Seasonal Depression

[Dirty Dan]

Hey everyone as we all know here in the states it is winter time and where I am located, in the North East, we get very cold, dark, and snowy days. I am one of the unfortunate ones who tends to suffer from really bad seasonal depression, to be honest I always believed "seasonal depression" to be a b.s. claim but time and time again winter after winter my mood and attitude takes a complete dive for the worst. I start to become constantly depressed and feeling like absolute crap, my work performance changes and my overall desire to do anything diminishes including hitting the gym as hard as I would like to. Now from what my understanding is, seasonal depression is due to a lack of sunlight in which your body naturally absorbs vitamin D which plays a big role in your overall mood. My question is, what are some good supplements to enhance overall mood and help during these harsh winters? I have heard and read that Vitamin D3 is great for enhancing ones mood along with a providing a whole slew of other added health benefits. Now for a multivitamin I am currently taking Source Naturals Life Force which contains 200 IU per serving. Would that be enough vitamin D3 or would it best to supplement D3 on its own and at what dose(factoring in the added 200 IU from my multi)? Lastly, are then any other recommended supplements to help with seasonal depression or would vitamin D3 be my best bet?

With great thanks -The Dirty D-

[Piston Honda]

Megadose vitamin D3

[Dewey99]

Vitamin D is a great supplement for sure. I'm not trying to sell anything, but you may want to look into Drive. It always improves my mood a ton and a lot of users report the same effects.

[Piston Honda]

My doctor recommended at least 5000 i.u.s a day of Vitamin D3. Multis have a much lower dosage than that it seems.

[scoooter]

5-htp.

take a vacation someplace where there is alot of sun.

you could try a small grow lamp - it uses the same light frequency as the sun.

[Dirty Dan]

Thanks guys I appreciate all the advice! And Scooter I am way overdue for a vacation somewhere sunny lol.

[blacklac]

I feel great when I use tanning beds in the winter. I've been taking 5000UI of D3 about 4-5 days a week and it doesn't seem to do much in that respect. I figured it would.

[Clemenza]

Vitamin D3 PLUS choline bitartrate and Acetyl L Carnitine

[Lutztenways]

Don't be afraid to spend 10 minutes in a tanning bed once a week. It invigorates me in the winter for sure.

[Chub]

Vitamin D3 (at least 5000-10000iu) and Acetyl L Carnitine work great.

[996ttelise]

I don't mean to disagreeable, but I would be careful on D or D3 above 4,000 ius. Maybe get tested and see what various D levels are running. Consult a doc and check 25 hydrox, 1.25 hydrox, calcium, magnesium and parathyroid hormone if you are truly thinking about taking 5,000 to 10,000 ius daily. If your levels are mid to upper limit on the various Ds, taking high doses may do more harm than good and surely won't make you feel better. I think this is also more psychosomatic, although I gave seen geriatrics that were chronically very low respond or say they felt an improvement in mood.

[mr.cooper69]

Vitamin D3 (at least 5000-10000iu) and Acetyl L Carnitine work great.

Agreed. Look into Picamilon-150 as well

[boogyman]

I don't mean to disagreeable, but I would be careful on D or D3 above 4,000 ius. Maybe get tested and see what various D levels are running. Consult a doc and check 25 hydrox, 1.25 hydrox, calcium, magnesium and parathyroid hormone if you are truly thinking about taking 5,000 to 10,000 ius daily. If your levels are mid to upper limit on the various Ds, taking high doses may do more harm than good and surely won't make you feel better. I think this is also more psychosomatic, although I gave seen geriatrics that were chronically very low respond or say they felt an improvement in mood.

Not saying one should not go to a doc and get checked out if he thinks he has an issue, but I believe D3 is toxic at 40,000ius or more. I don't think a persons level would be so high that taking 5,000ius would push him into toxicity.

[blueblood]

I go through it every year here in Michigan. It is hard the first few months. I try to get to the tanner and a local pool to keep a little sanity.

[thegodfather]

I had low vitamin D levels early last year which seems to go hand in hand with low test levels. Doc put me on 50k ius of D2 twice a week for 8 weeks and to follow that with 5000 ius of D3 daily after that. Helped tremendously with my mood and energy levels.

[Clemenza]

Damn I used to hit that tanning bed hard in college. Definitely helped my mood. But now I'm paying for it with them there wrinkles beginning to form

[996ttelise]

Not saying one should not go to a doc and get checked out if he thinks he has an issue, but I believe D3 is toxic at 40,000ius or more. I don't think a persons level would be so high that taking 5,000ius would push him into toxicity.

Not so much a toxicity issue. I would be more concerned about long term kidney are cardiovascular issues if one is taking more than 800 to 2,000 ius a day and their baseline is mid to upper normal range for .25 and 1.25 oh. I would perhaps consider a K if taking larger doses of D without bloods to confirm baseline absent the supplemental D. I am not sure any medical professional on earth would recommend 40,000 ius, much less, 5,000 ius daily for someone in upper mid range due to kidney and arterial concerns. 5,000 to 10,000 ius might be protocol to a 85 year old geriatric with osteoporosis and out of range bloods mentioned in my earlier post. Need to see blood calcium levels in relation to 1.25 to rule out parathyroid issues and etc.

[fightbackhxc]

Megadose vitamin D3

Vitamin d or tan.

[runner_79]

Going keto can help beat depression

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[Celorza]

Hm...I like Mucuna for that :/ either Dopadex or Inhibit-P. Picamillon and Vitamin D-3 also.

At least for me...I get all cheerful, happy and positive on L-dopa. It is usually my "bridge" supplement when I have to cycle off EC stack after some 3-4 months of use, for I usually am in a rather down, beat and mean mood when I am not on a stim-noot high !