Posted by garnet71 on June 7, 2009, at 10:14:21
In reply to DHEA for Terrible Anxiety, high Cortisol, posted by KimStereo on June 7, 2009, at 9:28:56
Hi Kim,
Well there's a number of studies on how the HPA axis is affected by chronic stress--does this apply to you? It sounds like you need to get your hormones checked or go to a sleep specialist (have you?). Low body temperature is one symptom of hormonal problems...Have you had your thyroid checked? I'd think you would of with all your docs, but just in case...
Do you use one of those machines for sleep apnea? Is it central sleep apnea as opposed to obstructive?
I used to have anxiety just like that-I'd wake up with what felt like a huge burst of adrenline in my chest. Sometimes only being able to sleep for 1 or 2 hours a day for a week at a time--and the times I did sleep, it woke me up just as you described.
There are 2 types of anxiety I've had over the years-one that seems medically related - as yours may be - and one that is more panic attacks from thoughts. I wish I realized this years ago.
So I had a sleep study years ago--I quit breathing many times throughout the night--but they told me it could have been the xanax I was taking. I don't believe that though because now if I take a xanax right before I go to sleep, I always wake up feeling more refreshed than otherwise. I took the same dose-.25. I was on Effexor at the time, which the sleep study people ignored. Effexor eventually caused swollen joints, brain fog and more, some of the autommine symptoms-- but I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia by the rheumatologist who couldn't figure out what was causing it all. I read a book on fibromyalgia-the researcher basically said it may be caused by not getting the right "type" of sleep. Wish I followed up on that, but my PDoc ordered the sleep study, ignored the 10 page report, and I didn't even get to see the sleep doctor, which i should have pursued i guess. I quit effexor and those symptoms dissappeared shortly thereafter.
I used to have a lot of lucid dreams; I wonder how many of us with mental health issues really just don't get the right "type" of sleep each night. Sleep is so important, but very little is known about it. Maybe you could try melatonin too?
There's lots of papers how psychotropics can cause vertigo. Have you taken anything else besides benzodiazepines?
I never read any of these papers (not enough time), just glance through them. Use Google scholar and read the abstracts to find out more about your situation. Sorry I don't know about the DHEA, but I do know there has to be a cause for CFS and fibromyalgia.
BTW, the 50,000 vitamin E I think really helped me with mood; it's hard to say because I started buspirone at the time, but I've been thinking a lot about that lately. See if you get better after a month on it.
Well I'd imagine with your medical problems you'd be seeing several specialists? But I think if you're having all those issues, you should do a bit of your own research. I wish I had done that years ago...I've found doctors often miss the link between hormones and mental health issues, or know little about it, esp. endos who all seem to specialize in diabetes. A psychoneuroendocronologist may be helpful in your situation. I'm asking my PDoc next time if he knows of one. In any case, it sounds like you need a lot more than DHEA right now. Someone informed enough to diagnose your problem, for one.
There are also some studies that indicate Prozac is supposed to help w/the cortisol issues (and maybe the other SSRIs but in a different way). I came across lots of studies, but just skim through them. Sorry I couldn't be more informative. Oh, I've also glanced through a study or 2 that indicated PTSD anxiety may affect Cortisol the opposite way of other anxiety disorders. Does PTSD possibly apply to you? Just throwing that out there just in case...
Hope you get better soon : )
poster:garnet71
thread:899800
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20090531/msgs/899804.html