i know that caffeine makes my jitters worse, but i don't know of any that help.

Yeah, I suppose I know more about what to avoid.

Chocolate is bad, it increases serotonin which increases neuropinephrine.

Coffee and alcohol are bad, because they can increase anxiety.

I printed these papers out about MAO and MAOI diets. I am going to ask my med doc about them on the 14th. The thing is, they talked about tyrosine and causing catecholamines (fight-or-flight chemicals) to be released by the intestines. So, I want to talk to her more about it and help me understand how that all works. I think that will go a long way to understanding how to change my diet to help reduce the chemical release.

Remind me to let you guys know what she says! :)

I know comfort food only makes me feel worse while fruits and vegies make me feel better ....

You could try fresh fruit juices. You might have to try each one until you find a juice that benefits you. Carrots, celery and spinach.
Vitamin B3 - 1 gram a day Vitamin B6 - 300 mg. a day
Vitamin B-complex - 75 mg. a day
Vitamin B12 - 3 1000 mg. sublingual caps every 10 days


Foods to avoid are Meat, hot sauces, spicy, fried, fatty, and salty foods; sugar and sweets, coffee, teas and colas containing caffeine, and alcohol

PTSD had recently been linked to insulin resistance. Apparently it shares a common metabolic disorder of insulin resistance (hypoglycemia) and, that can fully explain the psychopathology of PTSD. I am not sure if I personally can get behind that but I do have PCOS which is known to be caused by insulin resistance so they could be right.

SoLong, what's PCOS?

That's interesting what you mention. The good friend of mine who's mom has PTSD and who had PTSD was just told he is insulin resistant. I tend to have low blood sugar and low blood pressure. I'm intrigued.

Can you share more? Do you know where the articles are? Is there anything on the NIH or NIMH websites yet?

PCOS is polycystic ovarian syndrome. I will have a look for some links.

http://www.nutritionalupdates.com/nutrition_for_ptsd.htm

http://www.hypoglycemia.asn.au/articles/PTStress.html

Try those.. if I did it right, I am a technophobe!

That is INCREDIBLE!

Liz, what a powerful question this turned out to be! :)

SoLong, I have said that I thought perhaps what made us susceptible is that, being overachievers, perhaps we were already spewing out more adrenaline than the average person. I noticed this when I was working on the grant proposal. I felt like I used to when I was being "Super Brillante" - when I was in demand, did the work of 2-3 average people and tended to feel "wired." I thought... "wired"... hmmm... adrenaline??? Was I already predisposed? And when we all share SO much in common personality wise and everyone seems to be an achiever... at the top... successful... were we all running hot and then the trauma overheated and destroyed the engine?

And look at what is written on the page for that second link... It suggests this very idea... it suggests that we run hot by being predisposed to insulin resistance and that the trauma finally does burn out our systems. And, like I suggested in my grant proposal, by rebalancing the body, we can then heal the wounds.

Just incredible!

Funny thing, before I got the PTSD really ingrained, I took a paper test that suggested I had borderline low blood sugar (and truly reinforced that my borderline low blood pressure was important). My chiropractor had suggested taking the glucose tolerance test (GTT) and I was going to schedule it with my doctor shortly before the stress got took its toll. My immune system broke and I got terribly ill. That's when they took advantage of my illness to really turn the screws hard and I never got an opportunity to take that GTT and find out where I stood because the following months were in survival mode and to be followed by PTSD.

Once again, what an incredible question making incredible links. I forget who said it, but they echoed what I have already thought and said one-on-one, I find that, together, talking with the people who have PTSD who are so incredibly intelligent and insightful, is the most likely way to find a cure, because we understand so much more than the professionals, who've only just started to research this properly. (Maybe I wrote that in the grant proposal?) Anyway, I'll say it again, INCREDIBLE!

Here are the two links to a paper test that can give us all an idea of whether we might be insulin resistant.

Let's compare results!!! :)

Read and use with 2nd link.

http://www.hypoglycemia.asn.au/articles/nutrition-behavior_inventory.html

Print this link/page! :)

http://www.hypoglycemia.asn.au/articles/NBI.pdf

Bummer! That first link got cut off... Here's the end of it (rather than risk another cut off): nutrition-behavior_inventory.html

Okay, I'll go first!

I scored 105!!!! Incredible!

I've got to remember to call my mdoc and request a GTT. I'm scheduled on the 14th, might as well make it count in LOTS of ways! :) Hey... I wonder if that's part of what put me in the ER...

I find small meals taken often that are high in protein and low in carbs work for me. I dont eat anything preprepared or with colourants or additives in them and get most of my carbs from fruit and veg and seeds and pulses as I am gluten-allergic and lactose intolerant. I avoid really sugary stuff like the plague. By the way the gluten free and low lactose diet completely controls my IBS except when very stressed.

Thank you so much for this thread. It is something I want to talk to my therapist about, because much of what is being said here makes perfect sense.

I know that for me, rather than food making symptoms worse or better, my awareness is that food gives me a clue to which PTSD symptom is in control.

If I eat and eat and am still hungry it is a signal that I am in depression and need to work on that with either my meds or therapy.

If I simply cannot eat no matter how long it has been since my last meal or snack, anxiety is in control.

One thing to add - that is my experience, and is not necessarily the case for everyone.

I guess I'm a goner then, because I must have chocolate in my life, or it would not be worth living.

Alison, I used to think that, but, after awhile, I just stopped craving.

I'd rather be in control than a slave to the craving. :)

I scored 101