Thanks for your replies everyone.
First off, and I really hope this is okay, but I don't have an official CFS/ME diagnosis. I suffer from ADHD, OCD, severe depression and agoraphobia. I used to prominently post on neuroscience forums like imminst and mindandmuscle, but I have such a wide range of medication and supplement sensitivities that have been getting progressively worse, and so I figured something else might also be up; since I know medication sensitivities are a facet of CFS, I came here in the hope I could relate more to others. Whenever I report that e.g. simple Vitamin D creates a lot of anxiety, it's met with confusion.
I'm glad you made it here; I think we can be helpful. First off, read this article regarding mental illness and methylation:
http://metabolichealing.com/michael-s-blog/mental-illness-or-methylation-mutation/
I believe that methylation and detoxification problems explain both your mental illness and your medicine and supplement sensitivities, and that methylation treatment should be helpful. There are many people here who are knowledgeable about methylation, and many of us are experimenting with methylation treatment.
So, the primary difficult has been getting my parents to gauge the extent of my anxiety. Most therapists have just suggested I give up at this point, since you can only go so far in trying to change someone.
I wouldn't waste energy trying to change them. If they don't get it by now, they're not going to get it.
To answer your questions, as far as anxiety goes, I've tried:
SSRIs (don't help much, get movement problems on them), atypical antipsychotics (akathisia, worsened anxiety), benzos (paradoxical reaction), stimulants (more irritable), MAOIs (Parnate was the best for depression and ADHD, but I couldn't sleep on it). More recently, I tried Memantine and Riluzole, which both worsened my anxiety for some frustrating reason.
I haven't tried things like Lithium and Lamictal, but am considering going down that route next. I had an okay response to Neurontin, but it caused severe brain fog and apathy.
If you get a 23andme gene test, you can see which detoxification pathways you have mutations on, and which meds you're more likely to have trouble with, or at least it might explain why you've had trouble with certain drugs. The 23andme gene test is also a good idea if you're going to try methylation treatment. Many people here avoid drugs as they've had so many bad reactions.
Do you have any exposure to heavy metals, such as mercury fillings? Metals can cause a wide range of symptoms including mental health problems. Any other toxic exposures such as pesticides, anesthesia, etc.? Are you sensitive to things like paints, markers, car exhaust, new carpet, etc.?
In addition, you've been poly-drugged. Psych drugs can have side effects and withdrawal syndromes which just add to your original problems. Most psychiatrists would diagnose you have having new mental problems, when it's actually caused by the very drugs you've been taking. You may have to be very cautious when tapering off psych drugs to minimize these problems, tapering no more than 10% of the previous dose every 3-6 weeks. The Paxil Progress forum is a good resource for psych drug tapering.
I live in Australia, but am a citizen of New Zealand. I would love to just go back to New Zealand, since I have friends there, but due to the severity of my condition (essentially housebound) and poor medication responses, it isn't possible right now.
I suggest contacting the disability services in New Zealand and see if you can get disability through them. Then, if so, get started on a claim right away.
Check out the Methylation Made Easy videos link in my signature.
