Mineral and amino acid balance, body pH, and MOOD/ANXIETY

[Rojzen]

POTASSIUM, ALKALINITY, AND DLPA AS ANTI-ANXIETY/DEPRESSION AGENTS:

For many months, as I reported here, I was getting excellent stabilization of mood and outlook with the help of Lithium Aspartate (10 mg three times daily). I was delighted to find that friends and other associates of mine who suffered from anxiety and anxiety-triggered depression (often about health concerns) were also getting good results, with no side effects, when they tried Lithium Aspartate.

I have not lost faith in this micronutrient, but last week, when I was experiencing some big setbacks with a pain syndrome unrelated to my dry eye, I noticed that the Lithium wasn't staving off the worst of the anxieties, and so I began to wonder whether something more fundamental than a micronutrient deficiency could account for my weakening outlook. Thinking along the lines of the real fundamentals, I wondered whether there might be clues, in my own body, to where major corrections might be needed.

A little research helped me to see that the collection of health challenges I deal with regularly can all potentially be linked to chronic potassium deficiency (and sodium overload), and/or to systemic hyperacidity. Unable to afford testing that would help me confirm these to certainty, I went with the clues, and decided to add safe (but much larger than RDA) amounts of potassium to my diet, and to consume foods and supplements that might alkalize me a bit (optimal human body pH is, I think, 7.4). I will soon begin using litmus strips to test my pH.

I also started on a regimen of DLPA, following a protocol for chronic pain that moves the patient from 2000 mg/day up to 4500 mg/day and then back down a bit, over a period of about 12 weeks.

I also discontinued Lithium Aspartate for the time being.

So far so good. If I had to pick the nutrient that I sense is making the biggest difference, it would be potassium. More on this as things develop.

[kimby2007]

Rozjen

The depth of your knowledge astounds me! Crossing my fingers for your continued improvement.

[NYer]

Isn't Rozjen brilliant? You gotta love her!

Rozjen, what an insightful post - and very timely for me. I, too, have been suffering from anxiety also due to physical problems that continue to be unresolved. I certainly am willing to try eating a few bananas for potassium and see if that helps!

It's astounding what doctors don't know about anxiety. Well, not so astounding compared to what they don't know about dry eyes.
I went to a world-renowned retina specialist today. The tech came in beforehand to put the anesthetic drops in and dilate my pupils. I asked him not to use fluorscane (sp?) because of my dry eyes. After some debate, he offered to look at my eyes through the slit lamp, which he did, and he announced, "your eyes aren't a bit dry! You don't have dry eyes!" I was about to announce, "yes, and you're not an idiot!" But I decided that since he was simply the technician and not the doctor, it wasn't worth the discussion.

The good news is that my retinas are fine. The doctor really had no interest in my dry eyes, though. And since I was there for a possible retinal issue, I figured I'd leave the dry eye discussion to someone who gives a hoot.

But I mention all this here because the point is that having all of these various physical issues that remain unresolved because the doctors simply don't know the answers - well it drains you and causes anxiety.

I was just reading something about anxiety - specifically panic attacks - and it is so appropriate for those of us who deal with ongoing physical issues, i.e. dry eyes, or some of us, like Rojzen and myself, dry eyes plus other physical issues simultaneously...how could you NOT suffer from anxiety? Yet so few options are offered to us.

Here's what I just read by an anxiety expert:

Although the first panic attack may seem to appear "out of the blue," it typically comes during an extended period of stress. This stress is not caused by a few days of tension, but extends over several months. Life transitions, such as moving, job change, marriage, or the birth of a child, often account for much of the psychological pressure.

For some individuals, learning to manage this stressful period or to reduce the pressures will eliminate the panic episodes. For others, it is as though the stress of the life transition or problem situation uncovered a psychological vulnerability. If the panic-prone individual accepts increased responsibilities -- for instance, through a job promotion or through the birth of a first child -- he may begin to doubt his ability to meet the new demands, the expectation of others, and the increased energy required for these responsibilities. Instead of focusing on mastering the task, he becomes more concerned with the possibility of failure. This attention to the threat of failure continually undermines his confidence. Either gradually or quickly, he translates these fears into panic.

Yeah. Continued stress from dry eyes and other unresolved physical issues over months or years. Aren't so many of us here in that boat?

Rojzen, please keep us updated on your pH and potassium trials. And I'm going to go buy some bananas.!

I hope everything works for you.
Your friend,
NYer

[Rojzen]

potatoes and a link

Dear old friend NYer (figuratively, only! You are a mere youngster, and even younger at heart):

Loved your insights and excerpt on anxiety. . .It is a mysterious and very affecting problem! Maybe our ancestors called it our "demons". . .

I will respond better to your wonderful post (with thanks for your kind words), but if you're on the way out to shop, get some potatoes, too. I learned, from the following amazing link on potassium, that potatoes are far richer in potassium than are bananas. . .(In my case, I hedge bets by taking potassium caplets, too, but that is largely because I'm front loading now, and want to catch up on what I need fast. . .this, of course, in order to fight that old demon, anxiety). . .

http://www.newmediaexplorer.org/sepp..._neglected.htm

[dianat]

Rojzen,

Do keep us abreast as to your progress here. The self-management of symptoms never ceases to amaze me. It is necessary, and far more effective than relying on any one professional.

Did you ever see the movie Lorenzo's Oil?

[Rojzen]

LOVED!! Lorenzo's oil; fugget about those silly techs!

Dear NYer: That ophth. tech's preposterous pronouncement that you don't have dry eye is too laughable for words. The state of ignorance, out there, regarding how to diagnose us is worse than appalling. The sad thing, too, is that many docs know even less than did the technician who was so dismissive. Thrilled, in any case, that your retinas have checked out AOK.

And indeed, dianat! Lorenzo's Oil was fabulous and a major inspiration. By the time I saw that film, I had already found alternative ways to treat my companion animals' serious illnesses, usually via homeopathy under the care of a master homeopathic vet. .but often via other means closer to home. The holistic animal care community, btw, is often many steps ahead of us in finding solutions to really difficult problems.

Let's just say that in some areas of human medicine, there is a definite learned helplessness among doctors. They can have cures staring them right in the face, but still remain unwilling to try them. To wit the many docs who still refuse to suggest that DES patients try the Dr. Holly drops. (That happened to me, of course. . .The last doc I saw tried to switch me to Soothe and Systane, AFTER I told him, EMPHATICALLY, that Dwelle had brought me into nearly full remission.)