Adrenaline spikes: Med detective needed, award given

Hi! I found an anxiety centre in London, Ontario that specializes in treating these horrible cortisol surges. It is anxietycentre.com. They call what we have hyperstimulation. They know how to completely cure it.

Hi Neil, I found an anxiety centre in London, Ontario that specializes in treating these horrible cortisol surges. It is anxietycentre.com. They call what we have hyperstimulation. If you join you get many benefits including a weekly Skype with the Director. They know how to cure this. Wishing you all the best.

I really encourage everyone to look up the symptoms of Vit. C deficiency. I was shocked to find out how badly I had it! It takes high dosage for 3 months to recover. Stress just eats up Vit. C and is related to the surges you feel.

This is the graph that shows the levels of severity of hyperstimulation and when cortisol is high and low during the day. Please refer to anxietycentre.com for detailed information. I have no affiliation with them.

@cleacock Thanks for this information. I will definitely check it out.

I am 61 years old. In my 40's I had an endometrial ablation which brought me into early menopause. I was starting to feel anxiety so I thought, well I'll go see my doctor and see what she says. "I want to put you on this wonderful med called Paxil. I want to start you at 10mg daily and then increase it to 20mg daily if we need to." I said, "I have never been on any meds, not even over-the-counter meds or supplements." So, I started 10mg. After a couple of days I felt overwhelmed and decided to lower the dose to 7.5mg and then down to 5mg. This was the start of my 6 year journey through hell.
Within those 6 years on 5mg of Paxil, I struggled with doctors not understanding why 5mg of Paxil could be a problem for me. I just didn't feel right. Anxiety was worsening, rashes would come and go, blood pressure spikes, chronic diarrhea, kidney stones, anger, frustation. Doctors wanted to add other meds to that 5mg dose of Paxil but didn't want me to come off it. Now, after the end of 6 years being on that same dose of 5mg Paxil, I experienced severe serotonin syndrome. I had never been diagnosed by any ER doctor but by a doctor who was referred to me by a friend who knew I was sick and struggling. He is a neuro psychiatrist that specializes in complicated medical cases. After the symptoms of serotonin syndrome healed, I continued to experience adrenaline rushes and to this day, I still suffer from them 24/7.
I do have a medical background. I am a non practicing nurse due to my condition. I eventually contacted a site called Silent Death which was very helpful. A few months ago, I came across Mayo Connect. I read Sierrawoods story and cried. I sent her a very short private message but didn't know if it was received.
I am grateful to have found all of you.
I thought that before I tell my story, I would have my genetic testing done through Oneome. Thank you so much. I already had my cyp2d6 done through the Mayo Clinic 6 years ago. I was also seen at that time by an endocrinologist who told me to "look up at the stars and meditate".
If anyone wants to see my results, I can send those. Guess what? My results were exactly what I was expecting and more. I feel so blessed to have found that mutations are the reasons why I could not process medications very well. One in particular that I found interesting, was COMT . I am a metabolizer of met/met AA. My Dad and Mom each gave me the A gene. This tells me that I cannot metabolize dopamine fast enough. I metabolize 50% slower than normal.The picture is clearer to me now. This says that my med difficulties are: anxiety, adrenaline rushes, no depression (ever), increased hypersensitivity, dopamine is in control of norepinephrine. Wow!.
My next step is to be seen at Mayo Clinic. I will see a autonomic neurologist. I am here for all.
Carm

I had this off and on. It turned out to being caused SSRI's that are used for depression. Another thing may be panic attacks during your sleep.

@hondaf ,
Your're absolutely right. SSRI should not
have been giving to me in the first place.
My doctor new me for many years and
new that I never showed any signs of
depression. SSRI'S are extremely potent
and they do their job very well. I can see
now with the understanding of my genes
that I would be heading for a disaster.
I do not have normal anxiety per se or
panic attacks. I have a continual flow
of norepinephrine which does mimic
anxiety (fight or flight). I have given this
release of norepinephrine in my body names like flushing, creepy crawlers,
adrenline rushes. I do have themal disregulation with this release ,bp spikes,
tightness in the shoulders and neck. Those symptoms are due to the constriction of blood vessels. when the hormone is released. It seems as if this
pattern really never changes much. It's
almost as if it fires on circadian rhythm.
I have no control over this problem where
with the norm of anxiety and panic attacks you can apply various methods.
Carm

@cleacock, I joined the anxiety centre for one month, which is even cheaper. I have already read helpful information about how systems in the body work, which makes me feel more hopeful about treating these symptoms. Nice to know someone gets it!

@betsy and @cleacock
I have read your stories. I am so sorry for
your suffering too. We're all working really hard to find ,
answers to the
symptoms that we feel daily. I can see
that I found the right group of understanding,caring, and hard working
individuals. Thank you @serriawoods!!
We are all on our pathways for truth.
I'm going to join the anxiety centre. I know that there will be new information to learn. There always is . Thanks so
much. I'm not so computer literate. Please help me if I have any question.