1636 replies to this topic

[ForLyla]

FH I'm already feeling better mentally and WD wise.

[Polly38]

Hi Lyla

Do you mean you are feeling better following the diet?

Polly

[fishinghat]

It is about time.  lol

 

Be sure and get some strength back before proceeding with the wean.

[ForLyla]

Ya I'm feeling better since I changed my diet around. My reflux is still bad but my gastritis is better. Most importantly, I feel pretty normal mentally and physically. No crazy vision issues, heart pounding, shakiness or cognitive slowness the last few days.

[gail]

Way to go Lyla. I'm real happy for you. Love¡

[fishinghat]

Yea, you will beat this yet.

[ForLyla]

Thanks guys

On a seperate note, this may sound like a crazy question but please be patient with me as I've been dealing with this for 3 years and im deathly afraid of setting myself back even more. I got a part-time job on the weekends working at an indoor pool. Do you think it'a possible that the fumes from chlorine and other potential chemicals they use to clean is something I should worry about?

[fishinghat]

Chlorine is a toxic gas that attacks the respiratory system, eyes, and skin.[101] Because it is denser than air, it tends to accumulate at the bottom of poorly ventilated spaces. Wiki

 

Chlorine in the air thins the linings in the lungs and increases the permeability of the lung membranes which allows other vapors to be absorbed better. Chorine will react quickly with the first organics it sees and transformed into chlorides, an essential micronutrient in the body.

 

I found no indication that chlorine reacts with neurotransmitters or nerves in normal conditions. Any dose that is high enough to be absorbed through the lungs would be toxic anyway. Coughing, sore throat, dizziness, loss of consciousness and even death. I did a lot of chlorine toxicity studies/research over the will take a look at the chemicals used for cleaning a public swimming pool and get back to you.

[ForLyla]

Thanks a lot FH. Unrelated to that again, I am feeling off today but I think it's due to lack of sleep. I'm still happy that I had a 4 day window though. I haven't had that long of a window in a few months. 

[fishinghat]

That window will return again and slowly get more frequent. By the way the first sign of chlorine exposure is irritated eyes.

 

More to follow.

[fishinghat]

OK, read everything you need to know about public pool cleaning. (I will never swim in a pool again/lol)

 

Most pool cleaning is mechanical, brushes, vacuum heads, change the filters, etc. Public use pools however are required to have a chlorine shock treatment done on them occasionally depending on how much use it receives. The shock treatment uses calcium chlorite which when it comes in contact with the water releases large amounts of chlorine into the water in order to treat resistant pathogens. During shock treatments the pool may not be used and it must ve drained and refilled prior to public use again.

 

At this point I really don't see any issues that would concern me.

[ForLyla]

Thanks for your research FH. Much appreciated and it put my mind at ease.

My worst symptom now is acid reflux but its more related to my stomach flu and gastritis than wd. I've gone gluten and dairy free now to see if that helps. Really cut back on acidic foods.

[ForLyla]

Anyone have any problems with probiotics? I think I'm going to try them out to help with my stomach problems.

[fishinghat]

I suffered from IBS for years and years and probiotics has really helped that. I would strongly suggest that you read the section in the ebook on probiotics. There us some amazing research there. Also I would recommend the use of Renew Life probiotic, 30 billion is the standard dose.. It is a little pricey but worth every penny.

[TryinginFL]

I also have IBS and have found probiotics to be extremely helpful...

 

My last bout was a doozy lasting about 5 weeks - the worst ever!

 

I take a CVS brand that is for adults 50+

[ForLyla]

Did you guys notice any difference in your WD symptoms while taking them?

[TryinginFL]

I have been off the poison drug for almost 6 yrs now and cannot remember having an IBS attack as seriously as this last one - there were so many, many horrible things that I went through that the worst I remember was the crying and rage.

 

It took me a good year to return to some semblance of a normal human being but I am to this day extremely emotional (I can cry at the drop of a hat) and have sleep problems.  Thankfully, the rage was short-lived.

 

I have come to the conclusion that I was left these things and doubt that they will ever entirely go away.  I wish I had never taken that crap but that is wishful thinking...

 

Please try the probiotics as I feel that they will help you - please keep us posted!

 

 

Liz

[fishinghat]

I was already takin g probiotics when I started my withdrawal so it is hard to say if they helped or hurt. I know my stomach issues were not as bad as some who are currently active members.

[ForLyla]

I took a probiotic this morning. I felt more tired afterward and a little weird since. Cant be sure if that's the cause but best to stay off them for a while and try again later. Perhaps I'll take one next week - it will be a good test.

I cant imagine taking one probiotic would set me back much but who knows.

[ForLyla]

I did a bit more research. Apparently probiotics increases histamine levels???? Not sure if this is reliable but could explain why I felt so tired for half the day afterwards. Feeling a bit more energetic as the day went on. Might try my next dose at night to help me sleep! Otherwise I don't feel too bad today. Sorry if this is TMI but I did have bad diarrhea tonight which I never get. Not sure if that's a good or bad thing.

[ForLyla]

It looks like gluten is the culprit for me in keeping this thing going. As of tonight I'm gluten free!

[ForLyla]

Probiotics seem to be working for me now. The rumour going around is that our gut flora is what leads some of us into withdrawal syndrome while others are fine. I wonder how many of us unlucky bunch have taken long courses of antibiotics and/or ppi's. I had no idea that ppi's alter our gut flora. No wonder it set me back so hard.

[frog]

Hi Lyla,

Just wanted to say that's a very interesting theory. I took a lot of antibiotics around a decade ago due to a persistent UTI which then kicked off some chronic pelvic pain which is the reason I got put on Cymbalta! (yay). I've also taken antibiotics once or twice a year for half of the intervening years for more UTIs or at least what I thought might have been UTIs. My gut's tolerance of foods has definitely changed a lot over these years so I wonder if the neurotransmitter makeup in there may have as well due to an imbalance of gut bacteria. Very interesting thought. So much still for science to learn about the brain/gut connection

[fishinghat]

Those are not theories anymore. It has been clinically shown That the gut contains a layer of specialized nerve cells in the wall lining that provides feedback to the brain. This area is often referred to as the "second brain". Improper gut flora causes not only inflammation in this area but through out the body as "bad" bacteria digest foods in a way to provide digestion by products that are very inflammatory. Most drs here where I am at prescribe 2 weeks of probiotics after a round of antibiotics as the antibiotics kill not only the pathogen bacteria but good bacteria as well. It should also be noted that a person should not take probiotics while on an antibiotic as the antibiotic will spend most of its energy killing the probiotic and not the disease causing bacteria.

 

It has also been shown over the last few years that vaginal pH (acidity is also controlled by gut flora. Vaginal pH being off is one of the main causes of UTIs. Several companies (Most notable Ultimate flora) produce a special probiotic for women that will help control the pH and minimize UTIs. I believe there is a section on this in the ebook. If you wan t further details let me know.

[ForLyla]

So perhaps eating right in combination with the right strains of probiotics are the key to recovering from this. Probiotics have worked better for me than any ppi or acid reducer I've taken and I'm hoping the longer I take them the less side effects I'll have. I am getting a lot of gas pain, bloating etc.

[ForLyla]

So it looks like I may have SIBO and having some tests done this week. If I do have SIBO I may have to take antibiotics. Actually the chances are good that I'll have to take them. I'm assuming this will set me back terribly with my withdrawal. Does anyone know a way around this somehow?

[fishinghat]

One of the most common causes of SIBO is long term use of ppis. Usually the antibiotic of choice is rifaximin. There is only one clinical trial of rifaximin in regards to stress. In the study "the antibiotic exhibited stress-reducing effects similar to reported effects of probiotics," A positive sign.

https://dailymed.nlm...dience=consumer
Limitations of Use
TD: Do not use in patients with diarrhea complicated by fever or blood in the stool or diarrhea due to pathogens other than Escherichia coli

5.1 Travelers’ Diarrhea Not Caused by Escherichia coli
Rifaximin was not found to be effective in patients with diarrhea complicated by fever and/or blood in the stool or diarrhea due to pathogens other than Escherichia coli.

May cause nausea.

To treat SIBO, you’ll want to get your gut bacteria back in balance. That should ease your symptoms and help your body to better absorb more nutrients from your food.

 

The treatment you’ll get depends the results of the breath test you took. If your sample had a lot of hydrogen in it, the main treatment is the antibiotic rifaximin. If your test showed high levels of methane, you’ll likely take rifaximin plus the antibiotic neomycin.

Webmd

https://www.ncbi.nlm...les/PMC3099351/
An excellant detailed overview with a detailed discussion of treatment options.

[ForLyla]

I have a feeling its methane if I do indeed have SIBO. It was just a hunch by my gastro but she's been wrong before. It does seem like a good guess though.

[fishinghat]

It is logical to me that SIBO could be a repercussion of Cymbalta withdrawal. With the massive changes in gastric serotonin it would be expected to cause a marked change in bacteria in the GI tract.  It would take a good probiotic quite a while to off set this imbalance but it should in time.

 

Just be sure to get the breath test for SIBO before proceeding. Way to many drs misdiagnose SIBO when it is not the issue.

[ForLyla]

Ya I am doing the breath test. This is the result of gastro though, not withdrawal. I feel like I've had severe rage the last few weeks since getting gastro. I'm just sick of being sick and my bad luck. My stomach was starting to get better and then I get the worst stomach flu of all time. I seriously cant go more than 2 weeks without something setting me back. Living in Canadian darkness for half the year doesnt help and Toronto is a cesspool of viruses and sickness. I know stress makes things so much worse but I cant help it - I'm having a nervous breakdown. Also probiotics help my acid reflux a bit but makes me shaky, tired, irritable and gives me bowel problems. Maybe the probiotics gave me SIBO.