Determining Cause of Anxiety/Depression

Have dealt with anxiety and depression with Lyme off and on for years. But nothing touches where the level is now. While kidney concerns do play a part, there seems to be much more to it as I am on the edge farther than I've ever been. Never been this bad or constant.

So how or can you determine if it is toxins or simply Lyme, co-infections causing the anxiety and depression? I also am experiencing an hour of so of insomnia each night and near shakes between 7:30-8:00 am each morning. While I can take activated charcoal and do dry skin brushing, there are other detox methods contradicted by kidneys.

Or could it be Lyme itself?

running wild said...
So how or can you determine if it is toxins or simply Lyme, co-infections causing the anxiety and depression?

This is a great question, one that an LLMD with a PHD in organic chemistry and pharmacology science could begin to answer. I'm not being sarcastic.

Well if I may commiserate, I experience levels of crappy nowadays that I've never experienced before in my life. No joy or not much from activities I used to passionately love, most of which I don't do anymore. And speaking of the urinary issues, I have what feels a lot like interstitial cystitis, both undiagnosed and untreated because I can't afford the type of naturopath that will tell me as much as I already know...woke up in early morning (like 4am) with bladder pain/pressure and had to pee.

So about toxins vs. current infections, it is complicated.
The kidney pain and bladder stuff sounds more on the detox end...

Up your water intake, lemons will alkalize your system, if you have cholestyramine it will sequester your bile for elimination.

Mast cells activate, a well-known LLMD Dr. MR is known to use the phrase "cytokine cascade" often. But there is something chemically happening inside or around nerves that seem to hit on all pretty much bad feelings, depression, anxiety...and it's physiological, it can't be controlled via willpower or psych meds, maybe diet would help, given that "food is thy medicine, and medicine be thy food" from some more intelligent folks than me, expert herbalists and nutritionists might have great recipes with all the good old antimicrobials like oregano, cilantro, garlic, parsley, thyme, rosemary, sage which I don't know nearly enough about these herbal medicines that have been used for 1000s of years.

So here are just a few things that have worked for me more or less, and some are too pricey for me to afford anymore. Magnolia Bark extract (powder granules, I got this from LiftMode and have run out of the little tiny tub of it I had) it works on muscarinic receptors I believe. L-Theanine, I buy bulk supply from bulk powders, still have some, works okay, takes edge off caffeine if I have to have it. NTFactor, this after my first deep-dive into Buhner's restored energy and nerve function like no other, can't afford it right now, and that was after herxing my system raw for about a month. And all sorts of magnesiums: citrate, sulphate. Epsom salt is on supply as a staple in my bathroom sink cabinet, I use a scoop of it with a washcloth almost every time I shower.

Lastly, I'll say, usually after poor diet I wake up odd, annoying or disturbing sensations, vibrating, twitching, restless legs, and I have all sorts of startle response, hyper-vigilant stress and can find it difficult to sleep too. While some people are vehemently anti-Rx or traditional Western meds, I've found relief in taking low dose Doxepin and Trazodone. This helps me get to sleep and stay asleep for about 5 hours sometimes more if I'm lucky. I tend to steer away from psych meds (on good advice from LLMD info) but some LLMDs mention it by name, what it does Doxepin (stay asleep) Trazodone (get to sleep and achieve REM sleep, and restorative sleep). I am concerned about the rebound if relying on these, some LLMD doctors will prescribe Xanax, Clonopin but they are more difficult to taper out of.

Lastly I don't live in a free(er) state, otherwise I would seek sweet mother Cannabis for the "newly discovered" anti-inflammatory, antifungal and etcetera properties. My state is finally getting around to medicalizing it, but it's too expensive for me and somewhat of a hassle.

Running Wild, I really hope you feel better soon.

Lots of good ideas from borrelio. I was going to suggest cannabis, too - either an indica strain or just CBD oil depending on what's legal where you are. I would suggest addressing mood symptoms with essential oils, as they have a great track record in that arena, but I do not know if the kidney safety of essential oils has been studied (even for just inhaling them).

The description of insomnia, anxiety, peeing, and shakes in the early morning all sound like mold issues to me, and/or adrenal imbalance.

Sadly I don't know much about kidney concerns with regard to detoxing, but is it better to detox through the skin as much as possible when your kidneys are stressed (infrared sauna, Epsom salt baths, lymphatic massage, dry brushing)? Other binders? Supporting systems with PEMF?

What are you treating with right now, if anything? Can you back off for a while to let your system catch up on detoxification?

I am so sorry that you are dealing with this. Anxiety and depression can be such terrible symptoms.

Walking-

Does a mycotoxin test on yourself give accurate results?

Running Wild- I'm having brutal anxiety the past couple weeks as well. Shoot up at 3:30 am (that's when mast cells degranulate) then around 5 am it kicks up even harder (probably a cortisol rise). I'd love to know what the direct cause is, too. I take inositol at 3:30 to calm the mast cells and theanine throughout the night but i still can't get back to sleep

I do notice that anxiety flares with other symptoms, for sure.

Holy basil keeps me up all night. Absolutely nuts. But eleuthero knocks me out.

Mold allergy is different from mycotoxin exposure, so the mold allergen panels would not be helpful. WalkingByFaith was referring to tests that look for mycotoxins in the urine, which as far as I know are reliable tests. The Great Plains Lab test is $300. There are some other tests (cheaper and/or covered by insurance) that don't tell you for sure that mold is the culprit but can point you in that direction: VCS vision test (online), MSH, MMP-9, TGFB, VEGF, c4a, c3a, VIP, etc.

runningwild,

Yes. What sara said. Mold illness (CIRS) is not an allergy. The labs Sara listed at the end are the CIRS labs. Most can be done through Labcorp.

I understand that practitioners now prefer Great Plains over Realtime Labs for the mycotoxin testing. I think they test for more stuff. Not sure the cost difference between the two.

One other thing that got my attention is the possibility of babesia or parasites, especially since you’re taking cryptolepis. Did all this get worse after starting one or more of your treatments?

I read what you said about reno on the house. Did you get sick or worse soon after that? If so, my mold suspicions would skyrocket. Also possible a slow hidden leak could have occurred since renovations or contamination in the HVAC system..

Mold isn’t always seen, smelled, or recognized. I never cease to be amazed at the comments made by “professionals” about areas that look strongly suspicious for mold. They excuse it as dirt, dust, a blemish in the wood - anything but mold.

I saw a website yesterday of a mold professional that showed photos of sheetrock that had undergone mold remediation. All the pieces looked clean in the photos, but post remediation swab tests revealed all but 2 of the pieces still had mold spores on them.

I'm dealing with anxiety/ depression/ brain fog mornings also. Not much to add but it was is my worst symptom. It's come and gone over last few years and responded well to holy basil and ashwaganda I. The past but the latest episodes are not responding.

Mine hits in the am so I am starting to sleep with holy basil under my pillow do I can take first thing.

My symptoms are flaring- twitching etc. been hard 6 months.

I'm doing the Great Plains mold test. Taking a week of gluthione before I send in sample. Weird crawling sensations on scalp , maybe from ???

I just started the holy basil, ashwaganda again so we will see how it goes....

Keep going. One day at time. Keep going...
I suspect coinfection and mold.

My llmd said to try tryptophan or 5htp that can fix anxiety, anxiety in lymies is actually a b1 and b3 defiency go have it tested you will see. I get it also and just found out last night about the b1 and b3 causing the anxiety.

I too am struggling immensely with anxiety, depression and severe cognitive problems. I’m new to treatment- so far just 3 months in and it’s getting worse but I’m hoping that means treatment is working/happening?

Have you tried Jernigans Neuro Antitox? I’m finding this helps sometimes. What else has helped me slightly is 5HTP and a supplement called Serenagen by Metagenics. It’s a Chinese herbal formula that apparently is very good for anxiety, adrenals and depression. I just started it and it is helping to calm me down. But nothing has hit my sleep - i’m taking pharmaceuticals, Zopiclone, bc everything else hasn’t worked.

Do you have any dental issues? Root canals or metal fillings, extracted teeth with possible cavitations? I have 7 root canals with 6 crowned teeth and I’m having all of them removed in 3 weeks. I know it won’t cure me, but it’s a piece to this ever so complicated ‘brain puzzle’.

Have you tried amino acid supplements? In the book called New Paradigms in Lyme Disease Treatment’ many dr’s talk about L Tyrosine, 5HTP etc.

for me i believe the crushing anxiety was physiological sx of bartonella on the blood vessels , the hyper coagulation of our blood and the narrowing of vessel lining made the areas that require micro vascular circulation felt like they were literally getting starved for blood ! it gives that ' i cant breathe waterboarding type wiggin out.'...holy basil to manage and chanca piedra and zhang helped reduce bart and increase circ , bv is a potent thinner and many symtoms when away thusly.
the depression which was crushing was not just from trauma in my life but when i wiped out my gut flora the opportunistic organisms that weren't affected had a heyday- no more dopamine was being produced , i had to supplement mucuna bean extract powder and the next day you can feel the darkness lift off of you . just my 3 cents

They do say health begins in the gut and a lot of your neurotransmitters are located there so I agree gut issues will definitely mess your mental state up. Thyroid seems related but I think it's more like providing a baseline, though T3 is also used off label for depression. And I agree mold messes just about everything up. I know a lawyer who went through a suicidal depression because her house was so moldy. She won a settlement and lives off the money now but that's another story lol. The only thing helping with my mood right now is getting enough sleep and eating healthy but there's no easy answer. Seeing symptom improvement was the main driver in my mood improving.