s/o Antidepressants: crunchy alternatives

pearblossom

I have anxiety, and have now had two awful experiences with meds. I did a bit of research to see if there was any hippie bullshits pan flutes method and I thought I'd share in case anyone is interested.

I am now taking somewhat large doses of B Complex vitamins and EPA Omega-3s. this article  pretty much sums it up, but there is tons of info out there in google land.

**B-Vitamins are necessary for the production and regulation of neurotransmitters connected to depression. B-vitamin deficiency has been linked with mood disorders, including depression and anxiety. Elderly patients are at particular risk of B12 deficiency; and women on oral contraception or estrogen replacement are at increased risk of B6 deficiency. Thus, although long-term prospective studies have not been completed, it seems beneficial to take Vitamin B complex, with 100 mg each of the major B vitamins.

 **Omega-3 fatty acid deficiency, or an imbalance with omega-6, correlates with an increased rate of both anxiety and depression. Dosage range has not yet been clearly established, but studies have shown improvement in depressive symptoms with as little as 1 gram, or as much as 6 grams a day. Begin with 1 gram a day of fish oil, and go up to 6 grams a day if desired. Flaxseed oil, or ground flaxseed meal, (2 tbsp daily) is a vegetarian alternative.

I have definitely noticed a difference. The only thing is that the B vitamins do give me crazy energy so I have had to really limit my caffeine or else I get super jittery and anxious. It's only been a couple weeks, though, so ask me again in a month.

thetheisens

Thanks, Pear. I haven't had great results with antidepressants without major side effects either. I also take some St John's Wort. I haven't done a ton of research on it but it was suggested to me by a therapist once a long time ago.

vitan

How about Thiamine? My friend had suggested it to me and gave me some. I felt it definitely helped with my anxiety at the time.
Eta: ah, thiamine = B1. :

ellewoodsSC

pearblossom:

I have definitely noticed a difference. The only thing is that the B vitamins do give me crazy energy so I have had to really limit my caffeine or else I get super jittery and anxious. It's only been a couple weeks, though, so ask me again in a month.

Thanks for the info.  I've been dealing with anxiety and panic attacks for the last few years and part of that has been that even moderate caffeine intake makes me very jittery and anxious.  Did you know that a 16 oz cup of Starbucks Pike Place brew has 330 mg caffeine!  I'd be interested in trying this B vitamin and omega fatty acids regimen, as I've had no success with long term buspar in the past and haven't been able to take benzodiazepines because of pregnancy and nursing. 

pearblossom

Vitan:

How about Thiamine? My friend had suggested it to me and gave me some. I felt it definitely helped with my anxiety at the time.

Yep, Thiamine is a B vitamin. 

pearblossom

ellewoodsSC:

pearblossom:

I have definitely noticed a difference. The only thing is that the B vitamins do give me crazy energy so I have had to really limit my caffeine or else I get super jittery and anxious. It's only been a couple weeks, though, so ask me again in a month.

Thanks for the info.  I've been dealing with anxiety and panic attacks for the last few years and part of that has been that even moderate caffeine intake makes me very jittery and anxious.  Did you know that a 16 oz cup of Starbucks Pike Place brew has 330 mg caffeine!  I'd be interested in trying this B vitamin and omega fatty acids regimen, as I've had no success with long term buspar in the past and haven't been able to take benzodiazepines because of pregnancy and nursing. 

I'm the same way. I can only have one 8 oz cup of coffee, and it has to be before 11am. I am guaranteed to regret any deviation from this routine.

vitan

pearblossom:

Vitan:

How about Thiamine? My friend had suggested it to me and gave me some. I felt it definitely helped with my anxiety at the time.

Yep, Thiamine is a B vitamin. 

Yup, caught that after the fact. :] but thanks for this post. Need to get some on hand.

Nita2603

thetheisens:

Thanks, Pear. I haven't had great results with antidepressants without major side effects either. I also take some St John's Wort. I haven't done a ton of research on it but it was suggested to me by a therapist once a long time ago.

 

just be careful if you take the pill with that. It makes it less effective. Don't know why but it does. 

PurpleDrewbie5

My grandma is an RN and she recommends this as well. I take these (when I remember) along with my prenatals. They give me a decent amount of energy but  have never made me jittery or anything. I don't drink a lot of caffeine but I'm sure if I had caffeine with them they would probably affect me the same way. Other than making my pee really yellow I haven't noticed any odd side effects.

DoctorWorm222

I'm on 150mg / day of Zoloft. I take it at night with a fish oil supplement. I actually notice a bigger difference when I forget the fish oil compared to when I forget the antidepressant.

[Deleted User]

If you suggest exercise...so help me.  Kidding.

I've put myself on an every-other-day regimen of Lexapro.  Without my doctor's permission, which probably isn't a good idea, but I noticed that when I forgot a day I felt just as normal, but without the emotional numbing that kind of makes me feel like a robot.  Seriously, even when my uncle died, I could not cry.  I could barely even feel sad.  Or anything, really.

 

pearblossom

overture:

If you suggest exercise...so help me.  Kidding.

I've put myself on an every-other-day regimen of Lexapro.  Without my doctor's permission, which probably isn't a good idea, but I noticed that when I forgot a day I felt just as normal, but without the emotional numbing that kind of makes me feel like a robot.  Seriously, even when my uncle died, I could not cry.  I could barely even feel sad.  Or anything, really.

 

No you're not!

I've heard of others doing that as well. It was suggested on some of the "how can I climax?" threads on the discussion forums. 

[Deleted User]

Yeah, you're right, I wasn't kidding.  Luckily the sexual side effects only lasted like a week, tops, when I first started.