Quote:
Originally Posted by bipolarmedstudent
Other than that, I don't take any vitamins or supplements. I'm a strong believer (and so is my doctor) in only taking supplements if a blood test has shown that you are deficient in a particular vitamin or mineral, or there are good studies to back up the use of a particular supplement in a disease that you are suffering from (e.g. fish oil in bipolar). Otherwise, it's better not to take vitamins or supplements, as some (such as folic acid which was recently linked to increased risk for colorectal cancer) can actually cause more harm than good.
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First, let me comment on the above quote. I also believe that the blood levels of vitamins should be taken before supplementing. One new area in depression research is the use of Vitamin D, which most people are low in (I'm a Medical Technologist and have seen hundreds of Vit D level results come across my desk). My levels are low and my pdoc has me on 4000 IU/d.
The other thing I want to mention is that they have found benefits of a form of folic acid called L-methylfolate in depression. A patient's folate level can be within the normal range, yet the availability of the folate to the body may not be optimal. This can be detected by looking at homocysteine levels, which would be elevated in a bioactive folate deficiency. There is a "medical food" (not a drug per the FDA) called Deplin that they are using to augment antidepressants in people with low levels of bioactive folate.
Here's a link to information on the benefits of L-methylfolate in depression:
http://www.cnsspectrums.com/aspx/art...articleid=1267
The other thing I wanted to bring up is that it sounds like your doctor's concern isn't with the bipolar, but the OCD. There are very successful doctors out there with bipolar disorder and it sounds like yours is not severe. My concern for you and the bipolar would be during internship and residency when you're working 36 hour shifts and not sleeping. I'm not sure what year of med school you are in, but you may have time to address the OCD to a point where it won't interfere with the pace you will need to keep up. Also, I'm not sure if you've chosen a specialty yet, but some areas with less patient contact (radiology, pathology, research) require going through things with a finer-toothed comb than others. Just some things to consider.
But, no, I wouldn't allow this guy to sway your commitment to your chosen career.