Posted by awake at last on August 16, 2002, at 11:25:27
In reply to Re: Strange thing about mental illness, posted by cybercafe on August 14, 2002, at 13:05:45
I see you've kept your since of humor...you'll need that to fight this battle!
First, let me make sure you know I'm not in the medical profession, though after 4 years of doing research, I've definitely considered turning in my Engineering degree, and going for my MD.
I have two sisters, one is a Surgical RN, the other a Medical Technologist (those people who do the testing on our blood and tells us what the levels are and what it means - the one's that tell the doctor what's wrong with us)...needless to say, they are a great resource for me...but I challenge them constantly.
I have always gotten a copy of my test results, examined them thoroughly and questioned them intensely. I want to know for me what they mean - not what the doctor tells me they mean.Hypochondriacs - yep, that's what some thought of me until I proved them wrong. I truly believe that the body is so intertwined that one medical problem often causes another. And who says that there can't be more than one problem in the first place? If your body is susceptible to one illness, why wouldn't it be susceptible to another?
I definitely agree with the proof in the hand theory - my doctors definitely paid more attention to what I had to say when I brought my books or medical research papers with me. If your doctor is offended by this....go to another one! My Internist is now intrigued to see if I can come up with something he hasn't heard about - he's actually made copies of some of the things I've brought him to look at closer later. As well, make sure you let the doctor know that you are interested in determining the cause – many people go to a doctor and say “just do something to make me feel better” – and the simple solution is to prescribe something to relieve the symptom. Tests can be expensive, even with good insurance, and doctors aren’t likely to run any but the usual unless prompted to do so.From what you describe, it is understandable that your doctor had given you paxil and lorazepam. With your blood glucose being low, your serotonin would have been low as well. ie..the paxil - it is designed to prevent your body from re-absorbing the serotonin it produces (however, if you weren't producing any, there's none to take back up anyway - I wouldn't be surprised if the paxil did you little to no good).
*** Oh - note that increasing glucose does increase serotonin - but not vice-versa - increasing serotonin will make you fell better, but it will not increase your glucose level, so it wouldn't cure you if you were hypoglycemic, actually might make it worse. Serotonin is the body's natural way of telling you it needs something it's missing - unfortunately for a hypoglycemic, it's easy to get that quick fix with sugar that actually does more harm. But if you fool your body into thinking it has enough serotonin with meds - it's not able to tell you that you are missing something else....but typically the body just finds another way to tell you - ie...another medical problem***
Lorazepam is a benzo - it is designed to shorten sleep latency (the amount of time it takes to go to sleep) and reduce REM (dream sleep). A-HA, would definitely make since to give to someone who dreams all the time....like a narcoleptic...(but why mask the problem rather then cure it?)
If you are falling asleep at work - odds are really good that you aren't just tired - you're sleepy - take the Epworth test for sleep disorders and see what you score (I'll attach a link below). Note that AD’s can cause this as well, so don’t be surprised if the doctor immediately contributes it to that...think back, was it this way before the AD’s? Funny thing, my doctor prescribed the AD’s because of my sleepiness.Ignore the people you talked to on the phone...they are right that a test done three years ago doesn't tell them much about how you are now...but it should indicate to them that there has been a problem in the past and it needs to be re-examined. An Endocrinologist is definitely the right step to take (or a good Internal medicine doctor). Let them do their test and rule out any organs etc. that aren't functioning properly (they will probably do all the normal blood test along with thyroid, adrenal - cortisol, and insulin levels. Get a glucometer and start taking your blood sugar throughout the day - this is the best way to gather a history of your glucose levels to have as proof for the doctor as well. Hypoglycemia is very hard to diagnose because so many things can affect the blood sugar levels.
I get the feeling that you - like I - have a sweet tooth? Sorry to say, I don’t think that you’ll find sugar is good for maintaining blood glucose regardless of the cause. As well you have to be careful with sugar substitutes, our bodies sometimes trigger an insulin release with just a sweet taste. This is one of those things you just have to experiment with. For a long time I kept a food log of all the foods I ate and took my glucose levels with my glucometer 3-4 times a day to determine what foods I could and couldn’t eat. I have found a sugar replacement that works for me – and I try to make sure I have a dessert made up all the time so if I get those cravings – I don’t sabotage myself and eat something I shouldn’t.
Here is some info. and some links that might have some helpful information for you:
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One of my favorite books: “The Low Blood Sugar Handbook: You don’t have to suffer... ” by Edward and Patricia Krimmel. This is a book about how his hypoglycemia was misdiagnosed for 10 years (including depression) and how he has conquered it. It explains all of the test and their meanings. Really informative – it is the one book that really motivated me to research until I found my cure....[You can find this book at Barnes and Nobel for $11.65]They have two web sites as well “The Krimmel Hypoglycemic, Cholesterol, and Celiac Home Page”, it has been down recently, but keep trying it – he discusses high cholesterol as well....I’ve not had that problem, but he may have helpful info. on that as well. I can tell you that with Cholesterol – eating sugar and simple carbs. - will contribute to this being high as well.
Sweet Nothings:
http://pages.prodigy.com/dhxu49a/Krimmel Home Page:
www.dynanet.com/~bodychem
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An interesting bulletin from the Hypoglycemia Association regarding Hypoglycemia and Hypoadrenocorticism...an interesting read.www.fred.net/slowup/habul44.html
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A definition of the Glucose Tolerance test, and the meaning of the numerical results...ie, this is where you can see that the 2.8 mmol/l is a problem.http://lightning.prohosting.com/~hypoglyc/gtt.htm
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A definition of Narcolepsy:
www.sleepfoundation.org/publications/livingnarcolepsy.html#1
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An explanation of an MSLT and MWT (Sleep test), this is were you can find the significance of going to sleep in <5 min. and having REM sleep first being an diagnosis for narcolepsy. [But if you do a search on Narcolepsy or MSLT – you find this in multiple places]
Go to the bottom of this page to "more on narcolepsy" and on that page see the diagnosis section.
http://www-med.stanford.edu/school/psychiatry/narcolepsy
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And here’s the link to the Epworth Test..http://www.provigil.com/patient/sleep_test/index.asp
________________________________________________Finding a good doctor that is willing to work with you is essential – and don’t think that just one doctor can cure it all. My GYN diagnosed the low testosterone; my IM determined the hypoglycemia (even after my GP did not after running two different glucose tests). And my IM referred me to a Neurologist that detected my Narcolepsy.
My GP I determined was a definite Quack – he told me I was getting old (at 30), I needed more sleep and exercise – that my test all said I was perfectly healthy. Needless to say years later after finding my cure – I took a lot of pleasure in informing him he didn’t know what he was doing, and that if he wanted to stay in practice he needed to listen to his patients more......of course I said this to him as I was there to retrieve my medical files and inform him that I would no longer be needing his services.I’m fortunate to have been able to regain my life, and I know just how hard a battle it was, so I hope that by telling my story, I can save a few steps for at least one other. I have not yet finished my fight though....my research on my hypoglycemia continues. My youngest son (3) has been diagnosed with an allergy to salicylate (a natural preservative in many foods). I recently learned that salicylate has been connected to causing hypoglycemia .... so maybe this is an allergy I have as well, but not to the degree he does (I know I tested positive for an allergy to tomatoes and strawberries, and have never worn makeup because it makes my skin break out – now I’m wondering if this is a sensitivity to salicylate – tomatoes and strawberries are very high in salicylate and makeup’s are often made with salicylate in them.....Hmmmmm – My newest adventure to research....)
Who knows...maybe someday I’ll write a book myself.
Good Luck....
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poster:awake at last
thread:115994
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020814/msgs/116615.html