[SunReach]

Has anyone ever taken royal jelly for energy and to fight off med-induced sedation?
My sister discovered the benefits of royal jelly: a LOT of vitamins, boosts your metabolism and helps brain functions. I read somewhere on the intrenet that it is also being given as complimentary therapy for mental illnesses including bipolar.

Drinking coffee doesn't help at all any more (and I also have chronic gastritis, which seems to get worse with every cup) so I am desperate for alternatives. When I don't have much or anything to do I can cope with it without struggling TOO much but (1) I hate doing nothing or struggling to do even the things I WANT to do and (2) I can't get done what needs to be done if I'm constantly on 'holiday' mode! (Seriously, not being able to function if I sleep for less than 11-12 hrs or wanting to nap every 3 hrs shouldn't be considered as sth I have to adjust my timetable to! I refuse!)

Opinions please.

[Anneinside]

I've never heard of this but I don't see how it could hurt to try. When I googled royal jelly benefits one place that sold it (biased of course) said it helped with stress. I didn't find anything that boasted it would help with bipolar.

[SunReach]

Yes you're right...Won't hurt to try. My pdoc has discharged me and I don't trust my GP experimenting with medication - she offered to put me on sth else to see if it works better than seroquel. But I reckon if sedation is the only side effect I should stick with it at least for a while...Although I am tempted by lithium - I read an article the other day from the BP Organisation about it not having nearly any side effects on low doses and I would be on a low dose...But that's a story for another thread!

[widgets]

is royal jelly, Jelly?

[SunReach]

Hmm, I suppose the texture is, but you're only supposed to take a tiny bit, at the end of a toothpick. I'm not sure exactly what it is though, something the bee queen makes or something like that..I guess wikipedia knows?!

[sugahorse1]

Like widgets asks: is this the normal powder used to make Jelly? i.e. add hot water, stir and put into fridge until it is ready to eat?

When I was still at school, some of the kids got into a habbit of eating whole packets of jelly powder

[SunReach]

Originally Posted by sugahorse

Like widgets asks: is this the normal powder used to make Jelly? i.e. add hot water, stir and put into fridge until it is ready to eat?

When I was still at school, some of the kids got into a habbit of eating whole packets of jelly powder

Oh no, it's nothing like that. It's more like honey..And a bit more difficlult to get hold of..And expensive..(Hence the trying to figure out if it will do anything before going out to buy it but I think I'll rake the risk!) Also, you need to trust the seller because there are fake royal jellies out there.

[sugahorse1]

Need to do some research into what this is called in our country..?!?!

[SunReach]

Maybe ask a beekeeper?

This explains everything about the product:

http://www.royalbeejelly.net/royal-jelly-what-is/

I will definitely get it now, as I am desperate, so watch this space for my feedback!

[Ryask]

I would be careful if i were you mixing some medications and natural remedies or foods could be really dangerous. Here in Canada we have a natural health medication help line where you can tell them what medications your taking and then what natural remedy your planning to take, and they tell you if it's a safe combination. For example did you know:

Grapefruit juice increases the effective dose and the side effects of drugs such as calcium channel blockers, benzodiazepines, amiodarone, and Zoloft. So if you like grapefruit juice, work with your doctor to determine the right amount of each of the pills to take.

If you eat foods containing tyramine while taking medications for depression such as MAOIs, your blood pressure could jump and cause you to have a stroke.

Here are some common foods that contain tyramine:

Common fruits that may contain significant levels of tyramine include eggplant, figs, grapes, oranges, pineapples, plums, prunes, and raisins.

All soy products contain high levels of tyramine. Commonly consumed soy products include soy sauce, tofu, miso, and teriyaki sauce.

Most aged cheeses contain tyramine. These include Parmesan, romano, asiago, aged cheddar and other strong-tasting hard cheeses. While there are some, such as cream cheese and cottage cheese, that have little to no notable amounts of tyramine, most aged cheeses have high concentrations of tyramine.


I dont mean to be a pain but if something happens to you and i didnt say anything i would feel really terrible. I do hope you will talk to your doctor or pharmacist before deciding to take natural remidies with your current medications.

[SunReach]

Thank you Ryask, you're not being a pain at all, I did wonder whether I should ask someone as well...But everyone here (meaning the country not the forum!) has been so useless at giving me advice on that score that I just spent a few hours on google scholar reading papers on it and I didn't find anything against.. I know about grapefruit, the leaflet in the box of the meds warns about that too, but when I asked my psychiatrist if there are other foods or ingredients I should avoid he said he doesn't know anything even about grapefruit, and that I can drink grapefruit juice if I want to without worrying!!

I didn't know about tyramine but I'm only on antipsychotics so that should be ok...

I know that internet isn't enough, even if the source is reliable, but then no one knows their stuff...For example, when I was trying a different med (which said that patients with low blood pressure should be careful) I went to a pharmacist complaining of extreme dizziness and feeling faint, and explained the situation, and what did I get? 'Well, it is a hot day...Have you had water or something salty?' Aaaargh!!!

[RyuB]

you do have to be careful, sometimes "home remedies" and herbal and natural supplements can aggravate symptoms or cancel out medications, sometimes it's just a waste of money. sometimes i think there's benefits that are from a placebo effect rather than the remedy itself. i have no idea how you would find out something like that for yourself, i always ask my pdoc, he's very good about that (i'm lucky, i admit it, i have a good one). i've always got people telling me i should be taking this or using that and when i check it out, find out it would be a big-time error. i'm not saying royal jelly or anything else might be a bad idea. (yes, i know what it is, dad was a bee-keeper). i do know there's an awful lot of good things royal jelly is supposed to do. i don't know if research backs it up. been a long time since i've been around bees.

and there are pharmacists which keep up with things like that (i'm lucky there too) and many who don't.

and there are side effects some meds, prescribed or self-prescribed, can have, that aren't in the listed side effects - i'm speaking from experience here.

so do your best to find out, be careful, and pay close attention to any physical or mental changes.