Has anyone who's bipolar tried Rhodiola Rosea or Holy Basil?

I am having a good experience managing mood swings and mania with the supplements I'm taking, but I'm experiencing my usual winter depression coming on. I can't take St. John's Wort, 5-HTP, or Fish oil. I'm considering Ashwagahnda, Rhodiola, or Holy Basil. The main issue with Ashwagahnda being that it increases sex drive and I already struggle with hypersexuality which I am trying to get under control.

Anyone tried any of these?

you're talking about which placebo works the best? try water. it's free

That wasn't a very nice thing to say to someone who is trying to find an herbal solution to their winter depression. Just because they have chosen not to take meds, doesn't mean the herbs are placebos. In fact, St John's Wort has been known to work for mild depressions!

Hang in there Learning to accept. You will find the right combo eventually. Even with meds it takes time to find the right drug. Have you considered a depression lamp? I always found mine to help in the winter.

I haven't tried Ashwagahnda, Rhodiola, or Holy Basil. I was on St John's Wort for many years and found it very effective in managing depression, stress and volatile outbursts. My wife could tell which days I hadn't taken it by noting my moods. But it didn't last forever. The packaging of the brand I was using changed the recommended dosage, so I took what the new package recommended (2 tabs instead of 1 a day) and immediately experienced the start of a mixed episode. I stopped taking it abruptly. There was no way to taper down easily and at that stage I knew nothing about tapering. Perhaps that is a drawback with such capsules and unspecified strengths of dosage.

I then saw a psychiatrist who prescribed Prozac. I think he didn't believe me that St John's wort was actually quite powerful. Whatever the effect, I was put into a mixed episode like I had never experienced before or since. So much for herbal = placebo.
edit: to clarify, the major mixed episode was after I started on Prozac.

If those alternative remedies were actually effective in treating bipolar, we'd all be taking them and drug companies would be out of business. There isn't any conspiracy, they just don't work.

Fortunately not all psychiatrists who prescribe drugs believe that there is no benefit in certain aspects of natural medicine. Sure there are pitfalls and limitations in various healing arts, just as there are in psychopharmacology. I'm just glad my current psychiatrist has supported me with a fuller picture of recovery options in addition to managing acute episodes with more powerful pharmaceuticals.

Okay, some replies make me headdesk. I will try to be nice. But not sure I will succeed.


yeah, because Pharma meds work always so much better than placebo.......... wait! oh, not really, not always.

Because, Pharma's pills work so well and cheap.

Look, the reason why you see Prozac adds and not Ayurvedic teas ads (another thing to look in) is because I guess the Tibetians and Sri Lankas herb growers don't have the money Pharma has?

Herbs and supplements DO work. And if they don't at least they don't wreck your body. I have yet to hear about a person who drank herb tea and wrecked their thyroid, got fat and got diabetus from it.

Is funny how we hear stigma this, stigma that... and than people get ostracized within the "community" for seeking alternative ways to make ourselves better. Hypocricy much?

So why not try? I personally use herbs from mah own garden (rosemary, lemon balm, mint). Valerian for sleep. Ayurvedic teas. And Bach essences (not just the rescue remedy, but the customized mix you pick for your symptoms).

Look, I feel that ultimately we are all adults here or close to it and we should all take the course of action we feel is best for ourselves. We're here for support, not to be superior at each other about our personal choices (and please don't take me wrong, I'm not saying that anyone here is doing that!) or stigmatize anyone for making choices we personally would not make. I have no love for big pharma and I don't think herbs are without their own risks, but I'm not going to tell anyone what to do in either direction because unless my advice is solicited, it really isn't my business what other adults choose to do with their treatment regimen.

NotCrazy, as you become more familiar with PC you will discover that not everyone takes the same treatment path. While I think most of us do take prescription drugs, quite a few also have opted to take herbs and in some cases nothing at all and are managing their symptoms via behavioral adjustments and staying conscious of their stressors and whatnot. Different things work for different people, and while pills work for you someone else may feel the need to do something else to help themselves. Ultimately that's what treatment is about.

(Now I have an entire rant saved up about homeopathic remedies, but herbs aren't anything even close to that, so it has no relevance to this conversation and I am seriously talking way too much today so I'll shut up now before I stick my foot in my virtual mouth.)

That's funny. I do a lot of research before putting things into my body and I always find it funny when people state herbs, vitamins, and other supplements having no benefit when there ARE various health studies out there proving they help. You just have to take the time to look for them.

I'm currently controlling my symptoms with high doses of vitamins(esp. magnesium, b vitamins, vitamin d, zinc, folic acid, chromium, etc), plus some amino acids, probiotics, and garlic supplements. I am looking for more vitamins and maybe some herbal treatments to try, and I will only take things that do have studies backing them up.

I would never put down someone else's choices for treatment but psychiatric meds do NOT help me. They make me worse, and I have tried many. That's not to say they don't help others, I know many people who are benefiting a lot from medications. But I am not one of them. So, I am left to find alternate routes but again I would never put anything into my body without first finding proof that it will help and not hurt me.

I honestly can't tell if you are trolling or what, so I will leave it there. But if you aren't, perhaps you would like to check out one of various resources I have on how vitamins, supplements, and herbs can and do help many people control their symptoms.

Everyone who was helpful in their replies, thank you. I am going to try increasing my magnesium, niacin, and vitamin d intake and see if that makes a difference for my depression. If not, I will look at herbs perhaps with a natural doctor's help.

I've got dandelions, crabgrass and some kind of mushroom that grow on my lawn, do you think these will be effective in treating bipolar? If not, maybe Tom Cruise will save me.

I am sorry that you feel this way. It is unfortunate that you feel only your way will work for everyone in the world, as this will probably cause much conflict in your life. I hope you find what you need from medications so that you don't have to worry so much about what other people choose to put into their bodies.

no.... you cannot pick a random plant and nom on it and be cured (btw, herbs aren't cure. But they do help allieviate symptoms to a degree and have good stuff in them that is good for the body).

Of course, dandellions do have health benefits. http://www.leaflady.org/health_benef...dandelions.htm


And again, why is there need for this? Why stigmatize within the community? Isn't enough of ignorance in the world as it is, why do we do it to ourselves as well?

IMO Medication helps alleviate symptoms. It does nothing to help you cope with stressful situations, it does nothing to boost your self-esteem, it does nothing to motivate you to succeed. For anxiety, medication doesn't make the anxiety disappear. It represses the physiological symptoms which contribute to the 'anxiety' you are feeling. In a way medication for bipolar does the same as well as herbal remedies. It's all aimed to suppress in an attempt to 'eliminate'. (But anyone who has a mood disorder/any disorder can tell you that symptoms tend to be reoccurring, especially after the body has adjusted to the dose you are given...aka growing tolerance) It doesn't fix you, nor does it make you a better person.

As a patient advocate, it really annoys me that there is this dispossession carried in the community that believes bipolar or any mood disorder cannot be managed without big pharm medications. I agree with Venus, we should all be supporting one another regardless of the treatment plan.

I rely on meds and natural remedies. I havent noticed a big difference with that natural route, BUT I haven't noticed a big improvement with meds either. I'd love to someday get to a point where I could ditch the meds, I do not trust big pharma, and personally I do not think most of my meds are safe for my body.

It's funny, but the only thing I have achieved good results with is yoga. Not a cure either but it has helped me balance out more than anything I've tried so far. And I didn't except it. So I'll just keep plugging along trying what I can and hanging onto what works for me, and hopefully will be able to ditch what doesn't.

Well if herbs are placebos... I guess it's going to be 'pointed out' that I'm not actually bipolar or I can't REALLY suffer, seeing as tho im C0MPLETELY med free (by choice btw AFTER going the big pharma route for 2yrs)

I should win an OSCAR then

Such venomous words being spewed in a place where we ALL come to for support and understanding

I understand (and condone) being blunt when a poster is displaying self-destructive behaviour, but really now, was that condescending response neccessary? And HOW?

I do not understand stigmatizing '1 of your own' just coz they make different choices.

Ignorant much?

Please get off your high know it all horse before you fall, wouldn't want you to break anything...

Get help

Yes ..... what trippin said

Okay everyone.

I drink a nuturional drink called Reliv twice a day that has all the vitamans and nutrients you can imagine. It keeps me off of an antidepressent so nutrition does work.

It gives me so much energy and I never really ever feel depressed anymore. The only thing is is that it costs over $80 a month but for me it is well worth it.

Compared to some of our prescription prices, $80 a month is a good deal!

holy basil! batman (didn't robin say that?!)

fish oil works in a pinch for me..i can feel the difference..the thing is it grosses me out so much (yeah i know its a capsule but...) ..i will take it if i feel a manic mess starting..or if i am low on meds & $$$

i wonder why the hostility?? really...if i think it works & it keeps me sane then what is the problem...if i am doing well on it then it shouldn't be an issue for anyone else here...who is to say what path is the "right" one...the "right" one is the one that works for you.

it's like ice cream...some like chocolate, some vanilla...some strawberry...isn't that while baskin robbins has like 31 flavors? if there was only 1 right flavor then they would only have that 1. if there was only 1 right path to healing then there would be only 1 path..be it medication, herbal, spiritual, religious, therapy, etc.

if you opt for bubble gum ice cream..i may gag..but i won't stop you..just don't force me to eat it...because i do prefer coffee ice cream.

If you're going to validate this idea, feel free to stop taking your meds altogether. Discontinue therapy and Psychiatric visits as well. Eat herbs instead. Show how it's done.

If you're able to be drug free and not have your daily life impacted, lucky you. There are many people who will never have this option(MDD, BP, Schizophrenic, etc). Or am I being presumptuous in thinking that herbs alone, can't treat these, or other disorders as well?

If you're reading any hostility in this, you are way too sensitive.

Unfortunately, I don't firmly believe there is any herbal remedy which is effective...especially not for bipolar disorder. Science is able to do one important thing for us - test the effectiveness of medications (including these "home remedies). The evidence really speaks for itself. There have been lab trials for herbal remedies and none of them really had anything more than a placebo effect.

HOWEVER (This is a big, screaming, attention-grabbing however), a good physical health = a good mental health (and vice-versa). Eating healthily to maintain optimum vitamin levels can help anyone feel better in themselves and defend against both depression and physical illness.

Be sure to maintain a balanced diet (fruit for vitamins and fibre; plenty of water for hydration; meat, milk and more for minerals; a bit of chocolate for serotonin; etcetera) and if you would like to, take a multivitamin of some sort. That's all there really is outside of medication and psychotherapy - especially in the case of bipolar disorder.

I hate to say this but medication and decent psychotherapy are really the only SCIENTIFICALLY PROVEN treatments for severe mental illnesses such as bipolar disorder. You've already said you can't take it, but Omega 3 and other fishy oils can help for a general mental and physical well-being...but that's the extent of it (plus the health diet).

I've tried herbal remedies and I've look at studies of them, neither were promising. You can always try, but if you come back with positive results, most of us (including me) will put it down to a placebo effect.
RB ♥

I believe the op's original question and intent was " has anyone tried any of these ? "

It was not " herbs cure bipolar and I think no one need meds!"

We've had tons of threads on alternative treatment, but none that have gathered such hostile, defensive ( when not needed ) responses. I also seem to recall reading plenty of studies on whether or not antideppresants had a plecbo effect.

The OP was simply asking if anyone tried these, she didn't attack anyone here, this is supposed to a " support " forum. So maybe we should het back to supporting.

+1 Sorry if my reply came across as hostile...it wasn't intended as such whatsoever. I wholly agree that some people have been overly offensive in their replies. I appreciate the original poster was asking for who had tried those herbal remedies, and I have, as I said in my reply.

I just padded it out with some advice about a healthy diet, which seems to work. And yes, a lot of antidepressants can have a placebo effect. In fact...nearly all medications have a placebo effect on some patients - which is why all drug trials involve placebo testing.

RB ♥

I think drug testing cannot be truly a double blind unless the patient doesn't know what they are taking the medication for. (Like if they know they have bipolar and the pill is supposed to help with it....but that's why they use the placebo LOL)

I wish they were able to do year long studies of people taking medications in controlled environments but that is unethical.