Re: DRAMATIC Onset of Symptoms

It's really interesting you have intense cravings for leafy greens - to eat as much as you do obviously is an indicator of something your body needs!
Also interestingly i've been doing research on Nitric Oxide (NO) and its role in the body - deficiency and toxicity states and their effects.
I just found out leafy greens supply a HUGE amount of NO, so i wonder if you have low NO levels?
N.O. is a neurotransmitter - so low levels do cause mood changes in people.
N.O supplies oxygen to the body and also is a vasodilator - so helps supply more blood, lower blood pressure etc.
Do you have high blood pressure? Do you have low iron/B12 stores? These states *can* cause the body to produce more NO to help homeostasis of oxygen delivery and BP stabilisation.

If your body struggles to make the NO you need, it is something which can be craved from foods, primarily leafy greens supply it - and also Beets, red beet juice is often taken to increase NO levels - do you crave red beets?

It's something to keep in mind. There are easy, quick, saliva test strips which test for NO levels which your doc may already have available, but hasn't thought to test you for it. It's something to definitely check for.

On the other side of the coin...high NO levels are NOT good - as with everything, a deficiency or toxicity of a mineral or vitamin will cause symptoms. The body like the right amount of everything.

People with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fiibromyalgia often have HIGH levels of NO - which can cause free radical build-up, pain to be felt as it triggers pain receptors when high.

So don't just take loads of N.O. (there are supplements available if you are deficienct) without first establishing you have a deficiency - it was something that i thought of first when you mentioned your leafy green addiction.
(I had this too a couple of years ago - i was growing chard as if it was a wonder drug! I dicovered i was deficient in folate and have the MTHFR mutation that doesn't convert folic acid into folate - so i really love my leafy greens for natural folate - that also could be why you love leafy greens - it's worth digging deeper into why you crave certain things - these natural cravings can help reveal imbalances)

IMO, i would only go the psych med route if you're on the verge of suicide. Even then, when i found myself in that state, i still didn't, yet some people HAVE to find some relief, and it's understandable when on the edge of life.

Many people on this forum, and others, have gone the psych med route and the majority of people don't do well due to the addiction they create due to the receptors becoming more messed up than they were to start with.
I would exercise extreme caution about going down that path of medication.
I have lost people to suicide who relied on their doctor and psych meds to 'cure' their 'mood' disorders.

Your doctor is right to wait until your body is stable enough to do a provoked urine toxic metal test.
However, it is fine to do one unprovoked! I did, not expecting to get a reading, yet even unprovoked i did. Then i did a provoked test - and the reading was higher.
I didn't use DMSO etc to do the provokation - i think i took a tablespoon of cilantro or something...even that caused a higher reading.
So it need not be a risque test to take - just take it without provoking - that in itself, if you get a reading, will tell you your body is detoxing metals all the time, and more than likely it has a burdon to get rid of.

I agree with JG that your symptoms could be metal toxicity. Yet also, your symptoms could also be many other things as symptoms cross over so much in varying states of illness, which is why most MD's are so terrible at diagnosing.
It's very hard to find the route cause sometimes.

What's interesting with you is that your neuro symptoms happened suddenly - most metal toxicity symps. come on slowly...or immediately after Amalgam being put in the mouth.
This is why i asked if you lost a bit of a filling that night and swallowed it.
If you were a welder or someone working with volatile materials i would say it could be exposure to something at levels your body was not used to.
The suddeness of your symptoms is the most intriguing.

IMO heavy metal chelation is an 'event' you approach in your life - it's something you don't just flippantly try to do - there is a protocol to be followed. Stir up too much in the body and it can get difficult to get out of a very toxic state.
It's certainly easier to do a bowel/liver/kidney cleanse, and even the most inexperienced can just 'try' a mini cleanse without adverse affects.
Metal chelation is a more serious cleanse so do research from other peoples experience and follow the links Jo listed to learn more before doing it.

B6 is linked to remembering dreams. Have you increased in your diet or supplements B6?
We all dream, but depending on levels of B6 depends if we remember dreams.
I took a multi B the other day out of the blue, then regretted it as i remembered niacin makes me feel sick, but the one effect i did have was suddenly remembering dreams after months and months of not.

I recall experiencing waking up with a racing mind and not being able to sleep - in the end i used low dose GABA (phenibut form works within half hour) or chamomile tea and they worked to get me to sleep again.
Chamomile tea is an extraordinary relaxant - i'd highly recommend it.
You could try taking a cup before you sleep to see if it helps with longer sleep time before waking up to pee.

I did ARL hair testing. My levels were all over the place. I worked with the protocol for a while but found it so disbalancing that i stopped. Too many supplements all at once wasn't good for my sensitive system at the time.

I don't know how valid that form of testing is, i naturally question everything - with hair, what is being excreted does not necessarily reflect the body load.
If you are taking in sodium and using up the sodium adequately, then there won't be a high reading on a HMA. Does this mean you're low in sodium as will be reflected in the hair test? Not really.
I would love to see a study done on hair results verses blood work levels.

I know people who have done HMA on horses and some use that to treat imbalances successfully while others failed miserably and their horses exhibited symptoms of more imbalance. Horses show very quickly when minerals are imbalanced, literally that day when giving a supplement, so are worthy results to take on board when using HMA as a health healing tool.
There is a forum here on Nutritional Balancing to find out more on HMA.

You're gut feelings will always be right - and i agree with you that the gut dysbiosis didn't cause this in you but became a result of X, from everything you've said.

You're on a great healing path and finding out as much as you can, it's great you've got to this point, and can now climb this mountain, so you are already healing since 6 months ago...it's a victory already :-) Stay on the path!