Re: Cortisol

[Guest guest]

Hi !

Well, in fact, a Cortisol problem is one thing i want to get checked

for. I want to have a 24-hour urine test for Cortisol (or whatever

they call it), and let's see...

BTW, what do you think about my new Theory? (posted 4 Jan.)

>

> I've been asked to explain what I said about cortisol being a

problem

> in SSRI withdrawal, and how I can tell when mine is high. I'm so

used

> to dealing with it, I forgot that people here might not understand

> what I was talking about.

>

> There's a lot of medical knowledge at the other Yahoo group I

belong

> to, and a lot of people who have come through withdrawal and have

> been helping others do it for a long time. One common feature of

> withdrawal, particularly if you do it very fast or cold turkey, is

a

> dysfunctional cortisol response. It's part of the damage that gets

> inflicted on the body during rapid withdrawal from the

psychotropic

> drug on which it is dependant. The way it was described to me was

> it's like a light switch that has been broken. Cortisol is part of

> the " fight or flight " response that also includes adrenaline. The

> cortisol is supposed to subside rapidly after the stimulus is

gone;

> but after rapid drug withdrawal, it may not. By the way, other

things

> like long-term stress can cause cortisol problems too. If your

> cortisol is high then you are exahusted a lot of the time,

jittery,

> often tearful, anxious, you have trouble sleeping, and you may

feel

> depressed. I believe there's a saliva test you can have done if

you

> really want to. I personally have decided that doctors have done

more

> harm than good in my life, they're the ones who gave me these

drugs

> telling me they'd help me, and they probably wouldn't believe me

if I

> told them about the withdrawal symptoms I've had. What I've been

told

> about cortisol, and researched on my own, fits well enough with

what

> I've been experiencing.

>

> My cortisol went sky-high when I worked in a school for 6 weeks

> recently. I am a trained teacher but I took a teaching assistant

job,

> as a less stressful way of re-entering the school environment

(I've

> been raising my daughter at home for 4 years). However, the

ringing

> bells, the crowds, the noisy drama and music classes where

teachers

> weren't in control; trying to cycle, then fighting rush hour

traffic

> in the car; working 4 full day a week -- they all left me with the

> symptoms I described above, plus 100% genital numbness. Cortisol

> actually robs chemicals out of the sexual hormone system in order

to

> be created and function.

>

> I've more or less recovered from that experience, and I've been

> assured that the cortisol problems will mostly or completely

subside

> over time. In the meantime I have to relax as much as possible,

and

> avoid things that overstimulate my system. The list seems endless,

> but I've been learning over the past several months how to cope.

> After all, you don't heal a bruise by repeatedly irritating it.

>

> There are times when the cortisol isn't quite so high, but the

> genital numbness persists, so I don't think there's a simple

> relationship between the two. What I try to do is remember that

the

> sexual problems aren't the end of my life, that there are other

> things to enjoy and be thankful for. At least, I'm OK with that

> attitude until I have another fight with my husband. It's taking

him

> a long time to accept what's happened to me, but I'm hopeful we'll

be

> able to work something out. I'd be interested to hear about what

> other people here have done when this has happened to them in the

> middle of a relationship.

>

> .

>

[Guest guest]

Hi there,

It's pretty easy to tell if you have cortisol problems, though by all

means have it tested if you want. If you came off a psychotropic med

too quickly (too quickly being more than 10% for each reduction, and

noticeable withdrawal symptoms) in the past year or two, then you

probably have them, though people get them to different degrees,

because everyone's biochemistry is unique.

Your theory seems to me to reflect the admirable determination people

have here to use science to try to explain the damage that these meds

do. At the moment it's hard for anyone to be precise, and again the

fact that biochemistry is unique to the individual means that what's

happening in one person may not be happening in another. I also think

that it's very easy to learn something about biochemistry and look

for the magic bullet that will " fix " it. That's how many of us ended

up on the meds in the first place.

I feel that, given science does not fully understand the meds, what

they do, and how they damage the body, the best thing those of us who

have taken them can do is accept that they have damaged us and work

from there. And again, if a person comes off them too quickly, it can

do worse damage than actually taking the drug in the first place.

Drug withdrawal can cause a truly amazing variety of symptoms, e.g.

restless leg symdrome (this is quite common) some of which can

persist for years, some of which will never heal unless the body is

given a big boost in the materials it uses to build and repair

itself, i.e. nutritious food, and nutritional supplements.

We don't have to know the precise mechanism of what's wrong. We don't

even have to know what nutrients we are deficient in, be they iron, B

vitamins, magnesium, whatever. A good diet and a spectrum of

supplements, including a multivitamin, colloidal minerals, fish oil,

magnesium and calcium, is often enough over time for a lot of healing

to take place.

Personally I can't imagine why anyone should take intravenous iron

unless they have acute anemia, which should show up on tests.

I didn't know any of this until last April, and it saved my life,

because I was desperate and suicidal. I'm always happy to share what

I've learned with anyone who's interested.

Best wishes,

.