IronHamMk76: rapid taper off Elavil after 7 years polydrugging - next steps?

[Altostrata]

Not surprising you feel the effects of 0.25mg clonazepam shortly after taking it in the morning. Otherwise, it appears your symptoms are stable, some indications the morning clonazepam has reduced interdose withdrawal in the afternoon.

 

The cog-fog may be an adverse effect of 1mg clonazepam per day for 7 years.

 

Your gastrointestinal problems may be from histamine intolerance rather than withdrawal. Are you on an exclusion diet or histamine intolerance diet? If not, suggest you start. You would not want to reinstate amitriptyline if the symptoms are from something other than withdrawal.

[IronHamMk76]

2 hours ago, Altostrata said:

Not surprising you feel the effects of 0.25mg clonazepam shortly after taking it in the morning. Otherwise, it appears your symptoms are stable, some indications the morning clonazepam has reduced interdose withdrawal in the afternoon.

 

The cog-fog may be an adverse effect of 1mg clonazepam per day for 7 years.

 

Your gastrointestinal problems may be from histamine intolerance rather than withdrawal. Are you on an exclusion diet or histamine intolerance diet? If not, suggest you start. You would not want to reinstate amitriptyline if the symptoms are from something other than withdrawal.

Hello @Altostrata

 

I have been attempting to follow a low histamine diet since 7/5/2022. The problem is that I am having gastrointestinal issues even with low histamine foods.

 

I have a number of seasonal allergies, such as ragweed and various types of trees, and now that the Elavil is gone, I'm experiencing reactions to foods that are similar in nature (for example, ragweed allergy = reaction to zucchini).

 

https://acaai.org/allergies/allergic-conditions/food/pollen-food-allergy-syndrome/

 

Even cooking does not help. My hope was that reinstatement would alleviate these issues. I don't remember having such strong food reactions in the past.

 

Also, I have eliminated the Big 8 food allergens.

[Altostrata]

Sorry, we do not have the expertise to advise you on your gastrointestinal issues or allergies. If you can't unravel your symptom pattern, amitriptyline reinstatement would be a shot in the dark. I have no idea what it would do.

 

fyi rabbit allergy https://bunnylady.com/rabbit-allergies/

[Ariel]

@IronHamMk76

Thinking nice thoughts in your direction <3

[FeralCatman]

@IronHamMk76

 

A few months ago I was having crazy reactions to everything. Even a glass of water that was too warm or too cold would set off a reaction. I went down the road of being tested for Mast Cell Disorders and all was negative. Turns out I have Gut Dysbiosis and a Diamine Oxidase Deficiency both of which can be caused by the medications and both contribute to Histamine Intolerance symptoms. These can take a long time to correct themselves. Here are 2 websites for you that discuss histamine issues. One is a website for mast cell patients. It's unlikely you have a mast cell disorder but these web pages talk about what you can do to help yourself feel better. Mast cell patients produce too much histamine among other chemicals so have to deal with similar issues. In my case and most likely your case it is a sensitivity to normal histamine levels coupled with an oversensitive nervous system that seems to cause the reactions. This is of course a theory but I have had extensive testing done to rule out everything else. If you wanted to test things you could ask your doctor for a 24 hour urine for histamine levels. If it is normal then you have an intolerance. If it is high then further testing would be needed. When I started I had to cut my diet back to scrambled eggs, asparagus, chicken, and potato. Nothing too hot or too cold and I had to eat very slowly. I have slowly begun to build back up from there. A couple of months ago I had a nasty reaction to beets. Weird. I have for now eliminated dairy, gluten, and anything artificial. Whole foods only. I now have added back in broccoli, kale, turnips, carrots, zucchini, summer squash, cucumbers, apples, pears, unsweetened applesauce, crushed ginger, unsweetened apple juice, unsweetened cranberry juice, lemon juice, blueberries, black berries, salmon, cod, olive oil, salt, psylium fiber husk, and pistachios. I could probably add more but I am going very slowly so as not to upset the apple cart and set myself back. There are nutritionists out there that specialize in histamine related issues so you may want to seek one out if you have the resources to do so.

 

https://drbeckycampbell.com/

 

https://mastcell360.com/

 

Here are links to holistic nutritionists in your area.

 

https://www.healthprofs.com/us/nutritionists-dietitians/holistic-nutritionist/ga/atlanta

 

https://nutritionallyyours.net/holistic-nutritionist-atlanta/

 

Beware of any that want to sell you lots of supplements. The one I used was very big on food as medicine before supplementation.

[FeralCatman]

@IronHamMk76 I should also add in that I have fresh oregano, basil, and rosemary with each meal for seasoning as well as to help with gut restoration. My next steps will be adding in as many pre-biotic foods as possible to help restore my gut microbiome.