Re: Getting off of Xanax and AF recovery failure

Hey Mikey

Thank you for your posts. They are honest and inspiring
I've been thinking a lot yesterday about all that you've said about the unnatural stimulating energy that comes from some supplements and it's better to just to let go and accept what's coming no matter how bad that might feel...
It made me realize that I have this deep issue with accepting my illness.
I would do anything to get the energy back for a week or a few days and then crash. I want to look and act "normal" around others at any cost and then I "forget" that I'm not well. I take stimulants and go out jogging for miles like nothing happened. Every time I crash it comes as a surprise. None of my friends have any idea how sick I actually am. I don't particularly understand why I'm doing it. I thought I'd ask my psychiatrist but I think she doesn't know that I'm physically sick either... Because I never tell anybody...I block the thought about xanax because I don't want to deal with it now because it's suggesting that there is a problem...
I'm going to think about it a little more why maintaining the illusion of wellbeing means so much to me. It's totally non productive.

I think you are right about taking it easy with vit c especially with benzo withdrawal. Here is how I understand what happens in the body:

By improving adrenal glands function and making them capable of producing more cortisol it's possible to create a vicious cycle. More available cortisol would ultimately lead to more anxiety, possibly insomnia as soon as benzo effect wears off and the HPA axis is reactivated. So, over focusing on the adrenals will sabotage the withdrawal progress.

Dr.Lam in his book admits that a lot of people with AF would end up taking antidepressants and anti anxiety meds. However he doesn't say anything about what to do about it. His knowledge of the physiology is incredible but how his patients are supposed to handle all the psychological trauma?...
I read on the website that you are supposed to "qualify" for his program and I assumed that it meant no pharmaceuticals. It doesn't make sense to monitor how the body reacts to vitamin c if someone is taking bunch of powerful drugs that override all the effect or create some dangerous combinations. What did he say about it when you spoke to him?.. Would be interesting to know that

I liked the fact that he switched my attention from CNS to something else that could be wrong.
For years I believed that my low energy depressive state was due to CNS malfunction only. I kept taking more stimulants like Ritalin and later Wellbutrin until they stopped working completely. It's so scary to think what was going on in the body all that time... And I'm not the only one who is prescribed that particular combination of drugs. And I was on an SSRI too. Pharmacists would give me such a look every time I gave them the scripts:)
No wonder I'm so messed up.
So, after reading dr.Lam I got really scared and made it a priority to get off of everything as soon as possible. But his protocol seems to be one sided too.
He suggests that the key to rebalancing the entire system is restoring the cortisol production an everything else will go back to normal as a result.
Sounds good but in reality it's hard to isolate this and ignore everything else.
Nutritional deficiencies like you said are very important too.
I have like maybe 10 things I can eat without a hypoglycemic attack..
To make sure I get the nutrients and vitamins I need I rely on multivitamins for now
By the way, how do you manage your diet if you suffer from the blood Sugar imbalances?...
I'm sorry I skip from one thing to another and can't express anything clearly.
My mind is all over the place and I have these racing thoughts about totally unrelated subjects... Tweet