supplements for depression?

[johnnybeegood]

anything you can recommend besides st johns wort and sam-e? i have decided to give up the prozac and am seeking potential alternatives. would nootropics be of any benefit?

 

[aaronuconn]

Depression should never be treated by supplements. It's highly irresponsible. No one should ever condone self-medication for depression.

 

[bioman]

Depression should never be treated by supplements. It's highly irresponsible. No one should ever condone self-medication for depression.

There are well researched supplements for mild to moderate depression that work. Sometimes all the brain needs is a missing nutrient...and throwing it on Prozac could be a missed opportunity rather than a cure. There are qualified MD's and ND's who can guide patients through the process with blood testing etc.

 

[OnionKnight]

if you dont mind me asking, what are you prescribed prozac for? if its for depression,you should find out whats causing it first. cant fight a battle without knowing the enemy

supplements will only help if they are the right counter for the reason. for example, no supplement will help with depression from a hard break up lol

 

[musclefool]

You could have alot of sex... That makes me happy bro

 

[Spaniard]

Not the right section bud... this is for advanced discussion. Now if you were interested in how different supplements such as tryptophan or 5htp act on increasing the neurotransmitter serotonin and act as a possible supplement route vs SSRI's etc that would be different.

 

[Jiigzz]

Agreed. You would get a muh better response from the main supplement section

 

[aaronuconn]

There are well researched supplements for mild to moderate depression that work. Sometimes all the brain needs is a missing nutrient...and throwing it on Prozac could be a missed opportunity rather than a cure. There are qualified MD's and ND's who can guide patients through the process with blood testing etc.

That's all I was looking for. Need to be under doctor supervision when it comes to treating something like this.

 

[johnnybeegood]

this is mild depression, dysthymia (sp?) i'm talking about. for the most part, i'm feeling ok, just looking for a little added insurance here.

 

[johnnybeegood]

this is mild depression, dysthymia (sp?) i'm talking about. for the most part, i'm feeling ok, just looking for a little added insurance here.


thanks for the help, mother****ers. ::rolls eyes::

 

[aaronuconn]

this is mild depression, dysthymia (sp?) i'm talking about. for the most part, i'm feeling ok, just looking for a little added insurance here.


thanks for the help, mother****ers. ::rolls eyes::

Only an idiot would combat a psychological issue such as depression by attempting to self-medicate.

 

[thescience]

anything you can recommend besides st johns wort and sam-e? i have decided to give up the prozac and am seeking potential alternatives. would nootropics be of any benefit?

I read this article that talked about how, if a kid breaks up with his girlfriend, his brain neurotransmitters drop. while this is normal, if yyou give him depression drugs they only spur more production of the chemicals, without providing the raw materials to make the neurotransmitters. that is like putting spurs into a starving horse that isn't running, instead of feeding it. the result is that the kid's serotonin ect drops to a point below that which everyday food consumption can provide, resulting in a long standing/permanent depressed state, instead of a tempory change in neurotransmitters due to an event. that said, there are plenty of doctors who will guide you down that ugly road. I think its smart to explore what the body might need to make the neurotransmitters. if they were dangerous, they wouldn't be sold over the counter.

first off, id recommend something for energy; the philosophy there is that energy is like money; you cant have enough, and when you are excited you are productive and happy. when the body has more energy it produces more of what it needs to feel good. I recommend this stuff called megafoods b complex; I take one three times a day; by day five, its as strong as coffee for me, with no jitters and there are a lot of other benefits and preventative measures accompany doing that

with regards to neurotransmitters, there;s a ton of stuff that ive seen a lot of people swearing by for depression. bear in mind im talking depression, not manic depression which is a totally different animal and something you wouldn't want to boost.

anyway, I know people have taken the following supps and have spoken about how they match or surpass meds they have experimented with before realizing that wasn't for them:

1)acetyl-l tyrosine or L-dopa( a powder called 1-carboxy at nutraplanet)

2)5 htp

3)choline citrate/inositol. the inositol in particular, though I understand it acts as a laxative for some people

4) addressing any deficiencies. a deficiency is quite common, and if they body doesn't have the materials it needs, it wont build what it needs to. period. I don't recommend messing with minerals, as they compete and are often poorly absorbed, but there is something called albion minerals which come double chelated and are sold only in their elemental forms and which, therefore, have all the carriers necessary to avoid competition with other minerals. (thus albion znc would not affect copper levels etc) and are absorbed without having to take them with food. a blood test can be accurate, but often it only reflects what is in the bloodstream and at only that moment. there is something else called spectracell

5) thyroid issues/deficiencies can cause depression. that would be accompanied by lower body temperature. usually nutrients for the thyroid, such as iosol, would correct that though there are genetic thyroid conditions that seem to require prescription thyroid hormone

6) vitamin D. as cholecaciferol. some people don't get a lot of sun. people are taking 4000 iu a day now.

I see a lot of commercials about depression where physical aches are now being attributed to the disease. I think its pretty short sighted that a lot of people hear that there are physical symptoms like that and DONT think this is about the nutrition that comprises our physiology and our neurotransmitters. don't bother with nootrpics until you explored the essentials.

finally, I admire anyone wanting to take addressing a deficiency into their own hands by looking into what specifically their body could need. bodybuilders are 50 years ahead of the medical community because they reach out their hand and try something. its trial and error whether you decide to take something or whether you have it administered to you. since you are seeing a doctor, you could add nutrients, and if you feel better at your next appointment, you could ask him if its ok to lower dosage of the drug and you will increase again if things get bad. if they don't get worse when you lower, you have the doc lower more. that is a very common way of resolving this

 

[johnnybeegood]

thanks, thescience. great post

 

[Wocheezy]

I read this article that talked about how, if a kid breaks up with his girlfriend, his brain neurotransmitters drop. while this is normal, if yyou give him depression drugs they only spur more production of the chemicals, without providing the raw materials to make the neurotransmitters. that is like putting spurs into a starving horse that isn't running, instead of feeding it. the result is that the kid's serotonin ect drops to a point below that which everyday food consumption can provide, resulting in a long standing/permanent depressed state, instead of a tempory change in neurotransmitters due to an event. that said, there are plenty of doctors who will guide you down that ugly road. I think its smart to explore what the body might need to make the neurotransmitters. if they were dangerous, they wouldn't be sold over the counter.

first off, id recommend something for energy; the philosophy there is that energy is like money; you cant have enough, and when you are excited you are productive and happy. when the body has more energy it produces more of what it needs to feel good. I recommend this stuff called megafoods b complex; I take one three times a day; by day five, its as strong as coffee for me, with no jitters and there are a lot of other benefits and preventative measures accompany doing that

with regards to neurotransmitters, there;s a ton of stuff that ive seen a lot of people swearing by for depression. bear in mind im talking depression, not manic depression which is a totally different animal and something you wouldn't want to boost.

anyway, I know people have taken the following supps and have spoken about how they match or surpass meds they have experimented with before realizing that wasn't for them:

1)acetyl-l tyrosine or L-dopa( a powder called 1-carboxy at nutraplanet)

2)5 htp

3)choline citrate/inositol. the inositol in particular, though I understand it acts as a laxative for some people

4) addressing any deficiencies. a deficiency is quite common, and if they body doesn't have the materials it needs, it wont build what it needs to. period. I don't recommend messing with minerals, as they compete and are often poorly absorbed, but there is something called albion minerals which come double chelated and are sold only in their elemental forms and which, therefore, have all the carriers necessary to avoid competition with other minerals. (thus albion znc would not affect copper levels etc) and are absorbed without having to take them with food. a blood test can be accurate, but often it only reflects what is in the bloodstream and at only that moment. there is something else called spectracell

5) thyroid issues/deficiencies can cause depression. that would be accompanied by lower body temperature. usually nutrients for the thyroid, such as iosol, would correct that though there are genetic thyroid conditions that seem to require prescription thyroid hormone

6) vitamin D. as cholecaciferol. some people don't get a lot of sun. people are taking 4000 iu a day now.

I see a lot of commercials about depression where physical aches are now being attributed to the disease. I think its pretty short sighted that a lot of people hear that there are physical symptoms like that and DONT think this is about the nutrition that comprises our physiology and our neurotransmitters. don't bother with nootrpics until you explored the essentials.

finally, I admire anyone wanting to take addressing a deficiency into their own hands by looking into what specifically their body could need. bodybuilders are 50 years ahead of the medical community because they reach out their hand and try something. its trial and error whether you decide to take something or whether you have it administered to you. since you are seeing a doctor, you could add nutrients, and if you feel better at your next appointment, you could ask him if its ok to lower dosage of the drug and you will increase again if things get bad. if they don't get worse when you lower, you have the doc lower more. that is a very common way of resolving this

I think point 4 could be used to help a lot of people struggling with this. Changing my diet and adding cardio all but eliminated my depression. The side effects and long term consequences of the drugs that doctors throw around can be pretty disturbing

 

[Athletix]

Yeah there are numerous things that can cause it and if you need to PM me for more personal details feel free but there are some good ideas posted above, I will also say that some people find that low dosed PEA helps them as well, could be worth a shot for you if the others don't work. With that being said many of these SSRI's are on the $4 list these days, something like sertraline (Zoloft) even at 25mg can help though for depression you will probably want to get up to 50mg.