After my round of prednisone and antibiotics, symptoms returned with full force. I'm a little tired today so forgive me if the following doesn't make sense.
First, I wanted to see if any of your guys' symptoms match something called "Multiple Chemical Sensitivity," as it is a perfect reflection of symptoms I get around azadirachtin. Apparently, there is a cycle called "NO/ONOO" (Dr. Martin Pall's theory) that people can get caught into with repeated exposure to chemicals that they can't tolerate.
It's a new illness. Here are some brief quotes from wikipedia:
"Multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS), also known as idiopathic environmental intolerances (IEI), is a disputed chronic condition characterized by symptoms that the affected person attributes to low-level exposures to commonly used chemicals. Symptoms are typically vague and non-specific. They may include fatigue, headaches, nausea, dizziness, and inflammation of skin, joints, gastrointestinal tract, and airways. Commonly attributed substances include scented products, pesticides, plastics, synthetic fabrics, smoke, petroleum products, and paint fumes.
Symptoms range in severity from mild to disabling. Symptoms are common, but vague and non-specific for the condition. The most common are feeling tired, "brain fog" (short-term memory problems, difficulty concentrating), gastrointestinal problems, headaches, and muscle pain.
A partial list of other symptoms patients have attributed to MCS include: difficulty breathing, pains in the throat, chest, or abdominal region, skin irritation, headaches, neurological symptoms (nerve pain, pins and needles feelings, weakness, trembling, restless leg syndrome), tendonitis, seizures, visual disturbances (blurring, halo effect, inability to focus), anxiety, panic and/or anger, sleep disturbance, suppression of immune system, digestive difficulties, nausea, indigestion/heartburn, vomiting, diarrhea, joint pains, vertigo/dizziness, abnormally acute sense of smell (hyperosmia), sensitivity to natural plant fragrance or natural pine terpenes, dry mouth, dry eyes, and an overactive bladder.
Several mechanisms for a psychological etiology have been proposed, including theories based on misdiagnoses of an underlying mental illness, stress, or classical conditioning. Many people with MCS meet the criteria for major depressive disorder or anxiety disorder. Other proposed explanations include somatoform disorder, panic disorder, migraine, chronic fatigue syndrome, or fibromyalgia, where symptoms such as brain fog and headaches can be triggered by chemicals or inhalants. Through behavioral conditioning, they may develop real, but unintentionally psychologically produced, symptoms such as anticipatory nausea when they encounter certain odors or other perceived triggers. Affected individuals may also have a tendency to "catastrophically misinterpret benign physical symptoms" or simply have a disturbingly acute sense of smell. The personality trait absorption, in which individuals are predisposed to becoming deeply immersed in sensory experiences, may be stronger in individuals reporting symptoms of MCS. Behaviors exhibited by MCS sufferers may reflect broader sociological fears about industrial pollution and broader societal trends of technophobia and chemophobia.
MCS is a diagnosis of exclusion, and the first step in diagnosing a potential MCS sufferer is to identify and treat all other conditions which are present and which often explain the reported symptoms. For example, depression, allergy, thyroid disorders, orthostatic syndromes, lupus, hypercalcemia, and anxiety need to be carefully evaluated and, if present, properly treated. The "gold standard" procedure for identifying a person who has MCS is to test response to the random introduction of chemicals the patient has self-identified as relevant. This may be done in a carefully designed challenge booth to eliminate the possibility of contaminants in the room. Chemicals and controls, sometimes called prompts, are introduced in a random method, usually scent-masked. The test subject does not know when a prompt is being given. Objective and subjective responses are measured. Objective measures, such as the galvanic skin response indicate psychological arousal, such as fear, anxiety, or anger. Subjective responses include patient self-reports. A diagnosis of MCS can only be justified when the subject cannot consciously distinguish between chemicals and controls, and when responses are consistently present with exposure to chemicals and consistently absent when prompted by a control.
A 1999 consensus statement recommends that MCS be diagnosed according to six standardized criteria:
1. Symptoms are reproducible with repeated (chemical) exposures
2. The condition has persisted for a significant period of time
3. Low levels of exposure (lower than previously or commonly tolerated) result in manifestations of the syndrome (i.e. increased sensitivity)
4. The symptoms improve or resolve completely when the triggering chemicals are removed
5. Responses often occur to multiple chemically unrelated substances
6. Symptoms involve multiple-organ symptoms (runny nose, itchy eyes, headache, scratchy throat, ear ache, scalp pain, mental confusion or sleepiness, palpitations of the heart, upset stomach, nausea and/or diarrhea, abdominal cramping, aching joints)."
All credit to the Multiple Chemical Sensitivity wiki page. Right now I'm doing research on dopamine antagonists and how they can prevent aza-induced vomiting. One study said something about haloperidol, an antipsychotic, being a novel treatment for CHS.
I started taking a weak dopamine antagonist called Buspar (buspirone), which I found in my dresser from a long time ago. It has reduced all of my aza symptoms to nothing. Hopefully it continues to work.
Let me know what you guys think!