Seretonin toxicity from prescriptions, NO to NOW Foods, Gentle progress

Given the timing and situation I was under in my first nights of sleeplessness (the 25th was in the middle of a gradual buildup period to it, technically 4 nights into insomnia on the 25th), I am basically regretting that I did not report my prescription medications in the very first thread post.

20 mg Citalopram (Celexa, Cipramil) antidepressant for what is categorized as major Depression on Wikipedia

100 mcg levothyroxine

7.5 mg Zopiclone (Imovane, zimovane, and a more active type available in the states, 'Lunesta')
All of these are prescription-only drugs.

All Supplements are drugs, they MUST be treated as such. Thus, a person MUST be aware of interactions.

Wikipedia on Seretonin (toxicity) syndrome: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serotonin_syndrome


Taking zinc, magnesium, selenium and b-complex vitamins all effect how the digestive track handles the materials. I suspect Iodides also help stimulate normal CNS activity besides being a classic detoxifying agent alongside potassium.

One of the issues with upped potassium intake is that it is also a binder- that is, it likes toxic molecules much like it likes other elements in the body. I have not had the chance to research it fully, but overuse of Kalium (potassium) may contribute to bone mineral density loss. This is why it is very carefully controlled in it's availability for use in Denmark for Over The Counter purchase. This is also why curezone constantly advises whole food products or organic molasses and maple syrup.

I am currently technically replete in magnesium after taking 200mg magnesium citrate on a daily basis for a year and a half together with D3 bloodlevel maintenace, with consideration for the seasons (low levels in summer, higher in winter), but this has been without proper intake of potassium except in homecooked potatoes.

My thoughts are, that it is simply time for me to focus on home-cooking and steamed foods like broccoli, potatoes, organic yogurt, cracked-grain rye and six-grain bread (manna bread), pineapple for aiding protien digestion and red meats. 'Free range' and organic chicken eggs, too.

The symptoms of STS (Seretonin Toxicity Syndrome) that I've had have taken me a few days to recognize, but it was after an antidepressant on sunday night that I recalled my reading on it back when I was investigating 5-HTP and L-Tryptophan.

Racing heartbeat, dilated pupils, instability while walking (reactions to walking and moving arms and legs end up feeling much too fast), fever, higher heartbeat, increased bowel movement sounds, confusion. Wikipedia lists the symptoms and their levels much, much better.

The only treatment for STS, as Wikipedia lists it, is to competely stop treatment with all psychoactive drugs that increase seretonin levels, and to wait. I thought about it over about a hour and a half, about how STS is a hyperactive CNS (central nervous system), and decided to eliminate all daily supplements from my sight level and normal supplement drawer (by moving them into a less-used one, in an old shopping bag). Secondarily, I used a tiny, tiny nibble of the zopiclone to try and ease the symptoms.

Zopiclone is very, very bitter, and is a hypnotic. From my readings, it's formulated to imitate the drowsing effect (downer effect) of warm milk lactose, just in a much stronger, absorbable form. It is not something you want to mess with unwisely, and I use it only when I absolutely must get the sleep cycle kicked back in gear.

The tiny dose was slow in calming the STS smptoms, but this morning I have had a more calm, normal bowel movement, though still very dark and very little. Ideal bowel fauna makes movements much lighter brown because of continued work on the liver's biles, the fibers you eat, and the hemoglobin (broken-down red blood cells) that the liver releases.

However, in the evening yesterday, I used a can of diced pineapple in light syrup and a teaspoon of canned coconut milk for a fiber and light oil drink to help satisfy myself. (I have been going as much as possible too on raw apples). I had a strange tugging sensation in the liver area, so looked it up - oils encourage liver bile secretion. I had also had a ten-minute olive oil footsoak for the first time on monday morning (today is tuesday), and that sent the basic oils right up to my face and scalp through the day.

Anemia is howevera huge problem with STS, and that is the marker I wish to use for judging when it is safer to stop using tiny amounts of zopiclone. This can have a detrimental effect in a few days because of how addictive downers can be, but for the moment it is simply what I have, and legally accquired, too.

Antidepressants effect the digestive system heavily, so a certain goal of balance away from prescription meds is ideal. I cannot predict the future, but just how things may go, and I don't want western-movie-style gunfights with my doctor in counseling meetings.

My feet are able to sweat again now, though, which I see as an exceptionally good sign, and may soon be ready for a proper Bentonite footbath- but I am wary of doing it without Epsom Salts . I now know where to buy them, and can possibly get them locally.

A red beef steak is my goal, with a fresh pineapple to help the protien digestion- it's what I need, together with the B12 from the meat to aid restocking my red cell count. Currently detox from reserve quicksilver deposites in bone and fat tissue is important, but secondary to combatting anemia symtoms.

Now that I have the iron and zinc supplements home, they can be used, but food IS the route to take.

Here right now, joints are popping and old pants fit better, and there are sideways wrinkles on the sides of my fingers, all drought-buisiness internally. I'm a diabetic insulin pumper, and I'm recognizing the symptoms of internal desert symtoms right off the bat, and dosing insulin and the molasses-saltwater-lemonjuice drink as needed, with -tiny- amounts of kelp.

Now.. This makes me really upset. NOW Foods has been relying on WOM (Word of Mouth) marketing and private redistributor activity in the states for getting their products into Europe. They have a bad history with my country- they listed on their danish website how to import bulk products into the country and circumvent the customs controls at postal distrobution sites. Local testing of their products revealed that they are lax in their own industrial testing of their product ingredients.

From writing them, I have learned that the pumpkin seed oil in their zinc glycinate product is not organic, but 'heavy metal tested'. Zinc Glycinate is a lab-produced item, but mixed with the pumpkin seed oil for a better absorbtion and easier movement in the small intestine.

NOW foods stands for Natural Organic Wholesome, and this product is neither of those three. Their cheapest multivitamins contain cyanocobalamin instead of methocobalamin (the more natural, absorbable form of B12), they rely on D-alpha-tocopherol (vitamin E, one of the four best known forms) indicated in prostate cancer, and all of the vitamins listed in their products are of synthetic, laboratory origins.

This has made me very cautious about the powdered kelp I bought from them. 'Kelp' comes in too forms, Sea kelp forest growth and the much more common Bladderwrack. BladderWrack is the common seaweed, Kelp is the deeper off-shore forests California is famous for. Both bladderwrack and Kelp are excellent mineral sources, but they absorb heavy metals from industrial waste just as happily as normal minerals, including radioactive isotopes from spillwater from nuclear product manufacture in, for example, Nevada.

Bladderwrack, BTW, makes a -superior- roof thatch, but stinks so that the house and area it is in is unliveable for a year until rain has subsided the most offensive odors from the top layers of the thatch.

Denmark currently has narrowed the sea areas where they will allow kelp and bladderwrack harvests for import to the country, because of unacceptable pollution levels. Chlorella and spirulina are also very susceptible to heavy metals and radioactive isotopes, and I've already spoken to a person on FB from the vitamin D council who has gotten very sick from a contaminated spirulina product.

Caution, therefore, is warranted in all product purchases, to discover the source areas of your buys. NOW foods has a very wide range of kelp harvesting fields, and their testing of just a little bit of the whole final product mix is likely to be all too lax. THAT is something I am much less willing to accept.

All of this points to a deceptive and money-hungry corporation, and -that- is classic opportunisim in one of it's worst forms.

Healthy Origins in Pittsburg I am much more in favor of, but again, I would have to review other folk's bloggings and reports of product testing.

Right now I thank my maker, (y-ah-ovw-ah), mister Surprise, for having prepared me with a few of the things that would really help me during this period. Especially knowledge.. It's only wisdom once it's well used, honestly.

signed and wishing all future readers whole hearted healing,
-illys