Posted by John1022 on October 6, 2003, at 11:48:03
In reply to Re: Unbelievable... » John1022, posted by NikkiT2 on October 6, 2003, at 10:59:53
Thanks for the responses.
I think I have this all figured out.
I KNOW it is seretonin related. The doctor won't admit it.
I have only experienced depression 3 times in my life for only periods of 4 weeks. Each time the depression was brought on by exstacy and mushroom use. Both of these drugs work by causing a spike in your seretonin giving off feelings of euphoria, followed by a seretonin depletion (called the Monday Blues by people who use exstacy). People who use Exstacy take 5HTP right afterwards to boost their seretonin back up to avoid this situation.
I have only used these drugs three times, each time they have caused this 3 days later. For some reason, I wasn't smart enough to put two and two together until this third time 2 months ago. I will never touch these substances again. (But I know that they are relativiley harmless for most, but some people like my brain's chemisty cannot take them)
This third time, the minute I started feeling my seretonin take a huge plunge (I can actually feel it come out of know where right when I go try to go to sleep), my sleep all of a sudden won't trigger and I immediately got a ringing in my ears simutanously.
I have searched the internet and there does seem to be a correlation in a spike then drop in seretonin levels and tinnitus. I KNOW that's what has caused it and KNOW this is all seretonin related (the tinnitus).
Four days after this started (seretonin depletion after taking mushrooms) I started taking 5HTP. It worked almost immediately hours later and literally felt like it lifted me out of the "mild" depression that I was feeling and helped me go right to sleep for the first time in days without an Ativan.
I read that 5HTP in combo with St. John's Wort worked well, so I started trying that a few days later thinking it might make things even better as Dr. Michael Murray says they are safe together and treat depression well together. I think the St. John's Wort was giving me the exact same AD side effects, but when I would pop a 5HTP it seemed to mask them (boosting my seretonin?)
So I would go from feeling terrible while on SJW and 5HTP, to feeling almost perfect in a matter of hours after I would pop the 5HTP. As the 5HTP wore off and the SJW didn't I would start feeling bad again with the listed above side effects (not to same degree because I know the 5HTP was keeping it in check) to feeling normal a few hours after taking the 5HTP.
It seems the AD's are all causing a many times increased version of my feeling of seretonin depletion, like almost an opposite effect. What's weird is Effexor worked in the past to fix this and is now having this opposite effect of making the depletion feel much worse.
I stopped taking STJ and 5HTP together, 5HTP only and felt better, but still had a ringing in my ears (that mind you began to decrease as I came off of any of these AD's), but I still thought something needed to be done.
Felt pretty good except for sleep not triggering for a week coming off SJW before I started taking Wellbutrin. One week on Wellbutrin, bam, same side effects after a week. Stopped taking and felt better day by day.
Effexor worked in the past so I thought I would try that after the Wellbutrin cleaned out. Felt ok for a week on Effexor, then bam, day by day on the Effexor the above symptoms got worse by the day. Stopped taking it and day by day the symptoms decreased and went away.
Felt almost 100% normal with each of the above symptoms all but disappearing for a week once the Effexor was out of my system for a week, but could still tell something was a little off and ears still ringing slightly.
Doc says try Elavil for ears ringing. We are both not as worried about seretonin drop (which he won't admit that is what it is) and want to try Elavil mainly for the ear ringing.
Elavil sedated me and made me sleep for a week and then, bam, each day the symptoms built and built as I was taking it making me feel extremely WACKED and giving me suicidal thoughts where I have NEVER experienced anything such thoughts in my life. Tried to stick it out and keep taking Elavil but it got worse and I just had to quit my job because I could not handle being at work feeling that way.
Havn't taken Elavil in a week and each day the symptoms are dying down, day by day. Still in system though and feeling these symptoms minorly, as I know Elavil stays in my system for 2-3 weeks.
This is not a placebo effect. This is not my brain being effected by reading things on the Internet. I experienced these side effects on SJW, Wellbutrin and Effexor before even getting on the Internet and reading a thing. I experienced these side effects while believing 100% that these meds would help because Effexor did work in the past with me within a few weeks, it made me go back to 100% normalcy as far as feelings and sleeping.
Everything seems to be having an opposite affect. This is not in my head. I know what I am feeling. The pharmacist at my work even said don't believe that just because a side effect is not listed on the description that it is not a side effect for you. I just minutes ago read on prozactruth.com that many people experience these exact side effects I am feeling and that I am not alone.
I am almost 100% sure that boosting my seretonin through the use of 5HTP is my last hope and that IT IS GOING TO WORK. It worked the first few days, except the tinnitus was still slightly there so I wanted to try something else. That is why I kept trying something new.
I am done for now with AD's and my current doctor as he basically flipped out on me and won't believe a word I am saying. I honestly believe I have this thing pinpointed and that it is going to work out. Now I just have to wait a week for the Elavil to leave my system to try 5HTP again.
I know this is long, but thanks for reading. I really believe that SSRI's and other AD's work wonders for some people and cause serious harm in some rare cases. Case in point Effexor once working for me and now causing opposite affects of having non-functional depression when to begin with a just felt a little off and couldn't sleep.
When I stop taking each of the 4 AD's which are all causing the same symptoms, EVERYONE of these symptoms lifts and that is why I am done with AD's and going to try 5HTP again for a while. I know it works, it did in the past and I shouldn't have stopped the first time.
Thanks for reading. Any suggestions would be appreciated. I really believe that any open minded doctors have A LOT to learn from my case.
I know this sounds crazy but I am a very stable, intellectual person who normally does not have to deal with things like this. I know my body and I know what is going on. I now have an incredible appreciation for others problems and I almost want to go back to school in the medical field once I get this under control to be able to help others.
poster:John1022
thread:265921
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20031004/msgs/265954.html