If you haven’t tried the Wim Hof method, please give it a go. It might not work for you as well as it has for others, but it won’t cost you anything to try it.

I found it quite helpful if practiced regularly.

To heal depression or OCD or both?

Personally I believe it’s helpful for both. I don’t know what the mechanism is, but it has been effective for me. It feels something like distilled meditation (vipassana) ...

Technically mental trauma could have done so as well - which you probably heard dozens of times. Even if a doctor believed you I am not sure what they could do that wouldn't be extremely ill advised. Immunosuppressants would be tough to justify even if it was a certain cure instead of a highly tentative one.

I know it is a frustrating situation to be in. Like I know that oral general anesthesia would help me for bloodwork given a severe phobia (multiple panic attacks while maxed oral dose and too tranqed to walk normally bad) but even without asthma and weight the risk would be too off-kilter to do without qualifying as malpractice. Let alone insurance and expenses. Unfortunately the field seems to select for people who see it as a nonissue.

Yes, there are likely multiple factors here, both physical and learned behaviors. I've had some access to cutting edge treatments since I live in Boston, which is probably the #1 place in the world for psychiatry research. Over the years I've cobbled together a regimen that sort of works, but it's basically a band-aid solution and I can tell that it's not 100% effective.

Nowadays I feel normal ish about 15% of the time, meh about 50%, and somewhat depressed 35%. I've tried multiple medications from pretty much every category of medications, including many off-label treatments.

There’s an illness called PANDAS in children that is very much like that, a key symptom is the OCD. The Cunningham panel test is used for diagnosis and can also be used by adults although there are no established diagnosis from this in adults. The test costs about $900. Treatment in children requires a smart doctor who is aware of the illness and who will get IVIG and/or plasmapheresis for the child. Both are incredibly expensive treatments.

There are also a number of very expensive autoimmune panels from Quest and Mayo Clinic for neurological stuff which can be worth running through, but only do these if your insurance will cover them, they’re up to 10k each, and the results aren’t necessarily going to help you in any way.

Diseases such as Lyme and mononucleosis are also known to cause a number of different autoimmune problems. Unfortunately doctors aren’t very good at recognizing this and it can take a long stressful odyssey to get properly diagnoses.

For some types of autoimmune illness there are some options such as Low Dose Naltrexone which work well for some people, but not others. In cases like Lyme, properly treating the illness and clearing the Lyme can eventually lead to the autoimmunity going away also.

(Note: in your case LDN has a big warning that in some people it can cause depression, I tried LDN and the depression it triggered was no joke, but it came on fairly shortly after starting and passed after stopping thankfully, and when I tried it again the same happened so it was clear what was happening. I just say this so if you do try it you are very aware and monitor yourself.)

Actually I already take naltrexone, but in ultra low doses. I'm combining it with low dose buprenorphine, which is basically the only medication that has done anything for my depression. I will see if I can get an appointment with a specialist about PANDAs. I have known about PANDAs for a while, but it was dismissed very early since I'm an adult. Now that I've failed pretty much every treatment it might be worth it to take a second look.

I treat my treatment resistant depression by inducing 101+ fever for half an hour each day. I started when I had to stop an allergy to the EMSAM patch.

There are also medications that you might not have heard of. If you want, I can write more when I'm not on mobile.

How do you induce a fever?

You can easily induce a 102 degree fever with a very hot bath.

Not for half an hour, unless you have someone patient with a kettle.

I have seen one journal abstract where that that was used, but I don't know the details. There are better methods though, if you have the budget of a hospital or research center, such as IR lights filtered through water. There's also a article outlining various methods of inducing hyperthermia.

Well, perhaps not by itself .

I used to take an ear thermometer in the tub with me, dunk my head, check temp in both ears to make sure I hit 102, then wrap up in bedding, fully covered, for 20 minutes or so.

Edit in reply to your edit:

Yes I also preheated water on the stove and had assistance from a family member, though technically no kettle was involved.

There are no doubt better methods if you have scads of money. If you don't, a bathtub and big pot on the stove, plus blankets, can readily get you there for cheap.

I've spent ~$200 on this.

For some people, that would be a lot of money.

If you have an instant gas hot water you have fairly unlimited hot water. You could position the bath plug to leak at a set rate and continually add hot water to maintain an appropriate water temperature.

I'm guessing he uses a sauna.

Pretty much. I use IR lights and a pair of space heaters in an enclosed space. The IR lights do most of the job.

Going to a sauna with a thermometer would probably be the easiest route for many who want to try this. It was easier for me to buy a bunch of lights on amazon and do it at home. Cheaper, too.

What are these alternative meds?

I was thinking specifically of Pramiplexole.

Pramipexole in Treatment Resistant-Depression, Possible Role of Inflammatory Cytokines:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5143506/ https://www.nature.com/articles/npp2016217.pdf?origin=ppub

Antidepressant-like effect of pramipexole in an inflammatory model of depression.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27825895

Anti-inflammatory treatment for major depressive disorder: implications for patients with an elevated immune profile and non-responders to standard antidepressant therapy

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5606303/

I would like to know more.

I learnt about it from this interview of about depression inflammation research:

> Charles Raison, M.D. is a professor at the School of Human Ecology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Founding Director of the Center for Compassion Studies in the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Arizona. Dr. Raison’s research focuses on inflammation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DtJGJWjDys

While the protocol he is implementing (and most hyperthermia protocols I have seen) involve temperatures reaching 104-105 degrees, in the interview they discuss a possible connection to hot yoga and sauna use, which would not involve such high temperatures.

I would assume that it would easiest to try something like this at a sauna in a gym for a few week or so - all else you would need would be a thermometer. I picked up a bunch of IR lamps and a couple of space heaters, and set them up in a space just big enough to do push-ups in. The entire setup cost ~$200.

http://i.imgur.com/aM3BCbE.jpg

I have been getting my temperature to 100 degrees via the lights and the heaters, spending another ten minutes trying to increase it from there (it is usually close to 102 by the time I stop), then resting for another 20 minutes with the heaters and lights not quite as overbearingly close. I've also started incorporate pushups and planks and drink a quart of hot tea (watch out with this and the thermometer :) )

At first I thought it wasn't doing much for depression, but continued to use it due to dramatic and unexpected improvements in my other immune conditions. After skipping it a few times, it became very obvious what effect it was having on my mood, which noticeably and reliably lifts around 20 minutes or so of reaching 100 degrees.

Overall, it takes an hour a day. The process is tiring, and once your temperature starts getting above 100, you can't concentrate or do very much: even watching TV becomes a chore. And while it hasn't alleviated my depression, it's had enough of an effect that I'm no longer willing to go without it.

Another one person data point:

I've had OCD since childhood, and even when I was a kid I noticed that sometimes my symptoms would flare up for a few days, right before I came down with the flu.

As an adult, I contracted Lyme Disease, and one lingering symptom was that my OCD got a lot worse. After 1 month of IV antibiotics (rocephin), my OCD went from a "10" down to maybe a 7 in severity.

Curious. Was it Epstein Barr virus? I never felt quite right since my mid 20's. Mononucleosis (glandular fever) and then a couple incidents of really bad food poisoning. On occasion, when I get the flu my cognition temporarily gets better.

I used to participate in an alternative medicine community. Their explanation would be your illness "settled in the brain" and has never been fully cleared.

You need to find a doctor like late Oliver Sacks and Ramachandran. Basically, a research oriented doctor.

There is an autoimmune theory of schizophrenia. Excess histamine can also cause OCD-like symptoms.

Look into megadose vitamin D3 (+ K2 MK-4 + magnesium). Memantine + selank. Lowering inflammation.

I don't know enough to evaluate this advice, but the word "histamine" caught my eye.

There are antidepressants that, as I understand it, are antihistamines. For example, imipramine. I wonder what it means if you have an adverse reaction to such a drug, and something resembling schizophrenia as well.

I tried prescription memantine, both the generic and XR formulations. The brain fog startup side effect never went away for me, so I had to quit. I've never found a supplement that has actually done anything.

Did you taper 2.5 mg at a time every 3-4 days until taking 5-10 mg? Also add selank. Have you ever tried chelated/TRAACS magnesium? What else have you tried?

Do you have any nutrient deficiencies? Ever looked into nutrient tests like NutrEval? A comprehensive hormone panel? Thyroid panel? Genetic testing?

I also tried Memantine, my verbal fluency took a serious nose dive, I was unable to follow simple instructions. I slowly tapered up, much slower than 2.5 mg at a time.

It helped in some other areas, but not being able to do simple tasks nixed it for me.

Have a way to contact you directly?

Sure, you can email me at [email protected]