I am submitting this post (and this thread) as a condensed version of my experiences with vitamin depletions/deficiencies. Although condensed, this is still rather long and detailed. I had begun posting this information at the original BrainTalk site, however due to that site’s crash during the Summer and long outage, the continued unknown status regarding restoration of the BrainTalk database (old posts), and inability to find missing information in other locations (e.g. Google caches), I have decided to place this information here. I have performed a lot of research regarding the following issues and have posted data in other areas of this forum (hopefully it will help others), however any input from others (especially with issues that are still not resolved) would be greatly appreciated. I will plan to add further research data that I have come across to areas of this forum as time permits.

Note: It is not my intent to criticize the use of any medications, etc. The meds were real lifesavers for me for years and I still may need to continue on them, but my experience convinces me that meds do deplete vitamins and nutrients. Hopefully putting all the pieces of this “puzzle” together will enable me (and possibly others) to get back to “life as normal”.

Background:
I have experienced chronic insomnia for many years (gradual onset over 20 years ago) and for a long time could find nothing that would help (incl. medications, relaxation techniques, etc, etc.). Then in 1993 the drug Ambien (Zolpidem) was released and I began taking it. It worked and I took 10 mg every night for over 5 years with no problems. My doctor also had me on some other medications with sedative properties for sleep maintenance, but these meds never seemed to do much for me. After about 5 years I began having intermittent neurological side effects from the medication (Ambien) that got progressively worse over the next number of months/years until every time I took the medication I would experience these severe side effects. The only way to alleviate these side effects (over time) was to stop taking the medication, but then I was unable to sleep (a catch-22 situation).

For the past several years I have seen various doctors and have been switched from one medication to another to another (primarily other sedatives, antidepressants, anxiolytics, and other drugs) with little to no benefit. I have also tried "natural" medications for sleep (e.g. valerian, melatonin, hops, etc.), but these were also ineffective. I tried Lunesta (Eszopiclone) after it was released last year and it did help me sleep, but I experienced similar neurological “side effects” from this medication as well. I have continued to ride this medication “merry-go-round” for the past several years, always going back to Ambien or Lunesta until my symptoms get so bad that I have to go back off of them again.

Last year I was prescribed Xanax (Alprazolam) and after taking it for a short period of time I developed a "dullness" in the side of my head, after which I immediately stopped this medication. After a few more months I began experiencing constant headaches in this same area, which along with the dullness, have continued to today. I have also developed issues with hypertension over the past year or so.

After spending much time (probably about 2000 hours over the past 3-4 years on the internet, working as I felt like it) researching these issues without much success, a few months ago I finally began finding information that appeared to explain my symptoms. These explanations centered on vitamin deficiencies. I found that the neurological symptoms related to B12 deficiency appeared to explain my symptoms quite well (ref. rose’s web site for B12 information http://roseannster.googlepages.com/home). I then began taking sublingual B12 tablets, as well as B-complex vitamins. Seeing yet another doctor and going in with a BP reading of 170/100, I discussed these ideas with this doctor and had a number of blood tests performed. B12 tested as not deficient (actually tested high, but was probably skewed as I had already started taking the B vitamins), however Vitamin D was very low. Homocysteine was also high (reference below for applicable test results; these tests were performed during 5/2006). An MRI of my brain showed up as normal and nerve tests of the head and neck showed little to no loss of sensation:

Attachments:
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/at...5&d=1162756520
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/at...7&d=1162756629

After adding an initial high dosage of 10,000 IU/day of Vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) to my regimen, a few weeks later I found information on a lab that specializes in vitamin/nutrient testing, SpectraCell Laboratories (http://www.spectracell.com/). SpectraCell test results showed an additional substantial depletion/deficiency of zinc and a somewhat below-normal level of Vitamin E. Cholesterol was a bit high (known), Lipoprotein-a (Lp(a)) was high (unknown), however there had been a significant decrease in homocysteine (tests performed during 6/2006):

Attachments:
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/at...8&d=1162756782
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/at...9&d=1162758249
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/at...0&d=1162758307
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/at...1&d=1162758330
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/at...2&d=1162758368
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/at...3&d=1162758407

Note: I can provide more information on SpectraCell Laboratories, if anyone is interested.

Several weeks later and after more research, I also requested the following tests from my doctor (performed during 8/2006, some of these were not covered by SpectraCell):

Attachment:
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/at...6&d=1162756575

I have added other vitamins/nutrients over the past few months per additional research (for example adding Vitamin B6 (P5P) and folic acid (Metafolin), along with the B12 (Methylcobalamin), to control homocysteine). I have also found benefit (some improvement in neurological symptoms) with Acetyl-L-Carnitine. I have however been unable to find anything as yet to reduce the nerve "dullness" and headaches. Most of the pain medications that I have taken haven’t seemed to help much. Hypertension appears to be under control and I am currently taking 25 mg/day (fairly low dosage) of Toprol XL for this, however I suspect the previous Vitamin D depletion/deficiency was the main cause of the hypertension.

Much of my research has centered on drug-induced vitamin/nutrient depletion utilizing resources such as the “Drug-Induced Nutrient Depletion Handbook, 2nd Edition” http://www.lexi.com/lexistore/market...0000/index.jsp, which is very detailed and well referenced (please see Medication/Drug Induced Vitamin/Nutrient Interaction/Depletion References for various other references). Unfortunately many drugs have not been tested for vitamin depletion (see p. 10 of this handbook under "Limitations of this Handbook"), including most of the drugs that I have taken. I have found by "deduction" however that sedative drugs that act on the GABA-A receptor complex (ref. http://wings.buffalo.edu/aru/PSY402C06.doc, Univ. at Buffalo PSY402 course notes for info. on the GABA-A receptor), such as Ambien, Lunesta, and other drugs such as benzodiazepines, "may" deplete similar nutrients as certain anticonvulsants that also act on GABA-A (see p. 500-501 of the handbook for an excellent chart of nutrients depleted by anticonvulsants, and note that Vitamin D, many of the B vitamins, Vitamin K, and others are depleted by practically all of them).

…

I am hoping that continued use of vitamins and nutrients will eventually help the “dullness” and headaches, but if anyone has any additional recommendations (especially with regards to nerve damage, such as the trigeminal nerve(s)), this would be very appreciated. I am a middle-aged male, otherwise relatively healthy and not overweight, if that makes any difference. I suspect the vitamin/nutrient deficiencies had lasted a long time as I had experienced the abnormal drug “side effects” for several years. I will probably need to continue taking sedatives for sleep, but hopefully I can utilize a comprehensive vitamin/nutrient regimen that will alleviate depletions and side effects. I will plan to submit an additional post soon documenting my current vitamins/nutrients.

...

P.S.
I found there is a limit of 5 attachments/post, so additional post(s) will be added to accommodate attachments.

Attached Images

	NutrientTests1.jpg (80.0 KB, 626 views)
	NutrientTests2.jpg (32.3 KB, 662 views)
	B12_UMMA.jpg (46.4 KB, 619 views)
	CardioChem1800.jpg (64.2 KB, 660 views)