posted
Anyone out there that has taken an SSRI to help with cognitive impairment from Lyme? I read somewhere that SSRI's and lyme are not a good mix but I besides taking my anti-botics from my llmd I wanted to try something else to help with my cognitive problems.
Posts: 11 | From Cumberland, Maryland | Registered: Apr 2010
| IP: Logged |
sutherngrl
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 16270
posted
I hate SSRI's! They make me feel worse. There are other pysch meds that work much better than antidepressants.
What exactly are your cognitive problems?
Posts: 4035 | From Mississippi | Registered: Jul 2008
| IP: Logged |
posted
Short term Memory loss, word retrieval, verbal fluency, loss for words, word recognition. I stated to experience the cognitive problems about a year ago. The fatigue stated about 7 years ago and joint pain, aches, tingling, etc. started about 3 years ago.
Posts: 11 | From Cumberland, Maryland | Registered: Apr 2010
| IP: Logged |
bcb1200
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 25745
posted
I'm on 20 mg Prozac. Started it before my Dx as I had bad anxiety. Fell pretty good today.
-------------------- Bite date ? 2/10 symptoms began 5/10 dx'd, after 3 months numerous test and doctors
IgM Igenex +/CDC + + 23/25, 30, 31, 34, 41, 83/93
Currently on:
Currently at around 95% +/- most days. Posts: 3139 | From Massachusetts | Registered: May 2010
| IP: Logged |
posted
Dear rob48, I was placed on an SSRI years ago, and have yet to be able to get off of it due to withdrawal. The severity is extreme. These drugs are dangerous, and should never be used! A reporter named Doug Kennedy began investigating them in 2002. What he found was startling. A number of those teenagers who flipped out and shot up their schools had been placed on SSRIs only a few short weeks prior to the incidents.
If you attempt to go off of these medications, they often cause intolerable withdrawal. Many people have taken their own lives as a result of going off of them without weaning. Even being weaned, withdrawal may be unbearable. I wish I could get off of them. In many cases, Kennedy found the drugs were no more effective at alleviating depression than placebo! Another concern is these medications have been found to interfere with absorbing calcium and B-Vitamins.
Your issues would likely be worsened by taking SSRIs. They may actually increase your mental fuzziness. Fatigue tends to be caused as a side-effect. Someone who has Bipolar Disorder would have a worsening in their symptoms according to an article I read recently on everydayhealth.com. The only way these pills would make me feel better is if money magically appeared every single time I took one. Being ill and worried constantly are the primary sources of my distraction.
posted
I've been on Prozac for a few years, and have no trouble with it. I like it - I feel much better on it! Don't really think it helps with the cognitive stuff, though.
I also take LDN, and I think that my help some with the cognitive issues.
-------------------- dx: MS in 1998 2007 - Lyme suspected 2009 - Positive Lyme, MS worse. Now: Copaxone shots for MS gall bladder out 7/09 Ceftin, Zith, Septra LDN Acyclovir Monolaurin, DHEA, Pregnonelon, Curcumin Posts: 243 | From New Mexico | Registered: Feb 2007
| IP: Logged |
posted
I had actually been on proazc for about 10 years prior to Lyme dx. I had thought that perhaps the prozac was causing or contributing to my brain fog and cognitive difficulities so I went off cold turkey. Been off now for about 3-4 months.
Posts: 11 | From Cumberland, Maryland | Registered: Apr 2010
| IP: Logged |
If I wanted to feel more tortured than I already am, I would take them.
Sorry to those that benefit from this drug class.
Then again I take benzos (tranquilizers). They are very addictive, but since they can actually help ME sometimes, they aren't as evil as others try to make them.
I didn't sleep all night. I had the feeling of doom (yes, to the point where you truly FEEL like you are dying) the whole night. I am having a herx. I resisted benzos all night.
I regret it. It would have been nice to get some sleep. I needed it. Tolerance really should be the last thing I worry about in situations like last night.
I think LDN can help in the presence of excess glutamate. I think this is why I immediately feel better after Rocephin infusions (on good days).
Anybody with severe anxiety with cognitive issues try LDN? I suspect it could work for me considering how much Rocephin reduces anxiety and cognitive issues (better than benzos some days).
Posts: 967 | From A deserted island without internet access | Registered: Sep 2009
| IP: Logged |
Marnie
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 773
posted
The highest levels of Prozac do look to help some people with lyme.
Serotonin - histamine connections.
If you have a genetic tendency to high levels of histamine naturally (then lyme in addition), SSRIs may indeed help.
Bb looks to NEED tryptophan as it cannot grow without it.
Serotonin is broken down AFTER it does its "help" transferring a signal.
We "reuse" our neurotransmitters. We MAKE them , use them, break them down, remake them, use them...
As I understand it...
Tryptophan -> serotonin -> receptor -> message sent -> serotonin broken down until we make it again to do the same.
This is all happening at incredible speeds.
Posts: 9481 | From Sunshine State | Registered: Mar 2001
| IP: Logged |
Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
posted
- GOTU KOLA --------------
Gotu Kola (not a cola) can calm the nervous system while also helping with alertness. It helps give a sense of well-being without feeling ``wired'' or ``hungover''.
Of everything I've used over the years, I cannot say enough good about the wonderful effects I've seen - in many ways - from Gotu Kola.
GOTU KOLA -- An Under-Appreciated Herb: Multifaceted Benefits on Microcirculation for Cardiovascular and Cognitive Health -- By Linda Fugate, PhD
The best nutrition in the world will not do anyone any good if it doesn't reach our tissues. The gatekeeper to tissues is the microcirculatory system, which includes blood vessels smaller than 0.1 mm in diameter. The health of the microcirculatory system is now recognized as critical to the total health of the individual. (1)
Gotu Kola's Effect on the Circulatory System . . . .
From Wound Healing to Brain Health . . . .
. . . Gotu Kola's primary action is enhancement of the health of the circulatory system. Because circulation is critical to the health of the entire body, Gotu Kola offers benefits in a variety of conditions.
The antioxidant and collagen supportive functions of Gotu Kola are particularly important in enhancing healing of damaged tissues. . . .
- Full article - and citations - at link above.
=========================
From: The One Earth Herbal Sourcebook (Tillotson, et.al.)
. . . bitter and astringent in taste and cooling in action. It is a brain and memory tonic, and an anti-poison, and very useful for wound and skin healing. . . .
. . . TAM doctors use it as a brain and memory tonic, and have found it especially useful in children.
In Nepal, during the ceremony for the first day of spring, gotu kola leaf is given to schoolchildren to help them in their studies by improving memory and concentration.
It is very safe and extremely effective. TAM doctors also use it to cleanse the system of toxins and reduce inflammation. TCM doctors use gotu kola to clear up boils and toxic fevers. . .
The primary effects of gotu kola include both wound healing and improvement of mental clarity and emotional balance. . . .
. . . * The Indian Central Council for Research on Ayurveda and Siddha, citing more than ten pharmacological and animal studies of gotu kola, also found evidence of the following characteristics:
CNS depressant [calming without causing drowiness], memory enhancer, ** anti-convulsant, ** antispasmodic, behavior and intelligence enhancer, and blood sugar regulator (Pandley et al., eds, 1996).
One of the solutions mentioned (by Tillotson) for calming is Seven Forests Acorus Tablets. A search will bring up sources and the ITM link in the article takes you right to a research article about that.
I have taken many of the things suggested and, while no longer a child and not (exactly) ADD, I have a very sensitive system and would be glad to share my experiences with certain things if that helps.
===========================
From: The One Earth Herbal Sourcebook (Tillotson, et.al.)
Chinese Herbal Treatment for Attention Deficit Disorder
Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) is a broad syndrome that may include hyperkinetic syndrome, hyperactivity, and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
=====================
Acorus was mentioned in an link above as being calming. Here is more on that:
Neuroprotective Herbs and Active Constituents Approaches to Preventing Degenerative Diseases
by Subhuti Dharmananda, Ph.D. -
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
| IP: Logged |
Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
posted
- Tai Chi or Qi Gong (which involves less turning of the head) can be wonderfully helpful to all body systems in many ways. -
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
| IP: Logged |
Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
WHAT IT DOES: Turmeric root is bitter in taste and warming in action. It strongly reduces inflammation and mucus in all parts of the body, protects the liver, lungs and intestines . . . .
SAFETY ISSUES: Due to mucin-reducing effects, do not use the concentrated extract (curcumin) or oil in high doses, especially if you have bile duct obstruction, gall stones, or stomach ulcers. Use turmeric as a spice freely.
- full article at link above. From ``The One Earth Herbal Sourcebook'' (Tilltoson, et.al.)
A recently published study investigated the effects of curcumin, a constituent of the botanical turmeric, on changes in cognition and memory caused by stress. . . .
In this new study, researchers investigated the effect of curcumin supplementation on stress-induced learning defects in mice. . . .
The results of the study showed that curcumin reversed memory deficits in a dose dependent manner, meaning increasing dosages of curcumin provided increasingly improved memory in the mice.
In addition, curcumin reversed the stress-induced increase in the levels of serum corticosterone, the primary hormone secreted during the stress response.
The researchers also found that the effectiveness of curcumin was similar to the effects of a tri-cyclic antidepressant.
. . . inhibited changes due to corticosterone-induced toxicity including preserving nerve cell connections, and inhibiting the corticosterone-induced activation of the enzyme calcium/calmodulin kinase II and stimulated glutamate receptor expression, which play a role in neurotransmitter secretion and certain kinds of memory and learning.
The researchers concluded, ``Thus, curcumin may be an effective therapeutic for learning and memory disturbances as was seen within these stress models, and
its neuroprotective effect was mediated in part by normalizing the corticosterone response, resulting in down-regulating of the phosphorylated calcium/calmodulin kinase II and glutamate receptor levels.'' -
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
| IP: Logged |
The Lyme Disease Network is a non-profit organization funded by individual donations. If you would like to support the Network and the LymeNet system of Web services, please send your donations to:
The
Lyme Disease Network of New Jersey 907 Pebble Creek Court,
Pennington,
NJ08534USA http://www.lymenet.org/
UBBFriend: Email this page to someone!
Printer-friendly view of this topic