Monosodium Glutamate (MSG)

It's been a while since my last write up, and also a while before my last attack. Managed to make it to 10 months before 2 attacks came back to back. I've learnt a lot though. 

I've been lucky enough to have gone through a long period of time without an attack, partly because of extra nutrition from eating more unprocessed foods/less restaurant foods and partly because I've been consuming a combination of Vitamin C, D and Magnesium supplements, really helped.

However, recently, we went to a restaurant which we have not visited in a very long time. Food was very tasty but the after effects were not, 3 hours later - an attack awaited me. As I started to realise - all this while, it had to have been MSG. Very dry mouth, locking of muscles, pain and numbness in the limbs and the all to common nystagmus. So as I have learnt in the past, keep the fluids in, and eat as best as I can. It worked, recovered from the attack within 24 hours although the brain fog persisted for another 3 days.

Lesson learnt ? Here's the proof. A week after, as I've only just gotten better from the attack, we decided a packet of frozen Gyoza was a good idea. After all, the label said "No MSG". An attacked followed, but this time it was rather mild. But off to bed I went. The next day, the same, had more Gyoza, and a rather large attack followed. My suspicion grew - only because in the past, I had suspected MSG was the trigger and the packet clearly labelled No MSG did I miss the signs. Closer look at the ingredients "Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein", code name for naturally occurring amino acids, Glutamates exposed by breaking cell walls. Seem to me a crime that someone could label something No MSG when it contains basically MSG in lesser concentrations. Misleading maybe but dangerous to people who have a clear allergy.

It' has been 2 weeks since the last attack now, and I am still anxious. However, it has been great to know that Magnesium and the two vitamin supplements, seems to have helped my symptoms, a lot. In fact, to know, that it has been in fact MSG has helped put many questions together.

Why has Vitamin C helped so much ? Research shows that it reduces the damage MSG does to your brain cells.[1]
Why has Vitamin D helped ? Had low Vitamin D levels
Why has Magnesium helped ? Some claims to protect against harmful effects of MSG [2] Don't know but it helps me personally.
What to do when attack happens ? Drink as much fluids to clear the MSG out of the body.
What is MSG ? An chemical excitotoxin, flavour enhancer, used in an incredibly wide range of foods, misleading labels.

May you feel healthy.

1. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19507646
2. http://www.truthinlabeling.org/NAET.html

Increased vitamin D

Vitamin D update

My 5000IU doses of Vitamin D arrived, and I started taking it promptly. The good news is that it made me feel better, stronger - like I've had 2 shots of fresh brewed coffee without the jitters. The bad news is, I still had slightly dizzy attacks early on after increasing my dosage. I'm unclear if the effects of vitamin D will make any immediate difference to my vestibular health, or does it take longer to take effect. One thing it did make me feel however, is a hell of a lot more energetic, aware - alert.  I guess what I can report on is that if you are in fact low on Vitamin D, and that has become your norm, then this is going to wake you up from your hiatus! Within a few days, my power endurance activity increased significantly.

I'm also sleeping better, and that is not normal for me.

New therapy?

At the same time, I've also started doing something incredibly unlikely, slack-lining.

Apparently, when a new activity is used adopted by the brain, it is able to increase it's size and connectivity by multiple folds within a week. I have also heard numbers of 50% within a day given the right stimulation. I suppose the difference is willingness. 

This little 2 inch wide bit of tape has been my ticket. Incredibly rubbish at slack-lining  I found myself frustratingly bad at even standing on the line for a split second. But this has been incredible therapy, and so much fun at it. I could have sworn the temporal bone behind my ears experienced pressure and pain the first few sessions. Previously I have practised awareness towards sound, however, I started to realise it wasn't sensitivity to sound that I had to increase awareness, it was spatial and balance, so I decided to give this a try.

The first few sessions, was about relaxing and one interesting trait I noted off the eye. I found it very difficult to stare at the one spot, with random and constant shifting of a point of concentration despite my greatest efforts. It's not as if my attention moved away, but the focus of my eye would not stay. However increasingly with this practise, I became more fixated on a point, it translated to being able to correct my posture, straighten up and ease into relaxation. Strangely enough, it also helps you ease anxiety. So far so good right ?

I'm still absolutely atrocious given how many tries I have had but I have a feeling this is really something that is going to help me a lot with this disease. Sure beats walking up and down the hallway moving my head left right up and down. And again, ... is therapy meant to be this fun ? 

Went without Chlorella, paying the price

For experimental sake, I decided in the last week that I would go without chlorella. We went away for a weekend to an elevated area in the mountains, one of the highest rainfall areas in this region - and it wasn't too long before an attack came - frustratingly ending our holidays short, and no more climbing. 

So here I am after recovering somewhat, wondering what triggered it all. During the celebration of my daughters birthday, I had 2 glasses of champagne, and blueberries by the bucket loads. I remember feeling unable to open one of my eyes, and I thought it could have been allergies. But when I looked into the mirror, my eyes were no longer looking straight, one was again tilted higher than the other. Also, the madness of the weather didn't help - summer was at its craziest, the temperature peaking in the city at a little over 45C and where we were 40C, dropping to a mere 16C at night, followed by 2 cold rainy days.

Is it the vitamin D or the anti-oxidant properties of Chlorella ? Or was it completely placebo ? I remember sitting in the car, having forgotten I have forgone Chlorella - and watching the way I reacted. My head inclined one way to prevent triggering that crazy migraine that comes when the vertigo goes to nausea. Any movements - my breathing becomes short and body spasm, hands become completely numb, pins and needles, legs are uncomfortable, and I can hardly find it in myself to explain how I feel. 

Again, when I got home - I forced myself to drink a bit of water, and a vitamin D tablet. An hour later, woke up and I could sit up again without feeling like throwing up - was even able to eat a little bit. What happened ? 

How can the anxiety attacks and emotional roller coaster in the last 5 years end me in this state of chronic disability ? How can mental disease affect you so badly physically ? Is there a link between anxiety and the vestibular sensory organs or brain area ?

Answers

This is an opportunity for me to reflect back now on the questions asked.

Given how quickly I was able to recover by taking Vitamin D tablets, I think the main component in Chlorella that helped me so much was most likely Vitamin D. Furthermore, I recall during the time of my last big hoohaa around Vitamin D, and sunlight exposure, I was strong, my body was working efficiently when I wasn't feeling unwell, and yet my blood tests came back less than half the Recommended Vitamin D levels.

One of the biggest contributors to the increased difficulty of dealing with this disease is anxiety. Any signs of panic attack sends the body into spasms, and the best way to be in this situation is to remain calm and concentrate on nothing but the touch of my breath. Panic, brings more pain. 

There are numerous people out there with severe nystagmus on a constant basis that go on with their lives. The brain will retune and leave the vestibular organ as the primary source of balance, it can happen, but the best way to allow it to adjust to this new equilibrium, is to begin mindfulness and awareness, and not react, retuning itself to its new normal.

Conclusion

I've had a really good run, and chlorella has been a huge help to me. Be it its anti-oxidant properties or not, it has been time and time again proven for me, without it, I would suffer. Be it placebo or not, if I can believe that I am able to cope with snake oil and rid of my symptoms, then I can learn to accept that I can retrain my brain to not allow the panic attacks to follow through on its course.

But Vitamin D has helped me recover quickly so from here on onwards, I am trialling replacing my daily dose of Chlorella with that of Vitamin D. I am not sure why Vitamin D tablets are not sold in more than 1000IUs in Australia, however, we are a little backwards in Australia, we still advocate covering up and using sunblock uncompromisingly despite the epidemic of Vit D deficiencies, but I have ordered some 5000IU units online to trial for myself. 

Will update as I go.


BTW, a VERY good site on Vitamin D http://vitamindwiki.com/VitaminDWiki