# Antibiotics (Minocyclin) cause Anxiety causes DP/DR



## IGotSomething! (Aug 12, 2012)

Hello everybody! Boy was I glad to find out that this is actually a known disorder. I walked around for 2 whole months thinking I was going to end up in the looney bin before. By the time I get over this fully, I feel as though nothing is gonna be able to phase me!

So basically, I was having anxiety so bad I wanted throw up so I looked up "anxiety + antibiotics" on google and I came across a very helpful section on MedHelp. I posted this there, and when I found this forum, and other people struggling with this disorder - I felt like even if my experience help one other person it would make me the happiest man in the world...

Anyway, without further adieu...



> Hello Hank,
> 
> I may know exactly how you feel, I may not... But let me tell you a little about my story thus far. I have had decently bad acne for a while, and now that I am 20 years old I thought it would be a great idea to see a dermatologist and get some kind of medication. Well I did, I went in and during the visit they prescribed me Minocycline. My experience with this antibiotic has been so bad I shiver at the sight of just the word itself.
> 
> ...


So basically my theory is... Since I normally get DP and DR when I smoke weed - it must be a side affect of my anxiety. Antibiotics killed off the gut bacteria, I no longer absorb the correct vitamins that help my brain function correctly which in turn causes extreme anxiety since being malnourished lowers the anxiety threshold, I therefore live in a state of fight or flight at all times which causes heightened senses and emotional disconnection = DP/DR....

I'm about to go on a raw vegan diet since the anxiety has returned a bit along with the DP/DR. I'm going to be taking probiotics, vitamins, and making sure my gut is repopulated correctly.

I'll be around.

Thanks for reading!


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## IGotSomething! (Aug 12, 2012)

Jude_Quinn said:


> Yeah minocycline is what did me in as well. Shit is evil.


Yeah pretty terrible! Have you tried any kind of diets or repopulation of gut bacteria? How long have you had these symptoms and does it come with strong anxiety?


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## lylasmith34 (May 28, 2013)

I had the EXACT effects that were described below...I've been on minocycline for 3 months and seriously regret it. About 2 months ago, I started having HORRIBLE panic attacks to the point of having to get up and leave class (I'm in high school.) I would get them during class and start feeling like I was going to vomit, my chest would "close up," I couldn't breathe or talk, and then I would go outside and start crying because I couldn't calm down. I also began having a really hard time talking to people, even friends. For some reason talking with people gave me awful anxiety. I couldn't go to restaurants for fear that I would have to talk to the waiter. It got to the point where I would shut myself in my bedroom and cry because I thought I was going crazy. I was considering suicide because I didn't think I could keep living like this, constantly panicking and getting hysterical over tiny things like being called on in class. I started feeling disconnected from everyone and I no longer wanted to do anything. I wouldn't even do homework, I just sat and stared into space. Minocycline is terrible.


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## chloe_03 (Nov 30, 2013)

IGotSomething! said:


> Hello everybody! Boy was I glad to find out that this is actually a known disorder. I walked around for 2 whole months thinking I was going to end up in the looney bin before. By the time I get over this fully, I feel as though nothing is gonna be able to phase me!
> 
> So basically, I was having anxiety so bad I wanted throw up so I looked up "anxiety + antibiotics" on google and I came across a very helpful section on MedHelp. I posted this there, and when I found this forum, and other people struggling with this disorder - I felt like even if my experience help one other person it would make me the happiest man in the world...
> 
> ...


Hi !

Maybe you should check out the GAPS (Gut and psychology syndrom) before going vegan...

I was a vegetarian for one year and at the time I was already depressed, but also very anxious, but being a vegetarian made it much much worse (i realized it aftwerwards). After that, I took minocycline for 4 months and I slowly got more and more anxious/depressed, gradually going in the severe DP state that I am now (well now it is starting to get better).

I restarted eating meat again, and I also take supplements ( omega 3, cod liver, magnesium, zinc, copper, B complex ) and it really seems to have helped so far. ( I am not fully recovered, but I've made a lot of progress with those.)

Eating more vegetables is a great idea, in fact really important, but going vegan might be a little rough, especially since you got anxiety (leading to dp, just like in my case) from an antibiotic...

I have done a lot of research on this and I've started to realize that there are a lot of links between anxiety/dp, HPA axis dysregulation (caused by tired and overly triggered nervous system) and dysbiosis (lack of good bacteria in the gut).

(HPA axis dysregulation is linked to adrenal dysfonction, just like Elias (first testimony on this forum) was thinking. It goes on the same thinking path that he had in mind. ( Also, do you know how he is doing now ? ) )

(If you read the GAPS http://gaps.me/, you will see that meat and dairy and probiotic foods are very important to have a healthy gut flora. )

Also check out this guy's story !!! it related to gut flora issue, that might have helped inducing dp/dr. (and he is recovering, so it is very inspiring, check it out, really !)

http://www.dpselfhelp.com/forum/index.php?/topic/41610-almost-cured/page-2?hl=emdr#entry313838


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## Visual (Oct 13, 2010)

Gut microbial actions are certainly factors that can affect one

However, consider Google: Minocycline Dopamine

Minocycline affects dopamine systems. In can be neuroprotective in ways and yet can lead to neurotoxicity (damage) in others. Here is one study as an example: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14515357

The relevance to DP is that sometime DP is from dopamine problems. There are a few with HPPD who find dopamine increasing meds eliminates DP and DR.

Happy Goggling ...


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## chloe_03 (Nov 30, 2013)

Hi !!!

I have some good news for you people who got dp from antibiotics.
In my case, I had a major depression before, and minocycline made it worse (as well as anxiety) and then I got dp gradually, it installed itself.

I've tried many different medications.

At this point, I only take wellbutrin (150 mg / day) but let me tell you that it isnt what cured me...

I've started taking supplements and paying great attention to what I eat one month ago, and have also done, some personal investigation ( not on how minocycline is caused by a chemical unbalance (not that it's not good to do that, but in my case that is not what helped me)) I've started being very introspective and accessing parts of myself I did not have access to anymore.

The brainfog gradually lifted, and since then, I could say I'm definetly on the road to recovery. This morning I was pretty much myself (60% at least), though I still have so memory problems ( some memories are blocked ). What helped me the most is that I've discovered I would not let myself be. Just to realize that, and concentrate on that for a while made things come back. That, mixed with withdrawing from bad medication (benzodiapezines are out of my system now, and forever, i will never take those again, and I have diminished the wellbutrin.)

What I realize is that, DP in itself might get installed in a context of ,perhaps, dopamine deficiency, or depression, anxious state, but it has something to do with more than an unchemical balance: it has to do with your relationship with yourself (I'm talking from my experience, but I feel this comes often.)

Not that trying to re-balance it is not right, because it actually helps a lot (supplements + the dose of medication i'm on right now helps) , but is not the FULL answer (Meds only and supplements did not do it for me) . You have to rewind and think of the time when you got dp.

What was going on ? What was making you feel bad ? And, most importantly, as I think it might be the case for some DP sufferers ( it was for me, big time) : what had been making you tired or depressed in the long run ?

In my case, I had a very bad performance anxiety that had took some HUGE proportion in my life ( had almost became an obsession) and I was stopping myself to exist or be someone outside of my performance inside of work and creation ( I'm a musician and artist ). I was relying on that
So, in my case, I have started to realize that I have been trying this whole time to base my identity, my especially my worth.
I would only let myself be worth what i was making which made me extremely confused, and very not nice with myself.
As I gradually was burying my whole personality, I was trying to forget who I was, trying to avoid it, instead of embracing it, no matter if I considered myself good enough or not ( which is what we should all do, love yourself, and let yourself be without judging yourself all the time, in order to be happy and live ). I feel as getting out of dp, I have learned to be nice to myself.
I was really ashamed of who I was, and I'm gradually piecing up the puzzle, and regaining knowledge of who I am and where I left off before dp... It feels good and does not take a lot.

Here is what I did in the past month to progress:

Supplements :
Cod Liver
Omega 3
Zinc
Copper
Vit B complex
Probiotic !!!

And I am now starting investigating much more on what is good for your body in terms of natural products. Try some chia, maca, coconut oil, and a drop of oregano oil to kill candida bacteria.

It will not fix your dp, but perhaps it will help your body regain strenght to fight the problem.

I am now on 150 mg of wellbutrin,
I was originally on 2.5 mg of clonazepam and 300 mg of wellbutrin ( I was feeling foggy as hell at that time )

During my withdrawal, I have experienced a lot of ups and downs ( sometimes my dp would get better, than get worse) but now that its out of my body, i can see the progress without dramatic downs ( even though you still experience some, and dont let that get you down, because big part of recovering is to believe that you will recover and also act as if you dont have dp ( the obsessional thinking will cease, and the brainfog will lift))

VERY IMPORTANT:
I have been following harris harrington's program (depersonalizationrecovery.com) and it helped a lot !!!!

Really, you need to start there, then you will integrate the information ( even if you feel like your brain does not understand anything, or that you can't read, or memorize and internalize anything.) Just keep going, even if you dont feel it, and it will come back at some point ( took a long while for me ) So, act as if you were normal, force yourself to read, even if it is painful, and the brainfog will gradually lift.

A big part of the problem is that we tend to start identifying ourselves and to build our lifestyles around the disorder. You have to do exactly the opposite. It will not feel natural and conforting but please, do it. And for as long as it takes but do not stop acting as if you did not have the disorder.
It takes a lot of courage and strenght but it is really worth it trust me :

One month ago, I could'nt feel the difference between day or night, I could not feel that it was winter, I would not recognize myself, I could not remember my life at all, had no clue who i was anymore, and it is now all coming back (it's not linear and perfect but I could say some elements are almost there for good.) . I'm restarting to do things I like and to feel good when I do them.

So point is, recovery is gradual, it has a lot of downs and ups. The symptoms might disappear gradually and very slowly (as in my case, they came in).

Leave it time. Write. Believe (the most important thing). Live normally. Try to work on ceasing obsessional thinking ( and at some point it will start to stop by itself, believe me you will not have to fight it forever: in my case, it has lifted, as i have been trying to make it die for a long time.).

I can't believe that I'm carrying those good news, and I am very happy to. I used to be afraid I would never heal (my dp was VERY severe (could not smell, feel touch, see, recognize places, faces, memory was long gone, could not access to my own brain at all, would not feel time at all, was in another place completely !). And I'm healing. So anyone can do it. Screw people who write and spread the information that dp is uncurable. They don't know what they are talking about !

I also used to think I would not heal because dp came from an antibiotic, and i couldnt understand what had happened. But the answer ( this will sound cheesy but is true) is inside of you. Please write and force memories to come back !


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## chloe_03 (Nov 30, 2013)




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