My Regimin

[buttercup]

Well, I too am a human experiment. I have tried at least 4 different anti-depressants (including Paxil, Wellbutrin, Effexor, Prozac) plus anti-anxiety (Xanax) and Sleep Aid (Ambien) and Ritalin. This is pretty scary to me--had some lousy side effects. So...I gave up all but the Ritalin in January.

I struggle with depression, anxiety, anger, and all the ADHD symptoms of inattention, fidgeting, impulse control (especially when angry), nailbiting. I also have severe hypoglycemia (sugar was tested in the 50s). My dad and sister are diabetic, so I am definitely at risk.

Here's what is working at this point:

Liquid B Complex. (Liquid Health:Energy and Stress) - wow, my anxiety almost completely disappeared. Haven't used Xanax in months.

Omega 3 Fish Oil (1000 mg). Haven't been depressed in months. The usual triggers don't send me plummeting down into my bed.

Melatonin. Works more slowly than Ambien, but not too bad overall. I'm trying to wean off Ambien.

Newer and not so sure of:

L-Phenylalanine

5-HTP

L-Glutamine

DMAE

Vincamine - recommended by guy at health food store. Here's what it is supposed to do.
Therapeutic Applications: Vincamine is known primarily as a vasodilator and is in general use as an aid in activities requiring highly focused attention and concentration such as technical writing or computer operation. Vincamine has also been indicated in the treatment of tinnitus or ringing in the ears and for the treatment of poor memory.

Chromium - blood sugar control

Calcium/Magnesium

1 TB Blackstrap mollasses - iron.

All I can say is that I made the mistake of taking these all at breakfast yesterday. OMG! Next thing I knew I was bent over a trash can until 5 min. later, I realized that it was all going to go South instead.

I swear by the Omega 3 and Liquid B. Also, unbelievably, I'm not biting my nails!! I am a lifelong biter to the quick and beyond. My mom said I did it almost since I could get my fingers to my mouth. Spent a lifetime of people trying to break my habit. I just don't feel the need to bite lately. I actually have medium lenth nails at the moment.

I may lay off the L-Glutamine and Chromium and just try to introduce the Vincamine for about a week and then try not using Ritalin to see if it works. Now that I have handled my moods, I would really like to find a way not to need Ritalin. I don't have a lot of hopes here though--it seems to be the only thing with enough OOMPF to get me even near on track and not win the Worst Employee of the Year award...or worse.

Anyway have any luck with any of these?

Oh yah, diet and exercise.

I have been eating:
oatmeal and cooked whole barley
chicken and fish
squash and other deep leafy greens
no milk - use rice milk
fruit (keep cut up fuji apples in a bag in my purse)
lots of water
trying to stay away from fast food as much as humanly possible.
cook large batches of fresh vegetable soup and freeze
boiled eggs

Exercise: Have been trying to get 1/2 hour of aerobic activity in a day. Also added some toning exercises. this is hard to stick to, but am trying. I go to the gym sometimes, but also bought a couple of exercise videos for variety.

[rosyred45]

Oh my, you sound like what I want to do, but don't know enough specific things about each of the things to want to take them all.

I can't say as I blame ya for standing over the trash. Your first lesson learned. Don't take them all at once.

I have seen were some members here space them out during the day. I'm sure there are specifics time wise and interaction wise, but unfortunately I new at this to, so I'm learning right here with ya.

I'm sure if you go through some of hte old posts, they have a wealth of information. Or you can search for it and it'll bring up posts as specific as you set it.

Have a good day
Kaiti

[catatonic]

Hi Buttercup, and welcome.

Glad to hear you're having so much success eliminating the pharmaceuticals. While they may be effective, none comes free of side effects.

Your B-complex sounds like it's working for you, that's great. Melatonin is a good natural anti-depressant. And Omega-3 is critically important to take...in your 1,000mg, are you getting at least 480mg of DHA and an equal (or greater) amount of EPA?

I am a big believer in the therapeutic value of MAGNESIUM. Take plenty! (You might be interested in reading some of the research on magnesium at www.mgwater.com ) Just make sure that you do NOT take magnesium oxide. It's lack of bio-availability makes it completely worthless. Pick any other form of magnesium, whatever appeals to you, just NOT magnesium oxide.

Getting your iron through molasses is an excellent idea. Figs and raising are also iron-rich. Food sources are more readily utilized and won't constipate you the way iron supplements will.

Chromium is another one you'd be better off getting through your diet (American cheese is a good source). Many credible sources feel chromium is useless for regulating blood sugar. See, for example:
www.dietitian.com/chromium.html

However, there is the possibility that it will help, particularly if you have Type 2 diabetes, and particularly if your goal is to prevent dramatic drops in blood sugar. Experts seem to feel that doses between 50mg and 200mg daily are safe. Taking chromium and biotin together may increase the effectiveness, although the evidence remains weak at this point. (Biotin ought to be a part of your B-complex.) See:
www.wholehealthmd.com/refshelf/substances_view/1,1525,10018,00.html

The risk:
"researchers have shown that chromium supplements damaged cell chromosomes which are the blueprints for a cell's function and reproduction. It is generally thought that cancer starts with a change to the genetic material in a cell causing it to grow and reproduce without restraint" (from "Ask the Dietician")

On phenylalanine and glutamine...I consider these amino acids to be a part of the "excitotoxins" family. (You might want to read "Excitotoxins" by Russell Blaylock...very interesting.) Certainly there's evidence that they may stimulate your brain...there's also evidence they'll stimulate it to death. These aminos are relatives of MSG and aspartame, and I avoid them on general principle. That's just me, if you feel they help you, that's great. But keep in mind that the temporary improvement in mental acuity you feel may be coming at the expense of neurons literally being excited to the point of death.

DMAE is not a bad choice, if you are among those that will respond positively to it. It will stimulate production of the choline in the brain (just as lecithin does), and there is solid evidence that it can help with ADHD. It was once researched as an ADHD medication, but due to the cost of research and the fact that as a naturally occuring substance there wasn't a billion dollars to be made from it, the research was dropped. You want to take 100mg - 300mg twice daily. I'd advise testing this separately for several weeks to see if you respond to it, without any other new items masking its possible effect. There's a good overview of DMAE here:
www.wholehealthmd.com/refshelf/substances_view/1,1525,10023,00.html

5-HTP, which may help increase the brain's serotonin levels, has some evidence behind it in treatment of depression and even anxiety attacks. There's a very balanced evaluation of it here:
www.vanderbilt.edu/AnS/psychology/health_psychology/5htp_myth.htm

Vincamine, I don't know how much hope I'd put in that: according to medical research literature, vincamine has demonstrated effectiveness in treatment of glaucoma, possibly in preventing ischemic stroke. In those with chronic cerebrovascular disorders (i.e., the elderly) there is good indication that the vasodilating effects of vincamine helps with mental acuity by increasing blood flow in the brain. It has NOT been studied in normal, healthy, young populations, so it's only speculation that it might help a regular person be more mentally alert or focused. Be very careful with vincamine, as it can cause dangerous heart arrhythmias, and you should stop taking it immediately if you feel any cardiac effect. Some of it's other potential side effects (from U.S. Pharmacist):

"Possible adverse reactions to vincamine include stomach pressure, upper abdominal pain, nausea, facial flushing, slight reductions in both systolic and diastolic blood pressure, sleep disturbances, and headache."

My personal recommendation would be to stick with:
B-complex
Omega-3
melatonin
molasses
magnesium (as long as it's not oxide)

and to dump:
vincamine
phenylalanine
glutamine

and to carefully monitor:
chromium
5-HTP
DMAE

Hope this helps. I think you've done an awesome job putting together a supplement regimen with a high likelihood of doing some real benefit. And if your own research makes you believe that any of my recommendations are full of you-know-what, you make sure to go with your own feelings on the matter, since anything I say here are just my feelings. Good luck to you.

[buttercup]

Hi Catatonic,

Thanks so much for your response. I dont have the time right now to read the links that you posted, but will definitely work this in. Very interesting information.

What is your regimin?

Yes, I think the Omega 3 and Liquid B are my two main keepers.

I like the blackstrap. I used to get odd bruises, esp. when I was taking anti-depressants for some reason. Now you'll hardly ever see a bruise on me. I think it really works.

I really wish I could find something natural that works as well as Ritalin. On Ritalin, I am as calm, rational, and methodical as any engineer I work with. It's just unbelievable. I love feeling that way. Know of anything that actually works?

Thanks again for your post!

[catatonic]

Buttercup, I wish I had a universal answer to getting rid of Ritalin. It works well for many people, there's no doubt about that, but I really wonder about the long-term implications of regulating behavior through pharmaceuticals as opposed to learning/experience and correcting underlying biochemical problems.

For my son, I have found that the Feingold program along with certain key supplements (Omega-3, magnesium, zinc, grapefruit seed extract) address his behavioral symptoms well. When I observe other ADHD children I know to be medicated, I find he behaves at least as well as they do. I'm talking about hyperactivity symptoms specifically. Attentiveness symptoms are more difficult to address and to monitor. I wish I knew of a natural treatment that had the broad applicability that Ritalin does, but since each case of ADHD is individual, the treatment has to be tailored as well.

For example, many people with food issues contributing to their ADHD do wonderfully on Feingold, and find even further improvement by including digestive enzymes to help with nutrient absorption problems. Some don't benefit from the enzymes, but do better on a different gut-health protocol that combines Feingold with probiotics (acidophilus) to promote a healthier balance of essential gut flora.

My boy cannot function well in a classroom environment without substantial amounts of Omega-3 and magnesium. For myself, I find that a careful diet helps me immensely (Stage 2 Feingold, very limited refined sugar), and I combine it with plenty of iron (via figs and spinach, generally), Omega-3, and magnesium. I still don't do well with repetitive tasks, and tend to get hyper-focused, but at least I don't feel that my brain is in some kind of weird overdrive mode where it spins and spins and accomplishes nothing!

[rosyred45]

Catatonic, please tell me again how old your boy is? Mikey will be 7 in OMG 6 days, jeez, just to remember this stuff, any how, how do you give your son what he needs?

Is it powder, pill, added to food? I don't want you to feel as though you need to say what for each, as that would be a pain. But because we have never given Mikey anything other than maybe 3tsp of cough syrup, I'm not sure that his gag reflex would be able to handle pills or tablets.

Just a back ground, I have always tried to get to the root of a problem before ANY type of medication, including anti-biotics and even asprin or over the counter stuff. That's why I'm leary of giving Mikey anything.

Thanks for all of the info, I really appreciate it.
One thing that I just remembered, and it does have it's flip side. I heard a lady a while back SWEAR by coffee and caffine as an alternative to ritalin. I do feel as you do when you have taken the ritalin, after I drink my coffee.
The only draw back to that is of a rust-type effect. The more you drink it the less effective it will be for your body and, I can see it in my head what it does, but hard to relate in type. I'll look and see if I can find the study that I am refering to.

[catatonic]

Kaiti, my Challenge Boy just turned 10, and he can choke down pretty much any tablet or capsule I give him. He'd probably manage to swallow a golf ball if he had to! However, when he was 8 or so, this was more of a challenge for him. I trained him using the time-tested method of CASH. I set a timer and if he swallowed his pills before it dinged (2 minutes) he got a dollar. Took a little over a week before I could eliminate the money.

Everything he takes, except the liquid Grapefruit Seed Extract, is in the form of a capsule or tablet. No liquids or powders here (they all seem to taste NASTY). The only one that's particularly large is his fish oil, but it's squishy, so he swallows it without any problem.

[rosyred45]

Thanks, now when I finally remember all of this I'll let you know.