# Mitral Valve Prolapse as a source of anxiety/depression



## Beggiatoa (Dec 25, 2004)

I was diagnosed with Mitral Valve prolapse w/ regurgitation and dysautonomia with a 2 degree AV block (Wenckebach) when I was 22 years old. I am 29 now. However, I suspect that I've had this problems for many years before that. I believe this is what's causing my problems with anxiety and depression. So, instead of taking stuff to relieve symptoms, I want to attempt to correct the problem. Hard to do, yes.

I wont get into details about these problems but you can go to these links and read more.

http://ezinearticles.com/?Mitral-Valve-Prolapse-Syndrome---Being-Different&id=1233521

http://ezinearticles.com/?Dysautonomia-Symptoms-And-Treatment&id=1200367

I am going to start a regimen for collagen related issues. I have a mitral valve prolapse syndrome with regurgitation and Dysautonomia. I also have a herniated lumbar disk. All these are connective tissue related disorders.

I have no evidence to prove this will work other than a hunch.

I will take

Copper
HYALURONIC ACID
MSM
PYCNOGENOL/Enzogenol
SILICA (FROM DIATOMACEOUS EARTH)
VITAMIN C - serves as a cofactor for collagen formation
ZINC. - serves as a cofactor for collagen formation
Lysine
Glycine
Proline

All these supplements/herbs specifically target collagen in one way or the order. I hope something here will strengthen the valves in my heart and reduce the CNS response that causes the anxiety/depressin I feel.

Also will take magnesium and co-q10 and Taurine. I just read myocardial cells are made of 50% Taurine.

Any ideas or comments are welcome.

I'm not interested in treating the symptoms caused by MVP. That's easy. Magnesium and B6 do a pretty good job of this. I want to find a way to repair the structural damage that is seen in MVP.



> The chordae tendineae, or heart strings, are cord-like tendons that connect the papillary muscles to the tricuspid valve and the mitral valve in the heart.
> 
> When the right ventricle of the heart contracts, the blood pressure pushes the tricuspid valve which closes and prevents a backflow of blood into the right atrium. The chordae tendineae prevents the flaps from being everted into the right atrium. Similarly, these cord-like tendons hold in position other flaps like the bicuspid or mitral valve.
> 
> Chordae tendineae are approximately 80% collagen, while the remaining 20% is made up of elastin and endothelial cells.


 Wiki-

The human chordae tendineae is covered by the endothelium which was in continuity with the papillary muscles, the inner layers are composed by longitudinal and oblique collagen bundles intermingled with elastic fibers.

Ok. so it's the chordae tendinae that hold the valves in place and keep them from everting upwards like mine do. IN MVP, The chordae tendineae that hold the leaflets become long and thin. So, this is where the problem is. Now, the CT is made up mostly of collagen and elastin. This is my area of interest.

I truly believe this problem can be corrected with nutrition means and supplementations. This information is not already available because no one can patent herbs and amino acids for the treatment of disease, therefore, no one can money from it. By no one, I mean big pharma. So will I wait for them to develop a drug, I want to give my body more raw materials in the hopes that this will make healthier and stronger collagen and elastin.



> Composition
> 
> Elastin is primarily composed of the amino acids glycine, valine, alanine, and proline. It is a specialized protein with a molecular weight of 64 to 66 kDa, and an irregular or random coil conformation made up of 830 amino acids.
> 
> ...


Everything in nature is made of smaller and smaller components. Elastin is no different. The elastic fiber is formed from the elastic microfibril (consisting of numerous proteins such as microfibrillar-associated glycoproteins, fibrillin, fibullin, and the elastin receptor) and amorphous elastin. Of this list, fibrillin is of interest to me. Why? Fibrillin is found in 3 forms. The fibrillin-1 protein can have mutations in the gene and this has been linked to the Marfan syndrome. Now, I don't have marfan syndrome, per se but they believe everyone with an MVP has an undeveloped form of this disease. Also, "People with the disorder--and there are three times as many women as men--are often tall and slender, with long arms and fingers and thin chests." This fits my profile pretty well and it also fits the physical profile of patients with Marfan syndrome. So, not to go off-topic too much, there's a problem with fibrillin which leads to problems with elastin. Fibrillin itself is a type of glycoprotein and reviewing its synthesis might yield some clues.

Good. So elastin is also present in the intervertebral discs of the spinal column. I have a herniated disk b/w L4-L5. There is obviously a relationship here. The elastin in my body is faulty. Now, collagen is also present in the eye. I am blind as a bat, have terrible night vision and suffer for constant dry eyes. Will I see benefits there too? Hmmm..

What I remember from school, most collagen/elastin related diseases are due to improper cross-linking not the linking of the amino acids themselves. So I should add L-lysine to my regimen.

Now, collagen I suspect will be a little trickier. A distinctive feature of collagen is the regular arrangement of amino acids in each of the three chains of these collagen subunits. The sequence often follows the pattern Gly-Pro-Y or Gly-X-Hyp, where X and Y may be any of various other amino acid residues. Gly-Pro-Hyp occurs frequently. So, collagen is high in glycine. Great. Glycine is a nonessential amino acid, which means that it is manufactured from other amino acids in the liver; it does not have to be obtained directly through the diet. But I'll add it to my regimen anyways. Proline is also used here, so I'll add that too. So far, we've added Glycine and Lysine and Proline.

_This is just a template. I will be editing, re-editing, adding and deleting information as I gather it. _


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## CopadoMexicano (Aug 21, 2004)

Well, in your case the physiological aspect of anxiety and depression is probably due to the physical nature of dysautonomia and or mitro valve prolapse. Interesting topic though I always thought my anxiety was due to a physical problem and convinced I might have dysaitonomia or mitro valve prolapse I read somewhere in a agoraphobia book both anxiety like panic attacks and phobias specifically agoraphobia can coexist but are not causes of one another, however the artices u gave on Dysautonomia ahd mitro valve prolapse syndrome are something Im going to look into./ thanks for the post.


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## Beggiatoa (Dec 25, 2004)

it would be interesting and a challenge as well for everyone to sit down and write down every single complaint they have either physical or emotional. They could be the most mundane thing from achy feet and joints to hernias, dry eyes, nails that don't grow, hair falling out, headaches, just not feeling right..whatever. I guarantee if you look closely enough, you'll find a relationship b/w these all. The first time I went to my doctor to complain about depression, etc. I was 19 years old. In addition to that, I had composed a neat little list of other complaints I was feeling currently. Needless to say, I was labeled as a hypochondriac immediately and was the butt of jokes by the staff. I was complaining of things like rapid hearbeat, tachycardia, shortness of breath, fatigue, depression and other stuff. He said I was too young bla bla bla. However, when he performed an EKG, the joke was on him! 

Anyways, when I started magnesium, most of those unrelated complaints went away like headaches, aching feet, chronic tension and spams in my back, etc.

My point is, don't ignore the rest of your body just because the mind is ill. It might offer up clues to what is wrong with you.


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## Beggiatoa (Dec 25, 2004)

This amazing website has all the information I was looking for.

http://www.ctds.info/index.html


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## Beggiatoa (Dec 25, 2004)

This is the final list of supplements/herbs I will try

Hyaluronic Acid/type II collagen

vitamin D3

silica - from diatomaceous earth

pycnogenol

B6 - up to 100 mg

copper - needed to make elastin.

Fish Oil

magnesium/taurine


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## Beggiatoa (Dec 25, 2004)

::Update::

I've been taking copper now for a few weeks. I stopped taking magnesium 1 week ago and I can say I don't feel anxiety at all. Something is working. Is it the copper? I also started on Q-10, ALA, colostrum and capryllic acid but I doubt those are having any effect.


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## nunni (Sep 12, 2008)

Hi Beggiatoa
I also have FINALLY been diagnosed with mvps and also have a very mild regurgitation. I am really curious about your progress. I am currently taking 30 mg q10 and 500 mg. L-Carnitine and about 700 mg. of magnesium. BUT I am still suffering from anxiety (which gets so much worse being a female with hormonal issues). My left arm always burns when this happens! My stomache doesn't seem to be able to tolerate all the magnesium.... I have suffered some weight loss and have extreme insomnia. I would be really greatful if anybody had any tips on how to deal with the depression and the anxiety etc. associated with this and with adrenal burnout.

Thanks a bunch!


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## nunni (Sep 12, 2008)

I thought I would also add in that the magnesium I have been using is citrate so I will try the others if I can get a hold of them. I am living in Europe so it might be harder to get a hold of the mag taur or glyc. 

I also bought some artic root, a while back I took it and it gave me more anxiety but I think it was because I went nutters after stopping some nasty anti- deps. I see things in a different way now that I know what the heck is wrong with me, sad though considering I have felt this way all my life! 

Need to get rid of the anxiety etc!! Also want to add in that I have been working out every day!


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## Beggiatoa (Dec 25, 2004)

I am sorry to hear you are also experiencing this. However, I am happy you finally have a name to what plagues you. I'll try to put together all the info I've gathered so far and see if that can help you. I'll admit, treating the depression was very tricky. But I'll let you in on the advances I've made.

Please try to get a better form of magnesium: lactate, glycinate, taurate, orotate and get some Taurine also. Those two things will synergistically help with anxiety. Magnesium and Taurine are by far the most important supplements for patients with MVP.

L-theanine, get some and take 400-500 mg in a single dose. This will lift your mood significantly.

Test your levels of copper. The most reliable ones are the Ceruloplasmin test. If you have MVP, copper should be low. If you read above, MVP is due to a problem with elastin cross-link formation. The enzyme that does this is lysyl oxide and this is copper dependent.

Also test Vit D levels. Do you get enough sun everyday? If not, a Vit D3 supplement will help with depression and this will help absorb magnesium better. Also, try to reduce the amount of Dairy you consume and stop all calcium supplements if any. Too much calcium and not enough magnesium is linked to a host of problems, including depression, anxiety, MVP. So for now, you want to keep calcium low (not absent) and magnesium high.

All this stuff is a bit more advanced in my opinion. Right now, you're focus should be on controlling anxiety and depresion. Once you do that, you can move on to the more complex details. I was taking 400 mg magnesium taurate 2 or 3 times a day to keep my symptoms at bay.

Also, read this site. It has lifesaving information. You have to first understand your disease before you can try to treat it.

http://www.ctds.info/mvp1.html really dissect the whole site and not just the page I linked you to.

On a side note, I see we're both Leo's and into our 30's (I'm 29).


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## Beggiatoa (Dec 25, 2004)

Have you considered whether you have Candida overgrowth? Perform the spit test and let me know. I'm curious about your results.

http://www.adhdrelief.com/CandidaTest.html

Also, until you control the anxiety, Carnitine and rhodiola is contraindicated and that can possibly worsen the anxiety. What you need right now is inhibition. Good inhibitory amino acids are Taurine, Glycine, Gaba.

Diet is very important also. Get rid of glutamates, aspartame in your diet. That means no chinese food, no ramen noodles of chicken bouillons, no sodas, especially diet sodas and zero artificial sweeteners. Treating this is a bit more complex that just taking a few pills. You also need to learn to listen to your body and how it reacts to different foods and drinks. What makes it worse? Better?


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## Beggiatoa (Dec 25, 2004)

In short, the supplements I recommend you take are the following:

Magnesium
Taurine
Copper (only if your deficient)
Curcumin
Fish oil (need > 4 grams per day)

In the ctd site I linked above, you'll read something about Desmosine. You can increase this with high dose fish oil and bone soup.

I you believe you have adrenal fatigue because of constant high cortisol, I want to say that magnesium will help overtime but this is something you should get checked out with your Doctors. They can probably correct this with steroids.

On a side note, I read that Aids patients when they become terminal, they loose extreme weight, have no appetite, etc. This usually means death. Well, one clever Doctor realized all these symptoms were the same ones as adrenal fatigue and by giving them low dose steroids, actually brought them back to a functional state. Point here is, adrenal fatigue can be corrected


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## Beggiatoa (Dec 25, 2004)

Also read this

http://www.aor.ca/int/magazines/pdf/Hol ... alamin.pdf

you might benefit from taking sublingual methycobalamine.


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## Johnny_Genome (Nov 11, 2003)

Beggiatoa- 

Can you list your symptoms of Disautonomia? I have not been diagnosed, but I'm pretty convinced I have this.


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## Beggiatoa (Dec 25, 2004)

I posted a link at the beginning of this post. It's basically all those symptoms.

"With Dysautonomia, a person may become dizzy, lose her balance, faint, and experience various aches and pains. Other symptoms include fatigue to exhaustion, various chest pains, headaches, severe panic or anxiety attacks, tachycardia, hypotension, poor exercise tolerance, dizziness, sleep disorders, tinnitus, gastrointestinal symptoms (IBS), sweating, blurred vision, numbness and tingling, and depression."


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## proximo20 (Nov 25, 2006)

first "Severe Bioprosthetic Mitral Valve Endocarditis due to. Candida albicans."

from www.icr-heart.com/journal/content/2003/ ... n_2005.pdf

Then "One doctor has reported that over 80% of the women who have been diagnosed as having mitral valve prolapse suffer from an overgrowth of candida albicans."

from www.diagnose-me.com/cond/C165243.html

Solution

"Antifungal Effects of Vinegar and Garlic Combinations on Candida albicans"

Results: both the red and white vinegars were effectively fungicidal for C. albicans at a concentration of 25% (p<0.001, ANOVA). On the other hand, when cells were exposed to 12.5% WDV and RWV, a 2 log reduction of growth was observed; however, total killing was not seen at any time-point. Although 4 mg/ml of garlic powder alone achieved a 3 log reduction in growth, when WDV was combined with 4 mg/ml of garlic powder, a 4 log reduction in growth was seen at 8 hours and total killing was seen at 10 hours (p<0.001). When 12.5% RWV was combined with 4mg/ml garlic powder, minimal reduction in growth was seen. In Conclusion: the results of this study suggest that vinegar in combination with garlic has both fungistatic and fungicidal properties and could potentially be for the treatment of candidiasis
from
http://iadr.confex.com/iadr/2003SanAnto ... _26547.htm


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## Wellington (Dec 29, 2007)

It's funny how pharm. companies make synthetic fungal drugs, and a combination such as that works really good and is cheap.


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## proximo20 (Nov 25, 2006)

Wellington said:


> It's funny how pharm. companies make synthetic fungal drugs, and a combination such as that works really good and is cheap.


Do they work also for internal problems?


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## Wellington (Dec 29, 2007)

They may. I think an anti-fungal for meningitis might..


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## Beggiatoa (Dec 25, 2004)

That's it. I'm going to crush 5-8 cloves of garlic and add it two a couple tablespoons of raw apple cider vinegar and water and chug it!!!!


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## proximo20 (Nov 25, 2006)

Beggiatoa said:


> That's it. I'm going to crush 5-8 cloves of garlic and add it two a couple tablespoons of raw apple cider vinegar and water and chug it!!!!


I think that would be useful also against kavorka


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## Beggiatoa (Dec 25, 2004)

proximo20 said:


> Beggiatoa said:
> 
> 
> > That's it. I'm going to crush 5-8 cloves of garlic and add it two a couple tablespoons of raw apple cider vinegar and water and chug it!!!!
> ...


Great! I don't want to cure Kavorka! lol I guess Garlic does kill everything!


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## proximo20 (Nov 25, 2006)

Beggiatoa said:


> proximo20 said:
> 
> 
> > Beggiatoa said:
> ...


after giving a second thought I think that if this stops our SA then it would be good for our kavoraka too

Please share your experience after trying that recipe. Your family should also tell us their smelling experiences of course

But even if it does not work after the first time we can try it for one month in lesser amount. I think the person who benefited from vinegar was saying his SA was reduced after the second month. Sometimes duration is more effective than stregth.


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## nunni (Sep 12, 2008)

I just wanted to add in that one of the many symptoms I had or have associated with mvp / dysatonamia is REALLY cold hands and feet, and besides the other stuff about being dizzy etc. Ialso became REALLY noise sensative. Ican't say how much thirty minutes of walking and or running and drinking ots of water has helped these symptoms. I am still trying to get the magnesium part right since I DO notice a difference after taking it. I get energized, energized enough to excercise!! 

Candida is a devil..I have been drinking a teaspon of apple cider vinegar each morning in a glass of water and eating a garlic every night for at least a month. Can't say if I know if it's helping or not yet.


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## Beggiatoa (Dec 25, 2004)

The noice sensitivity is due to magnesium deficiency. That's been proven. I had this too! I couldn't go to a movie of concert without being bothered by the noise.

Also, in MVP/dysautonomia, the problem seems to be low blood volume. Let's say, when you stand up, there's not enough blood to go up to your head, so you feel dizzy. After a while, your body compensates and takes blood away from hands and feel and sends it to the rest of your body. This causes the coldness. You need to drink more water and salt, preferably celtic salt.

http://www.askwaltstollmd.com/archives/mvp/353818.html

Also, get the right magnesium..glycinate, taurate, malate, you will notice a diff!!

I've been taking apple cider vinegar with water. This stuff is wonderul! I was having some IBS problems and this took it away. I guess the problem WAS with the digestion of food. I've also notice that I'm burning more fat. Something is working. I take two tablespoons though. I don't have the courage to eat the garlic yet. One day...


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## nunni (Sep 12, 2008)

Sounds like a good idea and even if the citrate irritated my stomache my noise sensitivety has been much less. I have not taken it for two days and now I want to shoot the neighborhood dog :wtf 

I still take the ACV every day and am back on the garlic!!!

Ineteresting about the blood volume thing, explains my symptoms to a T.


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## Beggiatoa (Dec 25, 2004)

It appears Dysautonomia can be caused by a prolongued thiamine deficiency. It just found this link and I'm still researching it but...sigh...finally..some answers.

http://ecam.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/nem064

I can't believe it. Can all my symptoms be treated by simply taking thiamine?


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## Beggiatoa (Dec 25, 2004)

I've been doing more reading and it appears this story is incomplete. I'm going to update this with more info on chronic homocysteine levels and its effect on collagen and elastin. There is a BIG relationship there.


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## pax80a (Nov 3, 2011)

Hi!

I've been diagonsed with mvp and have all the symptoms... where shoud i start?


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## Beggiatoa (Dec 25, 2004)

pax80a said:


> Hi!
> 
> I've been diagonsed with mvp and have all the symptoms... where shoud i start?


Magnesium, lysine and a good B-complex.


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