Akathisia and Foods - HELP please

Foods have spiked akathisia like crazy to the point that I am now trying not to eat. This is all unmanageable now and has completely destroyed my once happy, colorful life. I tried keto, which was terrible, so I am now out of ketosis. But I am down to under a dozen foods or so, and now some of those foods are creating problems for me, and I don't know what to do. WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU EAT AND START PACING AND MOVING NON-STOP AFTER??

 

I avoid histamine foods and tried a semi-lion diet, carnivore, and plant-based diet, but nothing worked.

 

I feel like the restriction from this life is enough to drive a person mad.

 

What I currently eat: Blueberries, peanut butter, almond butter sometimes, keto bread, beef, tallow, coconut, ghee, egg yolks, vegan avocado mayo, and bacon. I drink water and sparkling water, and that is it.

 

Now I have started eating, and I have this strange sensation in my stomach like electric butterflies are flying around inside of me, and it is so so painful that I feel like someone is knocking the wind out of me with their fist.

 

WHAT DO I DO? God, please have some mercy on me. I really cannot weather any more of this storm.

All the food you mention would give me more akathasia

 

I was almost aka free after 18 months. Now just occasionally an episode with the period

 

Foods that DONT bother me are

 

Meat. Dairy. Fruits like nectarines and watermelon strawberries potatoes chickpeas coconutwater

That’s what I eat mostly

I am still very bad but not that bad aka anymore

Hi Rebecca

 

I hate doing this… but, you are looking for answers, and I can’t help but notice a diet very high in salicylate (a protective chemical in plants).

 

However, it’s also possible that a constant high stress (fear) state is destabilising your mast cells (MCAS).

 

The big 3 are Histamine, Salicylate, and MCAS, although, salicylate often reflects an already impaired digestive system.

 

It’s also worth noting that the akathisia may well increase simply as a result of your body trying to process food in a highly stressed state, then creating even more stress, rather than processing in it’s normal Rest and Digest state.

 

These are all just thoughts, Rebecca.

 

WS so what do I do?

I’ll have a think about it, Rebecca, and then I’ll get back to you, okay.

 

A question…

 

Did you once say you’d done the testing… and results came back negative for gut dysbiosis and intestinal permeability?

If salicylates are an issue the cause is mostly oxalates

 

Low oxalate diet is recommended for people with b6 deficiency

 

Akathasia is sometimes healed from b6 supplementen

How do I research this diet?

If salicylates are an issue the cause is mostly oxalates

 

Low oxalate diet is recommended for people with b6 deficiency

 

Akathasia is sometimes healed from b6 supplementen

 

I tried B6 earlier on and it didn't work if you take it in too high doses for too long it can cause nerve damage.

Oh yes almond butter and peanut butter amplified my aka a lot. It was so ridiculous and I will never understand it why some foods cause aka to get bad…. Mine would start in the night on the day of whatever I ate different. And I used to be able to eat anything just fine. I’ve started trialing different things again and can work with s but more but I still stick to the 8-10 things I was eating for 2yrs bc those were my safe foods. Not good to cut so much out by when aka is hitting hard you do what you can to make that decrease (although I think other factors contribute to which makes it all more difficult).

 

Just so you have idea of what my go tos were

 

Breakfast- birch bender keto waffles/pancakes (I had to keto version bc reg carb version caused my blood sugar to crash to 50(never had isisss before just had insulin resistance issues in this and adrenal issues)), frozen wild blueberries, boiled organic chicken (I need lots of protein and this is only way I could get it bc I reacted to other stuff, beef really made my aka rev too for awhile now I’m better)

 

Lunch- chicken, sweet potatoes (the easiest thing for me I think), green beans (lots of other veggies flared me but I used to eat them all just fine before this and have started trialing again)

Unsweetened applesauce

 

Dinner- chicken, brown rice (1minute microwave cup), or mashed potatoes, and green beans, unsweetened applesauce or frozen mangos (frozen fruit and veggies were easier bc fresh would go bad too quickly)

 

Snacks- well initially was a lot of almond butter but once that backfired, gluten free toast and butter, sometimes avacado, olive oil drizzled for extra calories when I lost a lot of weight, granola cereal with almond milk, frozen pineapple chunks

 

Those were kind of my safe foods for quite a bit of time. I’m grateful I’ve been able to trial things more now and not be scared, I can deal bc I know things lift if I do start having issues. Just keep riding the rollercoaster best you can and trial some other foods one at a time or drop a couple and see if it makes a diffeeence. Sometimes peoples systems just react to whatever they eat but things even out again…. Just the body in my opinion starts panicking with whatever is going in bc it starts kind of throwing a tantrum on anything being ingested after dealing with these meds. But truly things even out and regulate again. I keep hearing more and more people making it to the other side in this and seeing yhe improvements so keep persevering. I haven’t even made it off K yet so I’ve got a bit to go, but have started seeing improvements so I know it happens. I was slammed with 12 meds and a very severe journey in this and there are improvements so I just gotta keep holding on. You too you’ll get there!!! I’m sorry it is so hard but keep doing what you can, you are helping guide people on here which is great help!!

Hi Rebecca

 

I have a jam session very soon, but I will definitely reply after that.

 

We’ll see if we can figure out your best way forward with diet, taking as many different factors into consideration as possible.

 

Try your best not to panic too much over having to make changes.

Having personally had extreme case of akasthasia I personally think dietary changes are not going to be your salvation.  Pushing through the pain terror and exhaustion and getting off the seroquel is in my opinion what will begin the healing process

I have been pushing through for 9 months I do not have much will power left.

Hi Rebecca

 

All due respect to Jdoe1211, but, if you are actually reacting to high levels of histamine or salicylate in your diet, your akathisia will obviously intensify, as one of the endless list of symptoms associated with salicylate intolerance is agitation. I’m not saying you are having reactions to the salicylate, but if it is the reason your AKA is intensifying after eating, then there’s only one way to find out for sure, and that’s to eliminate the salicylate high foods for a set period of time. The elimination diet is generally 21 days (I think).

 

Just to be clear… this is not about resolving the akathisia, it’s simply about removing food chemicals and resolving any potential reactions that may be intensifying your akathisia, and possibly, simultaneously creating or aggravating a number of other symptoms manifesting in your body.

 

Blueberries, peanut butter, almond butter, avocado and coconut oil are all super high salicylate foods.

 

I know you are already steering clear of histamine foods, so for you it would be about also avoiding high salicylate foods for a short period of time.

 

In addition, if I were you, I would be trying to kill two birds with one stone (as much as I hate that expression) and also restrict my diet to foods that are easily digestible… to take the heavy stress load off your digestive system, a system that probably can’t even remember what it’s like to be in a state of ‘rest and digest’. Just that heavy stress on your digestive system really can be enough to intensify symptoms. You may even first like to just try eating easily digestible foods to see if that uptick in symptom lessens after eating, and if it’s still the same… look into the food chemical angle.

 

If you’ve had any kind of gut related issues like candida, sibo, or dysbiosis, then inflammation will eventually compromise the intestinal wall lining and cause intestinal permeability from which food chemical intollerances develop, and it’s very common. It’s also possible to be completely unaware that you’re having reactions to food, because they start off minor and then increase in severity over a period of time as the permeability increases.

 

I think it’s very important for those going through benzo withdrawal to look after their gut, as one of the number 1 causes of intestinal permeability and dysbiosis of the gut besides the aforementioned… is STRESS. And what group of people are more stressed than those going through a potentially long benzodiazepine withdrawal.

 

I’ll just leave it at that for now, and just let you know that if this is something you want to look into, then I will help you if need some guidance with low chemical, easily digestible foods, and wrapping your head around the elimination diet.

 

I certainly wouldn’t want you to complicate things unnecessarily, so just have a think whether there really may be food sensitivity/intolerance issues developing or not.

 

WS

WS, Yes, I would like help looking into this. Thank you for this information. I ate some sweet potato today on an empty stomach, and strangely it took the akathisia down a notch. I looked it up and sp's are high in B6 which is a frontline treatment for akathisia. Interesting.

WS, Yes, I would like help looking into this. Thank you for this information. I ate some sweet potato today on an empty stomach, and strangely it took the akathisia down a notch. I looked it up and sp's are high in B6 which is a frontline treatment for akathisia. Interesting.

 

Yes… that is interesting.

 

It’s 7:30am here, so I better catch some sleep.

 

I’ll follow up with you later today, Rebecca.

I just found two interesting quotes concerning akathisia, which I did not know yet. Maybe this is generally known and it is not food-related but I think it is interesting enough to mention them:

 

 

The most common cause of akathisia is iatrogenic. It is a frequent complication of drugs that block dopamine receptors, such as antipsychotic drugs. It can occur when drug therapy is initiated (acute akathisia) or after chronic treatment (tardive akathisia).

....

Acute akathisia is eliminated upon withdrawal of the medication.

 

https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/neuroscience/akathisia#:~:text=to%20do%20so.-,The%20most%20common%20cause%20of%20akathisia%20is%20iatrogenic.,chronic%20treatment%20(tardive%20akathisia).

 

 

 

Pro- pranolol, a non-selective beta-adrenergic receptor antagonist, is currently considered a first-line treatment for antipsychotic- induced akathisia (AIA).

 

https://www.binasss.sa.cr/set/Art07.pdf

 

 

 

Thanks for trying to help, John.

Oh gosh Rebecca.  I am so sorry to see others getting this horrible condition.  I too struggled so much with foods right after my setback in Oct 2021.  I was also down to only eating a few foods including chicken, avocados, eggs, blackberries, cheese and nuts.  And even that gave me horrible symptoms.  My symptoms included severe, severe anxiety, fear, burning nerves, akathisia so bad my feet were bloody from pacing.  It was truly horrific.  I NEVER thought I would make it.

 

The good news is that it will get better.  The bad news is that it will take a while.  I am 18 months out now and about 50% healed.  At 50% healed I am feeling pretty good.  I can eat most foods with the exception of anything with sugar or alcohol including bread.  At 4 months I was finally able to add more foods beyond the 7 or so that I had to live on.  Then at 8 months it got even better.  By 11 months I was able to eat almost anything but I had to wait until after the cortisol surge - 3pm.  I could not eat anything at all from about 3am until 3pm.

 

Your best bet is to stick with those few foods, try to eat after your cortisol surge and find ways to distract yourself.  And please stay far away from drugs and supplements.  If you body cant handle food it is far to damaged at this point to handle supplements - at least while you heal.  For distraction,  I walked outdoors, built legos and cleaned my house from top to bottom just to distract.

 

Hugs to you.  I know you are struggling right now but I am here as an example that it gets better.  Way, way better.  I was a worst case and I am finally getting better.  Please, please hang in there!

Hi Rebecca

 

I’ll give you a list of easily digestible foods which are low and moderate in both histamine and salicylate. Whilst on the elimination diet (21 days), you can have one serve from the moderate list with each meal.

 

LOW

 

Rolled Oats

 

Cow Milk - (high B6)

 

Rice Milk

 

Oat Milk

 

Eggs - (high B6) - whites must be properly cooked.

 

Beef - fresh, not aged.

 

Chicken - skinless

 

White Potato - peeled (B6)

 

White Rice (B6)

 

MODERATE

 

Sweet Potato (high B6)

 

Butternut Squash (B6)

 

Carrots (B6)

 

Green Beans

 

Olive Oil - light, extra light, mild, mellow, delicate (avoid extra virgin olive oil - very high salicylate)

 

Sourdough Bread

 

Fresh Salmon (high B6)

 

Fresh Tuna (high B6)

 

Coconut Water

 

There are a number of foods I haven’t listed in the low to moderate columns because they are focussed on easily digestible foods.

 

Salicylate intolerance is very similar to histamine intolerance - think of your body as a bucket… when you over consume either histamine or salicylate, it gradually fills the bucket up, and as it overflows… this is where reactions occur. If your bucket is always full, every time you consume foods high in these food chemicals, the bucket overflows and triggers a reaction causing moderate to severe symptoms. The 21 day elimination diet allows the bucket to gradually empty after which you can start adding restricted foods back into your diet in sensible amounts. You find a balance to keep you from filling and overflowing the bucket again.

Im not saying certain foods can’t make it worse or better what I’m saying is that the akasthasia won’t go away till you’re off of the seroquel.  The reason I got so bad of akasthasia is I also was on multiple meds. One of which I didn’t know I was on. My benzos were laced with fentanyl so all the while I was addicted to benzos and fentanyl.  Talk about a bad wd. Wd off a benzo and fentanyl at the same time was absolutely brutal.  I also was tricked into taking trazodone to help with sleep as well. Also taking hydroxyzine. So polydrugged a bit I’d say.  The akasthasia I had left me pacing and walking up to 30 miles per day 22 hours per day sleeping 2 hours.  Also of course the terrible mental part.  But it quickly went away within a matter of a couple weeks but only after I was off of ALL the meds.  My opinion is if you want it gone -gone.  The seroquel is your mission. I know it’s hard and will get worse before it gets better but the aka won’t be gone until the seroquel is 🤷 just an

Opinion though

Jdoe

 

 

So, until your off ALL meds it won’t go away? So a diabetic should stop taking their meds, thyroid meds, cholesterol, high blood pressure, blood thinners…..people must be on meds for many things…..are you advising to stop these or the aka will never resolve?

Im not saying certain foods can’t make it worse or better what I’m saying is that the akasthasia won’t go away till you’re off of the seroquel.  The reason I got so bad of akasthasia is I also was on multiple meds. One of which I didn’t know I was on. My benzos were laced with fentanyl so all the while I was addicted to benzos and fentanyl.  Talk about a bad wd. Wd off a benzo and fentanyl at the same time was absolutely brutal.  I also was tricked into taking trazodone to help with sleep as well. Also taking hydroxyzine. So polydrugged a bit I’d say.  The akasthasia I had left me pacing and walking up to 30 miles per day 22 hours per day sleeping 2 hours.  Also of course the terrible mental part.  But it quickly went away within a matter of a couple weeks but only after I was off of ALL the meds.  My opinion is if you want it gone -gone.  The seroquel is your mission. I know it’s hard and will get worse before it gets better but the aka won’t be gone until the seroquel is 🤷 just an

Opinion though

 

Hi JD

 

I agree… changing ones diet won’t resolve the AKA.

 

It may not even decrease the AKA much at all, but, if someone is indeed reacting to food chemicals because of pre-existing gut issues, the symptoms can make ones benzo withdrawal symptoms seem even more intense, although, what is really happening is you are dealing with layers of symptoms unrelated to the BW. Food chemical intolerance can trigger mast cell activation throughout the entire body and affect all the same systems as BW, without the person ever being aware that it’s not all BW, and that they are actually simultaneously experiencing reactions to food chemicals. The last thing one needs is to be dealing with is both BW and Food Chemical reactions together.

 

Often I would experience intense fight or flight and think it was BW when it was actually either a histamine or salicylate reaction… and vice versa.

 

The only question here is this…

 

Is Rebecca actually experiencing food chemical reactions?

 

Unfortunately there’s only one way to find out… the elimination diet… which I really wouldn’t want anyone in BW to bother with unless they believed there really was a high probability of food chemical intolerance.

 

I’m so glad to hear the AKA resolved for you so soon after stepping off the medications… it’s nice to hear the AKA can potentially resolve so quickly, even though for others it unfortunately takes considerably longer than two weeks.