Anyone Willing/Able to Bloodcheck Immune Status

[alexjuice]

I have been struggling trying to make sense of my damaged immune function and trying to understand how much is due to the effects of antipsychotic and antidreppresant medication versus other bio-illness factors and infectious syndromes.

 

I would love to see if any other psych med survivors present with numbers similar to mine on a CD4/CD8 test which quanitifies certain t-lymphocytes which are a white blood cell involved in the human immune response. The test is available to purchase through privatemdlabs.com.

 

I am thinking more and more that my withdrawal and even my initiation with psychiatric medication involved my immune function. I think though it's possible that my somewhat suboptimal results on the t-cell test might have nothing at all to do with my psychiatric medication.

 

I do recognize that $80 is a significant amount of cash to pay for a test that you may not need, however it is possible that the result can point a better way to treatment and recovery, at best, or rule out sluggish immune function at worst...

 

Here is an explanation of the test:

 

 

Low CD4+ T-cell counts (CD4 counts) are associated with a variety of conditions, including many viral infections, bacterial infections, parasitic infections, sepsis, tuberculosis, coccidioidomycosis, burns, trauma, intravenous injections of foreign proteins, malnutrition, over-exercising, pregnancy, normal daily variation, psychological stress, and social isolation. This paper presents a brief review of several studies documenting low CD4 counts in people who have these conditions.

 

The low CD4 counts caused by some of these conditions often fall below 200 per cubic millimeter, which is the level needed to diagnose acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) in someone who was previously positive for antibodies to the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-positive). In addition to the diagnosis of AIDS, CD4 counts are regularly used to make treatment decisions, such as when to start antiretroviral medications and when to begin preventative antibiotics.

 

Because many of the conditions that cause low CD4 counts are common in people diagnosed HIV-positive, caution is advised regarding the use of CD4 counts to make treatment and diagnostic decisions. This is made more urgent since some of the conditions, like psychological stress, are greatly increased when people are told that their CD4 counts are low, which may compound the problem and cause the CD4 count to fall even furthur. Psychological stress and social isolation are also created by the diagnosis, HIV-positive, and by the diagnosis of AIDS, which may also affect the CD4 count. Finally, the widely accepted argument that HIV specifically targets CD4+ T-cells is also called into question, because it appears that low CD4 counts are a common reaction to many kinds of physical and psychological stressors. When several of these factors are combined, as is often the case in HIV and AIDS, extremely low CD4 counts may be a natural result.

 

Of course, I must mention that this test is largely performed on HIV+ patients, HOWEVER this is largely because that disease is a progressive immune depleting disease. The test itself -- the quantification of cd4/cd8 cells can in no way be suggestive of actually having the HIV virus. There are many causes for interesting results and I don't think HIV is a factor with the population on this board.

 

I understand that the proper ration between CD4:Cd8 is about 1.7 to 2. <1.7 is suboptimal. And ratios under 1 indicate immune challenge such as infection or any number of other issues such as mono, chronic virus, prenatal exposure, toxic exposure, pathogenic protozoa such as malaria, IV injections and so on... I am curious if psychiatric medicine withdrawal can also affect the immune function in this measurable way because if you discover that along side a dysfunctioning CNS in an impaired immune response then I foresee a doubling of potential interventions that could lead to profound improvement for many.

 

Once I realized that my immune system is perturbed, I have searched through my records and think I have some conclusions that will allow me a better chance at a total cure from the damages induced by psychiatric medications. Though I shall have to see about that... and not get myself ahead of my horses...

 

Finally, suggesting a lab test, esoteric at that, may seem unusual. However I am finding more circumstantial evidence that immunity plays a major role in CNS destabilization and many of the symptoms frequently reported in the w/d syndromes from the BDZs and the antidepressants.

 

I invite somebody, everybody on the board, to head over to privatemdlabs.com and order up this test to see if your T lympocyte count is depressed, elevated, or spoton perfect.

 

Let me know.

[Meimeiquest]

Alex,

 

My experience is with bipolar disorder, and I believe it is known that there is a certain immune abnormality seen in depression and another in mania.

 

I think I am probably too well for testing to be meaningful right now, or I would do it.

 

I haven't collected my thoughts enough to post on it, but I think the book Gia suggested on CFS is really important regarding drug withdrawal. It has tons of info on how cortisol affects everything, including the immune system. The title is Unravelling CFS. He believes CFS is triggered by a specific abnormality in brain function, but I wonder if other things might also initiate overstimulation of the ANS, and that the ANS dysregulation causes the same issues in withdrawal as in CFS, just worse because you've also poured toxins into your brain. The book is $10 at Kindle, but I would be glad to e-loan it to you if you pm me before 12 pm CST (I have no idea how to do an e-loan and my husband leaves for the airport at 1pm).

 

I am hoping to see an integrative pdoc at some point and will ask his opinion on this testing, for whatever that's worth.

[alexjuice]

Great for being open to the idea, Meim...

 

I don't think an integrative shrink will be helpful in this regard though other practitioners could be...