All you St John's Worters

[Prefect]

I'm weaning off the SSRI I've been on for 20 years (Fluvoxamine)

I'm going to try to see what it's like to be on nothing for a while, if that doesn't work I'm thinking about St John's Wort or some other herbal MAO Inhibitor (Like Ginko),and if that doesn't work I'll sell my soul and get on the some pharma satanic drug (Maybe an NRI or SNRI, considering I think I have a bit of POTS).

But here's my question. Do you have to follow the same diet restriction on St John's Wort you do with other MAO Inhibitors?

I can't do without my cheese, wine, dark chocolate, and fermented foods. You may as well just kill me.

 

[wastwater]

Don't forget 5 htp
fluvoxamine was the only antidepressant I was able to taper down from 300 mg to 0 in 8 months without severe side effects

 

[Hip]

Assuming your SSRI was for depression, you might consider saffron as an antidepressant: this review paper found saffron was just as effective as standard antidepressant drugs. I take 100 mg of high quality Spanish saffron sometimes as a depression treatment, and find its effects kick in with in an hour or two. Don't buy Egyptian saffron, as it is no substitute for Spanish.

High dose inositol is another good antidepressant treatment that works. I use this sometimes for depression and anxiety. Typical doses are 12 to 18 grams a day of inositol (= two to three heaped teaspoons of inositol powder).

More recently I discovered that although the methylation protocol does not seem to help my ME/CFS symptoms, a combination of B12 methylcobalamin and folinic acid seems to help keep my depression at bay.

Another useful antidepressant I have discovered recently is hydrogen rich water (detailed on this this thread). You can buy an electric hydrogen rich water maker for around $50, or there are also hydrogen rich water generating capsules. Hydrogen rich water has been shown to stimulate the release of the hormone ghrelin in the stomach, and ghrelin has antidepressant as well as neuroprotective properties (ghrelin is being researched as a new avenue for depression treatment).

 

[Prefect]

Assuming your SSRI was for depression

It's not depression.

20 years ago I came down with a mysterious jaundiceless hepatitis overseas and suddenly developed all the head symptoms of CFS (dizziness, anxiety, brain fog, balance problems, sleep issues, night sweats, and for some reason non-allergic rhinitis?!?) all of which slowly improved except for the rhinitis and odd bouts of IBS.

Once I got back to Canada doctor told me he didn't think CFS was real but thought that's what I had. He basically felt CFS was a sleep disorder.

He put me on Luvox (25mg), saying low dose SSRIs reduces REM sleep, increases restorative sleep, and thought might help.

Body was and has been always fine, I exercise all the time (can you have mitochondrial damage in your head and not your body, I wonder). I'm 47 years old and have kept up with 20 year olds in boxing classes in the last 3-4 years.

Over the past 20 years I've developed agoraphobia and panic disorder so I gradually raised Luvox to 100mg to keep that at bay, with some degree of clunky success or not.

Last few months I've had a relapse of the symptoms from 20 years ago, and I'm wondering if it's because the Luvox has pooped out.

So I'm looking for alternatives. MAOIs, glycerin, NAG, (based on your old post about NDMA activation causing much of the head stuff here), who knows.

Maybe Mutaflor...etc

Trouble is I still don't honestly know what I have.

BTW I lied, I've been severely but BRIEFLY depressed 3 times in the past 8 months, all of which were right after I went on nasal corticosteroid spray for my non-allergic rhinitis (which you've discussed NAG as a solution to on other posts) so I immediately stopped the spray finally sure it was the culprit. I have no idea why a nasal steroid spray should cause depression.

 

[wastwater]

Maybe try a bit more Luvox
Vitamin D can help,maybe get levels checked

 

[Hip]

Over the past 20 years I've developed agoraphobia and panic disorder so I gradually raised Luvox to 100mg to keep that at bay, with some degree of clunky success or not.

Beta blockers like propranolol are used to treat panic disorder, but if your aim is to get off pharmaceuticals in general, then that's not going to help.

 

[Prefect]

Beta blockers like propranolol are used to treat panic disorder, but if your aim is to get off pharmaceuticals in general, then that's not going to help.

I seem to have two states. The neurological state which I'm in now and 20 years ago, during which I don't have agoraphobia and panic disorder, and have a consistent blood pressure of 100 over 70 and a prostrated catatonic form of anxiety which borders on disassociation/derealization, with chronic low grade hyperventilation. I'm convinced during this I have a down regulated HPA axis.

And the one I've had in between for about 19 years, which seemed to be a hyperadrenergic form of POTS, with pulse routinely over 100 and blood pressure around 130 over 90, where I'm very high octane, more high functioning, high strung, and had panic disorder and agoraphobia.

These 2 states don't seem to overlap somehow. Safe to say I prefer the one I had in the middle. This one is much more scary and helpless a state.

 

[Prefect]

Maybe try a bit more Luvox
Vitamin D can help,maybe get levels checked

I take 1000 UI D everyday.

As for more Luvox, not sure it's the answer. This drug was never a miracle drug for me to begin with, more like a forced union by a dumbass doctor who didn't know what to do with me.

Not sure more serotonin is the answer. I feel like norepinephrine/dopamine is the next frontier I should be thinking of. I've even thought about nicotine lozenges to this effect, though an MAO Inhibitor might be a more sustainable solution.

Picking up smoking again (quit when I got got sick 20 years ago) might solve everything, but I have a 2 year old I want to live longer for. If it weren't for him I'd pick it back up it tonight. Nicotine and MAO inhibitor all in one (tobacco), can't go wrong with that.