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Non-Standard Anti-Anxiety Treatment

Hip

Senior Member
Messages
17,820
NOTE: if you are looking for supplements with good anxiolytic effects, please also see this thread, which contains a more up-to-date set of anti-anxiety supplements.


Brain Inflammation and Anxiety


I am posting this in case anyone is interested in the non-standard anti-anxiety approach I used to cure my extremely high levels of anxiety (generalized anxiety disorder). This approach may well help others suffering with anxiety.

This protocol may be very useful for people whose anxiety did not resolve using SSRI drugs, etc. It may also help in reducing the "wired but tired" mental state that many with chronic fatigue syndrome are all too familiar with.

NOTE: If you want the quick-to-read version, go straight to the summary at the end of this post.

After many years with horrible anxiety (by far the most unpleasant symptom of my CFS), I finally figured out that my anxiety was likely biochemically created by brain inflammation. As soon as I tried taking certain specific anti-inflammatory supplements, most of my anxiety vanished (within a day or so). Here is the anti-anxiety approach I took:

I used the herbal extract curcumin to block the NF-κB-mediated inflammation, taking curcumin in 3 or 4 daily doses of 500 to 1000 mg. You have to take it several times a day to work: say a capsule at breakfast, one at lunch, one at supper time, and one before bed. This is because the plasma half-life of curcumin is short: 3 to 6 hours, so you need to take it 3 or 4 times a day to keep up your anti-inflammatory blockade.

Another good blocker of NF-κB-mediated inflammation that can be used in place of curcumin (or in addition, if you want) is grape seed extract 500 mg daily. High doses of curcumin can occasionally slightly increase anger and irritability in some people, so keep a watch out for that; grape seed extract does not have this problem.

Either of these can rapidly lower your anxiety.

Other good NF-κB blockers that you can use are: ashwagandha (1000 mg), alpha lipoic acid (500 mg - though some may not be able to take this high dose), sulfasalazine (500 to 1000 mg); sulfasalazine is usually a well tolerated drug.

Note than you do not want to totally block NF-κB, because it is needed for other metabolic functions.

You might also want to simultaneously try a second anti-inflammatory: one that targets COX-2-mediated inflammation. This can further lower your anxiety. For this, take propolis herb, 1000 mg, on the same dosing schedule (that is, 3 or 4 times a day - not before bed, though, as propolis can keep you awake). Propolis is an potent COX-2 inhibitor. Cat's claw is another good COX-2 inhibitor, and 1000 mg of cat's claw can be used in place of propolis (or in addition, if you want).

(If neither NF-κB or COX-2 inhibitors bring relief, then consider trying a 5-LOX anti-inflammatory, such as the 5-LOXIN extract of Boswellia serrata. You may also try all 3 of these together, since more than one inflammatory mechanism can be at play. )

The idea of these anti-inflammatory approaches to treating anxiety is that they block the mechanisms that create the biochemistry of anxiety in the brain in the first place. That is, they target the actual cause of anxiety, closer to the source.



The Theory

I suspect what is happening in the brain to create this anxiety is the chronic overstimulation of the NMDA receptors — the brain cell receptors that mediate anxiety. Dr Martin Pall has examined the state of hyperexcitement of NMDA receptors in CFS (mostly in the context of excitotoxicity and the NO/ONOO cycle). But here we are interested in the NMDA hyperexcitement–anxiety connection.

The NMDA receptors are overstimulated probably because of the chronic microglial activation that is found in brain inflammation (microglia form part of the brain's immune system). Glutamate and quinolinic acid are produced as a by-product of microglial operation; glutamate will strongly activate the NMDA receptors, leading to biochemically-created anxiety. Quinolinic acid might also activate the NMDA receptors (although this study suggests not enough quinolinic acid is produced to substantially activate NMDA).

In summary: inflamed brain ➤ chronic microglial activation ➤ excess glutamate production ➤ NMDA overstimulation ➤ induces anxiety state.

Inhibiting NF-κB reduces microglial activation, which may be why this approach eliminates anxiety at source. Vitamin E (alpha tocopherol) also reduces microglia activation, as does the flavonoid genistein, and tetracycline antibiotics, so these can have an anti-anxiety effect when inflammation in the brain is the cause of anxiety. It may be worth adding say vitamin E and/or genistein to the anti-inflammatory protocol. Sesame seed oil also inhibits microglial activation. A lot of excellent research on brain inflammation's role in anxiety and depression has been done by Dr Gina Nick, and her protocol for treating brain inflammation uses similar supplements to those listed above.

Note that brain inflammation can damage the brain through excitotoxicity, so lowering this inflammation is neuroprotective.



Other Anti-Anxiety Supplements

If the above anti-inflammatory approaches to treating anxiety do not work for you (or only work to a limited degree) then you may have to use additional treatments:

Other anti-anxiety supplements I found useful are: inositol (10 to 15 grams daily).

These supplements can be taken two or three times daily: taurine (1000 mg), L-carnitine (500 mg), picamilon (100 mg), arginine pyroglutamate (2 grams), theanine (200 mg), vitamin B1 (100 mg), vitamin B6 (50 mg), vitamin B5 (1 gram).

Note that taurine inhibits NMDA receptor stimulation, by sitting on the NMDA receptors, and blocking their activation by glutamate and quinolinic acid.

Some excellent anti-anxiety herbs are: ashwagandha, which is also a good NF-κB inhibitor, and Bacopa monnieri.

Other useful anti-anxiety herbs are: chamomile (especially the apigenin extract of chamomile), lavender, passionflower.

Holy basil can dramatically improve anxiety in some people (holy basil is potent COX-2 inhibitor, however, thus its anxiolytic mechanism may actually be as an anti-inflammatory rather than a palliative; holy basil also lowers cortisol, and high cortisol is another source of some people's anxiety states - but watch out if you have low cortisol).

The antihistamines cetirizine (Zyrtec) and loratadine can reduce anxiety symptoms. Dose is 10 mg daily.

Transdermal magnesium cream used twice daily is also works quite well to reduce anxiety. Transdermal magnesium is often used in autism, where there are very high levels of internal mental anxiety. Magnesium potently lowers NMDA receptor activation, by sitting on the NMDA receptors, and blocking their activation.

Transdermal magnesium cream is generally very helpful in CFS, as magnesium has many useful functions, like supporting mitochondria.

You can make your own cheap transdermal magnesium cream, simply using Epsom Salts mixed with some hand cream. Oral magnesium may also help, but most people reach bowel tolerance (they get diarrhea) after about 500 mg or so of oral magnesium supplements. The magnesium content of Epsom Salts (magnesium sulfate MgSO4) is 20%, so 5 grams of Epsom Salts provides 1 gram of elemental magnesium. One heaped teaspoon of Epsom Salts weights about 7 grams, just for reference. You need to use at least 1 heaped teaspoon of Epsom Salts (dissolved in little bit of water, and mixed into a hand cream) on each transdermal application.



GABA and NMDA

Another approach to reducing anxiety is to stimulate the GABA receptors. GABA receptors are the opposite to NMDA receptors: when you activate GABA receptors, your brain relaxes; whereas when you activate NMDA receptors, your brain goes on alert, and higher NMDA activation leads to anxiety. Therefore, to reduce anxiety, you can either lower the activation of the NMDA receptors, or increase the activation of the GABA receptors. Or both.

Many anti-anxiety drugs and herbs work by increasing GABA stimulation, including the herb valerian, and benzodiazepines drugs. Benzodiazepine drugs include: clonazepam (Klonopin), alprazolam (Xanax), and diazepam (Valium). The trouble with these drugs, though, is that at high doses the GABA receptors build up tolerance, so the effect of the drug gets less with time. This also means that these GABA drugs can be additive, and so you will feel more anxiety on stopping them (ie, withdrawal symptoms, rebound).

This tolerance does not occur on the NMDA receptor when you block it, so in the long term it may be better to use an NMDA blocker like magnesium, rather than a GABA stimulator like benzodiazepines.

There are not that many good NMDA blockers around. Here are some NMDA antagonists: magnesium (potent), zinc, taurine, guaifenesin (possibly), huperzine A, memantine, dextromethorphan (cough medicine), amantadine (an antiviral), nitrous oxide gas (N2O), ketamine, ibogaine.

But as has been recommended above, stoping the anxiety at source, by inhibiting brain inflammation, is probably by far the best approach. If you really want to wipe out your anxiety, you can take more than one approach at the same time: that is, the recommended anti-brain inflammation supplements, plus NMDA-blocking supplements like magnesium or taurine, and whatever other supplements you find helpful.

If anyone has any further ideas or info on other mechanisms behind biochemically-generated anxiety, please post.



Summary

To try this anti-anxiety protocol, start with say grape seed extract 500 mg. Add to this 1000 mg of propolis, 3 times a day (best not to take propolis before bed - it may keep you awake). Finally, you can add vitamin E (alpha tocopherol) 400 mg twice a day. These three supplements will act to reduce brain inflammation, and thus reduce anxiety (hopefully).
 
Last edited:

dannybex

Senior Member
Messages
3,561
Location
Seattle
Thanks for posting this.

Niacinamide also inhibits NF-kappa B, and is known to help increase serotonin levels and reduce anxiety, especially if taken w/5 htp. I just started it today...my anxiety has worsened considerably during the past 3 months.

"Nicotinamide (niacinamide) has been shown to inhibit lipopolysaccharide-induced TNF-alpha in mice, in a dose-dependent manner. It is thought that this inhibition of TNF-alpha is mediated via inhibition, at the gene transcription level, of NF-Kappa B, which in turn inhibits TNF-alpha."

http://naturalhealingpro.com/store/product_info.php?cPath=22&products_id=94
 

kday

Senior Member
Messages
369
Resveratrol is a COX inhibitor, it inhibits NF-kB, kills many bacteria, fungi, and inhibits viruses. It is used synergistically to enhance the activity of HIV drugs.

It increases glutathione levels via Nrf2-dependent upregulation of gamma-glutamylcysteine.

It's neuro-protective and studies demonstrate that it helps Alzheimer's and other neuro-degenerative disorders. It is also cardio-protective.

I take a form from Japanese Knotweed. Source Naturals is probably best. A good dose produces noticeable effects for me, but some have side effects, so it's not tolerated by everyone. Theoretically, I think it could make you feel worse if there is gram-negative bacterial die-off.

What's your view on Resveratrol/Japanese Knotweed?

Also, be careful with Grapefruit Seed Extract and certain types of Cat's Claw. If you have Lyme, it can possibly cause a very unpleasant herx if you take too much. If you have Bartonella, Japanese knotweed can possibly do the same and may have some activity against the Lyme bacteria as well.
 

hensue

Senior Member
Messages
269
Hip

My son has severe social phobia and anxiety he is 29 and married. So bad that he cannot work or attend classes. We have gone through all the AD's Klonopin, xanax you name it.
Have you tried this? he is currently off all meds and was trying to go to school again and due to the anxiety he could not think. He was more or less frozen in fear.
I have even thought of hynotherapy if it was viable. Some people say stimulants help??
I dont know? If anyone has any thoughts please let me know.
He gained up to 80 pounds on these drugs. Now his social phobia will not let him walk around the block.
I would appreciate all the help we could get.
He is married and he is not really living. Unless he is in his home.

Thanks
hensue
 

August59

Daughters High School Graduation
Messages
1,617
Location
Upstate SC, USA
Agmatine

To HIP - I wanted to check and see if you knew anything about "agmatine"? I have taken it before in pretty low doses and was taking it more for it's neuroprotective properties. I wanted to do some more research and came accross a couple of articles that claim it to be an NMDA antagonist, plus it suppresses nitric oxide synthesis in the neural area.

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6T1K-406184J-G&_user=10&_coverDate=05%2F01%2F2000&_rdoc=1&_fmt=high&_orig=search&_origin=search&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_searchStrId=1472039122&_rerunOrigin=google&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=fbeb68ae383ab0f2df5bb727c9deda7b&searchtype=a

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16546145

Any feedback from anyone would be appreciated. Just a note: I don't think it is very well absorbed through the oral pathway, but that's the only way I'm going to take it and I can't seem to come up with a good oral dose in mg. The only time that I purchased it was in powder form and it's not real cheap either.
 

Hip

Senior Member
Messages
17,820
Hip

My son has severe social phobia and anxiety he is 29 and married. So bad that he cannot work or attend classes. We have gone through all the AD's Klonopin, xanax you name it.
Have you tried this? he is currently off all meds and was trying to go to school again and due to the anxiety he could not think. He was more or less frozen in fear.
I have even thought of hynotherapy if it was viable. Some people say stimulants help??
I dont know? If anyone has any thoughts please let me know.
He gained up to 80 pounds on these drugs. Now his social phobia will not let him walk around the block.
I would appreciate all the help we could get.
He is married and he is not really living. Unless he is in his home.

Thanks
hensue

Hi hensue

I was in a very similar state to your son. For example, if I saw a friend on the street, I would often cross the road in order to avoid them, just because I knew that meeting and interacting with them would cause horrible anxiety, and mental turmoil and anguish. I never used to be like this. My anxiety suddenly arrived when I got irritable bowel syndrome. IBS and anxiety often go together. There is evidence that IBS/anxiety can be caused by a bacterial bowel infection, and this makes sense, as another household member developed IBS at more or less the same time as I did, suggesting an infectious origin.

Then, some years later, I caught nasty virus (probably an enterovirus), and soon after catching this virus, my anxiety levels went through the roof. (I also developed CFS). From then on, every day was a hideous experience of intense anxiety.

I tried SSRI drugs, but these made me feel MUCH worse. I did not try Klonopin, Xanax, etc, as I was afraid of their addictive potential, and of feeling worse if I stopped them.

The anti-inflammatory approach using grape seed extract and propolis protocol took me several years of trial and error to discover. I am not sure if this anti-inflammatory protocol will work for everyone, but for me it was a Godsend. Grape seed extract and propolis are relatively cheap supplements, however, so it is worth trying. If they don't work within 3 or 4 days, they are probably not going to work at all.

But these anti-inflammatory supplements do not work, there are several other things you can do: so if the grape seed extract and propolis anti-inflammatory approach does not bring relief, try instead the other suggested supplements, like: high dose inositol, transdermal magnesium cream, taurine, picamilon. It may be necessary to take several of these at the same time to get a significant lowering of anxiety. They are all exceptionally safe, and compatible. You have to experiment at bit to find what works for you.

I have read the herb gotu kola can be useful for social anxiety.

Generally, there seems to be very little research or understanding of the causes and mechanisms within generalized anxiety disorder, and social anxiety. And very little in the way of treatments. Like CFS, I think these anxiety disorders probably arise from some viral and/or bacteria infections. And I definitely think my anxiety is strongly lined to inflammation.

More recently, I have had a lot of success in treating my anxiety by taking a combination of high doses of PREBIOTICS (like ispaghula) and high quality PROBIOTICS together at the same time, to try to rebalance my gut bacteria, and to crowd out and diminish the bad bacteria in the gut (that may be causing my IBS). Prebiotics are nutrition that feed the good bacteria (probiotic bacteria), but the bad bacteria cannot derive nourishment from prebiotics. So using prebiotic food, the bad bacteria population diminishes, and the good bacteria population increases. Taking prebiotics and probiotics can be an excellent anti-inflammatory treatment in its own right: it is known that reducing the bad bacteria in your gut can reduce inflammation overall in the body. This anti-inflammatory action the likely reason that his treatment is effective for anxiety. I will post more details of this approach in the future.
 

Hip

Senior Member
Messages
17,820
Thanks for posting this. Niacinamide also inhibits NF-kappa B, and is known to help increase serotonin levels and reduce anxiety, especially if taken w/5 htp.

Hi dannybex

I did not know that niacinamide inhibits NF-kappa B. I have used 3 grams of niacinamide plus very high dose vitamin C on very bad days, when my anxiety was exceptionally high, and bordered on some mild psychosis (extreme anxiety can border on psychosis). Psychosis is defined as the inability to related to external reality, both emotionally, and by way of reason. I think in the case of extreme anxiety, mild psychosis arises because your mind is so fraught with internal tension, that you cannot easily handle information from the external world; even watching TV becomes a mental overload. Both niacinamide and vitamin C in high doses have anti-psychotic properties, and these supps made it easier for me to bear these bad days of extreme anxiety. However, my anxiety is virtually cured by the supplements I am now taking, so I never have these extreme anxiety days anymore, thank God.

Resveratrol is a COX inhibitor, it inhibits NF-kB, kills many bacteria, fungi, and inhibits viruses. It is used synergistically to enhance the activity of HIV drugs.

It increases glutathione levels via Nrf2-dependent upregulation of gamma-glutamylcysteine.

It's neuro-protective and studies demonstrate that it helps Alzheimer's and other neuro-degenerative disorders. It is also cardio-protective.

I take a form from Japanese Knotweed. Source Naturals is probably best. A good dose produces noticeable effects for me, but some have side effects, so it's not tolerated by everyone. Theoretically, I think it could make you feel worse if there is gram-negative bacterial die-off.

What's your view on Resveratrol/Japanese Knotweed?

Also, be careful with Grapefruit Seed Extract and certain types of Cat's Claw. If you have Lyme, it can possibly cause a very unpleasant herx if you take too much. If you have Bartonella, Japanese knotweed can possibly do the same and may have some activity against the Lyme bacteria as well.

Hi kday

I have tried resveratrol before, and I found it was helpful. But this was a few years ago, so I should really try it again. I have not yet tried japanese knotweed, but this has been on my list of things to try for some time.

I don't think resveratrol is quite as potent as propolis in term of COX-2 inhibition (dollar for dollar). For a mere herb, propolis is a pretty powerful COX-2 inhibitor. And as for NF-KB inhibition, curcumin is probably the most potent herb (but I found that curcumin made me more aggressive/irritable, which I did not like; GSE did not have this effect).

To HIP - I wanted to check and see if you knew anything about "agmatine"? I have taken it before in pretty low doses and was taking it more for it's neuroprotective properties. I wanted to do some more research and came accross a couple of articles that claim it to be an NMDA antagonist, plus it suppresses nitric oxide synthesis in the neural area.

Any feedback from anyone would be appreciated. Just a note: I don't think it is very well absorbed through the oral pathway, but that's the only way I'm going to take it and I can't seem to come up with a good oral dose in mg. The only time that I purchased it was in powder form and it's not real cheap either.

Hi August59

Agmatine is a new one for me, and seems very interesting. I am going to read more about it right now.
 

hensue

Senior Member
Messages
269
Hip
Thanks so much for replying and the rest of you! I am going to send these supplements to him and see if they help. I am so glad you are better! This gives me hope he can get better. He keeps a constant cold and no energy.
Thanks everyone anything that could help please post.
Take care
hensue
 

dannybex

Senior Member
Messages
3,561
Location
Seattle
Caution about resveratrol...

One caution re resveratrol, and other plant-based supplements:

Resveratrol is very high in salicylates, which some people can be very sensitive or intolerant to.

And one of the main symptoms of salicylate intolerance is EXTREME ANXIETY.

Going on a low salicylate diet has literally transformed the lives of many, many people. I've been eating lower salicylate foods and it is starting to make a difference.

d.

p.s. Google 'salicylate intolerance' and you'll find a lot more information.
 

antherder

Senior Member
Messages
456
Hip

My son has severe social phobia and anxiety he is 29 and married. So bad that he cannot work or attend classes. We have gone through all the AD's Klonopin, xanax you name it.
Have you tried this? he is currently off all meds and was trying to go to school again and due to the anxiety he could not think. He was more or less frozen in fear.
I have even thought of hynotherapy if it was viable. Some people say stimulants help??
I dont know? If anyone has any thoughts please let me know.
He gained up to 80 pounds on these drugs. Now his social phobia will not let him walk around the block.
I would appreciate all the help we could get.
He is married and he is not really living. Unless he is in his home.

Thanks
hensue


Hi hensue,

I'm wondering if copper toxicity has been investigated as a possible cause of your son's phobias? Copper is a vital mineral, but too much that is biounavailable can cause many symptoms including fatigue, constant infections, and mental disorders. A person can also be copper toxic and copper deficient at the same time. It is unbound copper that is toxic. A ceruloplasmin test shows how much bound, usable copper is available to the body. I'm still learning about this myself, but it might be worth looking into. Wilson's Disease is a genetic copper storage problem, but you can still have too much copper from environmental exposure, food, water, sprays etc. Copper is everywhere! Also in many supplements.

As Dannybex mentioned, salicylates can cause lots of problems, and there is a correlation between sulfite/salicylate sensitivity and copper toxicity.

For more info;

http://www.curezone.com/forums/am.asp?i=1366415

http://www.wilsondisease.net/wilson-disease/wilsondisease-symptoms.php

http://www.learningtarget.com/nosulfites/copper.htm

Hope some of it is helpful.
 

Hip

Senior Member
Messages
17,820
And one of the main symptoms of salicylate intolerance is EXTREME ANXIETY.

Going on a low salicylate diet has literally transformed the lives of many, many people.

That is very interesting, dannybex. Thanks. I am always looking out for different or unusual causes of high anxiety. I did try a low salicylate diet a few years ago, just because I was attempting the guaifenesin protocol for CFS, which requires you to go on a low salicylate diet for the guaifenesin tablets to work. In my case, neither the guaifenesin, nor cutting down on salicylates in my diet/herbs/medicines, seemed to help any of my symptoms.

Nevertheless, I read a web page just now that said you need to cut out all salicylates before you see improvement, if you have salicylate sensitivity. I might try that.

I usually get a mild rash all over my body if I take more than about 4 or 5 aspirins in 24 hours, so perhaps I may have some salicylate sensitivity.
 

Hip

Senior Member
Messages
17,820
Interesting that in coxsackievirus B infections (myocarditis) are made worse by salicylates (ref: here), hinting that salicylate sensitivity might have a viral connection / explanation.

Remember that coxsackievirus B is usually the culprit virus in enterovirus-associated CFS.
 

hensue

Senior Member
Messages
269
Thanks Antherder

I have never heard of copper toxicity, just toxic lead. Sorry could not wrap my brain around the whole thing. How is it tested?? Hair analysis?
Need everyone's help.

Keep it coming ok. I know he is sluggish and not very energetic. He also has a fungus all over his stomach and body. Especially his feet they are peeling. He is a big guy but now 80 pounds big. Very good looking and like a bunch you to young to be frozen in fear.
More or less his flght and flight syndrome is on all the time. Way to much.

He does not live with me and I was not very intuitive as a mother. He was always sensitive and smart did not know how sensitive he was. Till he got older. Till he reached about 6th grade he was ok then he went into a shyness I thought but it was much worse.
How he ever got married and had a child it is a blessing. He is going to lose all of it and then I believe he will be suicidal. If he does not find a job or schooling where he actually does not have to talk to people??
Social phobia think they are being judged constantly for everything. No self esteem not assertive.
when he was young he was bright till fourth grade and he has add. No meds though back then to many side effects tics etc.
When he was born he must have been on antibiotics every month of his life for infections in his lungs.

We have been to Duke through clinical trials he lives in NC. To Raleigh to the most expensive physciatrist.
As a mother I can not give up! It is not uncommon for people especially men that have social phobia to commit suicide.
His negative thoughts seem to make a pattern in his brain and keep going back to that same path. Something he cannot help. It is his brain doing it.

I think my husband finally understands but it is very hard for people to understand. He cannot just walk up to someone and start talking. Fight and flight takes over trembles and cannot concentrate. Then that one thing stands out and he will end up having panic attacks over something embarrassing.
Embarrassing to him is like a teacher asking him how he came to the conclusion of an answer on a math test. Saying that out loud in front of the class and him trying to explain.
Didnt happen he could not he sat in class and talked to no one.
Not because he did not want to he desperatly wants a friend. Since most of us are chatty people it is hard to understand.

What to do??? we are going to try Hip's solution and pray it will help. Did an over bearing loud mother who was good but did not understand do this to him???
I am just ranting and pray he does not have cfs he is constantly getting colds.
Take care
hensue

Thanks
 

antherder

Senior Member
Messages
456
hensue,

Firstly, my heart goes out to you as I know how hard it is to watch someone you care about suffer so much, and to not know how to help them. All I can say on that note is don't give up. Years ago I tried to help a friend who repeatedly attempted suicide and it felt like a hopeless situation, but she is still alive, and more importantly, she wants to be alive . Not thanks to the mental health services, mind you. I battled with them to get her the help she needed, but to no avail. Anyway, she has a part time job and that priceless ingredient we all need--hope. Which is a miracle in my book as I had given up hope myself that she would pull through.

Now, I don't claim to have any expertise in these matters, but from what you've said about your son's symptoms, I would definitely look into the copper thing and also food allergies/intolerances and possible nutritional deficiencies. What is his diet like? Does he have any known reactions to food? There's a very good book called "Not All in the Mind" written by a psychiatrist, Dr Richard Mackarness. He treated patients with psychiatric disorders, including suicidal tendencies, by eliminating food allergies. It was published in 1976, but is still relevant. Don't know if it will be in libraries, but if not, you can get used copies on amazon;

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Not-All-Mind-Richard-Mackarness/dp/0330245929

I like the quote at the beginning;

Surely the time has come to put away the notion that psychiatry deals just with mind disease...only in Wonderland can we find the grin without the cat--Foster Kennedy, Professor of Neurology, Cornwell University 1936.

Certain supplements, as others have mentioned, are definitely worth trying. If you could find a specialist who knows about nutrition and allergies and toxic stuff too, particularly in relation to ADD, that might be more promising than the psychiatrists and so on. Behavioral therapy approaches are going to be very limited in success if it is something like allergies triggering his symptoms. Is your son asthmatic?

Also, I'd check out the thread about B12, as a deficiency can cause all sorts of mental and physical problems. A friend of mind had terrible trouble with panic attacks, which I believe were related to low B12. Has your son ever had surgery? I've read that anaesthesia can completely wipe out one's B12.

Okay...back to the copper...hair analysis is supposed to be the more accurate way to test for copper toxicity, but I haven't tried it as I can't afford it. You could maybe start a thread asking if anyone has found it useful. I'm not sure how accurate the medical tests are, but the ones that can be done are ceruloplasmin, serum copper and a 24 hour copper urine test. Also, there's an eye test called a slit lamp test than can detect Kayser-Fleischer rings. These are copper deposits.

http://www.wilsondisease.net/wilson-disease/kayserfleischerrings.php

I'm not sure if they only show up with Wilson's Disease (genetic copper storage disease) or also if copper toxicity is present.

I'm still a bit confused about the whole diagnosis thing. Will let you know if I ever achieve clarity...

This site has lots of info about food allergies;

http://www.fedupwithfoodadditives.info/

And this one has some interesting stories about people treating mental health problems with specific nutrients;

http://orthomolecular.org/library/stories/index.shtml

take care,

antherder
 

antherder

Senior Member
Messages
456
dannybex,

Can I ask how long it took for you to see some improvement on a low salicylate diet? Have you ever tried No-Fenol?
 

hensue

Senior Member
Messages
269
How long has my son been like this?? now that look back as a mother since about 4th grade and he is 29. He has just progressively gotten worse. He craves carbs like doughnuts and sweets
I am sure in the short term they problem calm him down. Then his blood sugar drops.

When he was young neither son could tolerate milk. He has had acl surgery in one knee. He was like this before the surgery but at the time I did realise he was masking it with drinking. He does not drink at all now and has not for about 6 years. His only friend was Killed going around a curve and flipped his jeep he was thrown out and the jeep landed on him. He was drunk and my son was suppose to be with him. This boy or man had been friend since about the 5th grade.

Him thinking it is an allergy is like talking to brick wall. His family around him his wife with 3 children are all extremely skinny and have processed cereal and chips etc. A good dinner at night if possible. He has one daughter.

I sent him vitamins and minerals to take with supplements. He will say he takes them and he does not. He says most docs think supplements do not help.

I say of course they do they are not prescribed. I am going to look into these books and try and get him to read them. He is a reader and very high Iq.
Take care and Thank you all
Mother's will never stop trying to help solve a problem. I will not as long as I can try to help.
Susie
 

dannybex

Senior Member
Messages
3,561
Location
Seattle
Low sals / 5-htp / b6 / niacinamide...

dannybex,

Can I ask how long it took for you to see some improvement on a low salicylate diet? Have you ever tried No-Fenol?

Hi,

Well, I've only tried the low salicylate diet for a few days off and on, but think it has helped somewhat. And yes, I have tried No-Fenol, and think that helps as well. When I know I'll be eating something that's higher in salicylates or phenols, I'll pop one about 15 minutes before the meal.

For the past 4-5 days however I've found some other possibilities that might be helpful...

5 htp -- a metabolite of tryptophan -- seems to be helping. At least I'm not quite as tense, and I have been laughing a little more...something that was impossible a week ago.

Along w/that, also vitamin b6 (it comes with the 5 htp), and also niacinamide (not niacin). If you google any of these, and 'anxiety', you'll turn up a lot more information.

Hope this helps.

Dan
 

knackers323

Senior Member
Messages
1,625
Hi Hip, thanks for sharing this. could you please tell me where I can buy these things to try it or at least which brands you recommend. thankyou
 

antherder

Senior Member
Messages
456
Thanks, dannybex. Have been meaning to try the NO-Fenol. I'm hoping it will help with my GI issues. I'm going to order it real soon... Glad to hear you are laughing a little more...