7 replies to this topic

[chrisp2]

I'm suffering from a number of concerns.  

 

1)  I have difficulty concentrating at any time on anything for very long.  Even while walking, trying to pay attention to where I'm going, I have a real hard time focusing.  No - I'm not banging into things, but still.

2)  Anxiety.  I'm 46, and fairly high functional.  I have a great job, but it's stressful - and again I have a hard time focusing.  This actually leads to more anxiety at times.  II think and over-think a lot.  I don't really worry, A LOT.  But of course I do a bit.  More just having things run through my head, getting my hear rate up, driving some nervousness.  (E.g, minor panic attacks, which of course can feed themselves)

 

I'm almost certain I suffer from a dopamine receptor problem.  So while focus tends to be more a dopamine issue, I don't think I really want to exacerbate my receptor issues by using traditional dopamine drugs?

 

My primary doctor (not currently seeing a therapist) has no issues prescribing something like Lexapro.  When I told him about the anxiety, that's what he mentioned being fine with prescribing.  

 

I have some concerns about that after reading some individual comments about long term affects of the drug...  (Vaguely recall someone saying that they had remaining brain fog or something like that)

 

I wouldn't mind a drug that promoted neurogenesis (my dopamine problem)...  Like Wellbutrin   I've taken it before but more for depression years ago.  Some have taken it for anxiety?

 

I guess in the end I'm looking for a nice, safe anxiety drug (that I could recommend to my MD) that at best helps the focus issue, or in the least doesn't make it worse.

 

Appreciate any insight you all have.

[BlueCloud]

 

 

 I have a great job, but it's stressful - and again I have a hard time focusing.  This actually leads to more anxiety at times.

 

It seems your job is the main source of your issues. Before trying meds, is there a way you could make adjustments to your job so that it won't put such a stress on you ?

[Nate-2004]

There are supps and meds that help somewhat, taurine and L-theanine for example are very good options because these are your best bet for GABA boosting, but you may want to address more root causes before trying to treat symptoms. Make sure you've got the basics down.

 

Consistent, regular exercise for 150 mins or more per week for example.

Plenty of soluble fiber from food sources, an anti-inflammatory diet for example. Seeds, nuts, greens, lentils, legumes, berries, etc.

Ensure your magnesium levels are on the up and up.

A regular, consistent sleep schedule. There's a lot of good instructions out there for sleep but the key areas are:

 

-Don't nap, just pick a time schedule of 8 hours, ideally 23:00 to 07:00, and only use the bedroom for sleep during those times.

-Don't drink or eat before bed.

-Ensure you don't have sleep apnea (get a sleep study)

-Avoid blue light 2 hrs or more before bed, use amber glasses or change your backlit devices to use an amber tint in the settings (nightshift mode on iPhone)

-If you want, use supplements to help you sleep with quality, like glycine, magnesium, and l-theanine. Chamomile tea helps for sure.

 

Other big huge SHORT TERM PAIN LONG TERM GAIN tips for anxiety:

 

Do what you're scared of doing, put yourself in social situations, put yourself out there, get on stage or perform, get up in front of people, socialize as often as you can, push push push yourself to get out there and do whatever it is that creates the most anxiety. The more you do things that provoke your anxiety the more you desensitize yourself to it. This is just basic exposure therapy. Your skill and confidence through a learning experience of positive mentality about social fuckups which can and do happen, and surrounding yourself with accepting people, will really go a long way towards greatly reducing your anxious thoughts when you're alone or with others. This is because with skill through practice comes confidence. Become comfortable with otherwise anxious situations by conditioning yourself, create positive associations with it. It takes a couple of years to accomplish this so be patient.

 

Other options, berberine, 300mg, 3x per day with MCT oil (for bioavailability). This supplement helps inhibit glutamate. You can also try avoiding glutamine and gluten if you can. Any precursor that boosts glutamate, an excitatory neurotransmitter, is going to make things worse.

 

Edited by Nate-2004, 06 April 2018 - 11:05 PM.

[Lifemap]

 

Other options, berberine, 300mg, 3x per day with MCT oil (for bioavailability). This supplement helps inhibit glutamate. You can also try avoiding glutamine and gluten if you can. Any precursor that boosts glutamate, an excitatory neurotransmitter, is going to make things worse.

 

After two weeks in the hospital I decided it was time to take a much greater proactive stance for my current healing and future health . I have been spending the last week researching and honestly as soon as I think I'm gaining a understanding to build a foundation, there so much more . The more I read the more I realize I don't know and can be overwhelming at times.

 

I am reading on glutamate, and reading that glutamine can increase gaba but also can increase glutamate. I was taking it to help with muscle atrophy and anxiety, I believe it was working considering my general anxiety is slightly better, and rarely when I  have panic attack and take my Benzo med  I don't get rebound anxiety like before starting glutamine.

 

 However as I look through symptoms of high glutamate they ring true. Also looking at foods that increase glutamate and they make up 80+% of my diet.

 

 

I'm reading on ways to reduce glutamate, ex. magnesium,b6,zink, etc. Do you have any experience and recommendations to  what  worked for you or are known to be most effective with the least side effects ? Thank you  

[112358134]

You can use some Russian anti-anxiety medicine. There are plenty relatively safe products starting from Selank and Afobazole to Grandaxin and Phenibut. Check this page: https://cosmicnootro...ns/anxiolytics 

[chrisp2]

Thanks - it's been a while since I posted this as I really was just kind of avoiding a more basic concern.  Well I addressed it a bit...  Concentration.

 

I find myself while walking for instance, not really paying attention.  It's as if I'm on cruise control but not really paying a ton of attention.  Like I'm disconnected from my body.  Real hard to explain.  But when actively doing things, walking, climbing stairs - things that don't require tons of concentration...  I find I'm not able to really focus when in reality I shouldn't be thinking about a ton of other things at the time as I could lose my balance walking down a big flight of stairs.  I really worry that I've damaged my brain from...  Years of depression (not an issue now), adult content, and taking Chlorphenamine once daily for probably 12 years or so to deal with anxiety.  (Had no idea that it had the anticholinergic risks.  (Had no idea what that was at the time, still am far from knowledgeable on it) 

 

Now that I've reduced / eliminated my cytomel dosing, my anxiety seems better...  Always had some, but dealing with my thyroid issues (reverse T3) with cytomel seems to exaggerated the issue.

 

I don't forget where I put things or anything like that...  But I struggle to find the right words a lot more than I'd expect...  I'm not even 50, and I worry about early dementia.

 

I'd appreciate any insight as to what I might do here regarding the anticholinergic concerns...   Should I go see a physician who specializes in dementia to see what can be done to delay a worsening of these symptoms?

[Mind_Paralysis]

Inattentive and anxious... have you looked into something called SCT - Sluggish Cognitive Tempo?

 

https://en.wikipedia...cognitive_tempo

 

It's a proposed second attention disorder, that's not really related to Dopamine like ADHD, but to Norepinephrine.

 

 

Irregardless if you feel like you identify with it or not... I would suggest you try out DULOXETINE - an SNRI, it will take away the edge from the anxiety as well as make you far more alert. (the N stands for Norepinephrine)

 

SNRI's were, a couple of years back, dubbed the most effective long-term treatment for anxiety, in a big meta-review.

 

 

Reference:

----------------

Efficacy of treatments for anxiety disorders: a meta-analysis

https://journals.lww...ders___a.2.aspx

[Jason Burns]

Lexapro (Escitalopram) might be a good first choice to test.  Because Lexapro is such a clean Serotonin re-uptake inhibitor.  Duloxetine does sound like a good idea too.  

 

On wikipedia it had Chlorphenamine with next to no anticholinergic action.  But Chlorphenamine is a pretty decent SSRI.(suggesting if your anxiety was under control while taking chlorphenamine it might be the SSRI action.