This isn't an extensive view, by any means, but it may help us understand
some causes and what we can do about them:

1. The inability to break down Norepinephrine due to a deficiency in an
enzyme called COMT is one genetic cause.

2. Those who experience daily or day-to-day mood swings have allergies
or low blood sugar levels. They may be pyroluic and are treated with
sufficient doses of B6 and Zinc:

a. Enough B6 to recall dreams
b. Zinc--particularly zinc gluconate 10 mg am & pm
c. Manganese gluconate 10 mg am & pm

3. Some are extremely sensitive to sugar--a sugar-free diet takes about
2 years for all the family to adjust to it, but it controls bipolar disorder for those who follow the diet (children, most especially).

4. Bipolar IV disorder occurs when a patient can't take a medication or
has an adverse reaction. He/she will exhibit signs of mania. If the
person had never taken the medication, he/she would never have been
diagnosed as Bipolar.

5. A thyroid hormone, Triodothyronine (25 to 30 micrograms ) is
very helpful for rapid-cycling manic depression.

6. Low glutathione levels are often present in bipolar disorder.
Supplemental L-cysteine may help in treatment of manic depression.

7. Folic acid is the most common deficiency found in Manic Depression.
It enhances lithium use. Low levels of folate occur in both manic and depressive states. Deplin was so helpful for me. I take 15 mg. once daily (available by prescription).

Deplin is a concentrated form of folate (called a "food med") that can cross the blood-brain barrier. Some people are born without the enzymes necessary to convert folic acid into folate, a form which the brain can use.

8. Patients of bipolar disorder have impaired metabolism of Inositol (one
of the B vitamins) and lack of another, vitamin B12, can cause mania. (Pernicious
anemia does not need to be present to have low levels of B12.) Shots
are beneficial, but studies indicate now that vitamin B12 taken under the tongue and dissolved that way is just as beneficial as the shots. (Sublingual, I think is the word used for it.)

9.Vanadium (a vitamin) may be reduced in bipolar disorder. and lower levels
are better for the patient.

10. Tryptophan relieves Manic Depression and is beneficial when suicidal
thoughts emerge. L-Tryptophan can cross the blood-brain barrier and
is a support for depression and mania (and adequate sleep).

11. The use of Omega fatty acids may work because of their ability to increase serotonin in the brain. Fish oil supplements reduce symptoms and improve feeling tone. This is a quote from a study on fish oils: "this study may represent the first demonstration of an effective therapy for bipolar disorder." It really works wonderfully for me (about 4,000 mg. per day--2,000 in the A.M. and 2,000 in P.M.)

12. Vitamin C (3,000mg per day) improves Manic Depression. (I take it 1000 mg
at a time so that I don't feel that I'm getting too much. Actually, 4,000 mg
is not too much, unless one has a tendency to develop kidney stones.)

Please share what you have learned. It may be a clue to help someone
overcome some of the symptoms of the illness.

P.S. We should check everything with our psychiatrists before we begin our own crusade to stop the progression of the illness or even to arrest it.

Good wishes.