Question:
I have read your books and emailed you before,
probably 6 years ago. My son has been to every
psychiatrist, doctor, therapist around. They have
put him on medications that made him gain 125
pounds which threw him into type II Diabetes,
medicine that made him more angry and depressed. He
has been on Effexor, Prozac, Depakote, Paxil,
Trazodone, Risperdal and others I can't remember.
When you helped me last time you told me to have a
sleep study done, and we did and found that he does
not go into REM sleep and the frontal lobe had
abnormal seizure like tendencies. So, you suggested
Carbatrol which he has been on since then. He will
take it because he says it does control some of his
anger and rage.
This past month his rage has been uncontrollable
and he is pleading for me to help him find an
answer. I believe that your medicine regimen may
help him, but he is so terrified of anymore
medicine.
He has OCD with this all, too. He tries so hard to
help himself. We have gone to the Quantum Zrod
Machine and had his body treated and they used
light therapy which seems to help, but not for
long. He is taking Coral Calcium, All the Vit. B's,
Fish Oils, Amino Acids, Vitamin E, and his
Carbatrol. He also takes Allegra for allergies.
Can
he try Celexa or Lexapro with his Carbatrol? Or do
you think your recommendation of BuSpar, then
Prozac and Haldol for when he starts feeling like a
rage is coming on would be better?
He says once the rage begins he cannot stop it
unless he bangs his head so hard into walls or
pavement that he feels like he is going to pass
out, and then it is like he has just had a seizure
with foam from his mouth, profuse sweating, and
complete exhaustion. He looks like he has already
damaged his eyes and his head. I don't know what to
do anymore. We are not rich people. He is 28 and
getting some help each month with medication money.
The medical part of the help, though is telling us
we have to go to certain doctors which I would not
take a dog to. What should I do?
Dr. Heller's Answer:
As always, making all the medically treatable
diagnoses and treating them comprehensively is
crucial. If he has the cognitive GAD (generalized
anxiety disorder) then BuSpar will be needed. For
the BPD, no medication or combination comes close to
the Prozac (fluoxetine) / Tegretol (carbamazepine)
combination.
Episodes of dysphoria (anxiety, rage, depression
and despair) are seizures - nerve cells firing
inappropriately and out of control. Apparently the
brain chemical dopamine then gets overproduced in
the trapped, cornered, wounded animal instinctual
area of the brain. Antipsychotic medications like
Haldol (haloperidol) work by blocking the dopamine.
Haloperidol seems to work primarily in that area,
that's why it's so useful. I give my patients a 3
step plan for stopping episodes of dysphoria:
http://www.BiologicalUnhappiness.com/dysphori.htm
Learning to recognize dysphoria episodes and
treating them early is crucial. Creating
concussions as a way to stop these seizures causes
brain damage and he clearly needs the right
medication to limit brain damage.
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