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GiaK Radical, Transformative Healing of Body/Mind/Spirit


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just wanted to share this..

 

I just got news that I've been accepted into a yoga teacher training. I'm excited. it's the first ongoing commitment outside of my home that I have made in 10 years. I was explicit about my limitations and they remained enthusiastic about my participation.

Everything Matters: Beyond Meds 

https://beyondmeds.com/

withdrawn from a cocktail of 6 psychiatric drugs that included every class of psych drug.
 

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That's excellent news Monica. Hey Maybe you could do a Yoga for Dummies on You Tube for me .. I'm a 45 year old man who just can't seem to get with it Yogawise .. Last time I tried I threw out my back 😕 

December 2014 - Lexapro 20 mg

August 2016 Med free (6 week taper)

December 22 2021  added Abilify 5mg / Ativan .5mg / Depakote ER 1000mg

Discontinued Abilify 5mg on 12-30-21---accidental dose on 1-13-22 (looks like Ativan)

Ativan PRN/Discontinued 1-14-22

Only drug is Depakote ER 1000mg ( looking to taper slow and safe for once )

3/24/22 Depakote 625mg 

Propranolol 20-40mg  PRN

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I did a lot of posts on yoga...for the challenged nervous system...people don't understand yoga for the most part. think it's about being a pretzel and really strong ...this is a bastardization...a reductionistic and painfully incomplete view. It can be those things but it isn't necessarily those things at all and many yogis might not ever participate in what Americans think is yoga. Anyway, that said, Hatha yoga can be anything from sticking a leg in the air and rotating the ankle (that's now I started when I was bedridden and that was just as much yoga as someone doing a headstand. Anyway...

 

here is a link...yoga should meet you exactly where you are or it's not yoga. https://beyondmeds.com/?s=yoga

and thank you! 😊

Everything Matters: Beyond Meds 

https://beyondmeds.com/

withdrawn from a cocktail of 6 psychiatric drugs that included every class of psych drug.
 

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  • Mentor
23 hours ago, GiaK said:

just wanted to share this..

 

I just got news that I've been accepted into a yoga teacher training. I'm excited. it's the first ongoing commitment outside of my home that I have made in 10 years. I was explicit about my limitations and they remained enthusiastic about my participation.

Wooohooo! This is awesome! You will do great! 🙂

I follow The Plant Paradox lifestyle by Dr.Gundry. This lifestyle has given me my life back and I feel better than I have ever felt in my life. It has enabled me to finally get off of this medication and truly live my life. Nutrition is the key to health!!!!! 

2008 to 2019  - 20 mg Paroxetine

Attempted 2 CT's around the 5-6 year mark. Were absolutely terrible and reinstated. Was never explained by the doctor the seriousness of the short half life of this drug. 

2017 - Attempted a tapered discontinuation of this drug and reinstated after being unsuccessful.

2019 - Feb. 12 - After a three month taper I am off of paroxetine. The 3 months were terrible, awful withdrawal feelings. I followed the doctors guidelines for the reduction of this drug and now know it was way too fast. 
2019 - Oct. 12 - 8 months off paroxetine. 75% improvement since coming off the drug. Definitely have had tons of challenges along the way. Let’s go!!!! 

2021 - Feb. 12 - 24 months off paroxetine. I have minor challenges now. Tinnitus/Headaches are still around but are reduced by a massive amount. 

 

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On 10/5/2019 at 3:27 PM, GiaK said:

just wanted to share this..

 

I just got news that I've been accepted into a yoga teacher training. I'm excited. it's the first ongoing commitment outside of my home that I have made in 10 years. I was explicit about my limitations and they remained enthusiastic about my participation.

 

excellent news, I am glad for you. 

Currently taking Ramapril (blood pressure) 5 mg twice a day

Omeprazole 10 mg AM and 20 mg PM  (the taper has gone nowhere after the first cut)

Famotidine   once a day (and I still needs tums sometimes)

magnesium 200 mg at night

as of yesterday 2 fish oil capsules "EPA-DHA 1000"

 

off Lexapro as of 5/2018  - last dose had been 5 mg every other day for a couple years

 

highest dose had been 20 mg at which point I was diagnosed with Bipolar II, which went away when I cut the lexapro down to 15 mg. 

 

I spent years on Paxil before Lexapro (can't remember dose), briefly on Effexor and Abilify and others I have forgotten. in fact, when I was diagnoses with BPII I was put on all kinds of things which made me feel so bad I stopped them cold turkey within maybe 3 or 4 weeks, thank goodness. since then I've known these pills were terrible and I weaned down the Lexapro with zero help or support over I'm not sure how many years. 

 

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I did a post talking about the yoga studio I'm studying with...

I"m really excited and grateful for such an awesome community....

 

yoga teacher training. a long time coming – Everything Matters: Beyond Meds https://beyondmeds.com/2019/09/18/yoga-teacher-training/

 

thanks so much for the excitement...I know that only my people in these forums etc can know what this means. Tnank you for being here.

Everything Matters: Beyond Meds 

https://beyondmeds.com/

withdrawn from a cocktail of 6 psychiatric drugs that included every class of psych drug.
 

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1 hour ago, GiaK said:

Tnank you for being here.

Thank You for everything you've done for us Monica ..

December 2014 - Lexapro 20 mg

August 2016 Med free (6 week taper)

December 22 2021  added Abilify 5mg / Ativan .5mg / Depakote ER 1000mg

Discontinued Abilify 5mg on 12-30-21---accidental dose on 1-13-22 (looks like Ativan)

Ativan PRN/Discontinued 1-14-22

Only drug is Depakote ER 1000mg ( looking to taper slow and safe for once )

3/24/22 Depakote 625mg 

Propranolol 20-40mg  PRN

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Thank you too. We're  all doing this with one another-- we're all winging it and learning together.

Everything Matters: Beyond Meds 

https://beyondmeds.com/

withdrawn from a cocktail of 6 psychiatric drugs that included every class of psych drug.
 

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  • 7 months later...
I made eggplant Parmesan for the first time in at least 10 years. Reintroducing foods from my ancestry (I’m an immigrants daughter so it’s not far removed) I ate this way growing up, along with speaking Italian in my American home. My healing has taken me full circle.
 
In rediscovering the diet of the people I come from, I find that it has a cohesiveness that means that even though a lot of foods considered unhealthy in the USA are eaten liberally, they are balanced with food and drink that helps good digestion. Obesity is relatively rare in Italy even now.
 
American diet fads are largely hype and is driven by capitalism. Every health guru knows exactly what you should be eating! I’ve done them all now. Vegan to keto and all inbetween.  I went off gluten for 11 yrs…now it’s clear that it’s helping in profound ways to HEAL my gut. (it’s also true that without systematic ways to pay attention to my body I wouldn’t have learned how to listen to my body. Elimination diets helped that process immensely.
 
So yeah, the main takeaway is that gluten and especially sour dough bread, is loaded with pre-biotics that my gut is just so happy to have again. I had my first bagel the other day which is made with high gluten flour and OH MY did my heart sing along with my happy gut.  It’s not just Italian stuff.  And wow, I’d not had a bagel in at least 15 years.
 
It’s important to note I do not eat like this daily. I actually often eat only fruit and veggies all day long. What is important and wonderful is being able to eat anything I want…AT THE RIGHT TIME. Timing is everything and I know food. I’m into all food and herbs as appropriate.

Everything Matters: Beyond Meds 

https://beyondmeds.com/

withdrawn from a cocktail of 6 psychiatric drugs that included every class of psych drug.
 

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Congratulations giak to your first bagel in 11 yrs! I so know what it means and the thrill you felt as I myself have been on strict diet for the past 10 months without anything gluten, glutamate high food, all additives, all meat, some veggies and fruit after I had severe reactions to majority of the normal food since jumping from valium. Alcohol in particular is the number one thing I need to be absolutely clean from, not only in food, but also the trace used in cosmetics and hygiene products.

 

You mentioned you have been on veggies and fruits mainly for those years. I wonder what were you elimimating and how you maintain the protein intake. Also, how did you know your system is ready to reintroduce some of those food you eliminated? 

 

I'm so glad that your system is stablizing nicely in terms of food sensitivity now.  How are you doing in other areas? 

 

Best wishes,

Lexanger

 

Drug free Sep. 23 2017

2009 Mar.: lexapro 10mg for headache for 2 weeks.

2009-2012: on and off 1/4 to 1/3 of 10mg

2012 June--2013 Jan,: 1/4-1/3 of 10mg generic, bad jaw pain

2013 Jan-Mar: 10 mg generic. severe jaw and head pain;

2013 Mar--Aug. started tapering (liquid ever since) from 10 to 5 (one step) then gradually down to 2.25 mg by July. first ever panic attack, severe head/jaw pain

2013 Aug.: back to 2.75 mg; Nov: back to Brand Lex. 2.75mg -- 3mg,

2014 June: stopped PPI, head pressure/numbness. up-dosed 4.5mg, severe reaction mental symptoms added on

2014 Aug--2015 Aug: Micro taper down to 3.2mg, .025mg (<1%) cut holding 2-3 weeks.

2015 Aug 15th, Accidental one dose of 4.2mg. worsening brain non-functional, swollen head, body, coma like, DR

2016 Feb., started dosing 10am through 11 pm everyday 2/13--3.2mg, 3/15-- 2.9mg, 4/19-- 2.6mg, 6/26--2.2mg, 7/22 --1.9mg, 8/16--1.8mg,8/31--1.7m g, 9/13--1.6mg, 9/27--1.5mg, 10/8--1.4mg, 10/14--1.3mg, 11/1--1.2mg, 11/29--1.1mg, 12/12--1mg, 12/22--0.9mg

2017: 1/7--0.8mg, 1/15--0.7mg, 1/17--0.6mg, 1/20--0.52, 1/21--0.4mg, 1/22--0.26, 1/23--0.2, 2/13--0.13mg, 2/20--0.06mg, 3/18--0.13mg, 6/1--0.12mg, 7/6--0.1mg, 7/14--0.08mg, 8/17--0.04mg, 8/20--0.03mg, 8/28--0.02mg, 9/6--0.0205mg, 9/8--0.02mg, 9/17--0.015mg, 9/20--0.01mg, 9/21--0.0048mg, 9/22--0.0001mg,

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On 6/1/2020 at 6:53 PM, LexAnger said:

 

 

You mentioned you have been on veggies and fruits mainly for those years. I wonder what were you elimimating and how you maintain the protein intake. Also, how did you know your system is ready to reintroduce some of those food you eliminated? 

 

 

 

 

I currently eat a lot of fruit...i didn't eat fruit for years either...only in the last 2 years...not eating fruit and making a big deal about it seems to be another  dangerous and stupid fad coming from paleo in my opinion at this point. Fruit is just the most healing wonderful food in the world. Way more than gluten...I eat fruit everyday...I eat bread or pasta once in a while. Still gluten and what it ended up being for me was shocking

 

My history is on my site...I got hard-core into low histamine by necessity for many years. That really helped and I healed the histamine issues...since then it's been all over the map.

 

covering 10 years of really complex dietary history here doesn't really work...but you can see some arch chronilogically on these search pages if you're really interested:

 

Diet

https://beyondmeds.com/?s=diet
 

Food posts

https://beyondmeds.com/?s=food

 

somatic imperative - (how I listen to my body)

https://beyondmeds.com/?s=somatic+imperative

 

low histamine stuff

https://beyondmeds.com/?s=histamine

 

 

sorry I wouldn't know where to begin otherwise.

 

 

first posted here: Returning to roots and well-being with food

Everything Matters: Beyond Meds 

https://beyondmeds.com/

withdrawn from a cocktail of 6 psychiatric drugs that included every class of psych drug.
 

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as far as how I am in other ways? I can eat what I want when I can eat. I can't always eat. Still eating all foods with no sensitivities is a huge win. I'm still detoxing and I have very severe Tardive Dyskinesia which gets in the way of eating quite often as digesting food makes it worse. Still it's clear that the sensitivities are gone.  

 

Tardive dyskinesia is gravely  debilitating and  it's not common among anyone other than career psychiatric patients. I continue my advocacy for those of us who've been forced treated, locked up and drugged against our will for decades .I have it easy compared to the folks I used to work with in the system. https://beyondmeds.com/2020/04/04/tardive-dyskinesia/

 

 

Everything Matters: Beyond Meds 

https://beyondmeds.com/

withdrawn from a cocktail of 6 psychiatric drugs that included every class of psych drug.
 

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20 hours ago, GiaK said:

Tardive dyskinesia is gravely  debilitating and  it's not common among anyone other than career psychiatric patients.

😞

 

❤️

Currently taking Ramapril (blood pressure) 5 mg twice a day

Omeprazole 10 mg AM and 20 mg PM  (the taper has gone nowhere after the first cut)

Famotidine   once a day (and I still needs tums sometimes)

magnesium 200 mg at night

as of yesterday 2 fish oil capsules "EPA-DHA 1000"

 

off Lexapro as of 5/2018  - last dose had been 5 mg every other day for a couple years

 

highest dose had been 20 mg at which point I was diagnosed with Bipolar II, which went away when I cut the lexapro down to 15 mg. 

 

I spent years on Paxil before Lexapro (can't remember dose), briefly on Effexor and Abilify and others I have forgotten. in fact, when I was diagnoses with BPII I was put on all kinds of things which made me feel so bad I stopped them cold turkey within maybe 3 or 4 weeks, thank goodness. since then I've known these pills were terrible and I weaned down the Lexapro with zero help or support over I'm not sure how many years. 

 

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On 6/3/2020 at 6:54 PM, GiaK said:

as far as how I am in other ways? I can eat what I want when I can eat. I can't always eat. Still eating all foods with no sensitivities is a huge win. I'm still detoxing and I have very severe Tardive Dyskinesia which gets in the way of eating quite often as digesting food makes it worse. Still it's clear that the sensitivities are gone.  

 

Tardive dyskinesia is gravely  debilitating and  it's not common among anyone other than career psychiatric patients. I continue my advocacy for those of us who've been forced treated, locked up and drugged against our will for decades .I have it easy compared to the folks I used to work with in the system. https://beyondmeds.com/2020/04/04/tardive-dyskinesia/

 

 

Hi, Giak I hope you're well. I've been reading through your blog and its absolutely fascinating. After a course of amoxicillin last year set my brain and my gut back quite a bit i feel I've finally came to a point where i can at least attempt to focus on my diet. My symptoms can change wildly from severe acute psychological issues and agitation to very mild and I can even experience pleasant windows based entirely on what i eat. I think im dealing currently with some severe histamine issues. Could you possibly direct me to a source of information that could help

This diet stuffs a maze!

 

Fluanxol dosage n/a - 6 months cold turkey Start/ may 2015 end/august 2015

Sertraline 100mg - 10 months cold turkey start/ may 2015 End/Feb 2016

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34 minutes ago, trenace said:

 My symptoms can change wildly from severe acute psychological issues and agitation to very mild and I can even experience pleasant windows based entirely on what i eat. I think im dealing currently with some severe histamine issues. Could you possibly direct me to a source of information that could help

This diet stuffs a maze!

 



yes! the histamine piece was critically important for me and there is so much especially on Yasmina's site that supports moving on once we've healed. She is a rare goddess who died too young. I do a memorial for her here: In memory, with love, Yasmina Ykelenstam of “Healing Histamine”    and from there you can dive into her work or wherever else ... follow your own instincts! I simply really like to introduce folks to Yasmina because she was an incredibly special human being and was a good friend too...one of the most naturally generous human beings I've ever known. She really got the histamine thing going  world wide but was never attached to the idea that we needed to cut out good food forever.  I miss her every day and carry her wisdom with me. And by the way, my histamine issues are gone...took about 3 years of studiously (mindfully) working with it.  

 my work on histamine issues, often inspired by Yasmina is here.

 

See Yasmina Ykelenstam’s work at HEALING HISTAMINE

 


 

Everything Matters: Beyond Meds 

https://beyondmeds.com/

withdrawn from a cocktail of 6 psychiatric drugs that included every class of psych drug.
 

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Thank you so much giak for sharing your experience and updating us about how you have been doing with food. I read  beyond meds from time to time ever since 2014. Gosh can't believe I'm still fighting this battle many years after. You are one of the most inspiring heros I ever know.

 

Dystonia is my current most disabling damage made by these drugs. I am so sorry you have it too. Mine is the generalized type meaning allover me head to toe caused by extreme muscle contraction. It makes my head and truck turning to one side but no fast movement. I wonder if yours is different.

 

I'm so happy you are continously healing! Your incredible strength and resilience is my all time inspiration!

 

Lexanger

 

 

Drug free Sep. 23 2017

2009 Mar.: lexapro 10mg for headache for 2 weeks.

2009-2012: on and off 1/4 to 1/3 of 10mg

2012 June--2013 Jan,: 1/4-1/3 of 10mg generic, bad jaw pain

2013 Jan-Mar: 10 mg generic. severe jaw and head pain;

2013 Mar--Aug. started tapering (liquid ever since) from 10 to 5 (one step) then gradually down to 2.25 mg by July. first ever panic attack, severe head/jaw pain

2013 Aug.: back to 2.75 mg; Nov: back to Brand Lex. 2.75mg -- 3mg,

2014 June: stopped PPI, head pressure/numbness. up-dosed 4.5mg, severe reaction mental symptoms added on

2014 Aug--2015 Aug: Micro taper down to 3.2mg, .025mg (<1%) cut holding 2-3 weeks.

2015 Aug 15th, Accidental one dose of 4.2mg. worsening brain non-functional, swollen head, body, coma like, DR

2016 Feb., started dosing 10am through 11 pm everyday 2/13--3.2mg, 3/15-- 2.9mg, 4/19-- 2.6mg, 6/26--2.2mg, 7/22 --1.9mg, 8/16--1.8mg,8/31--1.7m g, 9/13--1.6mg, 9/27--1.5mg, 10/8--1.4mg, 10/14--1.3mg, 11/1--1.2mg, 11/29--1.1mg, 12/12--1mg, 12/22--0.9mg

2017: 1/7--0.8mg, 1/15--0.7mg, 1/17--0.6mg, 1/20--0.52, 1/21--0.4mg, 1/22--0.26, 1/23--0.2, 2/13--0.13mg, 2/20--0.06mg, 3/18--0.13mg, 6/1--0.12mg, 7/6--0.1mg, 7/14--0.08mg, 8/17--0.04mg, 8/20--0.03mg, 8/28--0.02mg, 9/6--0.0205mg, 9/8--0.02mg, 9/17--0.015mg, 9/20--0.01mg, 9/21--0.0048mg, 9/22--0.0001mg,

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Thank you GiaK, I think im exactly at the point in healing you describe here. You have no idea how much your words resonate with me! https://beyondmeds.com/2013/02/18/more-histamine/ 

Im making dietary mistakes all the time, sometimes i can socialise and mostly I can't lol. I have sibo and candida aswell as dysbiosis so and my doc suspects a sulphur sensitivity as well but I'm not sure. She's going to send me a low sulphur, low histamine diet plan this week. I have two questions though that I'm hoping u might be able to answer or push me in the right direction.

1: I cut out dairy, gluten and sugar and by day 5 i went straight back into acute with horrible anxiety and fear that i could feel literally from the pit of my stomach to my brain, any idea why?

2: When i get hungry i get all sorts of mental and physical symptoms like depression irritability and pains and fatigue there's more but im sure you're familiar. Why is that? Im thinking blood sugar but don't know 🤔

Sorry I've rambled on but i feel this is vital for my recovery. I hope your well anyways just want you to know your a legend in my eyes! 😊

Fluanxol dosage n/a - 6 months cold turkey Start/ may 2015 end/august 2015

Sertraline 100mg - 10 months cold turkey start/ may 2015 End/Feb 2016

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1 hour ago, trenace said:

 

1: I cut out dairy, gluten and sugar and by day 5 i went straight back into acute with horrible anxiety and fear that i could feel literally from the pit of my stomach to my brain, any idea why?

2: When i get hungry i get all sorts of mental and physical symptoms like depression irritability and pains and fatigue there's more but im sure you're familiar. Why is that? Im thinking blood sugar but don't know 🤔

 

 

 

1)  sounds like too many changes at once, frankly. just like when we withdraw from drugs, the body has to acclimate to new intake of food. I highly recommend developing a relationship with your body and only doing what feels right at any given time. Granted, that's not easy when we're raging with symptoms, I know.

 

2) that sort of thing happens to a lot of people at all stages of life...and, yeah, generally it's thought to be blood sugar. Eat. 

 

again...trust yourself! no one else knows what is right for your body. 

just to underscore how much things change and how it's important to listen to the body you can take a look at my latest post about my food diaries. 

https://beyondmeds.com/2020/06/01/returning-to-roots-and-well-being-with-food/

 

food is a highly individual thing and it's more important to learn to hear the body than to eat anything in particular, I've learned.

 

good luck!

 

 

Everything Matters: Beyond Meds 

https://beyondmeds.com/

withdrawn from a cocktail of 6 psychiatric drugs that included every class of psych drug.
 

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Your parmesan looks amazing 🤤. Okay, I'm going to just focus on histamine for now and try not to stress myself out. Hopefully my system calms down enough in the meantime for herbs when they're eventually needed. Was that the case with you?

Fluanxol dosage n/a - 6 months cold turkey Start/ may 2015 end/august 2015

Sertraline 100mg - 10 months cold turkey start/ may 2015 End/Feb 2016

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my body does what it does...I meet it...it's always changing. 

Everything Matters: Beyond Meds 

https://beyondmeds.com/

withdrawn from a cocktail of 6 psychiatric drugs that included every class of psych drug.
 

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Hi GiaK

 

Fascinating to read your story and it fills me with hope that I will heal.

 

Since I stopped mirtazapine last Feb, I have been dealing with a whole bunch of symptoms, and I have had to go through a complete overhaul of my diet, and add yoga, meditation and mindfulness to heal.

 

Have you experienced your food intolerances reappear based on the season?  I was doing well over the winter, but since April I am again sensitive to foods. In my case, it mainly appears to be high fodmap foods (raw onion, overripe banana, leafy greens, some legumes etc) that cause a flare-up and can cause both GI and non-GI symptoms. I find that the times between 2-6pm and midnight through 6pm are the worst for flare-ups.  

 

I have been off dairy, gluten, alcohol, and processed foods for 18 months.

 

My symptoms in a flare-up are typically- 

 

GI - burping, flatulence, gut noises, abdominal spasms/pain 

Non-GI (triggered by food/weather) - 

Hand and feet numbness, Clogged/hot ears, head pressure/vasodilation, thoughts turn negative and obsessive, brain fog. 

 

Fortunately the flare-ups last a day/night, so I don't worry about it.

 

 

Chronic IBS since 1990

Former smoker (1992- Jun 2017)

Prescribed mirtazapine for sleep in Aug 2017 after IBS flare-up following Nicotine cessation.

Mirtazapine 7.5mg 8/17 to 5/18

Mirtazapine 3.75mg 5/18 to 1/19

Off Mirtazapine since 2/19.

Vit B, Vit D+K2 and Magnesium Glycinate as needed.

On Ayurvedic herbs for GI issues - Guduchi since Jul 2020, Indukantham since Oct 2020

On Ashwagandha 1g since Nov 2020

 

 

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seasonal changes are always very bumpy times for me so that makes sense, yes.

 

both Ayurveda (Indian medicine) and Chinese medicine talk a whole lot about how we change with the seasons because we do...in a big way. It's NORMAL. Western medicine simply does not understand our bodies and how we are part of nature so they don't talk about it except to say we're sick...and pathologize it...like with "seasonal affective disorder"   I wrote about that here: 

 

S.A.D? (Seasonal Affective Disorder) or might we be fighting nature? – Everything Matters https://beyondmeds.com/2018/12/16/sad-fighting-nature/

 

 

Everything Matters: Beyond Meds 

https://beyondmeds.com/

withdrawn from a cocktail of 6 psychiatric drugs that included every class of psych drug.
 

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Thank you. In fact I have started training to become an ayurvedic counselor to learn more about eating according to our constitution and seasons.

 

Do you recognize these symptoms and did you suspect a mast cell activation issue post withdrawal to be the cause of the intolerance? 

 

I have had IBS for 30+ years, but i was mainly reacting to milk in the USA 20 years ago. When I stopped smoking in 2017, I started reacting to gluten, chickpeas, black beans etc. After I stopped the AD last year, it was any sugars, dairy, cruciferous veges, and leafy greens. They diagnosed me with SIBO, and I took 4 months of antimicrobials, but the retest showed the same numbers even though my symptoms had significantly reduced in fall and winter. 

 

Initially I thought it was histamine last year, but this year I have not had the same reactions (stuffy sinuses, postnasal drip, hot and cold flushes etc.). I have always suspected vagus nerve involvement as I used to have syncope as a teenager before the IBS, and always had low BP (100/70). Post withdrawal I get orthostatic hypotension, but they have been less frequent (usually in the afternoons if I sit for long).

 

How did you heal from the food intolerances? Did they just get less intense over time or did you have to take other supplements/herbs etc?

Chronic IBS since 1990

Former smoker (1992- Jun 2017)

Prescribed mirtazapine for sleep in Aug 2017 after IBS flare-up following Nicotine cessation.

Mirtazapine 7.5mg 8/17 to 5/18

Mirtazapine 3.75mg 5/18 to 1/19

Off Mirtazapine since 2/19.

Vit B, Vit D+K2 and Magnesium Glycinate as needed.

On Ayurvedic herbs for GI issues - Guduchi since Jul 2020, Indukantham since Oct 2020

On Ashwagandha 1g since Nov 2020

 

 

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4 hours ago, tsranga said:

 

 

How did you heal from the food intolerances? Did they just get less intense over time or did you have to take other supplements/herbs etc?



if you're healing the intolerance's change, shift and then go away...we heal by learning to listen to our body and responding. that looks different for everyone. I'm still learning and I've dedicated my life to it for over a decade now. It's a process. If you're interested in how it looked for me, my entire website is there for anyone who finds it helpful. Everyone is different and we all find our own way with one another's support. That's pretty much it, in a nutshell. 

Everything Matters: Beyond Meds 

https://beyondmeds.com/

withdrawn from a cocktail of 6 psychiatric drugs that included every class of psych drug.
 

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Thank you. I have been reading up your articles, and it really resonates with my journey so far.

 

Do you have a link to your symptom diary post withdrawal?

 

I went through low histamine, low fermentation, and low fodmap diets with varying levels of success, as I really couldn't identify triggers consistently. And they appear to change based on seasons, weather patterns, stress etc. 

 

Given my chronic IBS, and syncope in my teens, I suspected autonomic dysfunction before I stopped C/T (I wish I had read all this info before - trusted my psych).

 

Yoga, breathing and meditation have been life savers in the healing. High fodmap foods are still an issue, moderation is critical, and it appears to coincide with the seasons (spring/summer). I just have two springs as data points though 😄.

 

Have you experienced weight loss in your recovery, especially during a setback? I was doing fine over winter.

 

Also my sleep hasn't stabilized yet. I can sleep for 4-5 hours, but I wake up a couple of times in early morning, and some days go into a weird phase where I feel I am awake with thoughts while my Fitbit says I am in REM sleep. Fortunately they are not triggering anymore.  On other days (once a month now), I am wide awake with no symptoms, until my gut acts up early morning. The peak times for symptoms are 12-6am and 12-6pm.

 

Lastly, the brain seems to be in overanalysis / vigilance mode - every action/thought/emotion/sensory experience needs to be scanned for safety  😊, instead of just experiencing it. And sometimes, can lead you into neuro-emotion or brain fog. Was that your experience too?

 

So it appears that the brain and gut are heavily involved in returning to homestasis, and until then, we go around chasing our tail thinking we have all kinds of sensitivities and diseases, when in reality its withdrawal manifestating as autonomic dysfunction/mast cell activation. 

 

I found guduchi (tinospora cordifolia) to be very helpful with the non-GI symptoms, as it seems to have some histamine, mast cell stabilizing qualities along with building gut health.

 

 

Chronic IBS since 1990

Former smoker (1992- Jun 2017)

Prescribed mirtazapine for sleep in Aug 2017 after IBS flare-up following Nicotine cessation.

Mirtazapine 7.5mg 8/17 to 5/18

Mirtazapine 3.75mg 5/18 to 1/19

Off Mirtazapine since 2/19.

Vit B, Vit D+K2 and Magnesium Glycinate as needed.

On Ayurvedic herbs for GI issues - Guduchi since Jul 2020, Indukantham since Oct 2020

On Ashwagandha 1g since Nov 2020

 

 

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this is the only list I ever did...it was early in the process...posts will say much more https://beyondmeds.com/2014/09/08/it-gets-better-3/

 

actually the whole it gets better series talk about different symptoms. 

 

guduchi is something I've used too...along with hundreds of herbs. I've become an avid and rather accomplished amateur herbalist...it's been a joy really...coming back to the earth...that truly knows how to care for us. 

 

ayurveda actually is great to study if you're noticing seasonal changes because they talk about that stuff all the time. Chinese medicine does too. Western medicine instead has it's head up it's ass. 

Everything Matters: Beyond Meds 

https://beyondmeds.com/

withdrawn from a cocktail of 6 psychiatric drugs that included every class of psych drug.
 

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58 minutes ago, GiaK said:

this is the only list I ever did...it was early in the process...posts will say much more https://beyondmeds.com/2014/09/08/it-gets-better-3/

 

actually the whole it gets better series talk about different symptoms. 

 

guduchi is something I've used too...along with hundreds of herbs. I've become an avid and rather accomplished amateur herbalist...it's been a joy really...coming back to the earth...that truly knows how to care for us. 

 

ayurveda actually is great to study if you're noticing seasonal changes because they talk about that stuff all the time. Chinese medicine does too. Western medicine instead has it's head up it's ass. 

 

I agree completely about western medicine. Thanks for the link.

 

Incidentally I had a flare-up last night and was trying to figure out what caused it..   It most likely could be gluten ( I had sourdough 4 days ago), or a cumulative load iover the last 2 days of FODMAP foods (plums, banana, overnight oats etc.) that I had not had in a month.   The symptoms are very typical - the last two days it started with a little odorous gas, along with some stuffy sinuses/phlegm, head/face pressure/vasodilation, heat in the ears, and then it lashes out at night as I am falling asleep. The gut is still fine, but as I am falling asleep (usually around 12), I will feel like something from the gut sends a message (usually a burp or gut noises) to the brain to wake me up with a start, and the sleep is gone. Then slowly the gut activity starts mainly with burping, BMs before it settles down. As I sleep, all my joints ache, and my legs and hands go heavy/numb, and I get about 3 hours of disturbed sleep.  This  pattern would keep me awake the whole night when I quit smoking (without the joint/muscle pain or racing thoughts/fear), and again after I stopped the AD last Feb, but now, I can still catch some sleep. I am usually fine in the mornings, but the afternoons and nights between 12-6 are when the symptoms peak. 

 

So I may not yet be ready for any high FODMAP foods, and definitely not gluten.  The hardest part is figuring out what the trigger was as the symptoms appear to take days to manifest, and fortunately don't last more than a day or two.

 

 

Chronic IBS since 1990

Former smoker (1992- Jun 2017)

Prescribed mirtazapine for sleep in Aug 2017 after IBS flare-up following Nicotine cessation.

Mirtazapine 7.5mg 8/17 to 5/18

Mirtazapine 3.75mg 5/18 to 1/19

Off Mirtazapine since 2/19.

Vit B, Vit D+K2 and Magnesium Glycinate as needed.

On Ayurvedic herbs for GI issues - Guduchi since Jul 2020, Indukantham since Oct 2020

On Ashwagandha 1g since Nov 2020

 

 

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21 hours ago, GiaK said:

Western medicine instead has it's head up it's ass. 

 

well, often this is true.

 

I feel like I need to point out that it's what I want if I have acute trama. you know, a car hit me and as a pedestrian I'm really hurt bad. I really want to be at an ER ASAP.

 

but I know what you mean. 

Currently taking Ramapril (blood pressure) 5 mg twice a day

Omeprazole 10 mg AM and 20 mg PM  (the taper has gone nowhere after the first cut)

Famotidine   once a day (and I still needs tums sometimes)

magnesium 200 mg at night

as of yesterday 2 fish oil capsules "EPA-DHA 1000"

 

off Lexapro as of 5/2018  - last dose had been 5 mg every other day for a couple years

 

highest dose had been 20 mg at which point I was diagnosed with Bipolar II, which went away when I cut the lexapro down to 15 mg. 

 

I spent years on Paxil before Lexapro (can't remember dose), briefly on Effexor and Abilify and others I have forgotten. in fact, when I was diagnoses with BPII I was put on all kinds of things which made me feel so bad I stopped them cold turkey within maybe 3 or 4 weeks, thank goodness. since then I've known these pills were terrible and I weaned down the Lexapro with zero help or support over I'm not sure how many years. 

 

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yes, that's a luxury for folks who can still tolerate pharma. I'd rather die then go to an ER room at the moment. I mean that. Last time I went to ER they set me back radically...I won't go through it again.  I don't attach to anything...if this passes that's great...my body knows exactly where it can stay safe now and I trust it implicitly.  As always  people need to do what is appropriate for them at any given time. ... 

Everything Matters: Beyond Meds 

https://beyondmeds.com/

withdrawn from a cocktail of 6 psychiatric drugs that included every class of psych drug.
 

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10 hours ago, GiaK said:

Last time I went to ER they set me back radically.

 

😟  I'm sorry.

Currently taking Ramapril (blood pressure) 5 mg twice a day

Omeprazole 10 mg AM and 20 mg PM  (the taper has gone nowhere after the first cut)

Famotidine   once a day (and I still needs tums sometimes)

magnesium 200 mg at night

as of yesterday 2 fish oil capsules "EPA-DHA 1000"

 

off Lexapro as of 5/2018  - last dose had been 5 mg every other day for a couple years

 

highest dose had been 20 mg at which point I was diagnosed with Bipolar II, which went away when I cut the lexapro down to 15 mg. 

 

I spent years on Paxil before Lexapro (can't remember dose), briefly on Effexor and Abilify and others I have forgotten. in fact, when I was diagnoses with BPII I was put on all kinds of things which made me feel so bad I stopped them cold turkey within maybe 3 or 4 weeks, thank goodness. since then I've known these pills were terrible and I weaned down the Lexapro with zero help or support over I'm not sure how many years. 

 

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On 6/30/2020 at 1:01 PM, GiaK said:

yes, that's a luxury for folks who can still tolerate pharma. I'd rather die then go to an ER room at the moment. I mean that. Last time I went to ER they set me back radically...I won't go through it again.

I feel exactly the same way. I do everything I can to keep myself healthy and pray that I don't get into any kind of an accident or end up unconscious and sent to the hospital.

 I have been so injured by medicine and pharma. 
Last time I went to the ER, they wanted to do all the same things that hadn't worked for the exact same issue, all the things that actually made things worse,

They refused  to believe me and they also refused to access my records that clearly showed what happened. (that I was right and they were wrong)

They knew their treatment plan was risky the first time, but they went ahead, anway; intervention at any cost (or because they only get paid for interventions) 

 then some years later, they want to repeat the same mistakes?!?!

I signed out AMA

they said "you could die", and I said, it's better than having you kill me.

(they were exaggerating, the actual risk to my life was theoretical, there were no proven cases as far as I know) 

 

 

 

  • pysch med history: 1974 @ age 18 to Oct 2017 (approx 43 yrs total) 
  •  Drug list: stelazine, haldol, elavil, lithium, zoloft, celexa, lexapro(doses as high as 40mgs), klonopin, ambien, seroquel(high doses), depakote, zyprexa, lamictal- plus brief trials of dozens of other psych meds over the years
  • started lexapro 2002, dose varied from 20mgs to 40mgs. First attempt to get off it was 2007- WD symptoms were mistaken for "relapse". 
  •  2013 too fast taper down to 5mg but WD forced me back to 20mgs
  •  June of 2105, tapered again too rapidly to 2.5mgs by Dec 2015. Found SA, held at 2.5 mgs til May 2016 when I foolishly "jumped off". felt ok until  Sept, then acute WD hit!!  reinstated at 0.3mgs in Oct. 2106
  • Tapered off to zero by  Oct. 2017 Doing very well. 
  • Nov. 2018 feel 95% healed, age 63 
  • Jan. 2020 feel 100% healed, peaceful and content
  • Dec 2023 Loving life! ❤️ with all it's ups and downs ;) 
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  • 1 year later...

I was wondering if you could give me any insight. Did you experience anhedonia? Or CT your drugs? They put me on so many drugs like 7 at once and I rapid tapered and cold turkeyed a few out of desperation (one of them was making me suicidal and the doctors would not help). I don't remember much from that time. I have a huge aversion to food. Smelling it makes me feel sick and I feel full after only one bite. I get about 700 calories a day. Would a low histamine diet help? Elimination diet? The only thing that I seem to eat constantly is oatmeal. 

Current: Bupropion 450mg, Neurontin 800mg, Klonopin 0.5mg

History:

July 2020: started Cogentin 1mg, Lamictal 50mg, Zoloft 150mg, Zyprexa 5mg (+5mg as needed), Klonopin 0.5mg

November 2020: stopped all meds cold-turkey

February 2021: started Latuda 60mg, Lithium 300mg, Melatonin 5mg, Protonix 40mg, Topamax 25mg

2 weeks later: stopped Topamax, increased Lithium 900mg, started Klonopin 1mg, Lexapro 20mg, Neurontin 400mg

April 2021: started Bupropion 150mg, Revia ?mg

May 2021: stopped ReviaProtonixLexaproincreased Neurontin 800mg, started Celexa 10mg

August 2021: decreased Celexa 5mg (stopped Celexa 2 weeks later), increased Bupropion 300mg

September 2021: increased Latuda 80mg

October 2021: decreased Lithium 600mg for 4 daysLithium 300mg for 4 daysstopped LithiumLatuda

     increased Bupropion 450mg, started Remeron 15mg, decreased Remeron 7.5mg, stopped Remeron

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  • 4 months later...

Hi @GiaK

How are you? I'm worried about you seemed you haven't been here for a while and your website temporary closed, hope everything is ok.

@Altostrata Do you know what happened to Giak?

Xanax 0.4mg on and off only for bedtime occasionally from 2015

2019.6 Xanax Inter-dose withdraw after 8 weeks continuous usage 

2019.6.3 100mg Zoloft

2019.6.27 CT 0.4mg Xanax cross over to 7.14mg Valium 75mg Trazodone

2019.8.29 Jumped Valium at 0.5mg

2019.12.15 Jumped Zoloft at 4mg

2020.1.4 Jumped Trazodone at 5mg

2020.6.1 95% healed with no symptoms and sleep very well

2021.4.6 Reinstated 1mg Zoloft and 10mg x3 Tandospirone for anxiety setback from antibiotics 2021.4.25 0.5mg Zoloft and 10mg x3 Tandospirone 2021.5.7 Jumped Zoloft at 0.25mg as adverse effects 2021.6.2Tapered and jumped Tandospirone as mild serotonin syndrome Couldn’t take Seremind (Lavender oil) neither it could also cause the serotonin syndrome 2021.6.13 1mg Cyproheptadine before bed and got better and better 2021.8.13 Bad wave don’t know if triggered by chocolate ice cream

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  • Administrator

You'll have to message GiaK and ask her.

This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner.

"It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has surpassed our humanity." -- Albert Einstein

All postings © copyrighted.

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