Posted by Fuscia on July 9, 2002, at 20:01:26
In reply to Re: Back to Jon __ » Fuscia, posted by JonW on July 9, 2002, at 5:37:34
Hey,
My Dad was an engineer as well - mechanical. That is why I married one - sorta just like Dad, but glad to say not exactly. What is it about engineers....they like doing things from scratch - making beer, wine, growing fruit trees, growing a vegetable garden, mending their clothes with a sewing machine, building a blast furnace in the backyard, and making a self-dispensing cat food feeder for your seven cats for when you go on a 4 day trip, so as to leave nothin' for the oppossums ; ) Engineers are great!
That is interesting that you blood sugar test was high. I hope you keep that door open as a possibility to symptoms, as I think you will since you mentioned that you "*think* you've got that base covered (aren't I forceful?-I'm a pain in the bum). The problem is those blood glucose tests, even the fasting one, can be innacurate, especially for diagnosing hypoglycemia. A better indicator is if sugar has a calming effect on you while in an agitated state, as well as symptoms improving after a diet free of sugar and simple carbs. But, sounds like you watch your intake of the badies, like too much sugar, caffeine, and alcohol. That is great to hear. I still think sugar is a drug in food form, just from how I feel after eating some, and how I used to crave it. My fasting blood sugar test came back normal. I tried the five-day jump start program suggested in the book, The Antidepressant Survival Guide, where you make a clean cut from sugar, caffeine, alcohol, and sweets. I was lethargic and irritable for the first three days, but by day 4 or 5 I was feeling energetic and able to concentrate much better. I was amazed. I haven't stuck to a no sugar, no caffeine, no alcohol diet. It lasted a few weeks, but I love to bake (but this has been more difficult since being on SSRI's - I don't want to like I once did). I also like to enjoy my homemade homebrew - can't let hubby drink it all - but at least I don't drink to get drunk and only drink a half-pint now and then. I used to binge drink in my late teens and early 20's from being around the California party scene where there was a kegger party somewhere every weekend.
Mint chocolate chip - there might be something there - maybe it is the mint (there are some healthy substances in spearmint and peppermint), but more than likely it is the dark chocolate bits. I hear that chocolate contains the same chemical found in Wellbutrin - phenylethylamine, which is an endorphin releasing agent. Sugar has it's own endorphin releasing effect as well, not to mention the creamy fat/sugar feel of chocolate on the pallete. Place a bit of sugar on the tongue of a crying baby and it instantly stops crying. But chocolate has the effect to stumulate and soothe at the same time. Here is a bit of info about phenylethylamine:Sustained antidepressant effect of PEA replacement
http://www.selegiline.com/pea.htmlTake care Jon, and eat your bowl of mint chocolate chip icecream - R/x dosage is two scoops!
F.Y.I. While an one-ounce chocolate bar has 10-20 milligrams of caffeine, a six-ounce cup of coffee contains approximately 105 milligrams. Chocolate has about a 10th of the caffeine found in a cup of coffee.
Fuscia
P.S. I don't mean to bother you, but just one last question. Have you ever tried Wellbutrin SR? It has stimulant effects - distantly related to cocaine. It is supposed to be the choice of antidepressant for bi-polars as it is the least likely to induce mania as can occur with the SSRI's. I have tried it when it was augmented to Zoloft 25 mg to counteract anorgasmia - didn't work for me, but it was stimulating. Then I stopped taking it after two months. Later, another psychiatrist I saw prescribed solo Wellbutrin SR 150 once a day - strange, but this time it made me sleepy, relaxed, but I was irritable at the same time - would vocally snap at poor hubby that was much more than I normally would without any antidepressant. I was supposed to increase dose to twice daily, but I couldn't handle the irritability, so I discontinued it after a month +.
poster:Fuscia
thread:111115
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020709/msgs/111879.html