Other Conditions *AND* OT

[SBO]

Dear all,

I've noticed that some of you have mentioned that you thought your OT was brought on by another condition--one I think mentioned diabetes--some mentioned surgery or perhaps a trauma of some sort.

Are there many of you that can trace your OT to a particular time or circumstance like that?

I'll go first--I have epilepsy and one of the side effects of the depakote I take for that is tremor. Both my epilepsy and the tremor seem to be hereditary, from my mother who had both. Unfortunately, 30 years ago she was diagnosed with agoraphobia and panic disorder. My mother was one of the most outgoing of folks--she loved people. But when she thought she couldn't stand--she *would* panic.

I tihink we've all been there...

Keep fighting the good fight!

SBO

[stella]

Just wanted to say i too had epilisy many years before my ot showed up.
My sister also has same condition.
My mother had a very bad legg problem that was never diagonised.
I sometimes wonder if ot is passed on in some way

[RichardS]

I too have wondered if anything in my past predisposed this condition. In my case, I had shingles of the inner ear, and was in a neurological ward for 6 weeks. I was seriously ill, and never fully recovered, in that vertigo is still with me. I've learned to live with vertigo, but am wondering if the OT was sparked off by what happened. Any thoughts?

Richard - Somerset, UK.

[SBO]

Candyse--

Do you routinely take medication for your epilepsy? If you do is tremor/shaking a possible side effect? Mine does. Seems you can't win!

How long did you have the epilepsy before the OT showed up--it was only about 5-6 years for me.

Thanks,
SBO

[stella]

No i have not taken meds for epilespy for a long time now.
IT was quite a few years ago.
Maybe there is no connection but it seems some of us have had similar problems in the past

[SBO]

Wow, I thought one couldn't "recover" from epilepsy! I'm a late bloomer, though--didn't have my first seizure until I was in my 40s--just like my mother...

This would lead me to believe, though, that the OT is not related. Who knows?

SBO

[SBO]

Richard,

What you experienced sounds truly dreadful. I had a dear friend in high school who had some sort of inner ear disease or malfunction that pretty much destroyed her young life. As far as I know she never went to college or married. She suffered for years before she could find a doctor to repair the damage. Anyway, I know how devastating ear problems can be.

I am going to print out this section of discussion and take it with me to the neurologist on Tuesday and ask. The problem is that the folks here are just seeing OT (with me as the guinea pig) for the first time. My guess is that they may not even be able to connect the dots as yet. But it will give them something to think about!

SBO

[RichardS]

I am in touch with a highly respected medical friend, who does pioneering work in the field of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. I am all too well versed in the latter - my wife died of it.

The upshot of talking to this friend about OT is what I suspected: like CFS (ME in the UK), it's all down to pollution. Pollution of the body cells, which sets up neurological problems. That, in a nutshell, is what it's all about.

It's a vast subject, and as yet insufficiently understood to be able to find methods of tackling the problem. In this modern (and supposedly enlightened era), we are all of us under attack from pollutants, all the time. Trouble is, the body is running out of defences; so what to do?

In the long run, drugs are of little value, and may well be counter-productive. We have to set about boosting the body's defences, and correcting the imbalances caused by pollutants.

I've asked my friend if I can post her findings on this list. More anon.

Best to all


Richard - Somerset, UK

[Blossom]

My mother was also diagnosed with panic attacks and agraphobia 30 years or more ago. She had not heard about OT until I was diagnosed with it, nor had any of the doctors. It is possible she also suffer from OT but thinks that the shaky legs are related to her diabetes.

As I was diagnosed with OT just after being diagnosed with type II diabetes PCOS and high blood pressure after a particular traumatic event where I was exposed to a cocktail of potentially toxic chemicals during a house fire. As I had some symptoms before that (mainly during stressful times) I am not sure which came first and suspect that the interaction of many things makes the OT symptoms worse as may drugs prescribed for these various conditions plus antidepressants.

I also suspect that the tendency was always there (hereditary?) but has been made more obvious by a whole lot of things occurring simultaneously.

One of my sisters also has high blood pressure, diabetes, PCOS and takes antidepressants but not OT. So I can't be sure there is a definite link to any of these things.

Blossom

[chrissie]

Same thing for me Blossom. I was subjected to carbon Monoxide poisoning and just found in time, after this an occasional tremor when stressed became a disability. I was also diagnosed with diabeties type two a year or so later.