Supplements & Depression

[LiftHardGainBig]

My girlfriend is looking to get away from her expensive prescriptions for bi-polar disorder because she cant afford them (over $500 / month!). She takes a mood stabilizer and an antidepressant (ssri). We were just wondering if there are effective vitamin/herbal stacks that she could take instead.
Please let us know if you know of anything..
Thanks
-Ryan

 

[NordicNacho]

what is she taking. there are generics for alot of the ssri's that would be a lot cheaper and im sure there is a mood stablizer a lot cheaper. have her talk to her docter to look into other options change medicine lower the doseage. look into ssi or state programs once you are diagnoised with it you will never be able to get insurance unless you get it through your work. just make sure she keeps taking them lithium is cheap but then you need your blood tested




fish oil

A four-month double-blind, placebo-controlled study of 30 subjects with bipolar disorder compared the effects of fish oil supplements with placebo. Fourteen subjects received 9.6 grams daily of fish oil consisting of 6.2 grams of EPA and 3.4 grams of DHA, and 16 subjects received olive oil as a placebo. This study showed improvement in the short-term course of the disorder with fish oil supplementation. Among those taking fish oils, longer periods of remission were observed in nearly every outcome category, and the results were statistically significant. Mild gastrointestinal side effects were reported in the fish oil group.



Fish Oils

 

[LiftHardGainBig]

great thanks for the information. She was taking Gabatril and Welbutrin (spelling?), but now takes gabatril and Zoloft because the welbutrin was like $300/month and she cant afford that. She stopped taking the Zoloft because she said it made her feel like a zombie, and had no libido.
We tried state programs to make it cheaper but nothing seemed to work (i'm not sure of all the details but i cna check w/ her). I'll mention the fish oil to her.
Right now we're both college students - she graduates after next year and should have good insurance through her job, but for now we have Student insurance through our university which doesnt pay for medication much at all.
Any other information would be appreciated.

 

[DontStop]

EEE, god bless health care haha.
I take the same pescriptions and I get them for free.

But as far as natural goes, I've found one of the best investments ive made was on a natural remedy book. You can get them at any book store and they have damn near natural remedies for EVERYTHING

 

[NordicNacho]

i take trileptal its name brand but it might be cheaper for a mood stab. does the same thing as Gabatril

these ssri's can be found in generic form
Citalopram (Celexa), fluoxetine (Prozac), paroxetine (Paxil) and fluvoxamine (Luvox), and sertraline (Zoloft) are available generically. Generic medications may be a less expensive but comparably effective treatment option.

 

[Arnold]

she can try 5-Hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP) - Supplement Review

 

[Plateau_Max]

5-HTP and 5-MTP (melatonin) as well as the Fish/Flax Omega-3s are all very good precursors to the neurotransmitter seratonin which is the "feel good" neurotransmitter. Also for depression I've heard many testimonies to the excellent help people get from St. John's Wort tea.

For depression and bi-polar a huge factor is often deficiency in a few areas on your vitamin intake. Make sure she's taking a couple high potency multivitamins every day on top of getting enough sleep every night, and sticking to the same sleep schedule every night. Zinc deficiency is a big one studies have shown to effect people's moods. I would suggest supplementing around 9mg per day of Zinc. Males can actually lose up to 3mg of it with an orgasm, so if you're very sexually active that would be something to consider also.

On a personal note, I've notice that people as well as myself tend to be more suceptable to depression when my energy levels are low. So a B-complex and monitoring carb intake would be another thing to throw in there.

 

[LiftHardGainBig]

wow great information guys, thanks. Right now she is taking the generics and its still near $500/month total for everything she's taking. She's been evaluated for private insurance but would be declined. We're going to look into the suggestions above, for sure.

 

[Twigz]

One other thing you could try is calling the drug manufacturing company. I know this has worked for the elderly before. Sometimes they will supply the drug at a cheaper price, or in the case of my grandmother in-law she even got a few free.

 

[MAC33]

5-HTP is actually really effective for mood enhancing. I don't know if it would help your girlfriend's case but it definately does enhance your overall mood. I usually take it when I'm really stressed out from something (you know how us teenagers can be). But it is effective for me... and incredibly affordable.. so give it a try.

 

[juggernaut]

fish oil has helped me in ways that I have stopped counting; I also like melatonin for better sleep and I heard ZMA helps.
As far as depression goes, bodybuilding has really helped out