Hi Susie22,
I?m so glad you are off Vicodin now! Did the doctors simply put
you on Vicodin without trying to ascertain the cause of your
headaches? Vicodin certainly causes sluggishness and loss of energy! I
need to remind you that this answer is for informationl purposes only,
and is not intended to replace sound advice from your physician.
I would also not rule out depression, even though you may not
*feel* depressed. Fluctuating or low levels of serotonin can cause
depression.
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Seratonin
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Serotonin is a neurotransmitter, meaning it helps transmit
messages from the nervous system. It regulates mood, sleep, appetite
and emotion. It is made by the body, from tryptophan, a protein found
in our diet. Other transmitters that work hand in hand with serotonin
are dopamine and norepinephrine.
http://www.findthelight.net/Depression/the_chemistry_of_dep.htm
?As you can see, if there is a breakdown anywhere along the path,
neurotransmitter supplies may not be adequate for your brain's needs.
Inadequate supplies lead to the symptoms that we know as depression.?
?Obviously there must be some other factor that interacts with
norepinephrine to cause depression. Serotonin has been found to be
this other factor. Serious investigations into serotonin's role in
mood disorders, however, have been going on for almost 30 years, ever
since Arthur J. Prange, Jr., of the University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill, Alec Coppen of the Medical Research Council in England
and their co-workers put forward the so-called "permissive
hypothesis". This view held that synaptic depletion of serotonin was
another cause of depression, one that worked by promoting, or
"permitting," a fall in norepinephrine levels.
So, although, norepinephrine still played a major role in depression,
serotonin levels could be manipulated to indirectly raise
norepinephrine. Newer antidepressants like Effexor are actually
targeted at both serotonin and norepinephrine. Tricyclics (TCAs) also
affect both norepinephrine and serotonin, however, they have the added
effect of influencing histamine and acetylcholine, which produces the
side-effects that TCAs are known for, such as dry mouth or eyes,
peculiar taste in mouth, sensitivity to light of the eyes, blurry
vision, constipation, urinary hesitancy, and others. SSRIs do not
affect histamine and acetylcholine and thus do not have the same
side-effects as the older medications.?
http://www.findthelight.net/Depression/the_chemistry_of_dep.htm
?Neurons (nerve cells) in the brain and the rest of the nervous system
use chemical messengers called neurotransmitters to communicate with
each other. These chemicals are released at the end of one nerve cell
when a nerve impulse arrives there; they move across the gap between
one nerve cell and the next - called a synapse - and change the
membrane of the second nerve cell in such a way that it becomes either
less or more likely to fire.
Serotonin is one of dozens of neurotransmitters and is found in body
tissues including the brain, blood, and the mucous membranes lining
the stomach and digestive tract. It is formed from tryptophan, an
amino acid (an essential building block of protein) that is found in
food.?
?It is the role that serotonin plays in depression that perhaps is of
most interest to scientists, who conclude that people with depression
have "imbalances" in the brain's neurotransmitters; low levels of
serotonin and another neurotransmitter norepinephrine are believed to
play a critical role.?
?Research also suggests that serotonin has a significant effect on the
size of the blood vessels that cause migraine headaches. Current
research is seeking to develop migraine drugs that can bind to the
particular serotonin receptor that controls the constriction of blood
vessels.
For the treatment of sleep-related disorders, increased levels of
serotonin have been shown to induce a relaxed feeling, sleepiness and
decreased alertness.?
http://www.health.uab.edu/show.asp?durki=61541&site=734&return=18687
This illustration may help you understand the transport of serotonin:
http://www.alexanderandturner.com/assets/images/ed12b.jpg
This one is very detailed:
http://www.acnp.org/g4/GN401000045/F1.htm
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Dopamine:
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Dopamine is another neurotransmitter. It is dopamine that causes your
heart to beat faster when scared or excited.
?A third substance that may play a role in mood is dopamine.
Dopamine is associated with the reward, or reinforcement, that we get
which causes us to continue participating in an activity. It has
been implicated in such conditions as Parkinson's Disease and
schizophrenia. There is also some evidence that, at least for a
subset of patients, dopamine plays a role in depression. Dopaminergic
substances and stimulants have been used as antidepressants when other
measures have failed. Some studies have investigated dopaminergic
agents as a rapid method of relieving depression (in contrast to
medications which may take up to six weeks to exhibit their full
effect).
Although agents that work selectively on dopamine have the benefit of
fast action, they have also exhibited some properties which have kept
them from being as widely used as other antidepressants. Dopamine is
a neurotransmitter that is associated with addiction and it's
production is stimulated by drugs such as cocaine, opiates and alcohol
(which may explain why depressed persons choose to self-medicate with
drugs and alcohol. Drug specifically targeted at dopamine, for
example amineptine (Survector), present the potential for abuse.10
For this reason, amineptine is not approved for use in the US or
Britain at this time.?
http://depression.about.com/cs/brainchem101/a/brainchemistry_2.htm
?Dopamine is commonly associated with the 'pleasure system' of the
brain, providing feelings of enjoyment and reinforcement to motivate
us to do, or continue doing, certain activities. Certainly dopamine is
released (particularly in areas such as the nucleus accumbens and
striatum) by naturally rewarding experiences such as food, sex, use of
certain drugs and neutral stimuli that become associated with them.
This theory is often discussed in terms of drugs (such as cocaine and
amphetamines) which seem to be directly or indirectly related to the
increase of dopamine in these areas, and in relation to
neurobiological theories of addiction, which argue that these dopamine
pathways are pathologically altered in addicted persons.
The mechanisms of cocaine and amphetamine are different, however.
Cocaine acts as a dopamine transporter blocker, competively inhibiting
dopamine uptake to increase the lifetime of dopamine. On the other
hand, amphetamines act as dopamine transporter substrates to
competitively inhibit dopamine uptake and increase the dopamine efflux
via a dopamine transporter.?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dopamine
?As a chemical messenger, dopamine is similar to adrenaline. Dopamine
affects brain processes that control movement, emotional response, and
ability to experience pleasure and pain.
Regulation of dopamine plays a crucial role in our mental and physical
health. Neurons containing the neurotransmitter dopamine are clustered
in the midbrain in an area called the substantia nigra . In
Parkinson's disease, the dopamine- transmitting neurons in this area
die. As a result, the brains of people with Parkinson's disease
contain almost no dopamine. To help relieve their symptoms, we give
these people L-DOPA, a drug that can be converted in the brain to
dopamine.? You?ll find an explanatory illustration on this page.
http://www.utexas.edu/research/asrec/dopamine.html
Dopamine?s role in Parkinson?s Disease
?Scientists determined that people with PD have inexplicably lost more
than 80 percent of dopamine-producing cells in the substantia nigra,
an area deep within the brain. Normally these cells communicate with
other cells in the nearby striatum via dopamine. Without dopamine the
striatum can't send out certain messages and PD results. Scientists
are looking for ways to supply the chemical to the needy areas.?
http://apu.sfn.org/content/Publications/BrainBriefings/parkinsons.html
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Pituitary Tumor
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There are two classes of pituitary tumors: malignant (cancer) or
benign (adenoma). Since you didn?t mention that you are being treated
for your tumor, I must assume it is a benign adenoma type of tumor.
Adenomas are further classified as microadenoma or macroadenoma. Some
adenomas are non-functional, meaning it does not secrete hormones, or
so little as not to cause problems.
Medical staff refer to non-functioning microadenomas as
?incidentalomas?. These small tumors are often found while a patient
is having an MRI for other reasons. They are often left untreated, but
periodically checked for growth.
Without getting too deep into the physiology, the pituitary, about the
size of a dime, is called the Master Gland, as it secretes hormones
that control other glands and their hormones. Thus, if your pituitary
tumor IS secreting hormones, it could cause other glands to secrete
diminished levels of other hormones, such as adrenalin, insulin, and
thyroid hormones.
Have you been tested for thyroid function? Diabetes? If your tumor is
causing your thyroid to malfunction, this could most certainly cause
you to feel tired and/or depressed.
?Symptoms of pituitary tumors may include headaches, vision problems,
nausea and vomiting, or any of the problems caused by the production
of too many hormones such as infertility or loss of menstrual periods
in women, abnormal growth, high blood pressure, heat or cold
intolerance, and other skin and body changes.?
http://www.cancer.org/docroot/CRI/content/CRI_2_4_1x_What_Are_Pituitary_Tumors_61.asp?rnav=cri
http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/pituitary_tumors/pituitary_tumors.htm
Other causes of chronic tiredness can indeed be caused by chronic
fatigue syndrome, CMV, and anemia among others. (As you saw when you
researched!). CMV belongs to the herpes virus family, and most adults
have been exposed to it at some point in their lives. Its
characteristics are to lie dormant, as Sublime1-ga mentioned, and
likes to attack when we are tired and weak. Shingles, is a herpes
virus, and lies dormant until we are older and in a weakened state.
The scientific community is actually unsure about the relationship
between CMB and chronic fatigue. At this point no one is very sure.
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/diseases/cmv.htm
http://kidshealth.org/parent/infections/bacterial_viral/cytomegalovirus.html
Chronic Fatigue
http://www.niaid.nih.gov/factsheets/cfs.htm
There you go, Susie! ( What a nice name :-) ) My advice would be to
get a thorough medical exam, including thyroid function tests, a CBC
(to check for anemia and other blood disorders) and a complete
chemistry panel. Try to get adequate sleep, daily exercise, a proper
diet, and don?t rule out mild depression! There is no longer a stigma
attached to depression, and speaking to a therapist who MAY recommend
an SSRI anti-depressant, may be a good thing for you! Don?t waste you
money on supplements other than a vitamin tablet, and the olive leaf
extract that Sublime1 suggested.
You may also find a previous answer helpful:
http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=516381
I wish you the best! Please ask for an Answer Clarification, before
rating, if any part of this answer is unclear.
Sincerely, Crabcakes
Search Terms
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Neurotransmitters
Dopamine
Serotonin
Cytomegalovirus
Chronic fatigue
Pituitary tumors |
