Guest guest Posted April 23, 2006 Report Share Posted April 23, 2006 > > I was just thinking about this as I wrote another message: > > Has anyone had trouble determining whether ANYTHING helps. I am having a hard time with that. It seems like there is no " usual " level of symptoms for me, everything varies so extremely without any kind of pattern that I can tell! And even when Ican find SOME reason (like something was making it worse, it seems to only explain a small percentage of this constant changing.) I can't tell how mnay things I have tried , and thought they helped, only to find a day or so later I felt bad again. And other times feel good like that for No reason. Sometimes there are pattern to this, other times none at all: Hi , I totally understand this. I have felt like this for years. Like I'm in a storm of symptoms and can't predict when I might briefly hit the eye of the storm, and then suddenly be buffeted again by symptoms. I am always trying to figure things out. I do have a lot more success at this than I used to. It takes time. Chelation has helped somewhat with this. I do feel (on average) better on rounds. Maybe as you gradually get to a higher dose you will see some changes. And maybe DMPS will help more. I did a lot of other things before I knew I was toxic. Essentially, I knew my problems primarily had to do with sleep, mood, hormones, and food. I started by trying to get more familiar with exactly what the problems were: observing what was going on, and thinking about how I wanted things to go differently. > Here are some examples of things that are more consistent: > -I usually feel better late at night. > -Worse during my period. > Here are examples that fluctuate constantly: > -(sometimes I fall asleep in <3 min, other times >2 hours and not related to amount of sleep, time of day, anything) > -I feel much better some days and much worse others. Sometimes this can be just a day, portion of a day, or several. There is no consistent pattern other than the " bad days " are much more than good. > -overall,, my symptoms just appear to fluctuate randomly, both within minutes, (example I can go from feeling reaonably okay one minute, to feeling almost like in an " adrenal crisis " - with no infection or anything, and I'm on an adequate cortef does) and over longer periods (days, weeks, etc) One thing that helped me a lot was writing things down. Notes about symptoms, topics I wanted to research, new ideas for what to do about symptoms. I also had to read and learn about various problems and what the possible solutions might be. > So, how do I tell if anything helps if nothing seems to? It seems like there is no " baseline " to compare to since every day is so different, and nothing seems to DRAMATICALLY help. Is there something I should be trying that would make a huge difference, that would then let me feel more consistenlty better to fine tune the other things? It may be that you haven't hit on anything yet that really helps a lot. You should stay on the basic supplements, even if you don't notice an improvement. To get real improvements, I think you need to try to get more specific about what the problems/symptoms are and research each one individually. I wonder if you still need to work on hormone balance. I found the book The Hormone Solution, by Thierry Dr Hertoghe, to be helpful. It is very simple and straightforward, and it gives you an idea of all the possible hormones your body might need. I know your problems are complex and you need a doctor to help with them, but this book might give you a better perspective and help you to help your doctor. -- > I am trying > -supplements (lots, although I dont know any that really help other than magnesium for muscle cramps) > -thyroid - Armour > -iron for low ferretin > -cortef (not trying this, have to be on it) > etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 23, 2006 Report Share Posted April 23, 2006 > > I was just thinking about this as I wrote another message: > > Has anyone had trouble determining whether ANYTHING helps. I am having a hard time with that. It seems like there is no " usual " level of symptoms for me, everything varies so extremely without any kind of pattern that I can tell! And even when Ican find SOME reason (like something was making it worse, it seems to only explain a small percentage of this constant changing.) I can't tell how mnay things I have tried , and thought they helped, only to find a day or so later I felt bad again. And other times feel good like that for No reason. Sometimes there are pattern to this, other times none at all: Hi , I totally understand this. I have felt like this for years. Like I'm in a storm of symptoms and can't predict when I might briefly hit the eye of the storm, and then suddenly be buffeted again by symptoms. I am always trying to figure things out. I do have a lot more success at this than I used to. It takes time. Chelation has helped somewhat with this. I do feel (on average) better on rounds. Maybe as you gradually get to a higher dose you will see some changes. And maybe DMPS will help more. I did a lot of other things before I knew I was toxic. Essentially, I knew my problems primarily had to do with sleep, mood, hormones, and food. I started by trying to get more familiar with exactly what the problems were: observing what was going on, and thinking about how I wanted things to go differently. > Here are some examples of things that are more consistent: > -I usually feel better late at night. > -Worse during my period. > Here are examples that fluctuate constantly: > -(sometimes I fall asleep in <3 min, other times >2 hours and not related to amount of sleep, time of day, anything) > -I feel much better some days and much worse others. Sometimes this can be just a day, portion of a day, or several. There is no consistent pattern other than the " bad days " are much more than good. > -overall,, my symptoms just appear to fluctuate randomly, both within minutes, (example I can go from feeling reaonably okay one minute, to feeling almost like in an " adrenal crisis " - with no infection or anything, and I'm on an adequate cortef does) and over longer periods (days, weeks, etc) One thing that helped me a lot was writing things down. Notes about symptoms, topics I wanted to research, new ideas for what to do about symptoms. I also had to read and learn about various problems and what the possible solutions might be. > So, how do I tell if anything helps if nothing seems to? It seems like there is no " baseline " to compare to since every day is so different, and nothing seems to DRAMATICALLY help. Is there something I should be trying that would make a huge difference, that would then let me feel more consistenlty better to fine tune the other things? It may be that you haven't hit on anything yet that really helps a lot. You should stay on the basic supplements, even if you don't notice an improvement. To get real improvements, I think you need to try to get more specific about what the problems/symptoms are and research each one individually. I wonder if you still need to work on hormone balance. I found the book The Hormone Solution, by Thierry Dr Hertoghe, to be helpful. It is very simple and straightforward, and it gives you an idea of all the possible hormones your body might need. I know your problems are complex and you need a doctor to help with them, but this book might give you a better perspective and help you to help your doctor. -- > I am trying > -supplements (lots, although I dont know any that really help other than magnesium for muscle cramps) > -thyroid - Armour > -iron for low ferretin > -cortef (not trying this, have to be on it) > etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 23, 2006 Report Share Posted April 23, 2006 > > I was just thinking about this as I wrote another message: > > Has anyone had trouble determining whether ANYTHING helps. I am having a hard time with that. It seems like there is no " usual " level of symptoms for me, everything varies so extremely without any kind of pattern that I can tell! And even when Ican find SOME reason (like something was making it worse, it seems to only explain a small percentage of this constant changing.) I can't tell how mnay things I have tried , and thought they helped, only to find a day or so later I felt bad again. And other times feel good like that for No reason. Sometimes there are pattern to this, other times none at all: Hi , I totally understand this. I have felt like this for years. Like I'm in a storm of symptoms and can't predict when I might briefly hit the eye of the storm, and then suddenly be buffeted again by symptoms. I am always trying to figure things out. I do have a lot more success at this than I used to. It takes time. Chelation has helped somewhat with this. I do feel (on average) better on rounds. Maybe as you gradually get to a higher dose you will see some changes. And maybe DMPS will help more. I did a lot of other things before I knew I was toxic. Essentially, I knew my problems primarily had to do with sleep, mood, hormones, and food. I started by trying to get more familiar with exactly what the problems were: observing what was going on, and thinking about how I wanted things to go differently. > Here are some examples of things that are more consistent: > -I usually feel better late at night. > -Worse during my period. > Here are examples that fluctuate constantly: > -(sometimes I fall asleep in <3 min, other times >2 hours and not related to amount of sleep, time of day, anything) > -I feel much better some days and much worse others. Sometimes this can be just a day, portion of a day, or several. There is no consistent pattern other than the " bad days " are much more than good. > -overall,, my symptoms just appear to fluctuate randomly, both within minutes, (example I can go from feeling reaonably okay one minute, to feeling almost like in an " adrenal crisis " - with no infection or anything, and I'm on an adequate cortef does) and over longer periods (days, weeks, etc) One thing that helped me a lot was writing things down. Notes about symptoms, topics I wanted to research, new ideas for what to do about symptoms. I also had to read and learn about various problems and what the possible solutions might be. > So, how do I tell if anything helps if nothing seems to? It seems like there is no " baseline " to compare to since every day is so different, and nothing seems to DRAMATICALLY help. Is there something I should be trying that would make a huge difference, that would then let me feel more consistenlty better to fine tune the other things? It may be that you haven't hit on anything yet that really helps a lot. You should stay on the basic supplements, even if you don't notice an improvement. To get real improvements, I think you need to try to get more specific about what the problems/symptoms are and research each one individually. I wonder if you still need to work on hormone balance. I found the book The Hormone Solution, by Thierry Dr Hertoghe, to be helpful. It is very simple and straightforward, and it gives you an idea of all the possible hormones your body might need. I know your problems are complex and you need a doctor to help with them, but this book might give you a better perspective and help you to help your doctor. -- > I am trying > -supplements (lots, although I dont know any that really help other than magnesium for muscle cramps) > -thyroid - Armour > -iron for low ferretin > -cortef (not trying this, have to be on it) > etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 23, 2006 Report Share Posted April 23, 2006 > > I was just thinking about this as I wrote another message: > > Has anyone had trouble determining whether ANYTHING helps. People with inadequate mood stability have this problem. People who try a bunch of stuff that doesn't help have this problem. >I am having a hard time with that. It seems like there is no " usual " level of symptoms for me, everything varies so extremely without any kind of pattern that I can tell! Could be diet, could be mood issues. Diet most likely. >And even when Ican find SOME reason (like something was making it worse, it seems to only explain a small percentage of this constant changing.) I can't tell how mnay things I have tried , and thought they helped, only to find a day or so later I felt bad again. And other times feel good like that for No reason. Sometimes there are pattern to this, other times none at all: > > Here are some examples of things that are more consistent: > -I usually feel better late at night. Very typical of mercury, and maybe adrenal dysregulation. > -Worse during my period. Typical of mood stability related problems. > > Here are examples that fluctuate constantly: > -(sometimes I fall asleep in <3 min, other times >2 hours and not related to amount of sleep, time of day, anything) Mood stability. > -I feel much better some days and much worse others. Sometimes this can be just a day, portion of a day, or several. There is no consistent pattern other than the " bad days " are much more than good. Mood stability. > -overall,, my symptoms just appear to fluctuate randomly, both within minutes, (example I can go from feeling reaonably okay one minute, to feeling almost like in an " adrenal crisis " - with no infection or anything, and I'm on an adequate cortef does) and over longer periods (days, weeks, etc) Mood stability. > > So, how do I tell if anything helps if nothing seems to? It seems like there is no " baseline " to compare to since every day is so different, and nothing seems to DRAMATICALLY help. Is there something I should be trying that would make a huge difference, that would then let me feel more consistenlty better to fine tune the other things? > > I am trying > -supplements (lots, although I dont know any that really help other than magnesium for muscle cramps) > -thyroid - Armour > -iron for low ferretin Often doesn't really help. > -cortef (not trying this, have to be on it) > etc. > > See if your doctor wants to try some mood stabilizing medications with you (maybe half of the usual doses), expect them to be calming and sedating (probably annoyingly so), expect it to take a while to get used to not being as passionate or bouncy. After a few weeks see if you have better insight into both what works and what is going on with other people and how they are reacting to you. Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 26, 2006 Report Share Posted April 26, 2006 Hi! Andy (the Dr Cutler part is in my heart, ;o) ) I'm not certain that you would make the same suggestions if you realized that R is in her early 20's and already dx w/ 's... I strongly disagree with you, Andy, about the mood stabilizers. This young woman has 's (tx w/ H/C), is chelating (for extended periods,) titrating Armour Natural Thyroid, and working full-time. She is doing a heroic job of juggling her time and her treatments and she has made tremendous progress in the past few months. Before you suggest adding more therapies, *please*, understand this young woman has just condensed two and a half pages of therapies down to the essentials. While I follow you with tremendous respect and gratitude, and my friends think I'm part of the Andy Cutler Cult, I have to say, I don't think mood meds would be as helpful as uninterrupted sleep, and another several months doing all of the sound treatments she's diligently doing, already. Very Respectfully, .... (still mercury-toxic but a friend of R.'s, nonetheless) > > > > > > I was just thinking about this as I wrote another message: > > > > Has anyone had trouble determining whether ANYTHING helps. > > People with inadequate mood stability have this problem. > > People who try a bunch of stuff that doesn't help have this problem. > > >I am having a hard time with that. It seems like there is no > " usual " level of symptoms for me, everything varies so extremely > without any kind of pattern that I can tell! > > Could be diet, could be mood issues. Diet most likely. > > >And even when Ican find SOME reason (like something was making it > worse, it seems to only explain a small percentage of this constant > changing.) I can't tell how mnay things I have tried , and thought > they helped, only to find a day or so later I felt bad again. And > other times feel good like that for No reason. Sometimes there are > pattern to this, other times none at all: > > > > Here are some examples of things that are more consistent: > > -I usually feel better late at night. > > Very typical of mercury, and maybe adrenal dysregulation. > > > -Worse during my period. > > Typical of mood stability related problems. > > > > Here are examples that fluctuate constantly: > > -(sometimes I fall asleep in <3 min, other times >2 hours and not > related to amount of sleep, time of day, anything) > > Mood stability. > > > -I feel much better some days and much worse others. Sometimes > this can be just a day, portion of a day, or several. There is no > consistent pattern other than the " bad days " are much more than good. > > > Mood stability. > > > -overall,, my symptoms just appear to fluctuate randomly, both > within minutes, (example I can go from feeling reaonably okay one > minute, to feeling almost like in an " adrenal crisis " - with no > infection or anything, and I'm on an adequate cortef does) and over > longer periods (days, weeks, etc) > > Mood stability. > > > > So, how do I tell if anything helps if nothing seems to? It seems > like there is no " baseline " to compare to since every day is so > different, and nothing seems to DRAMATICALLY help. Is there something > I should be trying that would make a huge difference, that would then > let me feel more consistenlty better to fine tune the other things? > > > > I am trying > > -supplements (lots, although I dont know any that really help > other than magnesium for muscle cramps) > > -thyroid - Armour > > -iron for low ferretin > > Often doesn't really help. > > > -cortef (not trying this, have to be on it) > > etc. > > > > > See if your doctor wants to try some mood stabilizing medications with > you (maybe half of the usual doses), expect them to be calming and > sedating (probably annoyingly so), expect it to take a while to get > used to not being as passionate or bouncy. After a few weeks see if > you have better insight into both what works and what is going on with > other people and how they are reacting to you. > > Andy > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.