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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 6 of 6. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Christ_empowered on October 2, 2010, at 17:55:50
So, I take vitamins. Lots of vitamins. A b-100, 6 grams niacinamide, vitamin e+selenium, vitamin c when I think about it...and a multi-vitamin. In addition, I take 30mgs of Abilify each day.
I feel as if I'm finally being restored to sanity. I started having mental problems as a pre-teen, so this is a pretty big deal. Suddenly, I'm not only mood-swing and psychosis-free, I'm also interested in doing mundane, day-to-day things, like cleaning up my apartment and bathing.
I can't say that the orthomolecular approach will work for everyone, but I thought I'd post this in case somebody was thinking about giving it a try. Apparently, for me, the full-dose medication+supplements approach=success.
Posted by Hombre on October 2, 2010, at 19:13:27
In reply to Supplements restoring my sanity, posted by Christ_empowered on October 2, 2010, at 17:55:50
I think the meds + supplement route makes a lot of sense. Sometimes years of mental illness will lead to a pretty unhealthy state of being I know when I was depressed I didn't eat right or exercise enough. And all that chronic stress...it really puts a hurt on the body.
Have you tried adding supplemental magnesium to your routine?
Posted by Christ_empowered on October 2, 2010, at 19:35:18
In reply to Re: Supplements restoring my sanity, posted by Hombre on October 2, 2010, at 19:13:27
no, I've never considered magnesium. What does it do? What's the dosage?
Thanks.
Posted by Hombre on October 3, 2010, at 0:24:11
In reply to Re: Supplements restoring my sanity, posted by Christ_empowered on October 2, 2010, at 19:35:18
For the science behind what magnesium does, Google would be better. It seems to be involved in hundreds of reactions within your body, production of sex hormones, energy metabolism, and regulating heart rate.
For me personally, it relaxes tension in the muscles, relieves anxiety and helps produce energy. I also sleep better when I take a dose at night.
I take magnesium glycinate 200mg in the morning and about a tablespoon of magnesium citrate powder (~200mg elemental Mg, maybe) at night. I think I need to add another 200-400mg during the day. As usual, people with mental illness probably need more or suffer from deficiency/malabsorption.
I forgot how much a difference Mg made as I moved on to other supplements. Also, since I get constipation from my antidepressants, the Mg citrate helps with the morning ritual. If you don't need things to go any faster than they do, I think the glycinate or some other amino acid chelate would be better. As usual, the cheaper versions, -oxide especially, are not as good. I personally use Bluebonnet Chelated Magnesium since it has Albion minerals (I guess made by a respected lab) and has 200mg elemental Mg a pill, 180 pills n the bottle. A bottle could last anywhere from 2-6 months depending on how much you take.
Some say you should balance with calcium, but the ratio that's best for you depends on what you need. I'm up in the air as to whether I need supplemental calcium. I definitely need the Mg. Many people do, as it has been systematically eliminated from the soil and from our diets. Leafy greens, nuts and sea vegetables are good sources.
Magnesium seems important enough that whole books have been written about it, such as "The Magnesium Miracle". But you can save time by just understanding that "Magnesium is good."
I hope someone else can chime in with more specific details.
Posted by morgan miller on October 3, 2010, at 1:11:19
In reply to Supplements restoring my sanity, posted by Christ_empowered on October 2, 2010, at 17:55:50
Did you ever try fish oil? I believe you were asking about it before.
I like magnesium as well, it's very calming for me. I take 400 mg magnesium glycinate at night.
Posted by Lao Tzu on October 3, 2010, at 17:31:42
In reply to Supplements restoring my sanity, posted by Christ_empowered on October 2, 2010, at 17:55:50
Yes, I believe you. Since adding the vitamins to my meds about three years ago, I've been feeling so much better. The orthomolecular approach does work. The vitamins I take include B1, B2, B6, B12, E and C, selenium and zinc, fish and borage oils, melatonin, calcium/magnesium 1:1 ratio at bedtime. I also take 300mg of cinnamon, which has a slight AD effect for me. In the past three years, I really had to experiment a lot to determine which supplements worked the best for me and what dosages of each I could tolerate. I gave up on folic acid. It only made me worse. Occasionally, I'll take Niacin before an anxiety-provoking situation, but I don't use it everyday. I, too, am on some heavy medication---Zoloft, Lamictal, Risperdal and I suffer from bipolar/schizophrenia. I have auditory hallucinations, but the Risperdal keeps them under control. I rate myself about a 7 or 8 out of 10 with the vitamin/medicine combination, whereas before with just the meds I was probably about a 5 or 6. The meds are absolutely necessary for psychosis and mood, but the vitamins do help a lot. I'm glad someone is actually benefitting from the orthomolecular approach. I think it really does work if you can determine which supplements work best for you.
Lao
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