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Brain overstimulation and or intracranial pressure HELP!

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Posted 11/24/2015 1:18 AM (GMT 0)
Does anyone experience brain overstimulation with hypersensitivity towards sound, touch, light, movement. Any of the senses can trigger this overstimulation which results in racing thoughts and despair and fear which is followed by trembling, crying, heart palpitations, shortness of breath and intense emotional distress... going crazy??

I'm currently taking Lorazepam (1mg at bedtime) and Atarax (25mg 1-2/day as needed). I am finding that this combination helps somewhat with sleeping, however does not really help the brain overstimulation issue.

Does anyone have any useful remedies that can help?
Posted 11/24/2015 3:58 AM (GMT 0)
Yes, I get all of the above. It's totally normal if you have lyme. You'll be reassured after folks on the forum tell you that it's totally normal, but in a week or two the reassurance fades away, so you'll need to re-reassure yourself that it's totally normal. ;) I need reassurance about once a week.

I forget if I have taken Lorazepam before. If this is the right drug, my friend was giving this to me. It helped deal with stress at work. There was a point where I really relied on it to get to sleep and relieve work stress. I asked my boss to lay me off, so now I don't need it.

I would recommend taking it in VERY small doses, if you take it at all. I used to chip the pill into about 8 pieces and only take 1/8th. I think it can be habit forming. I believe this is the drug Stevie Nicks became addicted to, or a close relative. For me, it increased muscle twitching. Don't want to scare you... this was just my experience with it.
Posted 11/24/2015 4:51 AM (GMT 0)
Lorazepam is Ativan.

Tolerance and dependence can develop quite quickly if you use it on a daily basis. So be careful with it.
Posted 11/24/2015 7:25 PM (GMT 0)
Yes , thank you. I know Lorazepam is addictive, is there something else that might help?
Posted 5/11/2016 4:36 PM (GMT 0)
Has anyone found anything that helps with these symptoms? I feel like my brain is electrified and I feel shooting currents through my head. I can't find anything that helps it's been like this everyday for weeks. I need help
Posted 5/11/2016 6:23 PM (GMT 0)
I think you know what I'm going to say - increase your detoxing...one method at a time.

I don't have shooting currents through my head...but I have other 'head' stuff.
One - is if I rub the back of my head - I get shivers there...and down my legs...weird stuff.

I used to have pressure in my head behind my eyes. What worked for me was minocycline - I think because of it's ability to penetrate the b/b barrier.
If you're taking herbs...I think Japanese knotweed has good penetration of b/b barrier.
Posted 5/11/2016 6:39 PM (GMT 0)
I had all those things mentioned in the first post. It's miserable. I would experience it every single time I stepped out from my house. In every single store, on many roadways and more.

And unfortunately, the only thing I found to help is increased detoxing - specifically for ammonia if you wish to target only one thing. That's one of the main toxins released from the Lyme bacteria as it dies, and it can easily get into the brain, causing all kinds of issues.


I would encourage you to slowly increase your detoxing until you are doing practically everything you can that you find effective. It took a lot for me, but I have to assume I have the gene mutations that make it difficult for the body to detox. Have you had any of that testing done yet? If not, I'd encourage it, as once I started on the some of the supplements to help, my detoxing had gotten easier.
Posted 5/11/2016 11:17 PM (GMT 0)
I've tried everything for detox but nothing is helping. What detox protocols did you find helpful?How do I do this gene testing?what supplements helped you
?
Posted 5/11/2016 11:28 PM (GMT 0)
Some of my detoxing:
- drink at least 8 glasses of water daily
- squeeze fresh lemon juice into some glasses
- warm epsom salt baths - minimum every other day...more when I'm herxing
- dry brush before baths
- Take Alka Seltzer gold
- Take Pinella and Burbur (Nutramedix)
- Take a good liver support supplement
- light exercise
- meditation
- lymph massages

There is genetic testing by 23andme

/www.23andme.com/en-ca/
Posted 5/11/2016 11:45 PM (GMT 0)
For the testing, I'm not promoting any one of these sites, but here are a couple to read through for information and hopefully, help:
www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/mthfr/


mthfr.net/mthfr-test-options-oral-swab-blood-test-or-saliva/2013/06/26/

For detoxing, When I was in treatment the first time (yes, I got reinfected!!!), it took a lot of diet changes as things with my body changed, I used a foot soak daily, dry skin brushing, making sure my bowels moved at least once a day (sorry if it's TMI!) pushing myself to drink at least 64 ounces of lemon water each and every day, liver/gall bladder flushes (all natural), oil pulling, methyl B-12, turmeric, taking activated charcoal and keeping the amount of stress in my life at a bare minimum.

Since being reinfected, and learning oh so much more, I've been able to hone my detoxing routine to work better. I use ALA (alpha lipoic acid - a precursor to glutathione); dry skin brushing; foot soaks; Yogi brand Detox tea; apple cider vinegar; an all natural, homemade liver/gall bladder flushes as needed; turmeric; ginger; methyl B-12 and methylfolate. I think that's all. LOL!

I don't use milk thistle because I'm allergic to rag weed and using milk thistle (a close relative) makes my liver hurt, but it's a very valuable herb to use... as long as you aren't allergic to it!

And, here's a list of other detoxing routines that you may find helpful:
www.tiredoflyme.com/detox-methods.html



I hope this helps!!
Posted 5/12/2016 7:29 PM (GMT 0)
Mossotti & Mishka -

Great info posted already on this thread. But just wanted to add my experience:

When I started on Rocephin (Ceftriaxone) IV, the first 4-5 wks were unbelievably difficult. I went through a psychosis phase with those same psycho-neuro symptoms but they were rotating on an hourly basis, almost. I was enraged then morose, then paranoid, then crying from fear, confused, all in one day. This was surely the impact of the abx crossing the blood-brain barrier and getting to the infection in the brain as well as the toxic effect of what it was killing.

Like most of us here, i have detox and methylation issues so it just took awhile for my body to work the gunk through the system. The pinella and bur bur tinctures Girlie mentioned were very helpful for specifically targeting brain detox, as well as alka seltzer GOLD, and using a strong binder that ushers the toxins out of your gut since there is a strong gut/brain correlation. Dry brushing helps the circulation and lymph system move the gunk and detox baths are helpful to many lymees since your skin is your largest detox organ.

I also wanted to mention that some people react to drugs like Lorazepam in unhealthy ways for several reasons, one being DNA mutations (like the MTHFR mutation discussed in the website article Traveler mentioned) that disrupt the way in which some drugs are metabolized or processed within the body. You might consider an alternative sleep support. If that is something that would interest you, I would start a new thread specifically discussing sleep aids to solicit some ideas--we've had several discussions here as well so you could also use the search function for those threads.

Hope you find some relief - let us know.

-p
Posted 5/12/2016 7:33 PM (GMT 0)
Also -

Forgot to mention that I had those racing thoughts and constant brain stimulation tendencies when I was struggling with adrenal issues. So, this is another area that you might investigate - the HPA (hypothalmus-pitutary-adrenal) axis and how it interacts with thyroid functions and neurotransmitter functions in ways that can disrupt your sleep and/or create a hyper-mode.

-p
Posted 5/15/2016 6:02 PM (GMT 0)
Hi - re a substitute for Lorazepam....

I was using Lorazepam very sparingly, only when I REALLY needed it for sleep. My LLND advised that lavender is a great substitute so I tried it and it did indeed work! I took softgels (I don't think I'm supposed to name the brand?) which were great and then another naturopath gave me some oil to put on my feet at night. I have been sleeping much better :-)
Posted 5/15/2016 6:17 PM (GMT 0)
Dashgirl we use lavender soap in our baths/showers just before bed.
Posted 5/16/2016 6:02 PM (GMT 0)
And it's okay to mention what brand you use, as long as it doesn't read like an advertisement for the brand. Just commenting about what worked for you is what we hope for!
Posted 5/16/2016 11:42 PM (GMT 0)
I read that d-limonene was good for anxiety. While waiting for my order to come, I ate lemon peels--not quite half of the small organic lemons. I did notice a difference.

My order has come today and it's too soon to say for sure. I only had one today.

Hope this is for real. Sometimes I have "beginners luck" and doesn't really work in the long run. Keeping my fingers crossed.
Posted 5/17/2016 12:10 AM (GMT 0)
Yes. More so at the beginning.

The lyme was causing light sensitivity (still does a little but no where near as much). It causes anxiety (whether directly or indirectly). I've experience sudden on set of anxiety out of nowhere. And it goes without saying it effects sleep. I've experience anxiety attacks that would wake me up in the middle of the night and have the full body trembles. Other times I would have to stay in the house and meditate and calm down to feel "normal" again before going out my door.

I also remember in the very beginning my senses were not working properly. Someone would literally pat me on my back and I would jump and be startled way more than I should have been. It's like the CNS that regulates this type of behavior was not functioning properly.

Once I was at a company lunch at a crowded table and someone's knee gently bumped up against mine and it startled me. I knew this wasn't right or okay.

Since those early days however most of the CNS symptoms have gone away or reduced greatly.
Posted 5/17/2016 12:16 AM (GMT 0)
What I personally did to help myself (may not work for everyone) is I decided to no longer fear lyme and the symptom it causes.

What I mean by this is lyme already throws your CNS out of wack and increases anxiety but what makes it worse is worrying and having more anxiety about having lyme and it's this vicious cycle. I've personally made a deep conscious and "spiritual" (that word gets over-used so I put quotes around) decision that I'm not going to live in fear of lyme. This helped me greatly because I wasn't making it worse.

Also I learned techniques like breathing exercises and meditation. This has helped calm me down let my CNS get back in balance and not be all over the place.

Stress and anxiety for sure makes the nero symptoms worse.
Posted 5/17/2016 1:08 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Mossotti,

I haven't been at this very long because I didn't know what it was, but I have dealt with and do deal with these brain issues frequently. Especially if I haven't been able to get any good sleep in several days. All of the suggestions are important but for me the only thing I find that helps is sticking to a schedule...really hard I know, getting rest, napping when I can and eating right. When I allow these things to get out of wack I end up right back there and going crazy.

I feel for you and hope for you to find something that will work.

For sleep, you could try Ashwaganda tincture before bed. Let it sit under your tongue for a minute before swallowing...I have to dilute it. And for the day to keep going I am using the Eleuthero root in the morning and at noon or one. I am doing the core protocol with Buhner and these are recommended.
Posted 5/17/2016 1:57 PM (GMT 0)
While I also took the approach of Dacarte (decided I would conquer, not fear these things), I still had to deal with anxiety. What worked for a long time was Motherwort tincture. I had to stop using it when I became hypothyroid as it was interfering with what little thyroid function I had left - so I tried using Avena Satvia (oats in the milky stage - but not oat straw). While it doesn't help a lot (it's not a xanax!), it's enough to keep me on an even keel for much of the time. No more anxiety attacks - only some anxiety if I'm not careful.

A word about the Ashwagandha - if your adrenals are really suffering, you could have the same response as I did, which was that taking the ashwagandha just before bed actually kept me awake. If this is the case, just switch your timing. It's still an excellent adaptogenic herb in my opinion, it's just that some of us might need to start it in the am instead.

For sleep, it can take something different for each of us, as it's all about the brain function. I use a combination of Lidtke brand tryptophan (supposedly processed differently than other brands), melatonin, valerian and magnesium.
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