Mental disorders and the Connection to allergies.

I'm Bipolar, and for years I have been treating my bipolar disorder with all of the recommended pharmaceuticals. Lamictal, Depakote, Lithium, etc. But because of many of their side effects, the social stigma of taking them, and the cost, I wanted to try to get off of them. Slowly, over decades, as I became more stable, with fewer and less severe manias, I began to wean myself off them, and would only begin to take them at the first signs of depression or Mania.

For me, Mania was the easiest symptom to catch. Elation, flight-of-ideas, and sleeplessness. It was this sleeplessness that led me to try antihistamines. My wife is a nurse and as many nurses do, she knows how to use medications off-label. Meaning, using the side effects of a medication to treat the disorder of another disease it was never intended for. Many doctors do this for patients who have diseases that don't have any treatments. Sometimes this is abused. Like with students who take drugs intended to treat narcolepsy to help them remember better so they can do better on tests. Adderall as an example. Antihistamines are also misused by parents or bad babysitters, who give them to children to make them go to sleep. It was for this same off-label reason that my wife suggested that I use a drowsy antihistamine to go to sleep.

It worked really well. With the only side effect being drowsiness the next day, it was a safer, cheaper, and more effective first line of defense than any of my other psychiatric medications. I have been using it for the last 6 years without any manic episodes. I usually go to bed around 10 pm if I can't get to sleep by 12 pm, I'll take an antihistamine and be asleep by 1 am. I'll be groggy the next day until the afternoon, but otherwise functional. It also had the effect of reducing my bags under my eyes, which was likely being caused by an allergic reaction, to pollen or dust mites. But it was so good at preventing my episodes I began to think that maybe there was a more causal relationship. But why do Antihistamines cause sleepiness?

It turns out histamines don't just cause itchy eyes, stuffy nose, and scratchy throat. Histamine is a neurotransmitter, that helps regulate sleep-wakefulness in the brain. A study by the NIH found "The H3 receptor functions as an autoreceptor and regulates the synthesis and release of histamine. Activation of H3 receptor decreases histamine release and promotes sleep. Blockade of H3 receptor promoted wakefulness." Article. In other words, when you have an allergic response histamines are released by your system which also has the effect of keeping you awake and preventing REM sleep. This wakefulness and lack of REM sleep could over several days then cause a manic episode. Thereby setting off the seasonal swing of bipolar disorder. For many Bipolar sufferers, they may not even know that they have an allergy, and the response may be limited to the brain, and not cause any typical irritation of the eyes or throat. By taking an anti-histamine I may have not just been treating an environmental stress making my bipolar disorder worse, I may have also been treating one of the underlying causes. So which Antihistamines work best?

Older, first-generation antihistamines, including diphenhydramine and doxylamine succinate, don't discriminate between which histamine receptors they block. They can cross the blood-brain barrier and inhibit one of the other functions of histamines — that is, the pivotal role they play in regulating sleep and wakefulness. This disruption of the action of histamines in the brain results in drowsiness. These older antihistamines are the ones that I use to make me go to sleep. But it turns out that taking the newer non-drowsy versions of antihistamines seems to protect against sleeplessness in the same way, without the groggy side effects. Finding safe antihistamines that work is relatively easy, as the majority of them are safe enough for pregnant women to take, and are sold over the counter at most drug stores.

The best way to find out if histamines are contributing to you're mental disorder is to consult your doctor; or a medical professional who understands and is aquanted with your entire medical history; to find the best anti-histamine for you. However, we live in the real world, where time and money are both precious commodities, and going through the lengthly and expensive US medical process may not be an option for you. If this is the case, when buying over the counter anti-histamines, shop for single antihitamines like  Loratadine or Diphenhydramine, not compounds that add pain killers or decogentants, like acetometaphin (Tylonol) or phenylephrine (Sudafed). Also, try the cheap ones first 

Could the elimination of Allergies, or treatment with Anti-histamines, remove a primary cause of Bipolar disorder? More research is needed, but what is sure is that if you are bipolar you should get checked for Allergies, and get treatment for any. It is becoming more clear that allergens are more than just an environmental stress and an irritation for Bipolar patients and possibly other kinds of mental disorders.

Beyond Bipolar Disorder:

Other researchers have found that Hay fever was linked to depression. The histamine H(3) receptors are autoreceptors damping histamine synthesis, the firing frequency of histamine neurons, and the release of histamine from axonal varicosities. To further explore the relationship between hay fever and allergies, the researchers recruited 100 individuals who had been diagnosed with depression or bipolar disorder. Of the total, 53% tested positive for allergies to ragweed or tree pollen

The H3T receptor has been proposed as a target for treating sleep disorders.

http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fncel.2016.00169/full

Another longitudinal study found atopy (genetic tendency to develop allergies) was positively associated with dementia.

Here is a list of all know antihistamines:
https://www.drugs.com/drug-class/antihistamines.html

How to take political action.

4 Steps to take Political Action:

1) Be informed. Do you know who are your governmental representatives? If not, find out: a) National http://act.commoncause.org/site/PageServer?pagename=sunlight_advocacy_list_page b) local: https://openstates.org/find_your_legislator/

2) Understand the agenda, literally. Find out what is on the legislative agenda a) State: http://www.ncsl.org/research/about-state-legislatures/2016-state-legislative-session-calendar.aspx b) Federal Senate: http://www.senate.gov/reference/Index/Calendars_schedules.htm c) Federal House: http://www.house.gov/legislative/

3) Vote. If those representatives do not represent your values, or you as a person, work on replacing them, by organising, raising awareness, and planning for the next election (hint: there are many voting opportunities before even the mid term election, school boards, local reps., budget referendums... etc. These are actually the most important for you).

4) Push your agenda. Write your reps from step 1) with issues from step 2) and don't forget step 3). Repeat.