Hello!
The comments on this profile are unclaimed and thus are unverified.
Do they belong to you? Claim these comments.
nursenancy
Is this you? Claim Profile »
3 years ago
in Are ADHD medications overprescribed? on odd time signatures
Dear Drums&Whistles,
I came here via NHSDoc. I hope this is ok etiquette, I'm copying the coment I left on his site. I'm eager to share my experiences because this ADHD thing is such a big issue and I feel the conversation needs to be continually broadened. And, as you will notice, my own example, though neurochemical, is not in fact ADHD. However, there is a story. Also, nowhere in this comment do I address other interventions, eg. behavioural.
Someone at Shrinkette referred to the "N=1" samples where people generalize from their own experience. With that in mind, I'd still like to offer a few thoughts on this topic. I've been involved in psychiatric and mental health nursing, both within and outside the mainstream for 30 years. I have also been "working on myself" for that long. For 20 years I was seeking not only to 'know myself', but to overcome a tendency toward emotional reactivity. This mostly manifested in relation to my spouse, but I could as easily say it only manifested in private, not over the counter of the local shops. Coming from a family of screamers, I'd clearly been conditioned into this pattern.
Very early on I adopted a very healthy diet, seeking balance through moderation as well as meditation. I would eventually come to label myself 'high-strung', like grandmother, though some clever MD could conceivably attach an 'agitated depression' label to me. After 20 years of meditation and all relevant therapies, practices, diet, I hit an edge that had me in a doctor's office requesting Prozac. I'd been in India during Prozac's debut, had heard a few things about it, had used Valium a handful times in my past and hated it, but knew I needed something. Within an hour I thought it should go into the water supply: I felt good, I was no longer reactive to everything (also known as temper tantrums, or rage attacks), though the nausea was a bummer. Stayed on 3 weeks, got back to my inner practices. A year later, another crisis, and after 3 weeks unable to regain my balance, returned to Prozac. This time, unwilling to feel so edgy in an uncertain living situation, for 6 months. Until I developed a rash. The rash that came to stay. And morph and spread to the other side of the body. Read Prozac insert (discontinue if rash appears) , stopped the drug.Took months to quit the itching, eventually with acupuncture. But it was always ready to start up again. Now, 10 years later, I see that my immune system was compromised in a way that's never recovered.
So I researched alternatives. The penny first dropped when I heard a psychologist say, "well, do we say that all these people have a Prozac deficiency?" Then what is deficient?? Found research suggesting high dose B vitamins had been effective in treating schizophrenia. Given that I'm just a 'normal neurotic', albeit high-strung, surely it must have some potential for me. Found info about amino acid l-tryptophan, including that it was withdrawn from the market weeks before Prozac was introduced, and never allowed back in the US since. (you'll find that story here: www.lightparty.com)
The guts of it: Yes I and many others have ineffectual neurotransmitter systems. I believe early childhood stressors, plus genetics sealed my fate. Just as genetics plus Prozac sealed my fate when 6 years later, under severe stresses, my system collapsed leaving me with chronic fatigue immune disorder (CFIDS). But there is no evidence that I had a Prozac deficiency, just as there is no evidence that these kids have stimulant deficiencies.
I wish I could speak with greater expertise and footnotes, but I can't. But I can tell you than I manage my nervous system with vitamins B3 (1-2g/day), B5 250 mg/day, B6 (200-400mg/day) + folic acid. (It's prudent to make sure B's are balanced, with a multi, or diet.) Plus, 200mg tryptophan/day. And more recently, when depression about my illness threatened to swamp me, 1/8 tsp tyrosine gave me back the capacity for joy. Magnesium finally helped me to sleep. Mineral and heavy metal levels were monitored by hair tissue analysis.
In treating the CFIDS, once we switched my thyroid medication (I've been on replacement since 13 yo) to custom-compounded, my base condition improved. Except, as soon as I felt the slightest increased energy I could feel my nervous system ramping up again. I now know that this condition which i merely found unpleasant and inconvenient earlier has now become life-threatening. The confluence of hormonal shifts (I'm 56 yo), stress and this 'high-strung' nervous system have led me to such a profound depletion that it's clear something has to change.
Bear with me, I'm almost there. So the next search was to calm my nervous system. My compounding chemist recommended GABA . Within a few days my nervous system calmed, heart rate lowered, sleep deepened, sense of feeling twitchy dropped. This is only in the last 2 weeks, so I'm not sure exactly where I go next, or if GABA will turn out to be The Thing. [GABA:gamma-aminobutyric acid, "the most important and abundant inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain,it's actually an amino acid classified as a neurotransmitter. It helps induce relaxation and sleep. It acts as a "balancer" for the brain where excitation of the brain is balanced with inhibition. http://www.bodybuildingforyou.com/supplements-r...
What I Know: Vitamins, minerals and amino acids are our basic building blocks. And yet we jump over the basics for the magic bullet pharmaceuticals. I know in my N=1 sample my process and choices are idiosyncratic. They are also customized. Prozac would be way cheaper. But I fundamentally believe in supporting the whole system, like properly preparing and feeding the soil before growing veggies. I know that similar approaches would work for many, many people. And my fervent hope is that there's enough suspicion at present about pharmaceuticals, particularly mind-altering substances, that this area of exploration grows and rapidly. And that one day health schemes subsidize such solutions (oh well, maybe that's psychotic thinking.)
In Illinois the Pfeiffer Treatment and Research Center's mission is to 'increase an individual’s ability to lead a productive and rewarding life by focusing on the research, education and nutritional treatment of biochemical imbalances.' They're working with ADHD Also , who just hosted a first international summit for integrative mental health, with folk from the Pfieffer Instit. And the excellent site of my compounding chemist, www.custommedicine.com.au/brain-function. I am not affiliated with these or any other organization. Just out here finding people who are taking a new look at healing our brains.
[ See the Light Party index for articles on tryptophan and 5htp. Also, this reference, (and millions of others via google)
www.vrp.com/pdf/november2005news.pdf (pg 11 re tryptophan) I've seen one reference to tryptophan causing stomach cancer, but when I went to the source, it referred to doses of 10-12 grams (I take 200 mg.) Some doctors have thought that my dose is too low to work. They also don't believe that I felt the Prozac within an hour. And certainly they don't believe Prozac's the cause of my immune disorder.]
I came here via NHSDoc. I hope this is ok etiquette, I'm copying the coment I left on his site. I'm eager to share my experiences because this ADHD thing is such a big issue and I feel the conversation needs to be continually broadened. And, as you will notice, my own example, though neurochemical, is not in fact ADHD. However, there is a story. Also, nowhere in this comment do I address other interventions, eg. behavioural.
Someone at Shrinkette referred to the "N=1" samples where people generalize from their own experience. With that in mind, I'd still like to offer a few thoughts on this topic. I've been involved in psychiatric and mental health nursing, both within and outside the mainstream for 30 years. I have also been "working on myself" for that long. For 20 years I was seeking not only to 'know myself', but to overcome a tendency toward emotional reactivity. This mostly manifested in relation to my spouse, but I could as easily say it only manifested in private, not over the counter of the local shops. Coming from a family of screamers, I'd clearly been conditioned into this pattern.
Very early on I adopted a very healthy diet, seeking balance through moderation as well as meditation. I would eventually come to label myself 'high-strung', like grandmother, though some clever MD could conceivably attach an 'agitated depression' label to me. After 20 years of meditation and all relevant therapies, practices, diet, I hit an edge that had me in a doctor's office requesting Prozac. I'd been in India during Prozac's debut, had heard a few things about it, had used Valium a handful times in my past and hated it, but knew I needed something. Within an hour I thought it should go into the water supply: I felt good, I was no longer reactive to everything (also known as temper tantrums, or rage attacks), though the nausea was a bummer. Stayed on 3 weeks, got back to my inner practices. A year later, another crisis, and after 3 weeks unable to regain my balance, returned to Prozac. This time, unwilling to feel so edgy in an uncertain living situation, for 6 months. Until I developed a rash. The rash that came to stay. And morph and spread to the other side of the body. Read Prozac insert (discontinue if rash appears) , stopped the drug.Took months to quit the itching, eventually with acupuncture. But it was always ready to start up again. Now, 10 years later, I see that my immune system was compromised in a way that's never recovered.
So I researched alternatives. The penny first dropped when I heard a psychologist say, "well, do we say that all these people have a Prozac deficiency?" Then what is deficient?? Found research suggesting high dose B vitamins had been effective in treating schizophrenia. Given that I'm just a 'normal neurotic', albeit high-strung, surely it must have some potential for me. Found info about amino acid l-tryptophan, including that it was withdrawn from the market weeks before Prozac was introduced, and never allowed back in the US since. (you'll find that story here: www.lightparty.com)
The guts of it: Yes I and many others have ineffectual neurotransmitter systems. I believe early childhood stressors, plus genetics sealed my fate. Just as genetics plus Prozac sealed my fate when 6 years later, under severe stresses, my system collapsed leaving me with chronic fatigue immune disorder (CFIDS). But there is no evidence that I had a Prozac deficiency, just as there is no evidence that these kids have stimulant deficiencies.
I wish I could speak with greater expertise and footnotes, but I can't. But I can tell you than I manage my nervous system with vitamins B3 (1-2g/day), B5 250 mg/day, B6 (200-400mg/day) + folic acid. (It's prudent to make sure B's are balanced, with a multi, or diet.) Plus, 200mg tryptophan/day. And more recently, when depression about my illness threatened to swamp me, 1/8 tsp tyrosine gave me back the capacity for joy. Magnesium finally helped me to sleep. Mineral and heavy metal levels were monitored by hair tissue analysis.
In treating the CFIDS, once we switched my thyroid medication (I've been on replacement since 13 yo) to custom-compounded, my base condition improved. Except, as soon as I felt the slightest increased energy I could feel my nervous system ramping up again. I now know that this condition which i merely found unpleasant and inconvenient earlier has now become life-threatening. The confluence of hormonal shifts (I'm 56 yo), stress and this 'high-strung' nervous system have led me to such a profound depletion that it's clear something has to change.
Bear with me, I'm almost there. So the next search was to calm my nervous system. My compounding chemist recommended GABA . Within a few days my nervous system calmed, heart rate lowered, sleep deepened, sense of feeling twitchy dropped. This is only in the last 2 weeks, so I'm not sure exactly where I go next, or if GABA will turn out to be The Thing. [GABA:gamma-aminobutyric acid, "the most important and abundant inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain,it's actually an amino acid classified as a neurotransmitter. It helps induce relaxation and sleep. It acts as a "balancer" for the brain where excitation of the brain is balanced with inhibition. http://www.bodybuildingforyou.com/supplements-r...
What I Know: Vitamins, minerals and amino acids are our basic building blocks. And yet we jump over the basics for the magic bullet pharmaceuticals. I know in my N=1 sample my process and choices are idiosyncratic. They are also customized. Prozac would be way cheaper. But I fundamentally believe in supporting the whole system, like properly preparing and feeding the soil before growing veggies. I know that similar approaches would work for many, many people. And my fervent hope is that there's enough suspicion at present about pharmaceuticals, particularly mind-altering substances, that this area of exploration grows and rapidly. And that one day health schemes subsidize such solutions (oh well, maybe that's psychotic thinking.)
In Illinois the Pfeiffer Treatment and Research Center's mission is to 'increase an individual’s ability to lead a productive and rewarding life by focusing on the research, education and nutritional treatment of biochemical imbalances.' They're working with ADHD Also , who just hosted a first international summit for integrative mental health, with folk from the Pfieffer Instit. And the excellent site of my compounding chemist, www.custommedicine.com.au/brain-function. I am not affiliated with these or any other organization. Just out here finding people who are taking a new look at healing our brains.
[ See the Light Party index for articles on tryptophan and 5htp. Also, this reference, (and millions of others via google)
www.vrp.com/pdf/november2005news.pdf (pg 11 re tryptophan) I've seen one reference to tryptophan causing stomach cancer, but when I went to the source, it referred to doses of 10-12 grams (I take 200 mg.) Some doctors have thought that my dose is too low to work. They also don't believe that I felt the Prozac within an hour. And certainly they don't believe Prozac's the cause of my immune disorder.]
