Symptoms better during cold/flu

[sequal9]

I have diagnosed depersonalization disorder with anxiety and agoraphobia.   Basically I experience chronic 24/7 derealization where I feel it all the time.

Because it is hard to explain how I feel,  I have used some analogies:   Feels like I'm always breathing nitrous oxide,  Feels like my blood sugar is always low but it's really not, feels like I'm lightheaded.  

I am severely disabled from my problem and that is no joke, I have a very hard time functioning outside the house because is my intolerance of lighting changes, intolerance of bright light, anxiety attacks due to feeling unreal.  

It is as if I am experiencing negative mood effects of some drugs that never leaves my system.  Antibiotics tend to make my symptoms worse.

There is one thing I have noticed, though, through all my MRI's,  head CT,  endless blood testing.   It's that really the one and only thing that makes me feel better is catching a cold or flu.   Every time I feel an infection coming on, my psych symptoms begin to dissipate and stay suppressed 80% during the course of the infection, which is very remarkable considering the symptoms fluctuate only about +/- 20% otherwise throughout the course of each day.

My social background... 32 yr old male, no stressors before or during, college degree,  I have had these symptoms 4 years and really longer.

[Jaquta]

I thought you exhaled for lung function tests.  ??

Could it have been oxygen you were breathing in?  ??

I had this testing done after a severe asthma attack.  Peak flow -120, heart rate 250+.

It certainly provides some useful information.  Just not sure what one would do with it or how it would be interpreted.

Seems interesting that it was one of the earlier tests done.  Could you have asthma or some other lung condition?  Sometimes people just aren't even breathing correctly.  Sounds strange I know but diaphragmatic breathing is said to be better than superficial chest breathing.

Not quite sure how you would link this all back to the cold/ flu stuff.  Maybe you're just taking better care of yourself when you aren't feeling so great.

If deep breathing does help then it may be worth incorporating this into your day.  You might find those progressive muscle relaxation techniques useful too.

[sequal9]

It's rather interesting that you mention carbon dioxide.  

About my breathing.. I have paid attention to it before to be sure I wasn't breathing too fast...if I breath slow, pause, slow, pause...slow and shallow... It does offer some small amount of anxiety relief, though it does nothing for the disconnecting feeling I have.

However, It's rather interesting that you mention carbon dioxide.  Is this not one of the gases one breathes in during pulmonary function testing?  I had PFT's done years ago when I first started feeling like this (when I was grasping for answers) and when I breathed in one of the gases, I had a remarkable head change for the better...totally unexpected, and I'll never forget it.  

Could this mean something?

I had a normal arterial blood gas test at the same time, though.

[Jaquta]

Sounds feasible.  I found that deep breathing (and relaxing) over a period helped reduce my symptoms.  That fits with the low blood sugar feeling too.

[Peter Forster]

My association with what you described was to the feeling I remember as a child of being what I called "pleasantly" sick. It was a sense that all of a sudden you didn't have to worry about whatever you were worrying about (mostly school work) because you were excused from it by being sick, and also someone would be taking care of you.

Listening to your story I wondered about the role that chronic hyperventilation might play in your symptoms. Low carbon dioxide levels in the blood can cause many symptoms that are somewhat dissociative.

[Jaquta]

I think I understand the state or feeling that you are trying to describe.  For me, I think the low blood sugar describes it very well.  

I relate to what you say but only after I was sectioned and then discharged.  I thought and felt like I was going to have a heart attack in hospital due to the stress.  In hospital I was forced to take prozac and respiridone.  I had problems with my vision, my head felt fuzzy and yuck and I didn't feel well.  Felt worse on discharge than admission.  Anyway, when in hospital I was finally allowed leave and when out I would feel anxious because of how I was feeling.  I started to believe that hospital had messed me up permanently.  I felt extremely unwell for a long time (with that low bs like feeling.)

For me, none of my symptoms improved until my anxiety decreased.  I used to think that I was relaxed but my doctor, etc would tell me that I was severely anxious.

I use to have relative good immunity so possibly never got sick during this time.  I do get hay fever though so not sure how this affected things.

For me the anxiety connection seems to have made most sense.  It sounds to me that for you you are going down a different path.  While I may think my way is best if it doesn't resonate with you it is unlikely to help at this point of your recovery.

If the histamine/ anti-histamine stuff works for you then I don't see the harm in pursuing that.  I have had times at different points in my recovery where I have become obsessed with certain treatments, etc.  I'm just wondering if your theory is distracting you from addressing the real cause of your symptoms.

Could some of the symptoms you mention be caused by drug use in your past?  Not sure if you have ever used illicit drugs.  Just another random thought.

I honestly couldn't say why you feel better when you have a cold or flu (other than the possible psychological connection).

I hope others are more helpful at answering your question.

Just a final thought.  Do you think that the anxiety, etc could be a learned response?  Could one feel better during a cold or flu and then with subsequent colds, etc attribute those same positive feelings?  Just wondering.  I fainted on a military parade ground once and then after that felt that much closer to fainting than had it never happened before.

Just go with what feels right to you.  Recovery is a process and it is very individualistic.

[sequal9]

Here is a very interesting post on another message forum:    http://www.dpselfhelp.com/forum/index.php?/topic/24098-symptoms-better-during-a-cold-or-flu/

[sequal9]

Nope, I don't do anything different during a cold/flu .   It's just that sedated sort of feverish overall feeling you get when you have a cold or flu causes my mental status to dramatically change from the mode that I'm stuck in.

Think of it this way... have you ever had your blood sugar drop before?  If so you know you get a feeling of particular anxiety but there is a known explanation for the way you feel;  however, with me, it is pretty similar to feeling like your blood sugar is low enough to make you feel this way,  but not so low that you totally can't function.   I mean, the feeling isn't exactly the same, but it's really the best analogy I've ever been able to come up with.  Either that, or the 24/7 nitrous oxide analogy.   Perhaps another one would be being very very stoned on bad marijuana but with no euphoria.     But, when I have a cold or flu,  whatever element is causing me to feel that way is temporarily taken away by a mysterious force.

[Jaquta]

I use to get that light-headed feeling when severely stressed and anxious.  I use to attribute it towards some specific event and would generally feel severely and permanently damaged.  I have since learned and accepted that it is anxiety related and if it does occur try and relax or breath my way out of it.  And maybe look at what triggered it in the first place.  It does become especially debilitating when it lasts for a prolonged period.

I'm not sure about the light.  I have sometimes become quite photophobic when stressed.  Mainly I am just extra sensitive to noise though.  Just wondering if the lighting issue was due to migraines or the angle of the sun or ? a medical condition (other than anxiety).  Have you tried wearing sunglasses when outside?

Not sure why antibiotics would make it worse.  A psychological response to the med?  The fact that you and your body may be stressed and run down (so not actually to do with the antibiotic)?

Could it be due to something you do differently when you have a cold or flu?  Rest?  Feel validated because you have a visible illness?  ??

Did something happen four years ago to trigger this stuff?