[livinginhell333]

How many of you guys have seen one and got all the tests done? also what did they say? i want to go to one just to make sure. my psych ordered a cat scan, cuz they didn't do one when i wen't to the hospital a couple times in december so hopefully that will show nothing. i just have a really bad memory. like if i drive i forget that i drove totally. its that bad, and its scary cuz i think something is wrong with my brain, but i guess i'll find out soon. more than likely it is DP/DR and i'm just obsessing again like i always do.

 

[Guest]

I have been to a neurologist & had all the tests & scans done. I didn't tell the doc about my anxiety etc. He said right, I think you have anxiety cause everything is norma, what are your symptoms? So we had a chat for about an hour & he was really nice & said to call him if I needed to ask questions.

For next 5 months I stared at that CAT scan reassuraing myself that there was nothign wrong with my brain. That is how screwed up I was I still thought there must be some miniscule tumour causing all the problems.

Its a good idea to get the tests done cause you do sound like you wouldn't be like me & it would be beneficial to you.

Good luck.

 

[Guest]

It's a good idea if you think somethin else might be wrong...I knew it wasn't just dp/dr for me but I guess you'll find out more when you speak to a neuro. Do you find yourself forgetting alot???? any other symptoms you feel are worrying?? it could be something else causing it....i don't mean that in a scary way but it is always best to be on the safe side

 

[gimpy34]

I've had 2 EEGs, one to test for petit mal seizures and another one for temporal lobe epilepsy. They both came at completely normal. I also had an MRI done, which came out normal.

I was curious why I've never read anything about physicians and researchers doing spinal taps for DP sufferers to check out the levels of neurotransmitters and other stuff in one's cerebrospinal fluid. I know nothing about the process, if it is unreliable, complicated, dangerous, expensive, etc. But, it seems like it could offer some more insight into this disease. I read depression studies all the time where they are testing for all sorts of stuff in patients' cerebrospinal fluid. I know they do spinal taps for people with MS and stuff.

For those interested, livinginhell333, I have recently started taking a supplement called choline and have found it quite helpful with my memory, mood, and energy. It is a prescursor to acetylcholine, which is the main neurotransmitter involved in Alzheimer's. Most meds for alzheimer's increase the amounts of acetylcholine in the brain and choline is supposed to do the same, though, I doubt it is nearly as potent as those meds. It seems like possibly prescribing alzheimer's meds could help DP, considering how everybody is complaining about their memory and loss of identity here.

 

[livinginhell333]

darkened rose- yes i do forget a lot, but i was fine before smoking pot once and after that i've been like this, but i want to make sure. my psych actually ordered the cat scan just to make sure, should i get another test too or should the cat scan be fine?

gimpy- where can i find this choline stuff? do they have it in like vitamin stores and GNC. i'm taking ginko biloba for my short term memory, but so far hasn't worked. have taken it for 3 weeks or around there 2 weeks maybe. my long term memory is good i remember different memories from when i was happy and like i hope to get back to that stage. i remember times from when i was a kid too and like just certain days and certain memories i remember from before this all happened with the pot.

 

[gimpy34]

yeah, you can get choline at GNC or online. From what I've read, the best form of it is called phosphatidylcholine (found in Lecithin) which I think gets to the brain a lot better. I am just taking about 3 or 4 250 mg tablets a day of regular choline (choline bitartate), but I am looking into these other forms of it. I don't know. Read up on it.

I took gingko biloba too and it didn't help me either. All it really does is improve blood circulation to the brain and is an antioxidant. Some sites say it can increase acetylcholine levels but from other stuff I've read, it doesn't. I've only been taking choline for 4 days or so but I like the results so far.

 

[livinginhell333]

alright thanks gimpy i'll defintely look into that. also, do you take anything to try to help your mood. i try l-tyrosine doesn't seem to work well. you have any advice on that. i mean it works a little bit, but not much.

 

[gimpy34]

Currently I'm not taking anything for my mood for the first time in five years. I quit antidepressants about three weeks ago and was in hell until I started taking the choline and it has helped pull me out of that slump somewhat. So, I guess you could say I'm taking that for my mood. Let's just hope it keeps up.

I take a little Klonopin for panic/anxiety disorder. I'm going to ride this klonopin/choline deal out a little while and see what happens. If I feel I need something more for mood, I will probably add L-tyrosine. The only antidepressant that ever helped me was Wellbutrin which raises norepinephrine and dopamine levels, which is also what L-tyrosine does. Tyrosine isn't as potent but I felt that being on a Wellbutrin/Klonopin combo was kind of confusing my brain and body. Wellbutrin is known to jack people up and it would do that for me (which raised my mood) but about 6 or 7 hours after taking it I would kind of crash and get all DPed and fatigued. Possibly, because the klonopin was trying to slow my body down while the wellbutrin was "speeding" things up.

Or I might try selegiline, which at low doses is a selective MAO-B inhibitor (raises norepinephrine and dopamine) and there are no dietary restrictions at low doses. We'll see.

 

[Guest]

livinginhell- same here, before pot, i had some depression problems but i was OK.When i went on an ssri to help with the dp/dr, i started having seizures but i've had so many tests and they've come back normal but even this is common in some people with my condition where diagnostic is concerned. I had a CT scan which came bk normal when they were meant to do an MRI-MRI is alot more detailed than a CAT scan so i guess you could maybe have one done. There's a GABA test i was reading about the other day but i don't know too much about it.....