannabis use. The studies I read trough reported about CB1 and CB2 receptors and that they play a role in gut motility and inflammation.

So there a 3 indications for trying CBD oil. I could make my own from cannabis which would be CBD and THCA. From what I heard from the podcast it could really be interesting for you @Gondwanaland. Because the women had great releave and does the study. Dave Asprey said he had moderate relieve.

There is a bit hope back for me with CBD...
 
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stridor

Senior Member
Messages
873
Location
Powassan, Ontario
@Santino
Mag Oxide is a bit harsh for me. While I don't have a colon anymore and my responses have changed, in my days of constipation I would take mag citrate mostly - around 700+ mg and then just kept adding the Vit C until the magic happened.
I used to respond with increased fog with the thiol family. Things with sulfur. It would last for a couple of days after a meal.
Tyrosine was a real hit and miss until after reading a posting on this site, I started bupropion. I was a bit dubious as I wasn't depressed. Just fogged and would collapse after activity. This wasn't delayed like when I had PEM. It was immediate when I overdid it and would wipe out my day. Not particularly responsive to hydrocortisone stress dosing.

The bupropion helped with both of these things and then when I added back the tyrosine, I had further gains. I don't remember if you take hydrocortisone or not. Hard to imagine that your adrenals are honky-dory. I started with OTC hydrocortisone ointment that I squirted into capsules and swallowed. My response indicated the need to treat.
 

Santino

Senior Member
Messages
209
I never was on any medication. The problem is that I always had this allergic response to any medication I tried. My immune system seems to overreact with many substances. I get a flu like reaction were all symptoms could happen which are part of a flu. Wrote a lot about that in this thread.

So you did have some symptom relieve from L Tyrosine? Which symptoms are we talking about now?

I tried Tyrosine and Phenylalanine and I often had an antidepressive effect but also it can make me either anxious or gives me another type of the depression: the anxious depression.

Tryptophan helped me with the anxious depression type. But since my gut is not functioning anymore all amino acids seem not work anymore or do not work as well anymore. It is as if they are not absorbed and as if something in my gut is using it and get stronger. Because I often feel worse, especially with tryptophan.

This was not the cause during the time my gut was functioning normal.

I have a lot of hope that my gut will function good again after my FMT treatment in the Taymount clinic. Until then I need to cope in some way with it.

I notice that carbohydrate is bad for gut symptoms. Fasting and ketogenic diet (without fodmaps and histamine and gluten) gave me great relieve.


Mag citrate works for me, too, but just one day or 2. Then even high doses don´t work anymore.

I would also like to do that with Vitamin C. But Vitamin C is a heavy trigger of the flu like reaction.

I have exam on thursday. So I will learn now for that, but I will respond either between learning sessions or on thursday!



best regards
 

Santino

Senior Member
Messages
209
One thing I wanted to add which is a little concering for me is that there a two symptoms which are relatively new and are more often present the last weeks.

This is: Some difficulties swallowing and hoarseness. Both can come and go very fast. Mostly it is just 1-2 hours and then it´s gone.

Is this pointing to Thyroid? Or is it just another of these flu like symptoms?! Very strange...

Especially the hoarseness is annoying for me and also for other people...
 

Santino

Senior Member
Messages
209
No I mean that my voice is hoarse. (As if I was in the soccer stadium the day before screaming all the time, my voice is "impaired")

It seemed that I can tolerate a little more Vitamin C yesterday because I did not experience "fresh" symptoms (I mean a new flare) yesterdy although I ate many potatoes which I this time cooked in a way that it does not destroy all the Vitamin C.

But now I unfortunately I feel the typical Vitamin C flare up (heat and sweating at my head and face, uptight shoulders). So I still need to be careful with vitamin C.

I have no idea how this is possible. Just can list the facts:

I can say for 100% now that the combination from many saturated fat (talking about pork or butter) WITH many carbohydrate makes my mood very labile (fast switching between depression and manic symptoms). I noticed that before kD very often with butter and e.g. rice or potatoes. This does not occur with plant based fats and carbohydrate.

On the KD itself there was the manic effect at the beginning after every meal for a month. But the depression pole was gone and after a month all was gone. I could eat a meal without any psychological symptoms. I can do this now also but if I combinate high carb with much fat from pork or Butter (I avoid butter at this moment because of the vit A) I get these heavy mood swings which are very "dangerous". It catches me up in anger and after this anger there follows the depression and this can switch very fast...
 

Gondwanaland

Senior Member
Messages
5,092
So then I can answer that I had difficulty swallowing for a long time and it can be thyroid related. Voice hoarseness is another symptom associated with hypothyroidism. I will remember that I already recognized another of your syptoms as thyroid related. I read that many people can have mixed symptoms from hypo and hyperthyroid. I did. Next time yourdr order a blood test be sure to request for free T3 and reverse T3 so you can calculate your ratio.

I have ordered a probiotic from Japan called Clostrydium butyricum, which has been shown to help with leaky gut. I hope it won't be confiscated and destroyed by customs. I thought I would mention it for you. My order hasn't been delivered yet so I can't report my personal raction to it. you can search Amazon or eBay for Myarisan tablets. It has been recommended in the Resistant Starch thread.

My idea is rotate it with Saccharomyces boulardii and my low histamine probiotic mix.