☼ Wingbatty - Hi Y'all

[susu]

Hi Wingbatty, Glad to see that you are doing good!! I'll have to look into that diet.

[Wingbatty]

Uggghhhhh....

 

It took 20 days for the withdrawal to hit.

 

I'm still at 17.5 mg, and very happy I didn't get excited & try to drop lower. Yesterday & today I've had a lot of anxiety and not feeling like myself in social situations. Then more anxiety later about those social situations.

 

 

I haven't eaten properly in the past 3 days and I wonder if this has caused the upswing in negative emotions. I've been glutened or something and my digestion is all kinds of messed up. I'll see if putting my diet back in order puts my head back in order.

 

Maybe it will help if I think of everything I put in my mouth as a drug. Every food - is this going to hurt or help?

[Wingbatty]

Diet back in order, emotions calming down a bit. Also my scale finally arrived so I crushed all of the smallest cut pills & have been measuring. I noticed that the cut pills were varying by as much as a while milligram. Not good!

 

For anyone cutting pills... I recommend weighing them.

[flower]

Will you let me know how the scale works out for you. I've been thinking of getting the one mentioned here.

[Gardner]

I was gf for 6 years

Heard the Scd diet helps

How are you doing?

[Wingbatty]

Hi guys! I haven't checked in for so long.

 

I don't know if I got the same one listed on this site (?) but I bought this one from Amazon. It is working pretty well.

 

Tomorrow is my last day at my first taper, and I'm getting a little nervous. This first taper hasn't been painless. It's nothing extreme but I am sometimes irritable.

 

On the other hand, as a wife & mom, I think it is okay to be a *little* bit irritable. I'm not as likely to let my kids get away with ornery things. I finally was able to get my husband to really TALK to me about a serious make-it-or-break-it issue in our marriage.

 

And I'm realizing that some of my commitments are to things I DO NOT WANT TO DO. I am no longer Switzerland - I'm starting to have an opinion.

 

Things that are helping:

 

1) diet - This makes a big difference for me. I'm still tweaking this because I have a lot of digestion problems.

 

2) EXERCISE! - I'm really making an effort to walk every day for 1 hour outside, minimum. After I do this I feel completely different about myself & everything else. On days I skip I feel down all day.

 

Recently I have noticed that my friendships are not what I want them to be. I have a huge number of acquaintances, a big social circle. But no one calls ME and says, "how are you doing? want to go to lunch?" I'm included in groups as habit. Maybe this is because I've been so BLAH for so long, so blanked out and nothing. I've just been taking up space for so long. One lady I've hung around with a little bit, I realized I find her to be quite annoying. I want to have good friends, real friends again.

 

After tomorrow I think I'll go to 16 mg for one month. This is a 10% drop.

[hippopotamus]

I just read through your tread and wanted to let you know I find your story very inspirational. You are good at writing as well!

 

It's really great to read how lowering your meds in combi with the other changes you're making is giving you back your emotions. I wish you all the best on your way!

 

Hippo

[Nikki]

Hi WB

 

You hit on alot of things that have me thinking. I have always had the issue of ruminating and thinking things over & over again making myself crazy and worked up.

 

I don't really think ssri's or tricyclics changed that. I still do it, but a bit less.

I attributed that little change to positive affirmations and trying to catch myself when I am doing it.

 

Has it stopped - NO. The bottom line is how much I worry. Are you a worrier?

 

Living abroad and moving frequently can bring on a feeling of "where are my roots, I don't fee grounded." That's so normal. Some people just look at it as "a new adventure."

 

Writing, bar none, is the best outlet in the world. Just do it.

 

I need to do more of it myself.

 

Nice to hear from you:)

[Wingbatty]

You guys are so sweet! Thank you for the kind words, Nikki & Hippo.

 

I'm 5 days into the 2nd drop and all is... well, it's just fine. I'm occasionally irritated but this is happening as I get back things like my focus. I have strong focus when I'm interested in things - did I mention I'm starting to be INTERESTED in things again?? - and don't like being interrupted. So I have to stop & think, "now is not a good time for this. Do it later" and enjoy my family while they're home. Then I have better motivation to use my time better... and actually care what happens during my days...

 

This is overall very good.

 

 

Dietary Things:

 

The SCD made me feel pretty good, but very hard to follow for any length of time. Mainly because of two things: I was hungry a lot, and I didn't poop without laxatives. So sorry for that TMI. Any time I eat much meat at all this happens to me.

 

I got to thinking back to the best I ever felt, which was following the Eat to Live. That would be like SCD without the meat. But that left me hungry, too, eating constantly. I felt great and lost a lot of weight doing that, but longterm it is really tedious to spend all day chewing, like a big cow, and never really feel full. Thinking on this, I poked around a bit more and re-examined the McDougall diet. It is vegan, like EtL, but relies on starches to fill you up, as a base for the diet, with lots of veggies on top of that. I'm trying this now.

 

My digestion hasn't sorted itself out (it's only been a few days and I was glutened 2 days ago), but I will say that as far as depression/anxiety goes, this diet is pretty great. It is hard to be anxious OR depressed when you're full of potato. Seriously. Potato is the go-to feel-good food. Why didn't my doctor prescribe POTATOES??

 

This is kind of the opposite of SCD - it relies heavily on foods that SCD doesn't allow at all. So we'll see. Lately I've been wondering how much it affects a person's mental state to be, literally, full of it. all. the. time.

 

I feel silly experimenting with other people's ideas for ways to eat, but obviously what I've been doing on my own has not been working. So I hope to eventually not have to adhere to any one thing 100%, to have a bit more freedom. But for now - I need to find a good foundation where my weight will be stable, I will feel good emotionally, and I can poop. Honestly, if I could just poop normally I might be able to accept being overweight forever.

 

[Altostrata]

Thanks for the good news, WB.

 

Magnesium can help that poop problem.

 

Meat is good for people who might be low in B12, don't discount that it might be good for you.

[Wingbatty]

Well, I'm 12 days into my new dose.

 

I've been doing okay so far. One episode of anxiety that helped me decide coffee must be a rare treat. I'm starting to see glimpses of my old self. I'm FUNNY! I've even managed to make my husband laugh sometimes.

 

The past few years I've been feeling really stupid. Basic things escape me. I forget everything. Even basic math becomes a challenge (my updated signature should make that clear...). The past 2 weeks I became obsessed (I don't know why) with relearning how to do some computer coding. After a few tries I found a really good book and started working through it. After several days of struggling to understand complicated code... I realized I wasn't forgetting as many things. I have been making more connections mentally. This is also why I've been funnier - instead of feeling like my head was empty when someone is speaking to me, I think of a witty reply.

 

So I recommend this to everyone, I really do, especially anyone who isn't working or whose day job isn't mentally challenging. Find something that really fluffs your skirt, that you're very interested in, and start learning. Pick something that seems a little too hard, so you can stretch yourself. It is a great distraction from all the woes we have. It is a big sense of accomplishment to struggle and then "get it". And a colleague at my kids' school that I think is very nice but I had nothing in common with - I found out he is trying to learn Python (another type of programming) and we had a great conversation about resources for learning and why we're learning these things, etc. My point being - learning something new gives you something interesting to talk about when you do have social interactions.

 

This was the site he recommended - it's all free! http://www.udacity.com/

 

iTunes & YouTube are FULL of free lectures on everything from literature to physics to oceanography.

 

In addition to all these things... I'm reassessing every area of my life. I decided I have to stop subbing at my kids' school for now. The money is great, but on the days I sub I don't exercise and don't eat properly - so my blood sugar goes crazy and I feel like crap. I come home too mentally tired to give anything to my husband & kids. And it spends my days, but it isn't advancing any of my goals.

 

I'm reassessing my social stuff, too. I have so many acquaintances - and I'm working on not letting myself be distracted by these, but focus on giving time to people I really care about & want to be good friends with. Saying NO to things that are just shopping with people I only barely like... so that I can call up a favorite friend I haven't seen in a long time, etc. Thinking about "who challenges me to be a better person? Makes me feel better about myself? With whom does the conversation come easily? Which friends listen to ME, too, and don't just want me to listen to them??" This might seem selfish but I've had too many friendships where I'm always there for everyone else, and when I need a friend... **crickets**.

 

--------------------------------------

 

 

I have to next update my signature - my doses haven't been what I thought they were.

 

I wrote out all the math here to ask for help, then I realized the problem: I've been rounding off the weight of my pills. It was easier to remember to weigh out 200 mg of crushed pill than 207 mg. When I took another 10% off the weight of my pill, it worked out that I was now only taking 13.8 mg (last dose 16 mg). But I realized I wasn't quite at 16 mg last time - I was actually at 15.4 after I rounded down the pill weight. My next drop will be a smaller one.

[strawberry17]

Love your update, have you ever thought about writing?

 

Yes I enjoy my job/s but not overly challenging, so I've taken up the piano again (having dropped it years ago), I'm finding that challenging and enjoyable, I got to quite a high standard as a teen, and I would love to get back up there again.

 

I have to go very easy with coffee as well.

[Meimeiquest]

I loved it too!

 

I have been thinking about drug withdrawal and how you get there. When I first saw my pdoc ( my second) he told me he didn't believe in the biological theory of mental illness (which begs the question why did he leave me on all these drugs? did He think I was really sick and I thought I was doing well?). I asked him if he didn't believe it, did his patients get off drugs. He smiled sadly and said not usually. I went to the psychologist he recommended and got nothing from it, although she was very empathetic. So this is what I think makes the difference:

 

Slow taper (of course)

Seeing your symptoms as something outside yourself that you manage instead of as a reflection of you, a pathological person

The slow taper releases the issues that are real slowly, so you can gradually address them

An Internet forum is self-serve, when you need or want it, not an exact 50 minutes once a week

 

But what it lacks is accurate feedback. I say I'm a soccer mom in the South, but you never really know:).

[Altostrata]

You've been funny here all along, Wingbatty.

 

You've discovered a good way to foster neurogenesis -- mental stimulation. Good for you!

[Jemima]

Good to hear from you, Wingbatty, and to know that you're doing well. You're certainly getting your life in hand and I wish I could have thought so clearly when I was in withdrawal.

 

I appreciate the information about learning new things. I've been drooping around because I don't have a project or goal at hand, so perhaps learning something really challenging can substitute until I find my way.

[Wingbatty]

Love your update, have you ever thought about writing?

 

Yes I enjoy my job/s but not overly challenging, so I've taken up the piano again (having dropped it years ago), I'm finding that challenging and enjoyable, I got to quite a high standard as a teen, and I would love to get back up there again.

 

I have to go very easy with coffee as well.

 

 

Yay! It's too bad we can't hear you. That is a really great one, because it is an emotional release, too (or it was for me - though I was never at a very high standard at any time).

 

On writing... yeah, pretty much I can't help myself. I write, therefore I am. Maybe someday I'll write something worth payment! Dream the Impossible Dream!...

[Wingbatty]

Good to hear from you, Wingbatty, and to know that you're doing well. You're certainly getting your life in hand and I wish I could have thought so clearly when I was in withdrawal.

 

I appreciate the information about learning new things. I've been drooping around because I don't have a project or goal at hand, so perhaps learning something really challenging can substitute until I find my way.

 

It's a big challenge to find something that "lights your fire". One of the big drawbacks of the meds for me was that it makes me feel like "Meh!" about everything. Every. Thing. You might still be in that phase, and if so, just be patient with yourself. On days when I feel "meh" I just surf the 'net and nap. If possible.

[Wingbatty]

I loved it too!

 

I have been thinking about drug withdrawal and how you get there. When I first saw my pdoc ( my second) he told me he didn't believe in the biological theory of mental illness (which begs the question why did he leave me on all these drugs? did He think I was really sick and I thought I was doing well?). I asked him if he didn't believe it, did his patients get off drugs. He smiled sadly and said not usually. I went to the psychologist he recommended and got nothing from it, although she was very empathetic. So this is what I think makes the difference:

 

Slow taper (of course)

Seeing your symptoms as something outside yourself that you manage instead of as a reflection of you, a pathological person

The slow taper releases the issues that are real slowly, so you can gradually address them

An Internet forum is self-serve, when you need or want it, not an exact 50 minutes once a week

 

But what it lacks is accurate feedback. I say I'm a soccer mom in the South, but you never really know:).

 

THIS.

 

This made me think so much.

 

I had a dress made (tailors are quite inexpensive here) and I said, "can it be taken up if I lose weight?" and the tailor just laughed. He said, "yes, but it never works that way. I only make clothes bigger, never smaller".

 

Perhaps what too many doctors (or, ahem, tailors) see is people just plodding forward, not growing (MENTALLY), not reaching for more or trying to improve themselves.

 

Maybe... WE ARE PIONEERS. Maybe we're paving the way for people to someday realize "Dude, I'm not mentally ill! I can go off these meds!" or... "I don't need this med in the first place!"

 

Go west, young man lady. (Assuming you are what you say you are, and are, in fact, a lady.)

 

Seeing your symptoms as something outside yourself that you manage instead of as a reflection of you, a pathological person

ALTOSTRATA, can this (or a version of it) be in big letters somewhere on this site?? I'm going to write it on a post-it and stick it to my arm. Pro-freaking-found.

[Wingbatty]

UPDATE.

 

It is already nearly time to drop again, and I'm so torn about whether I should.

 

We went on a trip that required flying, and while we were there I did two really stupid things.

 

1) I drank coffee every day.

2) I drank a lot of wine one night and proceeded. To. Eat. Gluten. :o

 

So for two days I was a total [CENSORED] to everyone. On my last good nerve, irritable, nervous. Then we flew home and I nearly had a nervous breakdown on the plane when we hit heavy turbulence.

 

 

Was it the caffeine?? The gluten?? The alcohol?? WHAT WAS I THINKING???

 

This is how I feel about the entire episode:

 

 

This week I've been tapering back off the caffeine and will go back to zero tomorrow I think. Been exercising, eating better again, and generally trying to be calm and copacetic, and I feel better except for:

 

BRAIN ZAPS.

 

What in the world? Why would these start NOW, three weeks after I last dropped dosages?

 

The only thing I can think of is that gluten intolerace/Celiac can cause you to lose absorption in the gut, and perhaps I haven't been absorbing my full dose because I ate that stinking bread. This is all I can imagine.

 

If the brain zaps calm down by the 15th I'll attempt the next drop - otherwise I will hold off. BARRING WHATEVER GOOD ADVICE Y'ALL HAVE.

 

Thanks so much.

[dalsaan]

hi wingbatty,

 

have to say, I like your style.

 

re the taper, I'd play it safe and hold for a couple of extra weeks. Its been this long already whats

a couple of weeks in the grand scheme of things

 

Dalsaan

[Altostrata]

 

I loved it too!

 

I have been thinking about drug withdrawal and how you get there. When I first saw my pdoc ( my second) he told me he didn't believe in the biological theory of mental illness (which begs the question why did he leave me on all these drugs? did He think I was really sick and I thought I was doing well?). I asked him if he didn't believe it, did his patients get off drugs. He smiled sadly and said not usually. I went to the psychologist he recommended and got nothing from it, although she was very empathetic. So this is what I think makes the difference:

 

Slow taper (of course)

Seeing your symptoms as something outside yourself that you manage instead of as a reflection of you, a pathological person

The slow taper releases the issues that are real slowly, so you can gradually address them

An Internet forum is self-serve, when you need or want it, not an exact 50 minutes once a week

 

But what it lacks is accurate feedback. I say I'm a soccer mom in the South, but you never really know:).

 

Seeing your symptoms as something outside yourself that you manage instead of as a reflection of you, a pathological person

ALTOSTRATA, can this (or a version of it) be in big letters somewhere on this site?? I'm going to write it on a post-it and stick it to my arm. Pro-freaking-found.

 

I agree, Meimei's post is wonderful. Meimei, would you consider starting a topic with that content in the Symptoms and Self-care forum?

[Wingbatty]

I am so sad. But it's okay.

 

Last month I waited a few days and decided to go ahead & try the next dosage drop (it isn't in my signature yet - I'll do that next). I felt alright. After the dosage drop I felt alright. A few things here & there like always.

 

Then I found out my husband was being put on temporary assignment back in Texas (we live in the Middle East) until October. I would stay with the kids until the school year ended, join him for the summer, come back here by myself to restart them in school in August. So four months by myself, in two parts. For lots of reasons this was a good thing - mainly because of job burnout for him. But hard for me, too.

 

THEN I found out my father has stage IV cancer and has been given 3-6 months to live. We don't know yet if it is treatable, but have been told that if he chooses treatment & it is successful, it might extend his life another 6 months. Maybe. Who knows? But with this going on my husband's assignment is a double bonus. I'll be close to family all summer & can spend a lot of time with my father.

 

I have been SO SO sad. It comes & goes. I feel just okay, and then it hits me in a big wave. I feel it coming, growing bigger, and then it takes me down and I cry for a while. And then I'm okay again for a little while.

 

So of! course! I have been sad! The next few months may very well be horrendous. My summer is going to be great and terrible. Being so far away is very hard right now.

 

But I don't feel like going back on more medication. It's not that I'm enjoying the sadness, I'm not. But I feel grateful to be able to FEEL this, to be able to grieve - because it's what I need to do. It's what any person needs to do. We aren't made of steel. I'm happy to be able to be so sad about my dad, that I'm not watching this like my life is a movie in a foreign language without subtitles and I don't understand why everyone around me is laughing or crying.

 

Also I'm feeling a great need to distract myself, so I've been getting out & about far more than I usually do. My husband is probably going to have a heart attack when he sees the credit card. Instead of sitting, my usual depressive self, I am moving, moving, moving, trying to stay busy and not think about it so much since I can't do much right now.

 

So I'm sad, and I'm okay, and that is life right now.

[flower]

I believe you are alot stronger than you give yourself credit for. If you can get throught this, you can do anything ladybug. You have the right attitude already. I need to as strong as you. I hear Texas is very hot right now. How hot is it where you are? You have the kids to keep you busy. flower is thinking of you.

[strawberry17]

I understand what you're saying about being able to "feel sad", I'm so sorry to hear about your father. A few years ago my lovely father in law was diagnosed with cancer and died a few months later, I was "off" meds and was grateful to be able to "feel" pain and joy, then, withdrawals kicked in big time (I had cold turkey'd off), and I went back on the med, and at the point where he died and at his funeral I had the bizarre experience of feeling nothing but euphoria from the drug reinstatement when everyone else was grieving. It was so "wrong".

[Nikki]

WB so sorry to hear about your Dad and your current situation. You sound so together in spite of it all.....getting out and about.

 

Feeling sad levels me. It hasn't leveled you. You seem to be in acceptance. And if it does level you let it rip.

 

We somehow feel we can never fall apart and yet falling apart is part of going thru tragedy.

Where did this distorted thinking come from?

 

Keep close to the site and people here to help you thru this time in your life. You can send Private Messages too.

 

Lots of Cyber Hugs

[Wingbatty]

Thank you for being so sweet with the replies!

 

My father passed away very quickly - I live overseas and moved up my flight twice, finally flying out in a panic with only a few hours' notice - but I didn't make it home in time.

 

After two months of forgetting pills, not weighing carefully, and generally being a total mess where my med was concerned, I finally just decided to start cutting the pills in half and go from there (I was pretty close to that dose anyway). Just to be doing something regular has helped.

 

But in the midst of all this stress - and it has been intense, helping sort out his affairs - I've been short tempered a few times, I've broken down twice and cried until I thought I was going to break in half... but I've been okay. Seriously, I'm okay, and that is amazing.

[Altostrata]

Good to hear from you, Wingbatty, and that you're managing pretty well.

[Meimeiquest]

Wing batty, I am so very sorry to hear of the loss of your dad, and for your not being able to see him one last time. And glad that you can have a normal grieving process, painful though it is. There is no "statue of limitation" on grief here...come tell us about it any time!

[cymbaltawithdrawal5600]

Hi WB,

 

I, too, am sorry to hear about your dad. Mine passed about 5 years ago. He was a difficult person but as time passes, he is less of an influence in my mind than he was for many years. Mom will go one of these years and that will have to be absorbed too. I hope you are doing well with your taper. Memei is right, you can always come here and pour out your grief if you need to, or whatever you need.

 

Your writing is very vivid and entertaining and thought-provoking and I thoroughly enjoy it!

[Wingbatty]

I went all the way back up to a  full (20 mg) dose of Lexapro after working for almost a year to taper down to 10 mg.

 

After my dad died, I returned to our home in the middle east and two of our friends died, four days apart. One was the same age as my father. The other one was only 33. Then we moved again, to Denmark, in the middle of a very dark winter. They both died of heart attacks - both from unhealthy life choices. My father died of lung cancer from smoking heavily for decades, another life choice.

 

All of this happened within 6 months. In the midst of it all I surrendered and went back up to 20 mg.

 

The problem is, it wasn't really helping all that much.

 

My doctor here wants me to taper off - but he wants me to go from 20 mg to 15 mg a day and stay there for around 6 months.

 

I didn't like this idea but tried it, and felt it was kind of a disaster.

 

GOOD THINGS

 

I've been experimenting for a long time with various diets, and how food / exercise / etc affect my mood. I've had terrible digestive problems for around 20 years now.

 

Here in Denmark I was tested for Celiac and came up negative. The doctor said that my symptoms plus the fact that I was on medication for depression and had found some relief from a gluten-free diet led him to suspect IBS with a FODMAPS problem.

 

It's complicated, but when I really follow the FODMAPS diet, I feel really good. Digestion, mood, everything. I am thinking about the diets I've tried in the past that helped, and what they had in common was that they reduced these foods by coincidence.

 

WHAT NOW?

 

I think that decreasing from 20 mg to 15 mg, even with staying at that dose for 6+ months, will be tough. When I tried this three weeks ago I went all haywire - craving really bad foods, eating sugar all the time, stopped exercising because I just didn't care.

 

It seems like when I lower the medications, I just "up" the number of compensating things I do. I eat sugar and chocolate, I obsessively play dumb computer games. I find every day tasks completely overwhelming and don't do them - but sitting around a messy house makes me feel worse & worse and more overwhelmed. When I was lowering it slowly here before, I just slowly re-adopted those bad behaviors over time.

 

Right now I'm thinking I would like to stick to a proper diet for a full month, then try lowering by 10% and see if I can manage the lowered dose plus maintaining the diet.

 

Any ideas? I feel kind of annoyed that I'm back up to full dose. However, I have always liked the saying, "what you did was all you were capable of at the time". I was freaking out, and my coping mechanisms weren't good enough. So here we are.

 

Both my father and his mother were seriously affected all their lives by mood problems. Everyone around them suffered. Part of me thinks, "what if I can't go off this med? Or doing this means my life will always be so much less than it could have been?"

[mammaP]

Hi Wingbatty, I'm sorry that you had so many losses in such a short space of time, that is

a lot of grief to get through  .   

 

It's great that you have found the fodmaps diet helpful, I tried it once, for about a day  !

You are absolutely right not to drop from 20 to 15, it's too big a drop for anyone and I so 

wish that doctors would wake up to that fact! 

 

I think if I were you I would start with tiny drops to start and see how you go. I am a great

believer of micro tapering, you make smaller cuts but can make them more often. It takes about

the same length of time to get off but with less symptoms.   Here is the topic on micro tapers.

I say this because of everything you have been through and your previous taper. Don't beat

yourself up for updosing back to 20, you did what you had to do at the time! 

 

http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/2878-micro-taper-instead-of-10-or-5-decreases/

[Meimeiquest]

Hi WB, I was thinking of you the other day, thanks for checking in! Denmark? Honey, you are having a very full life, regardless of what drugs you are taking!

 

First, you know the more we change our drugs, the more complicated it gets. So you can just expect to go slower this time.

 

I went off an AD 13 months ago and floundered through much of the year. I still have "support" if you want to call it that from the two drugs I am still taking. Anyway, I have been studying like a crazy woman (literallly, my pdoc would say) trying to get this sorted out. I also come from a family with multiple psychiatric issues. I don't have obvious GI symptoms, but I am beginning to wonder if that is ground zero for me. It's either that or CFS. I have had quite a bit of testing done..I don't have the test results of someone with a serious mental illness.

 

Anyway, here's some stuff I've been reading. They are not consistent between each other, I think it helps to keep in mind their different fields of study.

 

Www.coolinginflammation.blogspot.com (this guy works in the very inside of cells, bacteria, DNA sequencing, professor). Ideas about resistant starch are most interesting

Sarah Myhill, MD - works in environmental medicine, CFS. Has an extensive website and a book, The Diagnosis and Treatment of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. That's not you, but she does a lot of writing on GI issues that you might find helpful.

The Walsh Research Institute (chemist)/Mensah Medical. Used to be the Pheiffer Institute. Orthomolecular medicine. A unique take on methylation (mine tested normal). I am a patient at Mensah now. My blood tests were not very abnormal, but supplements have helped me a ton. Walsh's book is Nutrient Power. His website lists some of the physicians he has trained, I think there are some in Scandinavia. Dr. Mensah just did a webinar on methylation, the only way I know to reach it right now is via their Facebook page. It will be on their website eventually.

 

Good luck!

[Altostrata]

It sees gut health has a tremendous effect on every aspect of our wellbeing.

 

Aside from an appropriate diet, people treat their IBS with non-drug methods that repair the gut lining, such as probiotics, prebiotics (that's the starch, etc.), and herbs. Please see the Symptoms and Self-care forum for suggestions, also

http://drhyman.com/blog/2010/09/16/5-simple-steps-to-cure-ibs-without-drugs/

http://chriskresser.com/fodmaps-could-common-foods-be-harming-your-digestive-health

 

WB, it could be other family members were distressed by certain foods or has some gut bacteria imbalance. Your road to good health can take you in another direction entirely.

[Wingbatty]

You guys have such good info. I'm going to read through all of this. Thank you!

[Wingbatty]

Changes: IUD

 

A month ago I had my Mirena IUD taken out. I had been using this as birth control for 11 years.

 

Shortly after my last update I had started breaking out in hives, in addition to everything else. Then it worsened into having seemingly random allergic reactions to various foods. Throat swelling & everything. My doctor accused me of making it all up, even though my entire torso was covered in dark red, raised blisters. (He said I was causing the hives mentally. What a jackass. This was the same guy who insisted I reduce my Lexapro dosage so fast. I changed doctors.)

 

After the IUD was taken out, the hives, which had been around for more than 6 months, completely went away. As did the allergic reactions. My digestion still isn't great because I've been eating wheat with wild abandon, totally amazed that the problems it causes are so reduced from before.

 

Within a day of the IUD coming out, my husband said, "you have lit back up again". He says my personality is still very different, that I'm more "alive" and "bright" somehow.

 

Changes: Exercise

 

Around this time I met with a nutrition/lifestyle doctor who had me change my workout from cardio-based to weight-training based. Basically I'm getting kind of addicted to the weight lifting. I don't ever want to miss a workout! Before it was easy to skip runs or end up only working out once or twice a week (or doing nothing for two weeks...) but now I want to go. Even when I don't want to go!

 

The motivation is mainly coming from being able to see the changes in my own strength. It's motivating and also very confidence-building. Seeing how I couldn't do an overhead press with the 20-kg bar at first, then I was using that weight within two weeks... I can open the difficult door on the back of our house now...

 

And now that I know I'm getting stronger, I'm very motivated to stick with my calorie limit every day, because I am determined to see weight loss. It's building on the confidence.

 

Right now I'm still at my highest dose, but will start reducing again soon. First I have to have a vitamin test, because I've tested low for vitamin D in the past and it may be wreaking havoc with my mood as well. Tapering off Lexapro would be doubly hard if I'm having low mood from vitamin deficiency!

 

TL;DR: I can't believe how many things were affected by the IUD. I haven't listed them all here for the sake of this not being a novel-length entry. But if you have an IUD and depression, I hope you'll do some research and rethink it. 

[Altostrata]

Amazing, Wingbatty!

 

Good for you, sticking to what you needed to take care of yourself.

 

Thank you for checking in with us again.