High feeling when under stress

First off the only med ive taken recently is my lexapro at what my dr told me to at 30mg and i have ativan but i havent gotten it refilled.

Lately ive had so much high ups and low downs and during the low downs when i get really bad i get this like high(pot type high) feeling on the top of my head. Kinda feels like im wearing the plastic part of earmuffs on my head. Tingly in that area. Someone told me it could be the drug im on maybe? Im curious why it happens only when im in the deepest pits tho and not other times. Other relevant info is i do smoke pot 5 times a week maybe. Im 29 and i cant think of nothing else but feel free to ask away. I promise not to be a hot head

I don't know what would be causing that feeling. It might be the lexapro. Glad you came back. :0)....gotta go to work.

first thing that pops on mind: so low that it turns to high; it chops off the tip of your head to release the pressure.

yeah, the reply was for you...

What's your cycling like? How long does it take to get from a high to low, and back again? How long do you stay in either of those states?

The lexapro could indeed be the cause of the weird "top of the head" feeling, but it's more likely to be due to your mood state itself.

I don't know a lot about your physical condition. If you're overweight, you're more likely to develop irregular blood sugar responses, either hypo or hyper glycemic. You could have temporary electrolyte disturbances that affect peripheral nerves. Do you watch what you eat? Take vitamins? Minerals? Other supplements?

Is there anything that you associate with this weird feeling, other than the mood state? Does your appetite and food intake change during those periods? Activity level? Caffeine intake?

I'm posing a lot of questions because you're the expert on you, and I'm hoping that you have some intuition about what you might want to consider trying, so that you might become more stable.

Lar

I jumps all over the place but its usually from outside circumstances. I think anyone depressed would go way down if they got an eviction letter or their sister had a tumor in her head or their car broke down or bills piled up. The downs usually last for a day or two of active obsessing about death and finding ways to acheive it. The ups dont usually last as long but can last for whole days. I also have a middle ground as well where im just "normal" for me. Rereading the questions i realize i missed one. Ive actually went from praying for death and then went to flying high as the sky in an hour lol.

Thats intresting and i never considered food. I recently had a tooth surgically removed and so i havent been eating like i was. Its harder to eat food now then it was so im eating way less often and when i do its softer food like mac n cheese where i used to like meat all the time. I dont take any vitamins or anything like that,im lucky i remember to take the lexapro and i think thats only cause i put the bottle next to the computer cause i know im gonna at least check my mail everyday. Lots of family members have diabetes but i dont think i do or i refuse to have that cause im scared of needles lol. I suppose i could get tested tho if its a possibility.

Sorry I took a bit to get back to you. I've been busy elsewhere.

So, to interpret your mood characteristics, I'd say you have excellent mood reactivity (you respond to circumstances), but you have rather extreme mood lability (your mood response is rapid and excessive). The piece of the puzzle you didn't mention is if your mood swings occur without outside influence, i.e. they just happen. Have you ever discussed that with your doctor? The most reasonable thing to consider is a mood stabilizer, on top of an antidepressant, IMHO. Lithium, Depakote, or Lamictal, say.

The food thing is perhaps more of a long term influence. You're not going to make yourself well by just changing your diet. On the other hand, a diet which fails to provide you with the nutrients your body needs will leave it vulnerable to stressful influences.

Are you malnourished? I don't even have to know what you eat, but I can assert the answer is yes. I did a study of the USDA food database, which lists the concentration of nutrients in a vast array of food. I wanted to find out how best to meet all the RDAs (Recommended Daily Allowance) for all the important nutrients. I was shocked to discover that it can't be done. You cannot devise a diet that works for even a single day (I'm worried about monotony as well) that meets the RDAs for the 18 nutrients in the database for which RDAs have been set. (Aside: There are now 29 RDAs the last time I looked, but the USDA database has not been updated.) So, you physically cannot meet your nutritional needs from diet alone. At least, not from foods available in the U.S.

Another important point. The RDA itself is defined only to make deficiency disease unlikely, not to prevent it altogether. In other words, you could be getting the RDA, but still have overt deficiency symptoms. The definition is that 97.5% of normal healthy individuals will not show overt deficiency symptoms. 1 out of 40 people getting the RDA will be sick. Moreover, we're not normal and healthy. Surely the requirement for nutrients is increased under the influence of mental health stress.

The food pyramid is a hoax. The idea that a varied diet based on those food groups can meet your nutritional needs is false. The food pyramid is adapted from a marketing tool created by an agricultural product (grain) lobbying group.

Also, there are a number of key nutrients which are not even mentioned in most medical circles. Omega-3 fatty acids have gotten a bit of press, but there are many nutrients which are destroyed by food processing, just like the omega-3 polyunsaturates.

I don't want to get into essay mode here. I'm struggling with how to put this to you without sounding ......like a geek (too much). I am a geek, but....

By the time somebody reaches an age roughly similar to yours, the effects of years of nutritional deficiencies start to come to the surface. Emotional lability like you're experiencing might entirely be due to a diet which does not meet your individual needs. I say might. Even if it's so, you're not going to fix it overnight.

If you're interested, I'll get into some recommendations. Just remember, your mind is dependent entirely on the biochemistry taking place in your body. And, your body's biochemistry depends on what you eat. You are what you eat.

If you put crappy gas in a car, it won't run well. If you don't do routine maintenance (supply and replace expendable parts), same thing. Your car won't have power. It'll act up. It might overheat, or stall. Or worse.

Time for a tune-up?

Lar

Have you ever considered the emotional and mental effects from all the pot you smoke!? It could be some kind of interaction between your new meds and the drug use? Just an idea... im suprised no one mentioned it.

Hey Shaymus? Where ya be??

Old Auntie Em