Dealing with Depression Naturally

I have been taking the carbomazapine for depression and anxiety for 9 years. The doctors arent sure if I am bi polar or not the therapist both have said no. I have suffered with major depression for many years over 35 now. I decided to try b12 500 mg it is working great with my medication 250 mg at bedroom and the b12 in the am. they wanted to change my med but I don't want to. Why is the b12 working so well? I feel so much better, I am allergic to many anti depressants.

For immediate relief of mild depression, take the amino L-Tyrosine plus the herb St Johnswort. The supplement SAMe is also good for mild depression and also boosts detox systems.

I have been using the Bach Flower Remedies (BFR) to help me with a bad, bad bout of depression and it didn't seem to be working for me. In desperation I read about Acetyl-L-carnitine (ACL) and it being an amino acid (a building block for proteins) that is naturally produced in the body. It helps the body produce "energy. " BFR works on energy so, I started taking the ACL and later that 1st night when I took the BFR it started to work almost immediately. That horrible knot in my stomach started to come on done. This morning when I awoke the knot was back and felt like I was at the end of the world again. I put the BFR drops in my coffee and sipping my coffee I could feel the knot being undone again. You just have to get past getting out of bed and I know how hard that can be.

Eliminating gluten and sugar might be a good place to start for your depression. I also recommend at least 45 minutes of cardio exercise 3-4 times a week. This will help immensely. Also check your magnesium levels.

Other supplements for anxiety and depression include: omega 3 vitamin D, Magnesium zinc and B12

Also B6 B9 and (Vitamins A, C, E and selenium to help you get rid of the extra toxin load causing your anxiety)

Vitamins are best absorbed through food. for example omega 2 through flax seeds, zinc and b12 through liver of goat, or sheep or chicken or even cow.

• vitamin d through sunlight or you can take pill 5000IU a day cuz its very imp
• vitamin a: carrot juice apricots
• vitamin c brocoli lemon guava kiwi strawberries parsley yellow bell pepper etc
• magnesium through magnesium chloride oil rub
• vitamin e through almonds, spinach, almond oil, hazelnuts spinach
• selenium through brasil nuts, mustard seeds and garlic are the best sources.

These are power foods that can be used instead of supplements if used properly.

Also load up on potassium food to alkalize your body, like avocado, potatoe peels, banana, pumpkin and goji berries which are very rich in potassium and nutrients.

I had a feeling that weaning with a capsule would entail what you suggest. I just wasn't sure how to begin, so THANK YOU VERY MUCH! I shall proceed with your suggestion. By any chance, do you know how, when, and how much to start adding the supplements, like 5-htp?

Amy :)

Recent research has shown that one of the reasons for depleted serotonin in depressed persons is that serotonin production is halted in the body during REM sleep.

Depressed people are usually in the REM sleep state for a lot of the night (compared to non depressed) and hence wake feeling exhausted mentally and with low levels of serotonin.

Throughout the day activity gradually increases the serotonin levels but of course the cyle begins again each evening.

Placebo trials have also shown that increasing the level of serotoninvia medication does little to affect the nervous anxiety and exhaustion created by over REMING.

So basically the reduced serotonin experienced by depressives is a symptom rather than a cause.

The doctor's name is Andrew Saul and the documentary is called "Food Matters". His books are a "must-read" and the documentary is priceless!

My depression is food related. Eating bakery that's not gluten free will bring on depression nearly immediately. Also, when I cook or choose what to eat, I pay attention to how I feel because sometimes I pick up something to eat or season the food with and immediately get an intense twinge of depression that goes away when I put the item back.

When I started my downward spiral with depression, I never made the association of possibly being hormone related. After 5 yrs. of psychiatrists putting me on almost every drug combo to see if it would help, the next suggestion was ECT treatments.... I had 9. That may work for some people, but all it did for me was take away my memory recall.

My husband was the one who got me to go back and figure out where my depression started. I figured out it was hormone related. I called my GP... Got back on plant based hormone and within 2 weeks began to see the "fog" lifting. When I told my psychiatrist that I wanted her help to slowly get off the meds and get a regime of eating healthy, exercise and concentrated therapy, she became furious and refused to help me. She said that I would end up back in the hospital within 2 months and be worse off than I originally was. Well.... that has been 7 years ago and I feel great.

So.... I would suggest bloodwork, diet, exercise, and research, research. Everyone of us is different in what works for our bodies. Postings here on EC was lifesaving for me. Daniel Ahem's books are invaluable for educationing yourself about what you need to do when you start noticing a problem. Dr. Mercola just had an article on him a couple of days ago on his website. Please read his research.

I slowly weened myself off my meds. I would have loved to have had the support of my psychiatrist. All the drugs were taking away my life and I knew I had to take my health back into my own hands and not rely on someone else telling me they knew what was "best" for me. It was terrifying for me to take that step, but I'm so glad I did. I really hope this helps someone. I believe we're all guardian angels here on this site.....")

Hi She! One of the major uses of ascorbic acid is its use as a detoxifying agent. It even is used on poisonous snakebite! It nullifies toxic effects, while enhancing drug effectiveness, so less is often needed - and doctor should be consulted first to be really safe about lowering dose, or titrating off. That said, all too often they just want to put one on $omething el$e... at least that's how mine was, though I was dying right in front of him.

Be prepared for a lot of toxic withdrawl symptoms if you do it without some good detoxifying agent. It was a nightmare the way I did it, a decade ago, and it doesn't have to be that way at all. --T.

Thank you all for your advice. It's greatly appreciated. I have a relative who has been on Luvox (an SSRI; anti-depressant) for a while, taking 50mg a day, and who was on a bunch of other drugs last year (they kept trying to treat the "symptoms" with a different drug, instead of figuring out the "cause" (ironically, the anti-depressant itself), and eliminating that), and we just found out about Niacinamide (Vitamin B-3), and how it helped the guy who started AA to get rid of his depression. Actually, he used Niacin, but Niacinamide doesn't have the hot flashes that Niacin causes.

Can we start to give him the Niacinamide while still on the Luvox? If so, how much Niacinamide do you suggest? They are in 500mg capsules.

Btw, I successfully stopped my panic attacks with it (I only had two attacks my whole life; I'm still blown away that I even had them). I took between 500mg and 2000mg per day, and only needed to take it for a few days. And that was over 3 years ago.

Seekthetruth, I know what you mean about wanting to help someone and your friend not being open to it. I have a similar situation with someone. It is soo hard to even speak to them.

Niacin or B3 is very effective for treating depression and Dr. Hoffer had great success with it. From the linked article:

"Bill began to take niacin, 3 g daily. Within a few weeks fatigue and depression which had plagued him for years were gone. He gave it to 30 of his close friends in AA and persuaded them to try it. Within 6 months he was convinced that it would be very helpful to alcoholics. Of the thirty, 10 were free of anxiety, tension and depression in one month. Another 10 were well in two months".

http://www.doctoryourself.com/hoffer_niacin.html

Also magnesium is very good for depression. Swimming in the ocean particularly good or just bathing in epson salts or magnesium chloride.

Hey, I have always struggled with depression and anxiety since I was young. However, it wasn't until my father passed away very suddenly that I started taking lorazepam & citalopram for extreme anxiety and depression. I am really not into prescriptions unless absolutely necessary. Does anyone know how to start to switch off of prescriptions onto 5-htp? I can never find any answers if it's ok to start weaning off of the prescriptions and introducing the 5-htp right away. Anything you can offer would be greatly appreciated. I really want to get off of these meds right away. Thanks!

I agree. But ideally you should do this with the assistance an experienced professional who is willing to help you with the switch and is aware of your medical history. If you want to do it alone, make sure that, at the very minimum, you are very knowledgeable about the risks involved, and talk to people who have done it as well. Even so, consider the risks: this change can trigger a serious reaction, these are anti-depressants we are talking about. Any change in your existing drug regimen will result in chance for your brain chemistry. Be safe.

I took the prescribed amount, one capsule a day, of 340mg or Rhodiola. It showed on the bottle that it contained 3% rosavins = to 10.2mg. I bought it in the hope that it would help with some depression that I've been having. I didn't want to take anti-depression medicene and hoped this would be a good route without the terrible side effects of any of the anti-depression medicines. About 20 minutes after taking the capsule of Rhodiola, I began to feel light-headed and so far that's all that's happened. No reduction of the depressed state of mind, no energy, no nothing.. just the light-headedness. Maybe I need to take it for awhile? But based on what I've read already about it, I should've gotten some response other than light-headedness.

depression cured with vitamin D

depression has pretty much been a part of my life since i can remember. after trying every anti-depressant my doctor could dispense i turned to the internet to search for a more natural approach. since my depression worsens in the winter months i made the connection with a Vitamin D deficiency. since 30 minutes in the high summer sun provides 20,000iu yes twenty thousand IU (International units) of vitamin d i realized my 400iu supplement was not cutting it. i started taking 10,000iu on sunny days and 20,000iu when it's cloudy. i have never felt better in my entire life. coconut oil helped and i continue to take it, so did vitamin b supplements. but the vitamin d deficiency was surely the culprit. don't accept feeling miserable, change your habits. i have read that doctors can offer 50,000iu daily by prescription so i felt that i could take 20,000 without complication. its important to use common sense, if you're at the beach in the sun all day then take a few days off of the vitamin d.

If the 5htp is a capsule you way want to try emptying it under your tongue for sublingual absorbtion. That way you don't have to process it through your digestive tract and avoid the nausea. I hold the 5htp powder under my tongue for about an hour or until I feel like I have absorbed it. This way has worked well for me.

I wanted to add my experience to the dietary reccommendations. My depression has vanished since I added more fat to my diet and since I have been taking a b complex pill everyday. I now eat a tablespoon of cocunut oil in my tea each morning.

Many people who have adopted a low carb diet with adequat fat and protein have been able to get rid of there depression. Protein is great but please don't forget the fat!! And no fat does not make you fat! In my opinion carbs do!

Hope this helps someone!

Anna

After years of ups and downs and depression, I must have tried almost every supplement and pharma pills also. My conclusion is that for myself a good quality pharmaceutical grade fish oil really is excellent at stabilising and improving mood. I use one but others available. Also I've found vitamin c works well to improve my mood also, having read about "histadelia" and high histamine levels that could be the reason as vitamin c is a potent anti -histamine. Commonly touted remedies such as tryptophan made me worse as does any ssri like prozac. Also selenium seems to affect my mood in a negative way also. I guess the bottom line is we are all different biochemically and have to experiment on what works for yourself, though for anyone with these symptoms I'd suggest everyone reads about histadelia and histapenia and the roles of histamine in mood.

Fishoil helped my depression. I was about to consider Zoloft when I ran into an article about the benefits of fishoil. I started taking 3-4 grams I divided doses and in less than 5 weeks I felt better! Then, I started sleeping before 11 pm and found out that I functioned better and my thoughts were more positive. Everyone used to tell me that in order to cure depression you had to think positive...fishoil taught me how to do so! it's been four months and I only get depressed during my period. I'm working on that...any suggestions?

I have suffered from depression and "dark moods" for years. I am very much against taking prescription drugs as I believe they do more harm than good. However, about 6 weeks ago I was feeling so depressed and dark that I began to consider going to the Dr. for a prescription antidepressant. I thought, maybe I'm just adding to my suffering by being so against modern pharmaceuticals. Anyway, I turned to Earthclinic and read about 5-HTP and decided to give it a shot. I bought extra strength 5-HTP in the form of L-5 hydroxytryptophan, 100mg per capsule. I started off taking 2 capsules first thing in the morning before eating. Did this for about 3 weeks. I increased the amount to 3 capsules per morning and have been doing that since. I first noticed that my moods were more "neutral" instead of depressed and I took that as a sign of improvement. I presently feel good and not depressed.

I would just like to add that I recently added fasting to my health protocol. I read a fascinating book called "The Miracle of Fasting".

They say in this book that fasting helps emotional issues as well as physical ones. I have done a 24 hour fast once per week for 2 weeks in a row and I believe that it has contributed to my feelings of well being. I plan on continuing doing a weekly 24hr fast.

Hope this helps.

Yikes! Tell your friend to lighten up on the jokes. A true friend will totally understand.

I have suffered from mild depression for about 10 years now..off and on. As healthcare is very expensive, I never got meds from the doctor, I could not afford them. I was doing some research for natural depression cures, and came across SAM-e. With in 36 hours I felt like a new person.

I took it for 2 weeks, and noticed a that I felt "normal". I read that the reason that SAM-e works so well and most people take it and then stop for a while, is because SAM-e is one of the few meds that cross the blood-brain barrier, thus making it more effective.

After taking it for two weeks, I stopped taking it for over a month as I did not need it. Then I found this site last night while searching for a cure for a friends yeast infection, and came across Apple Cider Vinegar.

I had some here, and took it last night and WOW. I am so not a morning person, but I jumped out of bed and have felt like a million bucks all day long. I will now be taking the ACV daily as well!

I was at Trader Joe's last week and was browsing through their line of supplements. One supplement in particular caught my eye - sublingual folic acid, b6 and b12. I had been seeing some good information on the web about the b vits, so I decided to buy it. (cheap by the way.) The one thing I noticed immediately is I am in such a darn good mood after I take it! I forgot to take one pill 2 days ago and some pms irritability set in. Took my vitamin and within half an hour, my mood improved. I think this may be a great supplement for those with depression or anxiety.