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Anxiety

Since starting GABA my child sleeps for the first time in years and really notices a difference in his carb cravings

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gaba made differences in son

Today I’m sharing a success story where GABA, used as a supplement, helps a teenage boy sleep for the first time in years and also helps reduce his carbohydrate cravings. This boy’s mom, Calle, shared their wonderful story on this blog post – GABA for ending sugar cravings (and anxiety and insomnia):

Got some GABA for our ASD [autism spectrum disorder] child. He has not slept well for years. We had tried all kinds of stuff. I am a healthcare pro and have studied and read and tried so much. But this stuff is a true miracle. For the first time in years my child sleeps. He sang and was all smiles from ear to ear for the first three days.

And then she posted this a few days later (and how shocked they both were!):

Our son has also really noticed a difference in his carb cravings since doing GABA. He went to grandma’s house and was not tempted by 6 pies, tons of cookies, sweet rolls etc. We were both shocked. This is a kid who would mow through tons of cookies, rolls and pastries.

I love getting feedback like this and am so happy for them!

There is no study on the use of GABA as a supplement for helping sleep problems in those individuals with ASD/autism spectrum disorder. Here are two papers for further reading until such a study is done:

Studies indicate that between 50% and 83% of individuals with ASD have sleep problems or disorders.

This review approaches sleep in autism from several perspectives: Sleep-wake mechanisms and problems, and brain areas and molecules controlling sleep (e.g., GABA and melatonin) and wake maintenance (e.g., serotonin, acetylcholine and glutamate).

GABA concentration in the sensorimotor cortex of adults with ASD was lower than in neurotypical adults (decrease by 17%). Interestingly, GABA concentrations were positively correlated with self-reported tactile hypersensitivity in adults with ASD.

If you’re new to the amino acids here is a quick summary about GABA: low levels of GABA, a calming neurotransmitter typically leads to anxiety, fears and panic attacks, with the anxiety showing up as a physical kind of anxiety with muscle tension or muscle spasms. Low GABA levels can also affect sleep especially when there is muscle tension. Folks often describe that they lie awake feeling stiff and tense. And as with all neurotransmitter deficiencies there is also the carb/sugar and/or alcohol (in adults) cravings as a way to self-medicate.

In this instance low GABA only resulted in sleep issues and carb cravings for Calle’s son. No mention was made about anxiety but it’s possible he was not able to articulate that he felt anxious. I don’t know if Calle’s son experienced tactile hypersensitivity (common in ASD) but if he did this may have factored in with his sleep issues.

In her comments Calle also shared this and it’s so true: “Healing is like learning to dance, you stumble, step on toes and learn to trust your body.”

I appreciate Calle for sharing her son’s story and I’m sharing it here so you can see yet another way GABA can address symptoms and improve someone’s life (and improve things for the rest of the family too). If her son can now sleep after years of sleep challenges then anything is possible.

Keep in mind that this blog goes beyond a teenage boy with an ASD diagnosis who has sleep issues and craves carbs. It could be applicable to anyone – male or female, adult or child – who has low GABA levels that contribute to his/her sleep issues and carb cravings (and often physical anxiety symptoms too).

How have you used GABA as part of your own healing journey or for your child or other family member and have you found the journey to be like a dance?

If you’re a practitioner, do share how you have helped your clients/patients by using GABA.

Feel free to post your questions here too.

GABA is the answer after 40 years of a lump-in-the-throat sensation, nervousness and muscle tension at work

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gaba answer to muscle tension

Earlier this year, I published a blog post on the sensation of having a lump in the throat when you feel anxious. It’s called globus pharyngeus which is defined as “the painless sensation of a lump in the throat and may be described as a foreign body sensation, a tightening or choking feeling.”

Globus means globe/sphere and it can actually feel like you have a golf-ball sized object in your throat. It’s very uncomfortable and quite terrifying outside of the anxiety that is often the trigger. I share my lump-in-the-throat story and my success with GABA in this blog: Anxiety and globus pharyngeus (lump in the throat): GABA to the rescue?

Pam recently shared her wonderful success with GABA on the above blog, after having dealt with what she calls “her throat thing” for 40 years!

I have dealt with this throat thing since I was a teenager. I’m now 57. It was only when I saw what you wrote about how yours came back after a scary airplane incident that I made the connection that GABA could help me. I saw that in the summer of 2019, so I spent about 40 years dealing with this until I found the GABA answer!

Mine comes up when speaking in front of others, such as work meetings, or even just one-on-one work discussions, and it was getting consistently worse. I would be swallowing constantly and trying to talk. Absolutely awful. Of course everyone could see it happening.

GABA solved this for me, and I can’t even describe how grateful I am!

How wonderful are these results! I am so happy for her and thanked her for coming back and sharing in the comments.  I also asked some follow-up questions so I can continue to learn and so I can share so you get to learn too:

  • How much GABA helps and how do you take it (when you know you’ll be in this situation or a few times a day to get your levels up)?
  • Did you ever use a prescribed medication or were recommended something?
  • Have you seen any other benefits from using GABA – improved sleep, reduced anxiety in other situations, reduced cravings?
  • Have you made other changes too – like dietary changes such as gluten/sugar/caffeine/alcohol removal?

She shared this about timing and how GABA helps with anxiety-related physical/muscle tension and nervousness:

I take GABA Calm … one upon waking, 1 mid-morning, and 1 mid- afternoon. I take an extra one right at the time of a meeting.

That is the only change I made. I’ve never been on any prescription medication.

Other than the specific throat issue, I notice I’m generally less physically tense, with muscles not getting so knotted up in my face, scalp, neck, shoulders, and back, which is wonderful.

I work at a computer job, which causes lots of muscle tension, but I feel that anxiety-related muscle tension has reduced.

I notice that my muscles have less of that “immediate tightness” upon seeing someone whom I’m nervous to interact with.

This timing and dosage of GABA Calm is typically what I use with clients and what works so it was great to hear that it’s working for her. I was also so pleased to hear the anxiety-related muscle tension and nervousness has reduced too. This is also to be expected.

I did remind her to keep in mind that the amino acids are intended for short-term use. This could be a few weeks up to 6-12 months depending on each person. While using the GABA, I have my clients start to address all the dietary changes, gut health, nutritional deficiencies (zinc and B6 are needed to make neurotransmitters and key with pyroluria), toxin exposure (like BPA, phthalates, pesticides, fluoride etc), infections (like Lyme and co-infections, parasites, PANDAS/PANS) etc. and everything else that may be causing low GABA levels (as we covered in The Anxiety Summit 6).

Vagus nerve support is also key. I cover what I did for my vagus nerve in this blog that Pam referred to: Vagus nerve rehab with GABA, breathing, humming, gargling and key nutrients

Globus pharyngeus or this sensation of the-lump-in-the throat is way more common than most people realize and mainstream medicine seldom has a solution. Medications that are commonly prescribed for globus pharyngeus are benzodiazepines, antidepressants/SSRIs and sometimes PPIs/proton pump inhibitors. Cognitive behavior therapy has some success in some instances but it’s always best to get to the root cause of low GABA and address that with the amino acid GABA. And then figure out why GABA is low and address that too.

If you’re new to the amino acids here is a quick summary about GABA: low levels of GABA, a calming neurotransmitter can lead to anxiety, fears and panic attacks. With low GABA, the anxiety is a physical kind of anxiety with muscle tension or muscle spasms.  I propose that low GABA may be one possible root cause of globus pharyngeus.

I appreciate Pam for sharing her story and I’m sharing it here in order to give you practical solutions and hope. If she can find a solution to her 40-year the-lump-in-the throat and physical tension issues then anything is possible.

Please also share your lump-in-the-throat story and what has helped you.  Or if you’re a practitioner, do share how you have helped your clients/patients who experienced this sensation.

Feel free to post your questions here too.

Cold showers to activate your vagus nerve and calm parasympathetic system (+ 26 other anxiety-busting tips)

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cold showers

I’ve been sharing about  early registration for my next summit… Anxiety Summit 6: Toxins/Meds/Infections!  (I’m the host of this one!)

I’ll continue to share interview snippets leading up to the summit but I want to make sure you know about another one of the summit registrations gifts: 27 Anxiety-Busting Strategies eGuide

anxiety busting strtegies

Here is one of the 27 anxiety-busting tips …#3 Take a cold shower!

cold shower

Taking a cold shower or turning the hot water off after your shower and getting under the cold water for a minute or two activates the calming parasympathetic system because it has an impact on the vagus nerve.

I always do the 2 minute cold shower after my regular shower – in summer and winter – and I highly recommend it! You’d think it would be a no-no in the middle of winter but even though there is the initial shock, you feel so good afterwards. It’s such a simple intervention! Try it and let me know how you feel!

We cover this and many other ways to activate the vagus nerve in the interview with Dr. Eva Detko – Vagus Nerve Infection and Anxiety.  It’s an in-depth interview and we cover:

  • VanElzakker’s CFS/vagus nerve infection research
  • the vagus nerve role in brain-gut axis
  • lactobacillus and GABA
  • the vagus nerve and globus pharyngeus (lump in the throat when anxious)
  • how antidepressants may adversely impact the vagus nerve
  • psychosensory havening and more

Another related interview is the one with Melissa Gallico – Fluoride: Neurotoxicity, Anxiety, Acne and Hypothyroidism.  We talk about concerns about fluoride in your shower water. You’ll also learn about other surprising sources of fluoride such as black tea, kombucha and wine!

Some questions for you:

  • Have you used this approach with success and how do you feel afterwards?
  • Do you continue through winter or would you consider this?
  • Have you used variations of this, such as swimming in the ocean or pool in cool or cold weather?
  • What other vagus nerve activation approaches do you use?

Here’s to no more anxiety and you feeling on top of the world again! And getting value out of other 26 tips starting today.

You’ve heard me say the Anxiety Summit has been called “a bouquet of hope!”  My wish for you is that this summit is your bouquet of hope!

I hope you’ll join me and these incredible speakers, be enlightened and find YOUR solutions!

When you download the eGuide you’ll get automatic access to the summit.

Get the 27 Anxiety-Busting Strategies eGuide

You can also simply register here directly for access to the summit.

Register here

 

And do stay tuned for the summit roadmap – it’s almost ready and will be a great cross-reference of root-causes/triggers, solutions and conditions.

Even if you already receive my newsletters and signed up some time ago to be notified about the upcoming Anxiety Summit 6, you will still need to register at the new link here, because Health Talks Online is doing the production and backend work for me.

If you don’t register you won’t get access to the daily summit emails with all the interviews.

You will however, continue to get these emails from me.

This is my 6th Anxiety Summit and it is all new content!

The content is research-based and practical, and is geared to anxious individuals who are health-savvy and to practitioners who work with anxious individuals.

If you are totally new to functional medicine and nutritional solutions for anxiety, you will still learn so much so just take in what you can and know you’ll get all this eventually.

Willow’s survival story: Easter Lilies cause acute renal failure in cats and Peace Lilies cause oxalate issues

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willow lilies oxalate

Be aware that Easter Lilies (pictured above) can cause acute renal failure in cats and Peace Lilies (pictured below) can cause calcium oxalate issues.

Lindsey Warnock shared these pictures and the story of her kitty Willow on Facebook and kindly gave me permission to share this on my blog as a caution for anyone with cats:

On Thursday Willow played with lilies in my office. She didn’t eat anything. She only batted at them and got the pollen all over her before I shooed her away. We laughed initially but thank God something in my head told me to google it.

I read, “All parts of the lily – including the stem, leaves, petals, stamens and pollen – are poisonous to cats. Even minor exposures (cat chewing on a leaf or getting pollen on his or her haircoat or whiskers) can be fatal.”

“Cats typically do not survive, even with aggressive therapy (such as dialysis).” [from this site noliliesforcats.com]

I freaked out. Threw her in the shower (that wasn’t fun) and immediately took her up to Blue Pearl Emergency & Specialty Hospital. Due to covid, they came and took her from my car and after her exam the ER doctor called me. She said her prognosis was very poor because they found the pollen around her mouth and on her tongue. She even said, “in my experience I’ve never seen a cat survive lily poisoning. Most owners only realize there’s an issue when the cat is sick and by that point it’s just too late”

Insert hysterical crying here. She said that her only saving grace may be that we sought treatment quickly but realistically she might not make it through the night. They made her throw up, gave her activated charcoal and aggressively treated her with fluid therapy and other meds.

Thank God after 2 days in the hospital, she pulled through!!! We will go for a recheck soon but her doctors are confident her organs didn’t suffer any long term damage from the poisoning.

I can’t tell you the intense guilt I felt and still feel for buying those stupid flowers. I felt like a murderer, terrible fur mom, terrible person. I’ve had cats my entire life and have never heard of lily poisoning. The vet’s response to that was “most people only find out the hard way” The doctors, technicians and staff at Blue Pearl really are the best! They saved our baby.

Please SHARE this with your friends. I would hate to see anyone go through this!! Thank you all for your support during that gut-wrenching 2 days. We’re thankful our girl is back home! No. More. Flowers. Ever.

This was a few weeks ago and when I checked in I see that Willow is still doing well!

This article, Toxic Plants by Tina A Wismer, DVM, DABVT, DABT, shares the toxic effects of the lily (pictured above) Willow brushed up against:

Lilies of the Lilium and Hemerocallis sp.have been shown to cause acute renal failure in the cat. Some examples include: Easter lilies (L. longiflorum), tiger lilies (L. tigrinum), rubrum or Japanese showy lilies (L. speciosum, L. lancifolium), and day lilies (H. species). The toxic principle is unknown, but is known to be water soluble. Even minor exposures (a few bites on a leaf, ingestion of pollen, etc.) may result in toxicosis, so all feline exposures to true lilies should be considered potentially life-threatening and should merit aggressive clinical intervention.

Peace lilies are also an issue for cats and dogs – due to oxalates

Peace Lilies are also harmful for cats and dogs because they contain calcium oxalate crystals. Fortunately they are not deadly.

peace lilies

This Toxic Plants article also lists common houseplants – including Philodendron spp. and Spathiphyllum spp. or Peace Lily – that contain insoluble calcium oxalate crystals, describing how they are also harmful for cats and dogs:

The calcium oxalate crystals look like needles, and when the plant is damaged these crystals embed themselves in the oral cavity. Clinical signs include hypersalivation, vomiting and possible swelling of the pharynx (obstruction is rare). Treatment includes milk or water to rinse mouth. Clinical signs usually resolve within 24 hours with no lasting effects.

Here is an image of calcium oxalate crystals called raphides. You can see why these needle shaped calcium oxalate crystals found can inflict pain and cause harm. There are many different shapes of calcium oxalate crystals and this is just one example.

Raphides
Raphides purified from kiwifruit. Raphides, needle shaped calcium oxalate crystals, were collected from kiwifruit homogenate through heavy media separation using a dense CsCl solution. (A) The SEM image of purified raphides (x400). Shared from: Synergistic Defensive Function of Raphides and Protease through the Needle Effect via Creative Commons.

This article, Easter Lilies and Cats do not Mix! shares more about the two different groups of lilies, “true” lilies (like Easter Lilies) and “benign” lilies (like Peace Lilies). Author, Karen Christopherson, DVM, CVA says “It is best to skip lilies altogether in households where cats live.”

Be sure to read the entire Toxic Plants article for a list of all plants that are harmful and severely toxic to cats and dogs. I had no idea there were so many!

I am not a vet and am not an expert on any of this so please do check in with your own vet.

Oxalate questions I have

With regards to oxalates I have these questions I’d love to know the answers for:

  • Do all cats and dogs have an inborn ability to tolerate calcium oxalate crystals like those found in the Peace Lily?
  • Would cats and dogs also have issues (especially severe pain in their joints, bladder issues and increased anxiety) if they were to ingest high oxalate foods like spinach, beets, sweet potatoes, soy and kiwi fruit?
  • Given that there are some human “antidotes” for helping with acute exposure symptoms after ingestion of high oxalate foods (like spinach, rhubarb, nuts, kiwi fruit etc) in susceptible individuals, I am curious to know if some of these could be used with cats and dogs too: calcium citrate, magnesium citrate, vitamin B6 and/or an epsom salt bath?
  • Do humans with dietary oxalate issues have problems working with some of these indoor plants (like Peace Lilies) when planting them, pruning and even getting pollen on the skin?

Are you aware of these harmful effects of plants for cats and dogs? Let us know if you experienced something similar to what happened to Willow or with a plant like the Peace Lily. What advice did your vet share with you and how is your cat or dog doing now?

If you have answers to any of the above questions please do share too.

Feel free to post your questions here too.

We appreciate Lindsey for letting me share this and say well done for your quick thinking!

Vitamin C causes oxalate formation resulting in pain, anxiety, and insomnia (when there is a defect in ascorbic acid or oxalate metabolism)?

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vitamin c and oxalate

Supplemental vitamin C has many exceptional health benefits and causes no issues for a large majority of individuals. However if you have dietary oxalate issues, doses of vitamin C above 100mg to 250mg per day may be problematic and trigger pain, anxiety, insomnia, bladder issues and more. This blog, Coronavirus and vitamin C for immune support: new pain or more severe pain due to oxalate issues?, is part 1 of the series  which sets the scene and is a fact-finding article. Part 2, Oxalate crystal disease, dietary oxalates and pain: the research & questions (part 2), covers the research behind oxalate crystal disease.

Today we look at some of the research on vitamin C/ascorbic acid being a possible trigger for the formation of oxalates in certain instances. This paper, No contribution of ascorbic acid to renal calcium oxalate stones, has a good summary:

Even though a certain part of oxalate in the urine derives from metabolized ascorbic acid, the intake of high doses of vitamin C does not increase the risk of calcium oxalate kidney stones due to physiological regulatory factor: gastrointestinal absorption as well as renal tubular reabsorption of ascorbic acid are saturable processes, and the metabolic transformation of ascorbic acid to oxalate is limited as well.

But in the large-scale Harvard Prospective Health Professional Follow-Up Study, those groups in the highest quintile of vitamin C intake (> 1,500 mg/day) had a lower risk of kidney stones than the groups in the lowest quintiles.

This paper does however have this precaution:

Recurrent stone formers and patients with renal failure who have a defect in ascorbic acid or oxalate metabolism should restrict daily vitamin C intakes to approximately 100 mg.

My proposed interpretation of this

I’d like to propose an interpretation of this, based on what we know about oxalates. These are the individuals who should restrict daily vitamin C intakes to approximately 100 mg per day (or up to around 250mg per day – more on the range below):

1) If you are someone who is a recurrent stone former or is in renal failure with a defect in ascorbic acid or oxalate metabolism

2) If you are someone with dietary oxalate issues i.e. you have similar symptoms when consuming vitamin C as you do when consuming high oxalate foods. Could we consider that you be classified as having “a defect in ascorbic acid or oxalate metabolism?” I would say yes.

I’ve added #2 above because we need to keep in mind that many individuals who have issues with dietary oxalates are not necessarily stone formers and nor do they have renal failure.

Research is also lacking in this area as you can read in Oxalate crystal disease, dietary oxalates and pain: the research & questions (part 2).

An omission of the 100mg per day restriction

I would like to point out that the study mentioned above was referred to in an article on Dr. Andrew Saul’s site but for some reason the section about the 100mg daily restriction was omitted from the article. It may have something to do with the fact that the author firmly believes that no-one has oxalate issues with any dose of vitamin C. In fact, he even jokingly makes this comment in the article:

Is some clown still trying to tell you that vitamin C is somehow dangerous? Or that you shouldn’t take more than 200 mg/day?

If you are someone who does experience pain when consuming vitamin C (like I do), I’m pretty sure you don’t find this comment amusing.

Vitamin C intake leading to pain, anxiety, insomnia, low mood and bladder issues

Here is some additional feedback from a question I posted on Facebook. This is the question I posted:

I’ve been sharing here about vitamin C being an issue for some folks who have oxalate issues and seeing an increase in pain. I’d love to hear if you upped your vitamin C intake for immune support and saw your mood take a dive or your anxiety increase or your sleep get worse? Vitamin C typically helps because it’s a cofactor for making neurotransmitters like serotonin and GABA and tyrosine but too much of a good thing is not good! Did you also have increased or new pain (as well as anxiety, low mood and insomnia)?

Here are some of the responses from folks who shared about pain, anxiety, insomnia, low mood and bladder issues:

  • Fay shared this: “Yes increased pain, insomnia and anxiety with increased C and mouth sores to boot. Taking liposomal C and Ester C to boost antioxidants for health reasons and pain in elbows and knees. Not sleeping well at all either.”
  • Lica shared this: “Yes increased anxiety…never thought of it before…felt a bug coming on and took c for a few days…yup anxiety.”
  • Nicola shared this: “Increase in body pain, burning bladder, sleep affected and low mood ( not something I usually suffer with). I was taking liposomal C then increased the dose and also added Ester C as I had symptoms of covid. I was taking 1-2g a day of liposomal previously as a preventative and increased to 4g plus 4g of Ester. Only did it for a couple of days. Stopped three days ago and pain is starting to subside but no sleep last night. So I will continue with a break for now and add a very low dose again perhaps of Ester C and see how I go.”

I really appreciate these women sharing their experiences so we can all learn!

What is the upper limit of vitamin C for individuals with dietary oxalate issues?

I’m sure you’re wondering about the various dosages mentioned: the study mentions 100mg per day,  Dr. Andrew Saul’s clown comment says 200mg per day and Susan Owen’s TLO Facebook group recommends no more than 250mg per day. You’ll need to figure out what the upper dose of vitamin C you can tolerate – by trial and error.

The big disconnect is always the mention of kidney stones

This is one of many similar studies on the topic of ascorbic acid/vitamin C and oxalates. There are also many studies and articles stating that vitamin C does NOT play a role in the formation of oxalates and cause kidney stones. The big disconnect is always the mention of kidney stones. The missing piece – in the research and in many articles – is that you can have issues with dietary oxalates AND vitamin C when there is no kidney disease/no kidney stones.

I have a number of additional oxalate blog posts planned so please let me know what else you want to hear about.

Here are the 2 previous blog posts on this topic of oxalates, vitamin C and pain:

Please also share your vitamin C oxalate story and how you figured it out (and if you react in a similar way to dietary oxalates).

Let us know what your ideal dose is (and which dose caused issues) and what form of vitamin C and product name you use/used. Feel free to share if you also have a history of kidney stones.

Feel free to post your questions here too.

Anxiety case study: a very very slow SSRI taper with tryptophan and other nutritional support

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anxiety case study

Today I’m sharing an update from someone in my community who is tapering from an SSRI (Cipralex/lexapro) in the best way possible – very methodically and doing a very very slow taper, using compounded medication and nutritional support. It is a team approach with a supportive doctor monitoring for serotonin syndrome, her pharmacist compounding her medication and input from me.

She has an excellent diet that contains enough healthy protein and fats, plenty of vegetables, and no sugar or caffeine. She has the basic nutrients covered and is on the pyroluria protocol (these nutrients help make serotonin). She is using the amino acid tryptophan for serotonin support as she tapers. And she is out walking in nature and practicing mindfulness.

All of this sets her up for success and being able to avoid antidepressant discontinuation syndrome.

Here is her story:

I began tapering off 10 mg of Cipralex in November 2017. I have my little “Support Team” that includes a compounding pharmacist and my GP. Feeling very fortunate that I have these people as my taper has not exactly gone as planned (although far better than my last two attempts)

Originally, the plan was to go down by 10% of the dose and stay at that dose for 4 weeks. That didn’t work for me. I was fine when I dropped from 10mg to 9, but after my next 10% drop I experienced that familiar withdrawal hell. I got a little scared, but stuck with it, and decided to stay at that dose for a bit longer. While I leveled out, I did a lot of reading about how SSRIs work. I learned about the 1/2 life of Cipralex (all SSRIs have a different 1/2 life) and what was actually happening physiologically as my body adjusts to the lower dose. It’s a recovery process.

With that new knowledge, I decided to try another approach. I knew I couldn’t handle a drop of 10%. So, I started to taper at a rate of 0.1mg once a week (far less than 10%!). By day three at the new dose, I could feel the withdrawal, but it was far less severe. Small drops=small “withdrawal wave”. I discovered that I am able to manage a 2% drop of the current dose and I have been able to drop that % each week. So, I’m still reducing by 8% a month, which means I am close to the original plan of dropping by 10% a month. At this time I am at 6.24mg.

Yes, it is a very slow process and I have a long way to go, but it’s working. I have read that some people have to reduce by 1% of their current dose and remain at that dose for 4 weeks to allow their body the time to heal and adjust to life on the lower dose. Having the liquid compound has made such a difference! You sure would have difficulty accurately shaving off a pill by 2%!! If anyone is trying to come off of this drug, do your best to find a compounding pharmacist!

I find that I must stick to a very healthy diet. I eat a lot of fresh, raw and cooked vegetables. I mean a LOT of vegetables. I eat good sources of protein and walk for at least 45 min almost every day. I steer clear of sugar and caffeine. Both make my withdrawal much worse.

Every day I take omega 3, vitamin C, vitamin D, vitamin B complex. I take the supplements for pyroluria, vitamin B6, evening primrose oil and zinc. I take magnesium at night. I took Trudy’s amino acids course online and did all of the amino acid trials. I discovered all I really need is tryptophan. It has made a huge difference for me. Yes, I take Lidke tryptophan. For us Canadians, it can be ordered online.

I practice mindfulness. I’ve read a lot about the anxious brain (the reason I took Cipralex in the first place) so I understand what is happening now, what is real and what is just noise in my head.

Antidepressant discontinuation syndrome

This is the best way to taper SSRI medications in order to avoid withdrawal effects, also known as discontinuation syndrome which can be very severe for some folks.

Accordingly to this paper, Antidepressant discontinuation syndrome occurs in about 20% of patients who reduce the dose or abruptly stop an antidepressant that they have been taking for one month. This paper states that “symptoms are usually mild….occur within two to four days after drug cessation and usually last one to two weeks.”

It also states that occasionally symptoms “may persist up to one year…and if the same or a similar drug is started, the symptoms will resolve within one to three days.”

I typically hear from individuals who fall into the category of severe symptoms that are persisting past 2 weeks. It’s not uncommon to see symptoms continue for a year and often longer in some cases.

Also from the above paper, is the mnemonic FINISH which summarizes these symptoms:

  • Flu-like symptoms (lethargy, fatigue, headache, achiness, sweating)
  • Insomnia (with vivid dreams or nightmares)
  • Nausea (sometimes vomiting)
  • Imbalance (dizziness, vertigo, light-headedness)
  • Sensory disturbances (“burning,” “tingling,” “electric-like” or “shock-like” sensations) and
  • Hyperarousal (anxiety, irritability, agitation, aggression, mania, jerkiness).”

How you will feel if your serotonin is low and how to learn more

With low serotonin you will have the worry-in-your-head and ruminating type of anxiety, panic attacks and phobias, lack of confidence, depression, negativity, imposter syndrome, PMS, irritability, anger issues, insomnia and afternoon/evening cravings.

If you suspect low serotonin symptoms and are new to using the amino acids and do not have my book I highly recommend getting it and reading it before jumping in to taking supplements and navigating this with your prescribing physician: The Antianxiety Food Solution – How the Foods You Eat Can Help You Calm Your Anxious Mind, Improve Your Mood, and End Cravings. You may need to lend him/her a copy of my book too.

There is a complete chapter on the amino acids and one for pyroluria, plus information on real whole food, sugar and blood sugar, gluten, digestion and much more.  If you’re not a reader there is now also an audible version.

Here is the Amino Acids Mood Questionnaire from The Antianxiety Food Solution and additional information on Anxiety and targeted individual amino acid supplements: a summary

Please also read and follow these Amino Acid Precautions.

This lists The Antianxiety Food Solution Amino Acid and Pyroluria Supplements that I use with my individual clients and those in my group programs – you will find the Lidtke Tryptophan here. You can also read more about why I prefer the Lidtke tryptophan on this blog.

I would like to end off by saying how much I appreciate this woman and others sharing their stories like this so we can all learn!

Please also share your taper story and what you did to make it easier.  If you had challenges share those too. Let us know if you can relate to any of the above FINISH symptoms and how long they lasted.

Feel free to post your questions here too.