Thiamine Thiamine Thiamine

  My health declined when I was taking an SSRI.  I learned that certain drugs can cause Thiamine deficiency.  SSRI's are one of those drugs.  Depression is a symptom of Thiamine deficiency.  It's also a symptom of Vitamin D deficiency.

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I was eating the Standard American Diet at the time, which is a diet that causes High Calorie Malnutrition.  Consuming large amounts of carbohydrates without a corresponding increase in Thiamine causes a Thiamine deficiency.  For every extra 1000 calories an additional 0.5 g of Thiamine HCl is needed.  Thiamine deficiency can cause a voracious appetite, or conversely, anorexia.  

I developed Type Two Diabetes and was prescribed Metformin, another drug that causes Thiamine deficiency.   The majority of people either type of diabetes are deficient in Thiamine. 

My digestive symptoms were just awful.  Thiamine deficiency causes Gastrointestinal Beriberi.  Symptoms include abdominal pain, gas, and bloating, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation.  

I broke a leg.  Doctor suggested I increase my calcium consumption.  Thiamine deficiency causes renal calcium leaks.  Years later, I was found to have a severe Vitamin D deficiency.  Thiamine is needed to activate Vitamin D.  Vitamin D and Thiamine are both instrumental in Calcium reabsorption in the kidney.

My blood pressure got too high.  I was prescribed an calcium channel blocker, which is a drug that causes Thiamine deficiency.  Niacin deficiency causes high blood pressure.  Calcium deficiency can affect blood pressure.  

I started retaining water and was prescribed a diuretic, Hydrochlorothiazide.   Thiazide is another drug that causes Thiamine deficiency.  Edema, water retention, especially in the lower legs, is a symptom of Thiamine.  

My gallbladder needed to be removed.  Thiamine deficiency causes gallbladder dysfunction.  

I had menstrual problems.  I had to have surgery.  Vitamin D acts as a hormone.  Vitamin D deficiency affects fertility.  

My health continued to spiral down.  Doctors laughed at me when I asked about being tested for Celiac Disease.  I developed Wernicke's.  The doctors called it "depression".  They had written me off and sent me home.  My family, friends, and fiance all fled like rats abandoning a sinking ship.

I had to beg a doctor to test my Vitamin D level. He agreed after he made sure my insurance would cover it.  Vitamin D helps with depression.  My doctor was surprised by the severely low level.  He prescribed Vitamin D 2, the synthetic form which is not very easy for the body to utilize.  He refused to test for further deficiencies because he "can't make money prescribing vitamins."

I lost sixty pounds in a month.  Thiamine deficiency causes unintentional weight loss.  I could feel myself dying. 

I developed the eye infection.  Thiamine has antibacterial and antiviral properties.  Vitamin A is important to eye health.  Too much Vitamin A can cause parathyroid hormone-independent hypercalcemia.  

I developed Casal's necklace.  A different doctor sent me out the back door of the clinic to get tested for syphilis.  Casal's necklace is different in Pellagra.  It's on the sun exposed areas of the neck.  In syphilis, it's on the outside of the shoulders, usually under clothing.  I knew this!  The four D's of Pellagra are diarrhea, dermatitis, dementia, death.  

It couldn't be that easy, could it?  It was!  I started feeling better as soon as I started taking Niacin.  

I threw away all the pharmaceuticals.  

I had health improvement within an hour of taking the first high dose of Thiamine HCl required to correct Thiamine Deficiency. 

I started a gluten free diet and continued to supplement with all the essential vitamins and minerals and nutrients my body required.  I follow a Paleo diet.  Meat is an excellent source of Thiamine and B Complex vitamins.

I couldn't do a long gluten challenge because I got so ill, but I was seronegative.  The test showed no tTg IgA antibodies.  Seronegative Celiac Disease happens after one has had long-term malnutrition.  A DNA test shows I have Celiac Disease, one of the worst combinations. 

Subclinical Thiamine deficiency can occur over many years.  Symptoms may wax and wane mysteriously.  A twenty percent increase in dietary thiamine causes an eighty percent increase in brain activity, resulting in periods of better health.

But one doesn't have to have Celiac in order to have Thiamine deficiency.  If given pharmaceutical drugs that cause Thiamine deficiency, Thiamine levels should be monitored.  Thiamine deficiency can result in stroke, heart attack or death.  The Erythrocyte Transketolace Activity Assay is more accurate than a blood test.  Test before supplementing, otherwise the test will pick up on supplements taken prior to the test.  Thiamine is safe and nontoxic even in high doses.  High dose Thiamine is required to correct deficiency.  Doctors can administer Thiamine HCl through an IV.  Diagnosis through elimination.  

I hope this is helpful.  Best wishes.