Hi Megan,

I wrote this response in a different thread a while back so I've copied it here. It is more info that you asked for, but I think that I've seen you in the PTSD forum before too, so maybe that info will be of use to you.

I've taken Vitamin B-50 Complex for about 8 years to combat depression . It truly has helped me. The few times that I forgot to take vitamins for a few days in a row (usually with a change in routine), my husband was able to notice pretty quickly that I was moodier and too easily able to cry. The main B's that are needed in relatively high doses are B6 and B12 (about 1000-2000% of RDA). When I first started taking Vit B, I took a B50 in the morning, then took an individual B6 and B12 at lunch or in the afternoon. I did this for about four years, then cut back to just the B50 complex. During times of great stress, I still supplement with extra Bs again. Please do some research on the internet as to the dosage you would feel comfortable taking. The B vitamins are water-soluble, not fat-soluble, so it is much harder to overdose. The Bs won't accumulate in your body like the fat soluble vitamins will. But, there are temporary side-effects if you take too much of anything.

I learned about taking magnesium to help with both depression and PTSD in January of this year. My daughter (who is only 2) has PTSD (trauma that occurred before her adoption) and has a terrible time sleeping. I also have PTSD, so learning about magnesium is helping me too. Here is a good resource: http://www.coldcure.com/html/dep.html. If you buy a magnesium supplement, do not buy one that has calcium included (the calcium prevents the absorption of the magnesium).

Most important info from that resource:
"For brevity and simplicity: (a) magnesium oxide and magnesium hydroxide are ineffective and (b) magnesium glutamate and magnesium aspartate are potentially harmful."
"Dosage depends on the ligand, the thing to which the magnesium is attached. In the case of magnesium taurate, the ligand is "taurate". Absorption is largely a property of contact of the magnesium ion with the lining of the stomach and intestines. If magnesium is lightly bound to the ligand, then the acidity of the stomach can "ionize" the magnesium from its ligand and convert it to magnesium chloride (from the stomach acid hydrochloric acid) and finally into a positively charged ionic form for transfer into the blood where it is then picked up by various other ligands for transport to cells. Stomach acid can reduce the magnesium compound to the ionic form for metal complexes that have low to modest chemical stability, releasing both the magnesium ion and the ligand. The following magnesium compounds have sufficiently low stability that they offer very high absorption and are well tolerated. Magnesium acetate, chloride, citrate, gluconate, glycinate, lactate, malate, succinate, sulfate, tartrate and taurate are all very good, ionizable sources of magnesium. Intravenously, hospitals give magnesium sulfate. Magnesium chloride would be best, but it is very hygroscopic and difficult to properly package, but it makes a wonderful oily skin lotion when present in more than 25% concentrations in water and is readily and beneficially absorbed."

I buy the ALTA Health Products brand of Magnesium Chloride 518 mg for $9.76/100 tablets from The Vitamin Shoppe chain store. I take one tablet before going to bed. If you find that the magnesium causes your digestive system to run a little too fast (think Milk of Magnesia, a different form of magnesium), then take a Taurine supplement. I only had to take Taurine every three days for the first week or so. Now my body has adjusted and I don't take any Taurine at all. My daughter can't swallow pills very well yet, so she uses the Peter Gillham's Natural Vitality Natural Calm in the Raspberry-Lemon flavor. This is easy to adjust dosage because it is a powder (her's is only 1/8 teaspoon calculated by her weight), and doesn't taste bad.

To really help sleep , I use melatonin periodically. My daughter uses melatonin every night. The best working one that I have found is "melatonex" and comes in a small blue package with 30 tablets of 3 mg each. We buy it at Eckerds. If I can get 10-12 hours of sleep in before having the alarm clock go off, I will take 1/2 a pill. The pills are scored and are time-release, which makes a difference if you are prone to waking up in the middle of the night already. If you can't get this brand or prefer a spray over a small tablet, I really like the NutraSpray Melatonin timed release 1.5 mg sublingual spray. This stuff works so quickly if you take it as directed (hold liquid under tongue for 30 seconds) that I'm falling asleep within 20 minutes.

BTW, in case anyone thinks that I am putting my daughter in danger by giving her these supplements, I have consulted with and was given the approval of her pediatrician and her trauma therapist. I also take whatever I give her first to see how my body responds to it, then watch her carefully to see how she responds to it. She was only getting about 5 to 6 hours of sleep at night when she was 18 months old due to PTSD hypervigilance and nightmares. After beginning to take the supplements, she slept pretty soundly for 12 hours a night and had two massive growth spurts soon after that. That is when I learned that sleep is necessary for the young body to be able to function and grow properly. Also, her mood and her ability to begin to attach to us really improved at that point. Things are soooo much better after one year of sleep and she readily sits down to take her "medicine" every night before bedtime. Ok, I'll stop being defensive now.

Hope this helps!

Elizabeth