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  • BDD Moderators: Keif’ Richards

Do Supplements Work For Bipolar?

L

lylelovesit

Ex-Bluelighter
Joined
Sep 18, 2012
Messages
16
Do they work or do they not work? That is the question---Shakespeare, hahaha jk nah but I asked my shrink if they do and he said "I don't really think that they work, but they might". Does anyone have experience with any nootropics of supplements that actually work for depression or anxiety? That aren't just placeboing? Let me know please! Thanks :)
 
Piracetam and the other -racetams have been showing some promise in antidepression effects. They're pretty good drugs for your brain in general, so no harm in trying it out.
 
I have bipolar, take about ten grams of fish oil per day, and am on no pharmaceuticals. By and large symptoms are gone, and my disorder wasn't mild, either!
 
How many mgs of racetams do you reccomend? Does it cause headaches? Also I take Lovaza for my diabetes which has fish oils in it, but I have bad OCD and Luvox really took that away, any ideas on what to do? Should I drop my 1 benzo Ativan and Luvox and go by the way of Ho Chi?
 
It's one of those things where supplements work very well for some people and not as well for others, and which ones or combination of ones to take as well as the dosages are very individual. So it will likely take some experimentation. Which is pretty much the same for any Rx drugs as well. Why not try a naturopath or a psychiatrist who specializes in supplements?

I don't have bipolar but it runs in my family so my psychiatrist was talking about the supplements he recommends for bipolar, which, if I recall correctly included:
- fish oil (lots)
- lecithin
- 5-HTP
- DHEA
- GABA
- amino acids such as l-lysine + l-tyrosine
- he also says everyone with mental health issues should take a multi-vitamin, a B-100 and vit D

I've also heard a lot about lithium orotate, which is different from the Rx lithium citrate or carbonate (there's a thread around here about it I can look for if you're interested).

But I would highly recommend you talk to an experienced professional who is knowledgeable in natural treatments for bipolar. They can cater a plan to your exact situation and may have specific mixtures that are meant for bipolar so you don't have to take 20 pills a day, and it's good to have someone to monitor your treatment, alter it as needed and keep you on track.
 
Well I only take 3 pills currently, Lorazepam, Luvox and Perphanezine. I'm not sure I trust supplements b/c even though I know the pharameceutical companies are in bed with doctors, surely this profession isn't that corrupt, and by now wouldn't there be legitimate studies backing supplements? Think about it, you can't keep people in the dark forever!
 
Yes they are really that corrupt. Pharmaceutical companies pay for the studies, so they aren't going to pay for studies of things they don't/can't hold the patent to and therefore can't make as much money off. But there actually have been some legit studies on a number of supplements - which ones are you interested in? If you like I can try to find some for you.

EDIT: Oh and what I meant about "not having to take 20 pills a day" is with the supplements sometimes there might be a combo that works well for a specific mental health issue and so it's nice to have, say one pill that has 5 different ingredients as opposed to having to take 5 different pills.
 
Actual studies of what? The pharm industry rigs studies? That's more or less common knowledge.

In reality, pharms do work for some people. Just usually at the risk of various long term side effects including dependance and addiction. Supplements can general healthy living can make a world of a difference.

I do not recommend you discontinue any of your medication without first talking to your doctor, however. It may be a good idea to discuss with your doctor that you plan on taking supplements and which ones you're planning on taking. I don't see any interactions with your medication and the supplements that other posters have recommended but that doesn't mean they don't exist.

Good luck :)
 
I just don't believe this can the case for all people. Different strokes for different folks. I have been on Luvox for a long time, but b4 I took it my OCD was so out of hand I was wearing fucking gloves! Now I eat with my silverware on the table, which I know is actually disgusting in an eatery, but it's my way of saying fuck you to ocd!
 
I'm not saying that medication doesn't work - it does work. But supplements can really help too. The best approach is probably a well thought out mixture of the two (medication and supplementation/healthy eating habits) that helps the most.
 
Well I am currently getting off or just ended actually a Tricyclic one that was making me sleep alot. I am working out and walking daily, eating better, and I am managing well. Still though I wonder about long term effects and if I should start all over and do something radically different, but I am scared to do that, everytime I cut off all meds I end up in the mental ward. Not too sure. lol
 
Don't cut off all meds. The lorazepam is a benzodiazepine and its dangerous to go cold turkey off benzodiazepines.

If you decide to take supplements, take them in addition to your medication.
 
Well I wouldn't go cold turkey. And trying to get off a benzo is about as easy as getting off heroin, lol. It sucks!

Is piracetam ok to mix with SSRIS and Perphanezine? Also I have to have an idea of what dose to start with?
 
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Good info. <sorry no sourcing is allowed> Thanks so much!
 
Last edited by a moderator:
lylelovesit said:
Can anyone site any actual studies or is this all conspiracy theory stuff?
Click to expand...

Do you mean actual studies that show supplements work, or studies that prove that the pharmaceutical industry is corrupt? :?

If you are asking about studies on supplements, there are actually many, you just have to look for them and many doctors don't know about them. For example, a quick search for "bipolar fish oil" on Google Scholar turned up the following:

Background Omega 3 Fatty acids may inhibit neuronal signal transduction pathways in a manner similar to that of lithium carbonate and valproate, 2 effective treatments for bipolar disorder. The present study was performed to examine whether omega 3 fatty acids also exhibit mood-stabilizing properties in bipolar disorder.

Methods A 4-month, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, comparing omega 3 fatty acids (9.6 g/d) vs placebo (olive oil), in addition to usual treatment, in 30 patients with bipolar disorder.

Results A Kaplan-Meier survival analysis of the cohort found that the omega 3 fatty acid patient group had a significantly longer period of remission than the placebo group. In addition, for nearly every other outcome measure, the omega 3 fatty acid group performed better than the placebo group.

Conclusion Omega 3 Fatty acids were well tolerated and improved the short-term course of illness in this preliminary study of patients with bipolar disorder.
[Source]
Click to expand...

As for corruption in the pharmaceutical industry and pharm companies greatly influencing doctors and medical journals and other literature used by doctors, one simply has to do a Google search on terms such as "pharmaceutical industry corrupt" to turn up many articles from legit news sources. The World Health Organization (WHO) even issued a warning about the corruption and unethical practices that are endemic to every step of the pharmaceuticals business: "Corruption in the pharmaceutical sector occurs throughout all stages of the medicine chain, from research and development to dispensing and promotion," their fact sheet reads. The pharm industry is solely concerned with profit, so why wouldn't they suppress info about alternative treatments so that they can make more money?
 
Absolutely. I take 5HTP, St. John's wort, omega-3, l-tryptophan, and a few others and they seem to work for me better than depakote and lithium did. I mean in regards to my emotions I'm still not functioning as reg people do. Depakote made me empty and zombie like and anorexic
 
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