Expert: Jurriaan Plesman, Nutritional Psychotherapist - 5/29/2005

Question
Thank you in advance for volunteering on Allexperts. I understand that your advisement is not a substitute for a personal visit to a doctor's office. This is an urgent situation and I want to have as much information as possible, as I am very serious (and motivated) about managing my illness, and getting properly diagnosed.
I am a 41 year old male and have attempted to commit suicide 11 times, 5 of which required hospitalization; the most recent attempt was last Sunday the 22nd. Last February I was unconscious for 3 days in the hospital due to an attempt. I overdose on pills as a compulsion and find it my only exact means for escape of the more intense episodes of my illness. These symptoms presented themselves in my preteens, and consistently persist and worsen to present day. As a child I was physically and emotionally abused by my parents, my father died 10 years ago, my mother died 3 years ago. I am ostracized from my family and have no family support. My support base consists of my exwife and my girlfriend, the former is an infrequent support. I stopped working as a cook about a year and a half ago, and am finding it very hard to even take the first step towards new employment.  My marriage of only a year ended due to an affair (which I had) that lead to pregnancy, which was very hard on me, and a very confusing and worsening time. At the same time I lost my best friend of 10 years for the same reason. I also lost all my friends during this time and have not rebuilt a consistant social group since. I have gone through many significant relationships and have not been single longer than 3 months. I have been in many toxic relationships, and it's hard for me to form any deep bonds.
Physically, I have had at least one concussion, I have high blood pressure, I have a hard time sleeping (staying asleep, getting to sleep - I use a white noise machine to help but it doesn't always do the trick), I have migraines, sight problems (near sighted), infrequent visual hallucinations, frequent and troublesome urgent urniation (related to childhood abuse), weakness on my left side.. I am a smoker, however I do not have a street-drug or alcohol dependence. I don't drink much at all and I don't plan to. Past stressors have been (but are not limited to): frequent moves, extensive changes, loud noise, social situations, pressure, being alone, isolation, conflict, rejection, very low self-esteem, lack of routine, difficulty with authority figures, violence directed at me.. My symptoms include but are not limited to: extreme anxiety, feelings of hopelessness, worthlessness, loneliness, frustration, performance anxiety, I am very self-critcial, self doubtful - I second guess myself in panic, manic episodes, depressive episodes, frequent and dramatic mood swings, feelings of apathy and dulled reality, confusion, feeling lost, inability to concentrate, memory loss/dullness, inability to set and keep goals, I think of suicide many times daily, I have panic attacks, I isolate myself extremely and push away friends and loved ones, I either feel emotions too strongly or not at all. I am nonviolent to others, I only harm myself.
Past Diagnosis: disthymia, major depression, P.T.S.D., Bipolar, all from different professionals. I have been put on different medications: Zoloft, Celexa, Prozac, Effexor, Lithium, Zyprexa, and some I cannot remember. Zyprexa caused aggressive behavior, nothing major but uncharacteristic of my regular personality. I was on Lithium for about a month, at different dosages as guided by my doctor at the time, at which time the trial was terminated due to lack of effect. I had some general malaise during the trial. Zoloft was prescribed and taken three months, with no effect. Celexa did nothing as well. Prozac was the pill that I was on for the longest, and I
was able to function and work at a fairly high level - but after a suicide attempt these pills were taken away (however these pills were not part of the attempt). Effexor did nothing. I have also seen a psychiatrist, psychologist, several GPs, specialist (neuro), etc.
If you need more information on the situation in order to answer the questions, don't hesitate to ask.

Questions:
Given the information I have given you on myself, are there any conditions that match my case which I could get tested for?

How can I get help faster? This is very urgent but it being dismissed very quickly, or I am being put on very long waiting lists.

Are there any good doctors or anything specifically helpful for my case in Ottawa Canada?

Are there any specific tests I should be ask for, to help with my diagnosis?

Are there any online resources you can direct me to that would be helpful in my situation. I find there are many sites that are more depressing than helpful on the subject, and want to deal constructively with my rehabilitation.

I have a move coming up on the 15th of June, and I am getting more and more anxious about it. I find it paralyzing to even think of packing, but I have a limited supply of support that can help me with this move. Do you have any suggestions of how I can make this move easier (if not possible)?

It has been suggested that nutrition is playing a large role in my illness. In your experience, are there "trigger foods" that worsen moods or trigger
manic/depressive episodes? Are there foods that stabilize moods?

How long, generally, should I expect to stay on a suggested drug before I can see it's stabilizing effects?

Are there any suggestions you can give me for short term relief, as in treatments, activities, etc?

What can I do at the beginning and during an episode to stop from descending into suicidal behavior?

Is there any way I can make my home more friendly to my illness?

Is there any way I can, in the future, make my career more friendly to my illness?

Thank you very much for your time, it is very much appreciated.
(This letter was dictated/guided by Pierre to me, his girlfriend, as he found it too difficult to write such a long and detailed letter on his own. I can
vouch for the severity of his condition, the urgency, and that he seriously wants to get better. I am working with him and will be sending this email
out to as many helpful people as we can, any help you can give us is appreciated, and we understand that he cannot be diagnosed online - however we want to arm ourselves with as much information and suggestions as possible. )

Pierre S. and Evelyn R.

Answer
Hello Pierre and Evelyn,

This is a dreadful situation to be in. Of course there is little I can say over the internet without a proper diagnosis.

Of course with such a long history of failure to treat depression, you cannot see a way out and may think of suicide. But the point is THERE IS A SOLUTION! People have been barking up the wrong tree.

Being a nutritional psychologist I am rather critical of drug therapy and these can only mask symptoms without curing the underlying causes of depression.

Nor would psychotherapy help you at this stage because psychologist tend to assume that the symptoms you have are the causes of depression, rather than seeing them  as a result of an underlying biochemical disorder.

I see depression  as a disease of energy production, meaning that the brain needs energy to manufacture the feel-good neurotransmitters, such as serotonin, to make you feel happy, relaxed and content when you normally should. Without that energy you cannot produce serotonin and you cannot feel happy, no matter what!

That energy is derived from the sugars in food and when the body fails to push glucose into cells - as a source of energy - the brain is energy starved. it cannot produce serotonin.

This is usually caused by insulin resistance (hypoglycemia) and the non-drug treatment is going on a hypoglycemic diet.

I have all explained this at our web site.

Please read;

“What is Hypoglycemia?

“The Serotonin Connection”

“Depression a Nutritional Disorder”

The hypoglycemic condition can be tested by a special medical test - not very well known among conventional doctors - and is described at our web site as:

ARTICLES --->  “Testing for Hypoglycemia....”

We also have a ARTICLES ---> NBI (Search web site) that can test for hypoglycemia, but of course is not as accurate as the medical test

I suspect that in your case, with such a long history of drug taking, that it may take some time for the body to rebuild health. But I see your problem not being MENTAL at all, it is all a question of HEALTH. You are suffering from a nutritional disorder.

I suggest that you look  for a doctor interested in nutritional medicine and have yourself tested for hypoglycemia. He will help you to put you on the hypoglycemic diet, and GRADUALLY withdraw you from pharmaceutical drugs.

The more you educate yourself on the connection between depression and nutrition the more control you will have over your health and mental health.

Jurriaan Plesman, BA (Psych) Post Grad Dip Clin Nutr
For more articles see
http://www.hypoglycemia.asn.au