Ditch your lithium

Posted by Shawn. T. on July 19, 2002, at 21:15:28

In reply to Information overload on depression, bipolar, etc., posted by Shawn. T. on July 18, 2002, at 23:24:08

Sodium valproate is the best prescription mood stabilizer. It has fewer side effects than lithium. It works just as well. I'm still wishy washy on sodium valproate though. Personally, I wouldn't take it unless someone could show me that it is more effective than fish oils & has fewer side effects.
What all mood stabilizers have in common is their ability to inhibit the activity of protein kinase C. That said, the smartest thing to do would be to take something that is both natural and safe.
You could try taking fish oil concentrate to treat bipolar disorder as others have already made note of. Personally, I think it's a great idea. Fish oils inhibit the activity of protein kinase C. They are neuroprotective. They prevent mania. They're good for you. I can guarantee you that they show fewer side effects than lithium does. Note that you should make sure that you have a diet low in inositol content if you are bipolar and want to assist your mood stabilizer.
Consider that a lot of very light skinned people like myself probably have ancestors that lived in northern climates where agriculture was not as plentiful. They ate a lot of fish. That served to prevent them from becoming manic during spring and summer. During late fall and winter, they would likely become depressed to deal with a reduction in available food if they were not used to relying on fish for their diet. They also would not receive as much light. The loss of fish intake for people who were used to consuming a lot of fish oils would leave them manic (I'm thinking about what happens when you take someone with bipolar disorder off of lithium). The manic symptoms and depressive symptoms would cancel each other out, and they would feel normal all year. They would feel less stressed out most of the time and would therefore probably live longer (e.g. the fish oils had a wide range of positive indirect effects upon them). What good does this information do us? I think it signals that we need to increase our consideration for the unique mental health needs of different ethnic groups. Is there such a thing as socioneurobiology? I think so.
Sodium valproate mechanisms
http://www4.infotrieve.com/search/databases/detailsNew.asp?artID=6676795
Fish oil mechanisms
http://www4.infotrieve.com/search/databases/detailsNew.asp?artID=23117499
About protein kinase c
http://biopsychiatry.com/protein-kinase-c.htm
Likely mood stabilizer mechanism
http://www4.infotrieve.com/search/databases/detailsNew.asp?artID=10679995
Unlikely mood stabilizer mechanism
http://www4.infotrieve.com/search/databases/detailsNew.asp?artID=6893235
Bipolar mechanisms
http://biopsychiatry.com/bipolmech.htm
Fish oil information
http://www.gnc.com/health_notes/Supp/Fish_Oil.htm

Thread

Inisotol linked to bipolar disorder Shawn. T. 7/18/02
Re: Inisotol linked to bipolar disorderShawn jaby 7/18/02
Information overload on depression, bipolar, etc. Shawn. T. 7/18/02
Re: Inisotol linked to bipolar disorderShawn Shawn. T. 7/19/02
Re: Information overload on depression, bipolar, etc. » Shawn. T. turalizz 7/19/02
general info on inositol katekite 7/19/02
Re: general info on inositol » katekite Shawn. T. 7/19/02
Re: Information overload on depression, bipolar, etc. » turalizz Shawn. T. 7/19/02
Ditch your lithium Shawn. T. 7/19/02
Re: Information overload on depression, bipolar, etc. » Shawn. T. turalizz 7/20/02
Re: Information overload on depression, bipolar, etc. » turalizz Shawn. T. 7/20/02
Re: Information overload on depression, bipolar, etc. cybercafe 7/21/02
Clarifications » cybercafe Shawn. T. 7/21/02

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