So I finally sorted out what happened to my brain • Hacker News Board

Re: So I finally sorted out what happened to my brain

#221

Post by phaedrus441 » Sat, May 01, 2021, 2:38 PM UTC

vegardx wrote: post #200

codeulike wrote: post #179

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also odd is that OP uses the term 'seizure' but I think he means 'seized-up', like an engine that wont run. He explictly mentions at one point that the EEG didnt show anything like epilepsy. But then he says things like "I'd work for 30 minutes, seize, sleep for 2 hours, then work, then seize, then sleep, ad nauseum." If he was actually having siezures (absence seziures or focal seizures or myoclonic seizures or toni…

It could be like you said, but poor choice of word if that is the case. But are you even able to see that someone had a seizure from looking at an EEG after it happened? I was under the impression that it sort of have to be happening while you're measuring. I've been through multiple rounds of both MRI and EEG, mostly to be able to rule out things like brain damage as a precaution. I'm a little fuzzy on the details a…

You're correct. Routine EEG (~30 minutes) can capture active seizures and sometimes patterns that might lead you to think someone is predisposed for a seizure. Often patients need long-term monitoring ("LTM") where they are connected to an EEG for several days to tease out the source of their problems.

Re: So I finally sorted out what happened to my brain

#222

Post by da39a3ee » Sat, May 01, 2021, 2:39 PM UTC

> You have to do it yourself. You have to research things yourself. You have to hunt for doctors & specialists yourself.

This is one of the key things that establishes that Americans who don't see the problem with their healthcare system are completely insane. You are not supposed to have to research your own healthcare and choose your own specialists. That is the job of ... wait for it ... medical professionals.

Re: So I finally sorted out what happened to my brain

#223

Post by sneak » Sat, May 01, 2021, 2:40 PM UTC

cryptofistMonk wrote: post #8

ohazi wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The first two lines of that tweet: > The healthcare system in the US is a failure. > You have to do it yourself. You have to research things yourself. You have to hunt for doctors & specialists yourself. It is pretty scary. It's not a matter of whether you're going to need the healthcare system to work for you, it's when . Everybody gets older, everybody starts to lose function in various ways, and everybody dies. Th…

> You have to do it yourself. You have to research things yourself. You have to hunt for doctors & specialists yourself. That's true everywhere, though. Just because basic stuff is paid for in Canada doesn't mean we've got crack teams of doctors tracking down your diagnosis.

Standard principal-agent problem.

It can be somewhat mitigated by hiring better agents (finding doctors that are more interested in patient outcomes than their OV/day stat). Unfortunately this usually means private physicians who don't usually take insurance; the costs are usually 2-10x higher.

Quality customized personal service from highly trained professionals costs Real Money, something I've not yet found a good workaround for. Insurance for catastrophes can mitigate it for unexpected outcomes but in the long run insurance for something everyone needs (basic medical attention and care) is going to approximate 100% of the actual costs of hiring those vendors.

Finding extremely good personal services vendors (attorney, accountant, doctor, dentist, trainer) is one of the most important investments in oneself that anyone can make. It can literally make or break you.

Re: So I finally sorted out what happened to my brain

#224

Post by abstractbarista » Sat, May 01, 2021, 2:42 PM UTC

Sounds like they were binging stimulants to get their work done. The brain needs regular sleep or you burn out hard. Nothing inherently wrong with drug use, but it must be done with compassion for your body.

Re: So I finally sorted out what happened to my brain

#225

Post by PragmaticPulp » Sat, May 01, 2021, 2:42 PM UTC

wirrbel wrote: post #117

Jakobeha wrote: post #45

I don't necessarily doubt the author, but how do you chronically deprive your brain of glucose? Afaik you would get glucose back whenever you ate anything. Unless you were doing keto, but then your body and brain run on ketones. And if you did somehow deprive your brain of fuel, you would get symptoms in a much shorter span. Maybe undereating, but he doesn't list weight loss, and if you're rapidly losing weight and s…

It sounds like this was the diagnosis he was given. I have done extended water fasts for multiple days and often eat keto ( Nevertheless, who knows what combination of medical peculiarities might be involved, so I guess it cannot be ruled out. My prior assumption would still be that a case of burnout/exhaustion, or micro stroke seems like a more probable explanation. He writes > talking to other hackers & infosec fol…

> It sounds like this was the diagnosis he was given.

Not quite. He cites the specific diagnosis the doctor gave him and the associated DSM-5 code, but his extrapolation about dopamine and glucose is not part of that diagnosis. It’s not actually physically possible as he describes it.

This is a decent overview of the exact diagnosis he cites: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/conversion-di...

In short: It’s a stress-triggered disorder that doesn’t correspond to specific physical conditions, contrary to how he describes it.

Re: So I finally sorted out what happened to my brain

#226

Post by cma » Sat, May 01, 2021, 2:43 PM UTC

wittyreference wrote: post #169

vegardx wrote: post #151

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Seizures during a manic or hypomanic episode is very common, it's often what lands undiagnosed people in hospital to begin with. Lamotrigine and Lithium was primarily used to treat epilepsy, now they're also used to treat mood disorders like bipolar disorder and schizophrenia as well. The problem is often that there are compounding issues. There's nothing that stops you from having TIA at the same time. People often…

Do you have any sort of citation for this? I’m not trying to be snarky, I’d really like to read more. My understanding of the med lit is that bipolar and epilepsy aren’t particularly associated, and pure BD in particular is a rarity - when epileptic patients were assessed for BD symptoms, they were mostly only found in the confusional states pre- and post-seizure, which isn’t BD at all. At least in my hospital, the m…

Maybe serotonin syndrome? That causes seizure like stuff and mania.

Re: So I finally sorted out what happened to my brain

#227

Post by GordonS » Sat, May 01, 2021, 2:46 PM UTC

dreamcompiler wrote: post #215

wittyreference wrote: post #163

Does anyone remember that Reddit post where a guy thought his landlord was sneaking into his apartment and leaving him notes? He insisted the handwriting was completely different. Then a poster suggested he get tested for CO poisoning, which it was, and the “different handwriting” was actually a part of his delusion. “Burning out all of the glucose and dopamine in your brain” isn’t a thing. “Functional Neurological D…

> Burning out all of the glucose and dopamine in your brain” isn’t a thing You may be right that it can't happen from overwork--I've never heard of it--but glucose starvation of the brain is very much a thing. That's what hypoglycemia causes. Type 1 diabetic patients get brain fog when they take too much insulin (which causes hypoglycemia). When it's mild, they can tell it's happening and they seek sugar, which fixes…

AFAIK, when it's mild your brain is not actually starved of glucose at all, and hypoglycemic symptoms (e.g. brain fog) are caused by your endocrine system changing hormone levels (such as cortisol) to "signal" your body that it needs glucose to increase blood sugar levels. If it gets severe enough, then the brain can run out of glucose and the person can die - but AFAIK the body prioritises the brain for fuel above all else, so it really is the last thing to go.

Re: So I finally sorted out what happened to my brain

#228

Post by eloff » Sat, May 01, 2021, 2:46 PM UTC

hirako2000 wrote: post #213

eloff wrote: post #195

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I experienced something like this in my early twenties. It was very scary. I was fully incapacitated for two weeks where I couldn't do anything or make decisions, even play games, and I couldn't touch code for months. I pushed myself too hard with too little sleep and that was combined with pressure from family. There was a feeling in my mind of something snapping and it was like throwing a switch. One minute I was t…

Have you recovered entirely by now? How long did the symptoms last for to get back to normal, did you take other measures to recover or just giving some time and less stress did it for you?

I took lexapro (anti depression drug, ssri class drug). It took about 1 month to be mostly functional again and about six months to be back to normal.

I took all the pressure off, stopped coding but continued university. I still finished the semester with excellent grades - but it was business school.

Never experienced anything like that ever again. I work hard, usually 7 days a week, but I'm careful not to push past my limits and I keep stress down, exercise, sleep well, and try to eat healthyish.

Re: So I finally sorted out what happened to my brain

#229

Post by gverrilla » Sat, May 01, 2021, 2:47 PM UTC

I have a lot happen to me but at this point I know these people from medical industry just don't have proper answers and will parrott you what they have been thought or heard because they need to make paychecks otherwise they are screwed like everyone. Also they cannot identify this major social symptom, showing how little they really understand complex systems. Medical students are chosen through a very competitive process and game that doesn't ressemble real theory at all. It merits parroting, memory, and greed. Psychologist are perfect analogs to priests, and psychiatrists are at this point glorified drug dealers.

Re: So I finally sorted out what happened to my brain

#230

Post by Trasmatta » Sat, May 01, 2021, 2:48 PM UTC

dreamcompiler wrote: post #215

wittyreference wrote: post #163

Does anyone remember that Reddit post where a guy thought his landlord was sneaking into his apartment and leaving him notes? He insisted the handwriting was completely different. Then a poster suggested he get tested for CO poisoning, which it was, and the “different handwriting” was actually a part of his delusion. “Burning out all of the glucose and dopamine in your brain” isn’t a thing. “Functional Neurological D…

> Burning out all of the glucose and dopamine in your brain” isn’t a thing You may be right that it can't happen from overwork--I've never heard of it--but glucose starvation of the brain is very much a thing. That's what hypoglycemia causes. Type 1 diabetic patients get brain fog when they take too much insulin (which causes hypoglycemia). When it's mild, they can tell it's happening and they seek sugar, which fixes…

Yeah, I'm a type 1 diabetic and nothing about this person's post made sense. It's just not how blood glucose works. There's not a store of glucose in the brain that can just suddenly be depleted because you worked too much. Glucose travels in the blood and its uptake is regulated by insulin. If he was suffering from hypoglycemia he would feel effects in his entire body, and it would be at least temporarily resolved by eating sugar.