Pyroluria

[Guest guest]

A friend suggested I look into the condition pyroluria (sometimes

spelled pyrroluria), because sound sensitivity is one symptom. Here

are some others from www.drkaslow.com/html/pyroluria.html:

" The effect of pyroluria can have a mild, moderate, or severe

depending on the severity of the imbalance. Most individuals show

symptoms of zinc and/or B6 deficiencies, which include poor stress

control, nervousness, anxiety, mood swings, severe inner tension,

episodic anger (an explosive temper), poor short-term memory and

depression. Most pyrolurics exhibit at least two of these problems.

These individuals cannot efficiently create serotonin (a

neurotransmitter that reduces anxiety and depression) since vitamin

B6 is an important factor in the last step of its synthesis. Many of

these persons appear to benefit from SSRI medications such as Prozac,

Paxil, Zoloft, Celexa, etc. However, as with all mind-altering drugs,

side effects occur and the true cause of the mental difficulties

remains uncorrected. In addition these individuals often have

frequent infections and are often identified by their inability to

tan, poor dream recall, abnormal fat distribution, and sensitivity to

light and sound. As you can imagine an SSRI will not correct these

metabolic effects. More healthful benefits may be achieved by giving

the appropriate supporting nutrients. "

The " supporting nutrients " are vitamin b-6 in the P5P form, and

zinc. I haven't had the test for pyroluria, but I've been increasing

my b-6 and zinc over the past 2-3 months. I can't say that my 4s is

gone, but my reactions are definitely calmed. I have bad times,

especially PMS-related, but overall my tolerance of sound is much

improved. I wish I could test this entire group for pyroluria--I'd

be very interested to see the results.

I definitely have an inability to tan, poor dream recall, and

sensitivty to sound, as well as a tendency to anxiety and

depression. After a few weeks on b-6, I started remembering my

dreams, which has been really interesting. The condition is linked

to schizophrenia, which runs in my family. There are studies showing

that 70% of schizophrenics have pyroluria.

This would explain why some of us have been helped by SSRI's like

Prozac, but not cured of our sound sensitivity. The underlying

problem is still there.

It's important to get the P5P form of b-6, which is more expensive

but easily absorbed. I've been taking regular zinc, which is fine as

far as I know.

If any of you are inclined to try nutritional therapy, please give

this a try and tell us your reults. Better yet, get tested for

pyroluria. The test is about $40-50, and can be set up through a

naturopath or open-minded physician. A naturopath who knows

something about pyroluria would be best, because some people need

other nutrients to correct the condition, and they can help you

figure out how much you need. I can't afford a naturopath, so I've

been experimenting on my own. Here's another site to check out:

http://www.kryptopyrrole.com/

Give it a try--it's really helped me.