How do iron & akathisia relate?
Do you or a loved one suffer from a mental illness and are on prescription medications? Do you or a loved one suffer from feelings of restlessness and akathisia (the inability to sit still and feelings of intense anxiety?) If yes, iron and this post are for you.
Akathisia is an involuntary motor control movement disorder usually induced by a psychiatric substance such as an antipsychotic or anti-depressant medication.
It can be debilitating and so frustrating for the suffering. It feels like you have no control over your own movements.
My Experience with Akathisia
I have personally suffered from mental illness and have been on antipsychotics for years. All the while, having experienced akathisia non-stop. Like crawl out of my skin, and my body. Runaway and never look back type of feeling. Pacing all day every day.
I would have such anxiety that it led to agoraphobia for a while. The anxiety got so bad that my Doctor pushed Xanax on me to calm me down, but I refused to add another medication on top of the medication.
I have also had people say to me, why don’t you try to use the extra energy to do some productive physical activities such as exercise or running?
This may work for some to gain relief, but in my case, I had no choice in my movements. Like I mentioned, akathisia is an involuntary movement disorder. I had no conscious control of the pacing, the number of steps I would take a day, or how fast or slow I was going.
You may try to find relief with prescription medications such as Cogentin, or over-the-counter medicine as Benadryl. It may even be prescribed to you and help.
Finding a natural solution to the problem was my personal best bet, and it may be yours as well.
Iron Remedy For Akathisia
Iron plays a role in healing akathisia. Research has found that a cause of akathisia is low dopamine production. Not only low dopamine but the imbalance between dopamine and serotonin. This is why you may find patients on SSRIs or anti-psychotics developing this condition.
Low dopamine is also a cause of restless legs syndrome. A common natural approach to healing restless legs is through iron supplementation. Iron is a co-factor of tyrosine hydroxylase. It converts tyrosine to dopamine and then to norepinephrine.
Iron deficiency disrupts brain dopamine and norepinephrine metabolism. This includes the function of monoamine transporters and receptors.
Because of the low dopamine receptors, akathisia, nervousness, anxiety, and restlessness occur.
The best form of iron supplementation is iron as ferrous bisglycinate chelate.
You can also look for a multivitamin that has high quality and dosage of iron in it. This is what I did. Remember, your solution may be different than mine or someone else’s, as well as your outcome.
It may take a couple of weeks to continuously supplement before you feel and notice an effect on your motor control and movements.
If you or a loved one have had symptoms anything like mine while on medications, you may want to consider testing your iron levels to see if this could potentially heal your akathisia.
Please don’t suffer any longer.
Seek a professional today to help you with your concerns. If your doctor doesn’t listen, get a second and third opinion. If you still aren’t being heard, try alternative options such as a nutritionist at mytelemedicine. Visit today and schedule a virtual appointment accessible 24/7 with a nutritionist.
You can also visit the alternative mental health page on my site, which can guide you through the different approaches to natural healing.
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