Light Therapy

My pdoc is insistent on me trying a therapeutic lightbox. I am planning to purchase one today (with $ I don't have to spend). Does anyone have experience to share about using therapeutic light? Does it help SAD and/or regulate sleep?

Well, as I was just saying somewhere else, I've tried both blue and broad-band lights and never gotten any benefit from them. Did not get manic, though. Some people seem to do well, though.

I've been using the light box every day for 3 weeks. It seems to help a bit when I'm feeling fairly okay. The problem is that now the damned seasonal depression is setting in, and the light box isn't helping in any way I can tell. Very frustrating, and frightening.

Maybe I can make use of it as a 40$ craft light

I am sorry. It never did work for me.

I actually found it helpful but pdoc was worried I’d become manic so I stopped it. Instead we found out my vitamin D is low in winter only so now I supplement that and it gotten rid of the mild seasonal depression I used to get.

Thanks for the replies. I'm kind of annoyed at myself for having spent to $ on the light thingy, when everyone I know who has used one says the same thing - either It helped sometimes, a little bit or Nah, didn't help me at all.

My pdoc was really pushing me to buy the light and she asks me about it a lot. I feel like she might be "testing" me as to how I react to light therapy so she'll have an idea of recommending it or not to others.

A big problem I have with it is that my eyes are very dry from meds (Cogentin, most likely). The brilliant light really irritates my eyes, even though I don't look straight at it.

But I still need a craft light, so there's that...

I found it to increase my anxiety levels so I don't use it

Quote:

Originally Posted by firefly93 I found it to increase my anxiety levels so I don't use it

Yep. Me, too. My pdoc keeps encouraging me to use the light, but for only 5 minutes each day. If it cause me to be anxious, she suggests taking a Klonopin.

Seems kinda a$s-backwards to me. And I'm still concerned about that extremely brilliant light have an adverse effect on my eyes. Now, if I turn it around it really does serve as a craft light without causing my eyes to burn.

There was a comprehensive study done on the effects of light therapy on people with bipolar 1 disorder. Especially those of us who can't take antidepressants because we are so prone to severe mania. My psychiatrist read the study and thought it was worth a try for my depressive episodes. It's been moderately effective. It has occasionally flip me into hypomania so he monitors my use carefully. It's the only treatment for depression I can use though.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sheltiemom2007 There was a comprehensive study done on the effects of light therapy on people with bipolar 1 disorder. Especially those of us who can't take antidepressants because we are so prone to severe mania. My psychiatrist read the study and thought it was worth a try for my depressive episodes. It's been moderately effective. It has occasionally flip me into hypomania so he monitors my use carefully. It's the only treatment for depression I can use though.

Thanks for the info - interesting! For how long do you use your light each time?

I had gotten a light a few months ago, it sits atm.

The morning time frame, I would get really agitated and irritable, so I tried it in the afternoon (read some people who have mixed or rapid cycling episodes may benefit with the afternoon session ) so I took it in to work,..... and didn't feel it had a positive out come, I was less agitated and irritated but didn't feel it was assisting... I did use it a few times around 4pm-5pm where I had thought perhaps it may have helped, but I was staying up later which didn't work for me.
I had some what forgotten about the light, if I am honest . But now I'm wondering if I should give it another shot since I my mood has dropped even more than a few months ago.

I started with 10minutes, but most light sessions were 30 minutes.

I had gotten it in hopes of a "more natural " remedy... Years ago in the winter I did my first (and so far last) tanning beds and felt so up lifted for a day, I had hoped the "happy lamp" would assist.

Light therapy - Mayo Clinic
Seasonal affective disorder treatment: Choosing a light box - Mayo Clinic

Quote:

Originally Posted by beauflow I had gotten a light a few months ago, it sits atm. The morning time frame, I would get really agitated and irritable, so I tried it in the afternoon (read some people who have mixed or rapid cycling episodes may benefit with the afternoon session ) so I took it in to work,..... and didn't feel it had a positive out come, I was less agitated and irritated but didn't feel it was assisting... I did use it a few times around 4pm-5pm where I had thought perhaps it may have helped, but I was staying up later which didn't work for me. I had some what forgotten about the light, if I am honest . But now I'm wondering if I should give it another shot since I my mood has dropped even more than a few months ago. I started with 10minutes, but most light sessions were 30 minutes. I had gotten it in hopes of a "more natural " remedy... Years ago in the winter I did my first (and so far last) tanning beds and felt so up lifted for a day, I had hoped the "happy lamp" would assist. Light therapy - Mayo Clinic Seasonal affective disorder treatment: Choosing a light box - Mayo Clinic

I used to do tanning beds every summer, for a couple of years. Of course, I wore the little eye goggles during a session, but I felt that the tanning bed light and warmth very much boosted my mood. Supposedly, the light box light is somehow the same as tanning bed light.

Hi
I love your eagles reference by the way. I used it years ago in Seattle. It's dark a lot there in winter. I think it helped a bit. Sometimes n especially the sun sets at 3pm and rises at maybe 7 am so I d I d need more light time. I was more weepy than depressed though and it helped l ed with that. I moved to California. Sunshine is good.

I do not have SAD ,I do have a circadian rythym disorder , my sleep pathologist is one of the foremost experts in sleep inthe country , he turned me onto the whole light and sleep connection , I don't use a lightbocper see I have a full spectrum variable temperature reading light and desk lamp , I also have a rather large full spectrum alarm clock that does have a memory that you can create artificial sunrise/ sunset and such ,right now I am not using my clock (I am waiting for cataract surgery) however until my vision room a dump I would use a silent(no alarm tone) gradual sunrise till it was full brightness to wake me up . So I can safely say light works well , I had in the past been diagnosed both as SAD & bipolar by doctors who didn't understand what havoc not sleeping does to a person ,I can look like a textbook case, checking all the boxes on Signs & Symptoms of depression thru schizophrenia based completely on how much sleep or lack of i get . I hope you try light and it improves your QoL.

I bought the Sphere Gadget Technologies Lightphoria device for about $60 a few years ago. My moods still are greatly influenced by weather. Overcast days drag me down; bright days perk me up. And November & December is just awful.

The device plugs into an electrical outlet. So in order to use it, I need to stand in front of it as much as possible. A visor would be much better for me given my active lifestyle. There is an episode of Northern Exposure in which Walter was prescribed a light visor and became manic (IIRC). This light doesn't do that (much to my dismay).

At the time I bought it, the device was the least expensive LED product I could find. The cheaper ones used fluorescent bulbs, which would dim over time and need replacing. The nice think about LED is that the "bulbs" are stable and last a long time.

I think any lightbox that was proven effective in treating SAD would be covered by medical insurance as DME.

I use therapeutic light therapy to treat depressive episodes. There isn't a single antidepressant I can take that doesn't make me wildly manic. My psychiatrist knew of a clinical trial using light therapy for bipolar 1 patients being conducted at a prestigious psychiatry research hospital where he did his residency. He thought it was worth trying. We had to play with the dosing because too much exposure does make me hypomanic. We did find a dosing schedule that works pretty well. It's not a perfect treatment for depressive episodes, but it's far superior to not being able to do anything at all.

About cost...it's an approved therapy for bipolar 1 depression. My insurance company covered the expense.

10 minutes when I wake up. 15 minutes at 1 PM. 10 minutes at 6 PM. No later than 6 PM because it can keep me up at night. We had to play with the timing and the dosing. It would be different for everyone. As soon as I have symptom relief I have to stop because it swings into hypomania sometimes.

Hi Beth,
I have SAD and use light therapy when the days are very short. It doesn't work for everyone, but it has helped me get through the winters. It lifts me out of my depression just enough to be able to get motivated to do other things that help me cope with SAD.
Along with the light therapy, which I use at night when I'm reading a book, I listen to different binaural beats through ear buds, and also practice some meditation, as well as various easy yoga postures. Focused breathing for a minute or so helps too. All these things I do are by no means a cure for SAD, and I've never heard of a cure for it. I find doing all these things prevents me from hiding out, and not communicating with anyone. I wish you much peace and well-being and here's a big hug to you. Thanks for sharing! You're appreciated