Recommended Supplements to Cope With Bipolar Mania?

Hi there,

I recently heard that Vitamin D and Ashwagandha help depression and would like to know if they worked for people suffering from depression stemming from bipolar disorder.

What other natural food solutions help as well outside of visiting doctor? I noticed that I am experiencing episodes when I have problem I am about to deal with that has to do with my weakness of dealing with such problems. Specifically problems based on communicating, especially in another language. I start worrying and found myself functioning verbally a lot better in the morning than evening. Talking to people early in the morning has more chances of successful communication than later afternoon which just drains the last of me until the rest of the day. I think it's because if I start worrying and being anxious in the morning, this can spoil my entire day so if there will be negativity, I prefer it to be close to evening as I can go to sleep and forget bad experience. Sometimes I remember yesterday's bad experience though but it's a topic for different forum posting.

So I decided to find natural solutions that would help me deal with episodes and make me stronger to deal with them. Information would be appreciated, especially from people that tried such solutions and can tell their experiences.

Thank you

Cysteine works for me (and I have reason to believe it may work for everyone with psychotic disorders). Some foods contain more of it than others (onions, for example).

I believe (and have grounds to believe) everything that protects (brain) cells can help.

I use acetylcysteine (or NAC), vitamin E and methylfolate and methylcobalamin (mB12). The first two may be more useful for some. The last two should be used together.

Don't take too much vitamin D, so have your serum/blood concentrations checked. Chances are you need some supplementation. Of course, especially when depressed, staying in much. Or when doing office work. Obvious reasons.

I've heard someone on here mention bee pollen for hypomania

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I take ashwaganda (sp) and have not noticed a difference in depression or mania. I take ashwaganda for my gut, but it is often touted as a supplement to increase sexual arousal. In fact I didn't buy it a the one natural grocery store because I was embarrassed to buy it since the name was something about increasing libido. I found it at another one just as ashwaganda.

I've heard good things about 5htp, but never have taken it

That one is very interesting, yes. As well as tryptophan, which is a precursor. Not much evidence to support it, but that's what you get when there's no money in it. Once I have a more stable regimen (or I adhere to it) I'll add it.



Edit:
It might work particularly well post-mania or for insomnia depression.

It was me. Bee Pollen knocks out my hypomania or mixed state in about 30 minutes. I have reason to believe it may be harsh on my stomach, so I try to take it with food and only as needed.

Omega 3.

antipsychotics and mood stabilizers

I started taking Vit. D3 about 3 weeks ago - 5,000 IU, once in the morning. It took me about a week, but my depression slowly started to lift. Once it came up a little bit, I took to making sure I made it out of doors and into the sunshine at least some part of every day. Some days this is a walk in the morning with my son, others it's taking a 10-minute break from work and standing outside on the patio. Just yesterday, I realized that I might be feeling close to what baseline must be for me. I bit jittery and some anxiety, but totally manageable. I don't know if it's directly attributable to the Vit. D3 or not, but I'll continue to take it.

I also just had a blood test last about 10 days ago and got my results yesterday. My D level is optimal now (don't know if I was deficient before - chances are good). I'm on the low end of the optimal range, but still in there. For now, I'll continue to take the D3 supplement.

Hi there! Are these prescription-based?

I read about acetylcysteine here and I couldn't find anything that would connect with depression: acetylcysteine : Uses, Side Effects, Interactions, Pictures, Warnings & Dosing - WebMD

Maybe that depends from person to person? How does it help gut by the way?

How does it help after post-mania? My intention is to reduce mania frequency or mitigate it when it happens.

How much and how often you take? Sounds like mood stabilizer of some kind. We have wild bee pollen and I wonder if it helps same way...

Prescription based only?

You probably can get prescriptions (if that would be cheaper, it might be a good option), but it's all OTC.

Post-mania is most severe and easiest to rectify, maybe. But now I experimented with it and thought about it, maybe what I said was rubbish.

However, being in somewhat of a mixed state, daily mood changes, it has helped with post-mania, but the the periods of mania were extremely short. It probably makes things more mixed, but I don't care: I might be best being somewhat in a mixed state, sadly (in many ways it's bad, of course).

It's a bit like a (serotonin) shock therapy. I think it's much better than antidepressants or anxiolytics, but it's not for continuous use. Just to push you back into the ring, as it were.

I sometimes post about my experiences and experiments with all these supplements and stuff like nicotine in the check-in thread.

Do you smoke cigarettes? Otherwise experimenting with nicotine might not be the best of ideas of course. In case you don't know, it's extremely addictive. That's also why it should/could (only) be used like a shock therapy maybe for mania. But it gets too toxic quickly so I just don't know yet.

Hi,

Almost year since your reply. Have been feeling depressed entire summer, especially due to hot climate as I am of the eastern European origin. Could be 3 months but when you suffer, you count every moment and it feels like it will never end. However when you rejoice you lose the feel of time. But dang the other past 6 months flew fast...

How is shock therapy related to serotonin?

Check-in thread? Can you provide a link to it?

No, I don't. I also have been diagnosed with asthma. The condition improved as I moved from eastern Europe to the Middle East. It disappeared later after I spent working almost a year in a dry climate in its southern area known for its tourism.