I know I keep harping on how well I've done using alternative treatment, but I say it because it's true!!!

I have some sort of variant of fibromyalgia/chronic fatigue that seems to be genetic. I don't have the aches of fibro or the flu-like symptoms of chronic fatigue, but other than that, I have it all. Bipolar, depression, anxiety and the like are comorbid with these type of disorders so when I went on meds I was already having health issues, and then the meds made me so sick I ended up almost bedridden for a couple of years. I was so depressed life wasn't worth living--I remember ranting at my husband about how hideous my life was, how depressed and sick I was, etc., etc. I was a BIG advocate of med as I intensely disliked alternative health stuff because my in-laws were into some very fringe stuff that resulted in the death of a friend.

I was forced off meds when I developed a receding hairline and freaked out. My Pdoc had also fired me after I cancelled an appointment when she told me I 'needed to work on my sleep' like I was staying up all night most nights to spite her or something! The next Pdoc I saw told me if she was to be my doctor, SHE would decided absolutely everything I put in my body. I couldn't take an aspirin without consulting her. I called her office and the day after my initial consultation and told her I couldn't live with her terms so I was on my own.

The funny thing was, once I got the meds out of my system, I actually felt better than I had since before going on them. I vividly remember telling my husband that I felt like I might actually get better. Shortly after that I came across the brain function questionnaire I post so often in a book on treating fibro and CFS, and ordered some amino acids and started taking them. It was amazing how much more stable, especially after my naturopath put me on the lithium orotate.

Now my mood is remarkably stable unless something upsets me like anyone without a mood disorder would experience. If I end up depressed for more than a day or so, I take extra DLPA, the amino acid that puts dopamine and norepinephrine in the brain. This it the one thing that has made life worth living. If I get bumped into hypomania, I take some extra lithium orotate as soon as I notice it, and it usually breaks within 18 hours. The only side-effects I've noticed from any of the supplements is a bit of constipation if I take an extremely high dose because my mood shifted, a slight increase in my blood pressure from the DLPA [DL-phenylalanine]. DLPA is stimulating to the brain so it can cause insomnia if you take it later in the day. When I first started taking amino acids, I was taking both DLPA and tyrosine in the morning and evening that kept me awake most of the night. Now that I limit the DLPA to first thing in the morning, and tyrosine to only when I'm incredibly stressed out, I do fine. Tyrosine is the stress amino acid--it's one step closer to dopamine and other neurotransmitters than DLPA so if you take one, you don't need the other.

The lithium orotate is a natural mineral supplement that is more bioavailable to the cells than lithium carbonate.

The use of nutrients to provide the body with what it's lacking to build your health is called orothomolecular medicine. Here are a couple of great books on the subject. If you buy them, go through them looking for what relates to you. Don't try to read them cover to cover unless that's your style. Look at the sections that have to do with what you're dealing with. That's all I did...

https://www.amazon.com/Orthomolecula...cular+medicine

Heal with Amino Acids and Nutrients book | Dr. Billie Sahley-painstress

This is a brain function questionnaire showing the emotions/feelings associated with the different neurotransmitters.

http://drjolee.com/Brain-Function-Questionnaire.pdf

This is a good article explaining the difference between the drug lithium carbonate and the mineral supplement lithium orotate. This is the brand I take:

Natural Treatment for Bipolar Disorder and Alzheimer's Ignored! - Natural Health Blog | Holistic Health Blog

Another thing I bought when I first went off meds and started treating myself was a pair of those orange CSI glasses that block the blue light. The reason is because by blocking the blue light, the brain thinks you're in complete darkness, and calms down. You can actually break an manic or hypomanic episode by staying in a completely dark room for an extended period of time, but who can do that. I wear the glasses if I'm up late at night, or if I'm a bit wound up from a busy day.

Speaking of light, if you notice you start to get depressed as the days get shorter, you probably have seasonal affective disorder. Being that I live in the dark, dreary Pacific Northwest, I've had problems with SAD since I moved here. When I got a full spectrum light and put it on my desk, I started feeling better. In researching the subject I found that SAD is linked to low melatonin levels so I increased my intake of that. In the last 2 years my little Eskie has been diagnosed with retinal degeneration so we've got half the lights on in the house, and my husband changed the bulbs to full spectrum bulbs. I'm amazed at how the having the lights on all day have helped control the SAD this year!

These days my life isn't about being bipolar. I still have fatigue issues, but I feel fine, I sleep okay most of the time, and best of all, my life has meaning and I'm happy. And it's because my brain is getting what it needs to function properly.