# MY THEORY IN FULL! slightly revised



## Tommygunz (Sep 7, 2009)

well, where to begin, i suppose it was the realization of depersonalization that got me digging. you see i have never been one to take "no" for an answer, and all i was seeing was that there was "no" cure. so i determined that in order to find the answers i wanted, that i would have to find something that they hadn't yet. thankfully having DP gives you this almost superhuman power of self analyzing, and a manner of obsession that (if harnessed) can be pointed in any desired direction, thus allowing me to dig deeper and think through the barriers that have stopped so many before.

while obsessively surfing the forums one day, i came across a post by cBURT, about a sublingual B complex that had improved his DP. in turn i thought, "well hell, it can't hurt to try". so the next day i started using one. it was only a matter of days before i was noticing subtle improvements, in fact it was the first time i had noticed any improvements at all really. that same week, i had my second panic attack at work. i decided to drink a propel fitness water because in the past i had noticed drinking one had a mild calming effect. well this time it had a powerful calming effect. i couldn't understand why until i read the ingredients, in highlighted letters it said, "contains choline, necessary for healthy brain and nervous system function".
when i got home i decided to research choline a little deeper. what i found was compelling enough for me to add it as a supplement. while at the supplement store, i noticed most choline was combined with inositol, i had no knowledge of inositol, but the bottle had some good things to say about it and suggested it be combined with choline, so i thought, "well shit, can't hurt to try". when i got home i decided to read up on inositol, i was blown away buy everything it could do. over the next week i noticed steady improvement, yet had this plaguing question of why, why is this working when seemingly nothing else does? it was that question that has lead me to be writing this theory to all of you.

SUBLINGUAL VITAMIN B COMPLEX - have you ever taken a B complex, then gone pee later and spelled "pig" backwards, then said funny colors. well that stuff coming out that looks like it belongs in a glow stick, is in fact most of that B complex you took. you see your stomach doesn't recognize B vitamins in such a concentrated amount, and as a safety precaution, it flushes most of it out. this is what makes "SUBLINGUAL" so ideal, it cuts the stomach out of the process and goes straight for the bloodstream. other than injections, sublingual is the most direct way to get the full benefit out of B vitamins. now to even start recovery, we need to give ourselves a tune up. the most important vitamins for overall brain function are the B vitamins. YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE LOW ON B VITAMINS TO NEED THEM. the suggested B blood levels are for people who are happy and healthy, WE'RE NOT. if your brain isn't working right, you should probably intake something thats main job is to make your brain work right. all B's play an important role in brain function, anywhere from assisting in the manufacturing of neurotransmitters to regulating energy release in brain cells. now i have been very careful about how word things with this course of treatment, but this is one thing i will say, "if you take a sublingual B complex, you WILL feel the difference".

CHOLINE - is a precursor for the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, which is associated with the central nervous system in the areas of memory and learning. among many other functions it is also supplemented to Alzheimers patients to stem off and in some cases reverse cognitive decline.

INOSITOL - has been widely studied and utilized for therapeutic purposes. it's functions include (but are not limited to) nerve guidance, concentration control, cell membrane maintenance, and serotonin activity stimulation. while inositol is necessary for a healthy, functioning nervous system, it has shown therapeutic use in, anxiety, panic disorder, obsessive compulsive disorders, agoraphobia, depression, ADD, diabetic neuropathy, bipolar disorder, and bulimia. while you may not fit into everyone of those categories, with depersonalization you probably fit into more than one. which suggest that inositol would have therapeutic use for DP.

5-HTP - is a natural amino acid and precursor to serotonin, it is one step closer to serotonin that l-tryptophan so in an instance of supplementation it is preferable. it is commonly used as a natural remedy for anxiety, OCD and depression, which i find quite fitting for our particular case. i am still investigating the supplementation of 5 HTP with inositol. while i have a hunch they will work very well together, there is nothing conclusive suggesting that it won't be too much.

SEROTONIN - is a neurotransmitter that regulates many functions in the central nervous system such as appetite, muscle contraction, sleep, mood, and cognitive functions such as memory and learning. too little serotonin can result in depression, anxiety, obsessive compulsive behavior/thought, uncontrolled repetitive thoughts, suicidal thoughts/behavior, agoraphobia, irritability/anger, sleep disorders, addictive behavior, loss of confidence etc. insufficient serotonin can be genetic or result from lifestyle. some things that lower serotonin are stress, excessive caffeine use, excessive alcohol, marijuana and amphetamine use, inadequate sunlight exposure. vitamin deficiencies that lower serotonin include iron, calcium, magnesium, zinc, vitamin C, B3, B6 and folate.

DOPAMINE - is a neurotransmitter that controls the flow of information in the brain, primarily pertaining to movement, pleasure and motivation, and cognitive function. too much dopamine can result in disorientation, confusion, increased sensitivity to visual stimulation/light, anxiety, paranoia, can induce panic attacks, disorganized thinking, cognitive and memory impairment, delusions, hallucinations, mania, delirium, and DEPERSONALIZATION/DEREALIZATION! things that can increase dopamine include excessive alcohol use, excessive caffeine use, amphetamines, cocaine, excessive ejaculation, and sleep deprivation.

MY THEORY - given this background information, and the specific relevance to depersonalization, i have determined that my depersonalization (and likely, many others) was directly caused by an imbalance of serotonin and dopamine reaching a critical point, and unwittingly triggering it by a specific action that tipped the scale too far. for me, i was setting myself up for this fall for a while, drinking a pot of coffee a day, smoking a pack a day, binge drinking every weekend, and being under chronic stress from my job and relationship was tearing my serotonin to shreds and blinding me from it by stimulating my dopamine almost constantly. until one night it seems partying on very little sleep, while under a lot of stress from an upcoming change at work, was exactly what i needed to tip the imbalance too far. thus self inducing depersonalization.so now that i have established that i believe my serotonin being too low, and my dopamine now free to do whatever it wants, is responsible for the cause and persistence of my depersonalization, this is how i have been recovering.

ANTIDEPRESSANTS - such as, wellbutrin, zoloft, and MAOI's could potentially not work for some, because of their ability to increase dopamine activity. while this effect could potentially work to overcome depression, it would be traumatic to ones distorted perception of reality. so while some antidepressants may help by increasing the activity of what serotonin is still there, some can be potentially harmful, and contribute to the problem. furthermore, if currently taking SSRI's, do not mix them with 5 HTP, as this could lead to potentially fatal serotonin syndrome.

MY TREATMENT - naturally you would correct the imbalance, now serotonin, among all of it's wonderful qualities, has one particularly useful one in our case, THE ABILITY TO NATURALLY AND SAFELY REGULATE DOPAMINE! so with that knowledge it would seem the best course of action would be to raise serotonin to a point where it can stand up on it's own and do it's job. so that it was i am doing. 5 HTP, inositol, B6, and B3 are like a super serotonin combination, these elements combined will raise serotonin naturally and quickly. while choline, and the rest of the B vitamins are going to studiously fine tune memory, learning, overall cognitive function, and sensory perception.

CONCLUSION - among the professional opinions that have favored my theory and treatment, (one of whom being Dr. Mauricio Sierra-Siegert) i stand as a testament to all of this, i self diagnosed, i formulated a theory, came up with a treatment option, used it, and have recovered. yes there are still a few kinks to work out, but no, i am not depersonalized anymore. now this is not intended to be the overall cure for DP, this is a treatment option, and is case specific. if you do not feel as though this pertains to you, don't follow it. if you read this and connect the dots the same way i did, and want to give it a try, be my guest. however i STRONGLY advise speaking with your doctor or pharmacist before making any decisions. this is not something to take lightly, we are talking about voluntarily changing the balance of neurotransmitters. although you may have already done that unwittingly, it is NOT something you should jump into headfirst.

THE INGREDIENTS - to start
choline - 500 mg
inositol - 1,000 mg - 2,000 mg
5 HTP - 50 mg - 100 mg
sublingual B complex - containing at least - B2, B3, B5, B6, B12
folic acid (B9) - 800 mcg
thiamine (B1) - as much as you want

THIS IS MY GIFT TO THE DEPERSONALIZED COMMUNITY. it has truly become a labor of love. i will continue to seek out answers until there is one for every question. below are a few links used as reference, no wikipedia is not my main source, just where i got started. for any questions, comments, or concerns, feel free to PM me.

BOOK - THE CRAVING BRAIN, Ronald A.Ruden, M.D., ph.D.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dopamine_r ... _inhibitor
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serotonin
http://www.nutritional-healing.com.au/c ... deficiency
http://www.vitamins-supplements.org/hor ... pamine.php
http://www.houseofnutrition.com/cholin.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Choline
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B_vitamins
http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles ... ns-busy-bs
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dopamine
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sublingual_administration


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## Guest (Oct 17, 2009)

Hey Tommy

Thanks for sharing 

If you don't mind me asking, do you have any science background or have you just studied this through personal interest/because of having DP? Just interested 
Also would be interested in any scientific papers you've read/researched and books? Wikipedia is great but I do like to read round things outside of it due to the fact that anyone can add to it /edit it 

Thanks again and good work!


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## goldengirlz (Sep 16, 2008)

thank you tommygunz for posting this and compiling it altogether in one place.
Very interesting and informational. 
I'm just curious, though. I see you added 5HTp to your regimine afterall. Have you noticed a marked difference? Or do you still feel about the same as when you were just using Choline, Inositol and sublingual B-complex.

I took your advice and started the three you first mentioned it's been 2 days, so a little too early to tell. I can say that I have more energy than before, or at least the ability to accomplish more tasks. Instead of sitting on the couch and staring into the abyss after the kids go down, I actually busted out a batch of cookies and a pizza dough the other night! Now that's weird!

I'll keep you informed as to my progress.


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## Guest (Oct 17, 2009)

Can I just add -BE CAREFUL and ASK YOUR DR before adding 5HTP if you already take an antidepressant - excess serotonin can result in FATAL serotonin syndrome



dragonhat said:


> Tommygunz said:
> 
> 
> > i just hit the 4 week mark and my progress is speeding up.
> ...


Mmmmm I'm a bit :/ about the lack of scientific background/theory around the whole thing.

I mean, wikipedia is all well and good but anyone can edit it and a lot of it is outdated/incomplete.

Also, Tommy you seem to draw the conclusion that too much dopamine and not enough serotonin is the problem, which does make sense - but you would need a dopamine antagonist in the mix somewhere which there does not seem to be? Unless I have missed something?

I'd like to know more about the roles of choline and inositol too in this mix - I mean obviously choline is the precursor to acetylcholine, but where does this come into play - yes acetylcholine is a neurotransmitter and its main effect is on the peripheral nervous system and on memory but how would it become depleted I wonder.
I'm gonna go read up on this more because I feel personally that the dopamine side of things is very relevant - I wonder if anyone has ever tried any of the schizophrenia drugs for DP, seeing as these are usually dopaminergic antagonists.

*goes to ponder more in private


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