Posted by DSCH on August 16, 2003, at 14:57:01
Has this happened to any you while you have been off of any psychoactive medications?
You eat a large dinner which includes healthy portions of turkey along with potatoes, cranberries, or other sweet or starchy fruits and vegetables. You might even follow it up with pie and/or ice cream.
Within a number of minutes you begin feeling distinctly unwell; extremely fatigued and sluggish rather than just a bit sleepy like most people do after Thanksgiving dinner. You go and sit or lie down and become virtually catatonic rather than falling asleep. You may experience some allergic reaction symptoms if you have had some food or inhalant allergies in the past. It takes some time before you feel energy and the ability to move and speak fluently returning to you.
If this has happened to you, see how many of these other things apply to you:
Variable psychiatric history; periods of high anxiety and frenetic activity (not euphoric mania arising from within, but a panicky reaction to sources of lifestyle stressors) followed by periods of lethargy and difficulty thinking and concentrating.
The lethargic periods have become longer and more severe over time. Eventually sleep and vacation time no longer make you feel "rested".
Cravings or high appetite for meats in addition to starchy foods, sweets, chocolate, and caffienated beverages.
You have used beverages with lots of sugar and/or caffiene to help you concentrate, but you've only gotten worse over time.
Irregular and highly-variable dietary and sleep habits.
You eat and drink rapidly.
You become fatigued and unproductive after lunch.
Extremely rapid weight loss during periods of anxiety followed by gradual weight gain during the following periods of lethargy, with the general trend being a dramatic gain in weight.
You have noticed slowing, increasing hesitancy, or "blocking" of your speech and writing. Handwriting is cramped and you make many "stupid" mistakes or typos when typing.
You develop avoidant behavior and withdraw from family, friends, and coworkers.
Your performance at work declines dramatically. You wish you could simply retire and not have to deal with the stress of having a career, even though you might have had much sucess in school and earier work.
You have sought help, and been diagnosed as having depression or ADD (even though you didn't have ADD as a child). When prescribed a SSRI you either react horribly to it or you just stop taking it and don't follow up with your doctor.
You've noticed increased "floaters" in your vision, sensitivity to light, occasional bluriness.
There is a history of type II diabetes in your family.
If many of these apply, then I would recommend that you visit these sites.
http://www.diabetes.org/main/health/weightloss/metabolicsyndrome.jsp
You might be on the road to full blown type II diabetes, heart disease, and total nervous collapse. The good news is that if you can find some breathing space you should be able to put a halt to it and turn your life around rapidly.
Here are some suggestions based upon my own experience:
Be open to a "lifestyle" approach to your problems rather than focusing on which drug or combination of drugs can "cure" you. Your brain and body are probably not broken (yet) but are having a hard time coping with your combination of stress, diet, and sleep patterns.
Consider consulting with a dietician or nutritionist.
Consider requesting a blood glucose tolerance test (GTT) from your doctor.
Consider the high-protein, controlled-carbohydrate style diets (such as Atkins and South Beach to name just two).
Consider supplements of vitamins B6, C, and E, zinc, omega-3 fatty acids, and L-phenylalanine. But be very careful about the following: copper, iron, folic acid, calcium, methionine, manganese, choline, and omega-6 fatty acids. Excesses and deficencies in these vary greatly from person to person.
poster:DSCH
thread:251360
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030812/msgs/251360.html