This blog has helped us to think and rethink how Paula lost her mind in her forties.
We could not understand then and no one wanted to explore this from a pathophysiological lens, not even after we found out that she had a decreased rate of breathing at rest.
So we wrote this blog to puzzle it out ourselves.
In retrospect, Paula had been working for years in an 100 year old, dilapidated school, which was very overcrowded and poorly ventilated, yet refitted to function with closed windows, as is the modern way to save energy.
Paula had been working there for over a decade and cost- saving measures and repairs to the old building were ongoing. Ventilation of the school suffered, heat and humidity increased, so too, mold [in the bathrooms for example], and windows were unopened.
On retrospect, I think this was a perfect storm of physical factors that overcame Paula’s already limited ability to combat rising carbon dioxide levels in the school. The school was in the middle of farmland and farm chemicals were nearby and airborne. Chemicals related to rain cows and corn apparently can be toxic.
I think that all of this resulted in the hypercapnic episode that, once started, was difficult to recover from, without medical help.
Even when Paula got better, she was unable to return to work at this school without suffering a renewed attack.
Hypercapnia can cause reversible episodes of reversible mental confusion of all kinds. Hypercapnic respiratory failure can cause distress and anguish.
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[To understand our ongoing ideas mind and loss of mind and the role of PCO2 and hypercapnia, please look at our post on *** a Potential two Step Marker for Bipolar Depressive Illness [to start] and our post on *** How to Save a Manic Depressive Life.
1] https://ofsoundmind.life/2020/11/09/we-have-a-2-step-marker-for-bipolar-illness/ We have a potential new 2 step biomarker for bipolar illness. Ventilatory issues and [hidden] hypercapnia can cause specific patterns of “odd behaviour”, mood and locomotor activity.
AND
2] https://ofsoundmind.life/2020/11/11/how-to-save-a-manic-depressives-life/
At the very least!
Paula and I have identified a ventilatory injury/defect in that I can be most clearly identified in the depressive stage of manic depressive insanity. Kraepelin seems to have identified the same injury/defect over 100+ years ago. This is what is guiding us to new research to connect the dots. It is a lot of fun. It is something that scientists can follow up on. And we think this will make a huge difference in the new updated understanding of the reversible syndrome of bipolar illness and its treatment. this is how we have gotten to learn about adenosine and its ability to inhibit respiration rate in the face of hypercapnia……to be continued.]
next posts *****The pattern of vital signs may predict future illness, including mental illness, as one ages, is going to be our next blog [we do not want to forget].
also ***** atrophy of hippocampus and depression
Of Sound Mind 