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Important topics about tests, supplements, treatments, diet


Altostrata

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ADMIN NOTE Also see Important topics about symptoms, including sleep problems


 

Here are some topics discussing tests, supplements, herbs, and treatments that may answer your questions.

No matter what you read about "natural" supplements or herbs, or even if an alternative practitioner, naturopath, or integrative doctor recommends them, you cannot treat withdrawal syndrome as though it is "natural" depression.

In "natural" depression, your nervous system is normal and it is operating your body properly. In withdrawal syndrome, your nervous system is struggling to get back to normal operation. Don't try to speed this along with anything that may be stimulating, or you may further unbalance it.

SAM-E and other supplements that act on serotonin, including St. John's Wort, are not recommended for people with withdrawal syndrome. They tend to be stimulating in a way that most of us really do not need.

Many herbs also have unusual side effects in people with withdrawal syndrome.

Whatever you try, understand you may be hypersensitive to that particular substance or treatment. If you are trying an herb or supplement, take a tiny fraction of a normal dose and see how you react. Don't think you're going to smack a symptom down with a big dose of anything. More is not better when your system is sensitized by withdrawal.

Try herbs or supplements one by one. Don't take a bunch of supplements at once. If you have a bad reaction, you won't know which substance caused it. For this reason, we don't recommend "mixed" supplements, such as B vitamin supplements or sleep supplements with multiple ingredients.

We also don't recommend programs that promise you a fast recovery. Generally, they are overpriced and contain common supplements you can find yourself at lower prices. You will want to try those supplements one by one anyway, as taking them all together may cause unpleasant reactions.
 
See Don't waste your money on these supplements

Click on the links and add to these topics if you wish:

_______________________________________
CHECK FOR DRUG AND SUPPLEMENT INTERACTIONS !!!!!!!

Drug Interactions Checker -- use it to reduce your drug burden
 
_______________________________________
BASIC SUPPLEMENT TOOLKIT

King of supplements: Omega-3 fatty acids (fish oil)

Magnesium, nature's calcium channel blocker

 

_______________________________________
REDUCING CORTISOL, THE ANXIETY HORMONE
 

Waking with panic or anxiety -- managing cortisol spikes*

_______________________________________
AMINO ACIDS

5-HTP (5-hydroxytryptophan) and l-tryptophan

L-arginine An amino acid good for sleep?

L-glycine for sleep?

Update on milk peptides for sleep: Our friend Lactium again *

SAM-e (S-adenosyl-L-methionine)

Taurine (L-taurine amino acid)
 
L-Theanine for anxiety, insomnia

Be careful with l-tyrosine

whey protein isolate *

_______________________________________
SUPPLEMENTS AND HERBS
 
Can you take too many supplements?
 
Supplements - how long should I give them?
 
CoQ10

Curcumin -- helps neurons to recover? Supplement derived from Indian spice turmeric

Magnesium, nature's calcium channel blocker *

Melatonin for sleep: Many people find it helpful *

King of supplements: Omega-3 fatty acids (fish oil) *

Valerian Root

_______________________________________
TESTS

 

What lab testing is reasonable prior to starting or tapering?

Genetic testing: "Personalized medicine," liver enzymes, genotypes, GeneSightRx, Genomind, etc.

 

The importance of MTHFR, methylation, and B vitamins: Eat leafy green veggies!

 

The trouble with brain scans -- fMRI, QEEG, or SPECT -- for psychiatric problems
 
Invalid: Urine testing for neurotransmitters in the brain


Thyroid symptoms
 
_______________________________________
TREATMENTS

Liver detox, gallbladder flush, internal cleansing, enemas, fasting, & other detoxification methods

Ask Shanti about homeopathy

 

One theory of antidepressant withdrawal syndrome

 

Lamictal to calm post-discontinuation withdrawal symptoms

 

_______________________________________
VITAMINS

Vitamin A and beta-carotene

Vitamin B3 (niacin, niacinamide)
 
Vitamin B8 (inositol)

Vitamin B12: essential for mood, nervous system
Vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol or calcitriol)

Got too much vitamin D - Now what?

Deplin -- the L-methylfolate swindle

_______________________________________
DIET AND DIGESTION
 
That acid reflux pill may be causing your health problems
 
Digestive problems: Nausea, Diarrhea, Bloating, GERD

 

Avoid hypokalemia: Eat high-potassium foods and take magnesium
 
Food sensitivities
 
Gluten Sensitivity Vs. Celiac Disease Vs. Gluten Intolerance...
 
Histamine food intolerance

 

Elimination or exclusion diets for reactions to food (food intolerance)


SCD/GAPS/Paleo Diets
 
Probiotics and gut health
* Many people find this helpful for withdrawal symptoms. Always try a small amount first to see how your system reacts.

Edited by Altostrata
updated link

This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner.

"It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has surpassed our humanity." -- Albert Einstein

All postings © copyrighted.

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  • 1 year later...

Not to sound like a broken record but don't assume that so called benign supplements are harmless.

 

I only took two Trader Joes probiotics yesterday in the morning and ended up with blood in my urine. Did a google search and there were other people who had experienced this.

 

Perhaps I am an usual case but I just wanted to warn people to be careful.

 

CS

Drug cocktail 1995 - 2010
Started taper of Adderall, Wellbutrin XL, Remeron, and Doxepin in 2006
Finished taper on June 10, 2010

Temazepam on a PRN basis approximately twice a month - 2014 to 2016

Beginning in 2017 - Consumption increased to about two times per week

April 2017 - Increased to taking it full time for insomnia

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  • 1 year later...
  • Moderator

We have often warned that the supplement industry is unregulated and you  can never be sure what you are getting when you buy them.  Four major retailers in the United States have been ordered to stop selling their house brands of a number of supplements because they contained nothing but fillers.  It would be a good idea for anyone thinking about taking supplements to read this article.

 

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/new-your-attorney-general-targets-supplements-at-major-retailers/ar-AA8VmjN

20 years on Paxil starting at 20mg and working up to 40mg. Sept 2011 started 10% every 6 weeks taper (2.5% every week for 4 weeks then hold for 2 additional weeks), currently at 7.9mg. Oct 2011 CTed 15oz vodka a night, to only drinking 2 beers most nights, totally sober Feb 2013.

Since I wrote this I have continued to decrease my dose by 10% every 6 weeks (2.5% every week for 4 weeks and then hold for an additional 2 weeks). I added in an extra 6 week hold when I hit 10mg to let things settle out even more. When I hit 3mgpw it became hard to split the drop into 4 parts so I switched to dropping 1mgpw (pill weight) every week for 3 weeks and then holding for another 3 weeks.  The 3 + 3 schedule turned out to be too harsh so I cut back to dropping 1mgpw every 4 weeks which is working better.

Final Dose 0.016mg.     Current dose 0.000mg 04-15-2017

 

"It's also important not to become angry, no matter how difficult life is, because you can loose all hope if you can't laugh at yourself and at life in general."  Stephen Hawking

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  • Moderator Emeritus

It's not as if the FDA is doing a good job regulating anything. After all, I certainly didn't see ANY warnings on ANY of my prescription paperwork about withdrawal, permanent side effects, or about side effects or withdrawal symptoms that last months or years. The FDA notoriously euphemizes side effects and is blatantly disregarding even admitting there is such a thing as withdrawal damage from psych meds.

 

So, while the supplement industry maybe unregulated, I seriously doubt that it can possibly be any more damaging than the medication industry and the FDA's shoddy, irresponsible, barely existent regulation of psychiatric medications.

 

I think the most reasonable approach is what Alto stated above: that we need to keep in mind that our medication damaged/withdrawal damaged bodies do not react to supplements the same way that healthy bodies do.

 

Healthy people should have more of a fear of prescription medications than of supplements. We med-damaged lot, though, are a different story and now must be cautious of EVERYTHING.

*I'm not a doctor and don't give medical advice, just personal experience
**Off all meds since Nov. 2014. Mentally & emotionally recovered; physically not
-Dual cold turkeys off TCA & Ativan in Oct 2014. Prescribed from 2011-2014

-All meds were Rxed off-label for an autoimmune illness.  It was a MISDIAGNOSIS, but I did not find out until AFTER meds caused damage.  All med tapers/cold turkeys directed by doctors 

-Nortriptyline May 2012 - Dec 2013. Cold turkey off nortrip & cold switched to desipramine

-Desipramine Jan 2014 - Oct. 29, 2014 (rapid taper/cold turkey)

-Lorazepam 1 mg per night during 2011
-Lorazepam 1 mg per month in 2012 (or less)

-Lorazepam on & off, Dec 2013 through Aug 2014. Didn't exceed 3x a week

-Lorazepam again in Oct. 2014 to help get off of desipramine. Last dose lzpam was 1 mg, Nov. 2, 2014. Immediate paradoxical reactions to benzos after stopping TCAs 

-First muscle/dystonia side effects started on nortriptyline, but docs too stupid to figure it out. On desipramine, muscle tremors & rigidity worsened

-Two weeks after I got off all meds, I developed full-blown TD.  Tardive dystonia, dyskinesia, myoclonic jerks ALL over body, ribcage wiggles, facial tics, twitching tongue & fingers, tremors/twitches of arms, legs, cognitive impairment, throat muscles semi-paralyzed & unable to swallow solid food, brain zaps, ears ring, dizzy, everything looks too far away, insomnia, numbness & electric shocks everywhere when I try to fall asleep, jerk awake from sleep with big, gasping breaths, wake with terrors & tremors, severely depressed.  NO HISTORY OF DEPRESSION, EVER. Meds CREATED it.

-Month 7: hair falling out; no vision improvement; still tardive dystonia; facial & tongue tics returned
-Month 8: back to acute, incl. Grand Mal seizure-like episodes. New mental torment, PGAD, worse insomnia
-Month 9: tardive dystonia worse, dyskinesia returned. Unable to breathe well due to dystonia in stomach, chest, throat
-Month 13: Back to acute, brain zaps back, developed eczema & stomach problems. Left leg no longer works right due to dystonia, meaning both legs now damaged
-7 years off: Huge improvements, incl. improved dystonia

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  • 3 weeks later...

It's not as if the FDA is doing a good job regulating anything. After all, I certainly didn't see ANY warnings on ANY of my prescription paperwork about withdrawal, permanent side effects, or about side effects or withdrawal symptoms that last months or years. The FDA notoriously euphemizes side effects and is blatantly disregarding even admitting there is such a thing as withdrawal damage from psych meds.

 

So, while the supplement industry maybe unregulated, I seriously doubt that it can possibly be any more damaging than the medication industry and the FDA's shoddy, irresponsible, barely existent regulation of psychiatric medications.

 

I think the most reasonable approach is what Alto stated above: that we need to keep in mind that our medication damaged/withdrawal damaged bodies do not react to supplements the same way that healthy bodies do.

 

Healthy people should have more of a fear of prescription medications than of supplements. We med-damaged lot, though, are a different story and now must be cautious of EVERYTHING.

 

I have to agree with you on most of what you say about the FDA.  On the other hand I don't want to take supplements that are questionable either... not really.  I want to know that what the labels says is in the bottle is actually in the bottle. Research your brands supposedly from my own research the Now brand is one of the better ones. I am sure there are others. 

 

One more point about this that has helped me decide what I am going to try.... keep in mind I have reacted badly early on to everything I put in my mouth food and supplements.... so I am extra cautious having learned everything the hard way.  Low dose to start is a must 1/6 th the recommended dose is what I learned at antidepressantfacts.com and it has served me well.  WAIT at the low dose after starting something too as it may take a few days or longer to tell. 

 

This I just found out a few wks ago... if your looking to take a supplement search it to see if it is used on kids under 12 in Europe.  If it is then it has been tested and you can be confident that what the label says is actually in the bottle.  There is a law in Europe that states all supplements meant for kids under 12 must be tested. 

 

This is one of the reason I decided to take the L.Reuteri  made by Bio Protectis it is tested patented and given to babies for colic. At least I know it was what I took was what the label says. 

WARNING THIS WILL BE LONG
Had a car accident in 85
Codeine was the pain med when I was release from hosp continuous use till 89
Given PROZAC by a specialist to help with nerve pain in my leg 89-90 not sure which year
Was not told a thing about it being a psych med thought it was a pain killer no info about psych side effects I went nuts had hallucinations. As I had a head injury and was diagnosed with a concussion in 85 I was sent to a head injury clinic in 1990 five years after the accident. I don't think they knew I had been on prozac I did not think it a big deal and never did finish the bottle of pills. I had tests of course lots of them. Was put into a pain clinic and given amitriptyline which stopped the withdrawal but had many side effects. But I could sleep something I had not done in a very long time the pain lessened. My mother got cancer in 94 they switched my meds to Zoloft to help deal with this pressure as I was her main care giver she died in 96. I stopped zoloft in 96 had withdrawal was put on paxil went nutty quit it ct put on resperidol quit it ct had withdrawal was put on Effexor... 2years later celexa was added 20mg then increased to 40mg huge personality change went wild. Did too fast taper off Celexa 05 as I felt unwell for a long time prior... quit Effexor 150mg ct 07 found ****** 8 months into withdrawal learned some things was banned from there in 08 have kept learning since. there is really not enough room here to put my history but I have a lot of opinions about a lot of things especially any of the drugs mentioned above.
One thing I would like to add here is this tidbit ALL OPIATES INCREASE SEROTONIN it is not a huge jump to being in chronic pain to being put on an ssri/snri and opiates will affect your antidepressants and your thinking.

As I do not update much I will put my quit date Nov. 17 2007 I quit Effexor cold turkey. 

http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/1096-introducing-myself-btdt/

There is a crack in everything ..That's how the light gets in :)

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  • 2 weeks later...

i havent read through everything yet, but i wanted to mention something i didnt see listed, in case anyone wants to add/discuss/research it: l-lysine complex as a supplement for some auto-immune related problems like canker sores.  (some people experience help from it, some dont, but i, personally, have.)

 

i have to dive in to all those PPI replacement threads because ive been trying to ditch mine for years and havent found a good coping taperer yet (but reading about how rebound acid overproduction works very much like serotonin oversensitivity in withdrawal syndrome reminded me of the importance of gradual changes instead of just dropping things).

 

great topics, and lively discussions in the threads ive read so far.  thanks a lot, everyone, for your work here.

from 2005-2012, i spent 7 years taking 17 different psychotropic medications covering several classes.  i would be taking 3-7 medications at a time, and 6 out of the 17 medications listed below were maxed or overmaxed in clinical dosage before i moved on to trying the next unhelpful cocktail.
 
antidepressants (SSRIs, SNRIs, NDRIs, tetracyclics): zoloft, wellbutrin, effexor, lexapro, prozac, cymbalta, remeron
antipsychotics (atypical): abilify, zyprexa, risperdal, geodon
sleep aids (benzos, off-label antidepressants & antipsychotics, hypnotics): seroquel, temazepam, trazodone, ambien
anxiolytics: buspar
anticonvulsants: topamax
 
i tapered off all psychotropics from late 2011 through early 2013, one by one.  since quitting, ive been cycling through severe, disabling withdrawal symptoms spanning the gamut of the serious, less serious, and rather worrisome side effects of these assorted medications.  previous cross-tapering and medication or dosage changes had also caused undiagnosed withdrawal symptoms.
 
brainpan addlepation

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  • 1 month later...
  • Mentor

We have often warned that the supplement industry is unregulated and you  can never be sure what you are getting when you buy them.  Four major retailers in the United States have been ordered to stop selling their house brands of a number of supplements because they contained nothing but fillers.  It would be a good idea for anyone thinking about taking supplements to read this article.

 

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/new-your-attorney-general-targets-supplements-at-major-retailers/ar-AA8VmjN

Is the Big Pharma industry regulated, with proper trials?  I think not.  

1992 Dothiepin 375mg 8 weeks, exhaustion/depression.  Serotonin syndrome, oh yes!  seizures . Fell pregnant, 3rd baby, Nitrous Oxide, 3 weeks mental hospital pp psychosis. zoloft tegretol.

Feb 1996 ct tegretol, tapered Zoloft 8 weeks. as (unexpectedly)  pregnant. Steven died after 3 days.(Zolft HLHS baby).  98 had run in with Paxil, 2 tablets, 3 weeks taper, survived.
2005..menopause? exhausted again. Zyprexa, mad in three days, fallout....  Seroquel, Effexor, tegretol,   and 8 years of self destruction. Failed taper.
Damn 1/4 valium... nuts again! .fallout, zoloft 100mg  seroquol 400mg mirtazapine 45 mg  tegretol 400mg.  Mid 14 3 month taper. Nov 14 CRASH.
Mid 15 ....   75mg  seroquel,  3 x 1800mg SJW  2 week window end of December followed by 6 week wave
5/2 68mg seroquel, 2.5 x 1800mg SJW::::20/2 61mg seroquel, 2.5 x  SJW::: 26/2 54mg seroquel, 2 x SJW::::21/3 43mg seroquel, 1 x 2700SJW :::: 23/4 36mg seroquel 1 x 1800 SJW
15/5 33mg seroquel, 1 x SJW::::   28/5 30mg seroquel, 1 x SJW::::;  18/6 25mg seroquel 1/2 SJW::::, 11/7 21mg seroquel 1/2 SJW::, 26/7 18mg seroquel 1/2 SJW:::, 9/8 12mg seroquel :::, 16/8 6mg seroquel ;;;;, 12/9 0 jump.

23/9  3mg.....,  27/9 0mg.  Reinstated, 6mg, then 12mg.............  LIGHTBULB MOMENT,  I have  MTHFR 2x mutations.  CFS and issues with MOULD in my home. So I left home, and working 150km away during week, loving it.

Oh was hard, panic attacks first week, gone now, along with the mould issues.

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  • 4 months later...

2000 - sertraline for job anxiety low confidence (17 years old) ..which turned the next 16 years into nightmare!

 

On/off sertraline severe withdrawals every time. 2014 - felt better as reduced dose of sertraline no more inner restlessness. Doctor rushed off again. Hit severe withdrawal. Lost the little I had in life. Couldn't get stable again on 12.5mg. Was switched to prozac. Had severe reaction to prozac..came off in November 2015 at 6mg as felt more confused and damaged on it..Even more withdrawal ..rage, depression, dyphoria, near constant suicidal ideation, self harm impulses, doom, concrete block in head, unable to do much of anything with this feeling in head..went back on 6mg of sertraline to see if would alleviate anything. It didn't..reduced from December to June 2016 came off at 2.5mg sertraline as was hospitalised for the severe rage, suicidal impulses, and put on 50mg lofepramine which in 2nd week reduced all symptoms but gave insomnia which still have..psych stopped lofepramine cold turkey..no increased withdrawal symptoms new symptoms from lofepramine except persistant insomnia which has as side effect.

 

Taking Ativan for 8 months for the severe rage self harm impulses 1-3 times a week (mostly 2 times a week) at .5mg. Two months (I'm unsure exactly when the interdose started to happen) ago interdose withdrawal seemed to happen..2 days I think after the Ativan.

 

 

Nightmare that could have been avoided!

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Here are some topics discussing tests, supplements, herbs, and treatments that may answer your questions.

 

No matter what you read about "natural" supplements or herbs, or even if an alternative practitioner, naturopath, or integrative doctor recommends them, you cannot treat withdrawal syndrome as though it is "natural" depression.

 

In "natural" depression, your nervous system is normal and it is operating your body properly. In withdrawal syndrome, your nervous system is struggling to get back to normal operation. Don't try to speed this along with anything that may be stimulating, or you may further unbalance it.

 

SAM-E and other supplements that act on serotonin, including St. John's Wort, are not recommended for people with withdrawal syndrome. They tend to be stimulating in a way that most of us really do not need.

 

Many herbs also have unusual side effects in people with withdrawal syndrome.

 

Whatever you try, understand you may be hypersensitive to that particular substance or treatment. If you are trying an herb or supplement, take a tiny fraction of a normal dose and see how you react. Don't think you're going to smack a symptom down with a big dose of anything. More is not better when your system is sensitized by withdrawal.

 

Try herbs or supplements one by one. Don't take a bunch of supplements at once. If you have a bad reaction, you won't know which substance caused it. For this reason, we don't recommend "mixed" supplements, such as B vitamin supplements or sleep supplements with multiple ingredients.

 

We also don't recommend programs that promise you a fast recovery. Generally, they are overpriced and contain common supplements you can find yourself at lower prices. You will want to try those supplements one by one anyway, as taking them all together may cause unpleasant reactions.

 

See Don't waste your money on these supplements

 

Click on the links and add to these topics if you wish:

 

_______________________________________

CHECK FOR DRUG AND SUPPLEMENT INTERACTIONS !!!!!!!

 

Drug Interactions Checker -- use it to reduce your drug burden

 

_______________________________________

REDUCING CORTISOL, THE ANXIETY HORMONE

 

Reducing cortisol and waking with panic or anxiety *

 

_______________________________________

AMINO ACIDS

 

5-HTP (5-hydroxytryptophan) and tryptophan

 

L-arginine An amino acid good for sleep?

 

L-glycine for sleep?

 

Update on milk peptides for sleep: Our friend Lactium again *

 

SAM-e (S-adenosyl-L-methionine)

 

Taurine (L-taurine amino acid)

 

L-Theanine for anxiety, insomnia

 

whey protein isolate *

 

_______________________________________

SUPPLEMENTS AND HERBS

 

Can you take too many supplements?

 

Supplements - how long should I give them?

 

CoQ10

 

Curcumin -- helps neurons to recover? Supplement derived from Indian spice turmeric

 

Magnesium, nature's calcium channel blocker *

 

Melatonin for sleep: Many people find it helpful *

 

Omega-3 fatty acids (fish oil) *

 

Valerian Root

 

_______________________________________

TESTS

 

Pharmacogenetics Testing

 

Thyroid symptoms

 

What lab testing is reasonable prior to starting or tapering?

 

The trouble with brain scans -- fMRI, QEEG, or SPECT -- for psychiatric problems

 

_______________________________________

TREATMENTS

 

Liver detox: A good idea?

 

Ask Shanti about homeopathy

 

_______________________________________

VITAMINS

 

Vitamin A and beta-carotene

 

Vitamin B3 (niacin, niacinamide)

 

Vitamin B12

 

Vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol or calcitriol)

 

Got too much vitamin D - Now what?

 

Deplin -- the L-methylfolate swindle

 

_______________________________________

DIET AND DIGESTION

 

That acid reflux pill may be causing your health problems

 

Digestive problems: Nausea, Diarrhea, Bloating, GERD

 

Food sensitivities

 

Gluten Sensitivity Vs. Celiac Disease Vs. Gluten Intolerance...

 

Histamine food intolerance

 

SCD/GAPS/Paleo Diets

 

Probiotics and gut health

* Many people find this helpful for withdrawal symptoms. Always try a small amount first to see how your system reacts.

 

It should probably be noted here the many supplements are denatured by the low pH of the stomach, or simply deactivated by the low pH of the stomach.  Many vitamins and minerals have finite saturation points after which excess either builds up in the body in toxic ways (all fat soluable vitamins, iron, etc) or is excreted in the urine. 

 

It should also be noted that no supplements require any testiing whatsoever for quality control (or at least MINIMAL testing compared to things such as food, drinks, or over the counter, or prescription drugs).  These supplements are MINIMALLY regulated, and often come from DUBIOUS sources - regardless of what your alternative practitioner tells you.  Unless they go out into their garden and pick the herbs themselves and show them to you - scepticism is warranted.  If you think drugs like SSRIS which undergo FDA testing can cause serious injury, how do you think drugs which have NO guidelines are going to affect you?   There's absolutely NO safeguard against rat feces or other contaminates being entered into your medications.  Some of the larger companies such as johnson and johnson have more rigorous product quality control than the obscure no named sources.  If you're going to take a supplement, choose a WELL KNOWN brand, such as centrium versus that brand that your local eastern medicine practitioner recommends.  I wouldn't trust a sensitive nervous system with a chemical that has very little quality control - there could be irritants that are not listed because the herb was sitting on a factory floor in Mexico for 3 years prior to being bottled and shipped to your local Rite Aid. 

 

The only supplements that are really worthwhile are multivitamins, and some isolated vitamins and minerals, if you happen to have some sort of deficiency.

 

RARELY have I seen anyone who is taking supplements correctly - they are mostly all just a complete waste of money and a placebo pill that costs you $15 bucks for a little bottle.  It might feel nice to believe that you're getting a significant benefit from these supplements, but there's a very good chance that all you're getting is more expensive urine as the drug is excreted into the toilet bowl.

 

It should also be noted here that many alternative medicine practitioners prescribe supplements like doctors prescribe pharmaceutical medications.  The brands that they prescribe are often times tailored for that specific doctor - but this is nothing more than an elaborate scam.  the drugs these doctors recommend are often manufactured by the same companies that supply to other labels - but they offer a special service for making your own specific brand so it seems tailored specifically for a purpose like homeopathy or naturopathy. 

 

If you eat a well balanced diet with your daily dose of fruits, vegetables, red meat, fish, etc etc etc, you will get 100% of all of your dietary needs of all vitamins and minerals and supplements.  All your omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids will be supplied, and you will not need a single supplement.  If you get out into the sun for 30 minutes a day, you don't need vitamin D.  During the winter months, you may benefit from a vitamin D supplement - but orally ingested Vitamin D is VERY poorly absorbed and utilized into D3 in your blood - so you need MEGA doses of it to just get the same thing you will get if you lay out in the sun for 30 minutes.

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  • Moderator

It's interesting to note that just a couple of months ago three of the largest retailers in the United States were forced to stop selling several name brand supplements because when they were tested they contained none of the active ingredient they claimed to supply.  They were made entirely of "harmless" fillers. 

20 years on Paxil starting at 20mg and working up to 40mg. Sept 2011 started 10% every 6 weeks taper (2.5% every week for 4 weeks then hold for 2 additional weeks), currently at 7.9mg. Oct 2011 CTed 15oz vodka a night, to only drinking 2 beers most nights, totally sober Feb 2013.

Since I wrote this I have continued to decrease my dose by 10% every 6 weeks (2.5% every week for 4 weeks and then hold for an additional 2 weeks). I added in an extra 6 week hold when I hit 10mg to let things settle out even more. When I hit 3mgpw it became hard to split the drop into 4 parts so I switched to dropping 1mgpw (pill weight) every week for 3 weeks and then holding for another 3 weeks.  The 3 + 3 schedule turned out to be too harsh so I cut back to dropping 1mgpw every 4 weeks which is working better.

Final Dose 0.016mg.     Current dose 0.000mg 04-15-2017

 

"It's also important not to become angry, no matter how difficult life is, because you can loose all hope if you can't laugh at yourself and at life in general."  Stephen Hawking

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  • Administrator

I just read on a pharmacist's blog that she recommends Pure Encapsulations.

This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner.

"It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has surpassed our humanity." -- Albert Einstein

All postings © copyrighted.

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  • 4 months later...

Anyone use Standard Process Supplements?

In 2015- had UTI put on Microbid. Stopped sleeping & had a nervous breakdown! Was put on Seroquil, Trazadone, Klonopin, just to name a few! Got off all drugs except Celexa until May of 2018. 

 

Update as of 1/19- reinstated Celexa 20mg. Drinking wine nightly along with a slew of meds/supplements to try and get to sleep. 

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Name the test to help avoid drug reactions please.

 

I don't think there is any such tests, some genetic testing looks at liver enzymes which can tell if you are more likely to develop a higher or lower blood level from some drugs than expected. I had Genomind, required by doctor. It is pretty expensive if not with a dr. Who works with them.

 

In other supplement issues, I am finding lemon balm to be helpful, but at a lower dose than dr. recommended (although he recommended starting small as well). He said usual dose is 1000mg twice daily, which made me irritable but did help sleep, doing better on 400 mg twice daily.

 

Found. Examine.com to be interesting as to what mechanism of action for some botanicals might be.

1st round Prozac 1989/90, clear depression symptoms. 2nd round Prozac started 1999 when admitted to dr. I was tired. Prozac pooped out, switch to Cymbalta 3/2006. Diagnosed with bipolar disorder due to mania 6/2006--then I was taken abruptly off Cymbalta and didn't know I had SSRI withdrawal. Lots of meds for my intractable "bipolar" symptoms.

Zyprexa started about 9/06, mostly 5mg. Tapered 4/12 through12/29/12

Wellbutrin. XL 300 mg started 1/07, tapered 1/18/13 through 7/8/13

Oxazepam mostly continuously since 6/06, 30mg since 12/12, tapered 1.17.14 through 8.26.15

11/06 Lithium 600mg twice daily, 2.2.14 400mg TID DIY liquid, 2.12.14 1150mg, 3.2.14 1100mg, 3.18.14 1075mg, 4/14 updose to 1100mg, 6.1.14 900 mg capsules 7.8.14 810mg, 8.17.14 725mg, 8.24.24 700mg...10.22.14 487.5mg, 3.9.15 475mg, 4.1.15 462.5mg 4.21.15 450mg 8.11.15 375mg, 11.28.15 362.5mg, back to 375mg four days later, 3.4.16 updose to 475 (too much going on to risk trouble)

9/4/13 Toprol-XL 25mg daily for sudden hypertension, tapered 11.12.13 through 5.3.14, last 10 days or so switched to atenolol

7.4.14 Started Walsh Protocol

56 years old

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  • 1 month later...

It's interesting to note that just a couple of months ago three of the largest retailers in the United States were forced to stop selling several name brand supplements because when they were tested they contained none of the active ingredient they claimed to supply.  They were made entirely of "harmless" fillers. 

Wow Gotzsche is right "We cannot assume that vitamin pills must be healthy'. pg 5' Deadly medicines....'

or i guess we cannot assume we are swallowing what we are told we are swallowing.

 

Check out this occurrence at a school just north of Cape Foulwind...

Basically GSK asserted their drink contained vitamin c but 2 school girls proved for science homework it contained ...wait for it...'zero' vitamin c.

Read what happened next!

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/mar/27/schoolsworldwide.foodanddrink

 

Here is  Gotzsche's full paragraph.

 

We also need essential minerals, e.g. zinc and copper, to make our enzymes work. But if we ingest too much, we get intoxicated. Thus, given what we know about the human body, we cannot assume that vitamin pills must be healthy. It is the earliest memory I have of a medical prophylactic intervention, and it took about 50 years before it became known whether vitamins are beneficial or harmful. A 2008 review of the placebo-controlled trials of antioxidants (beta-carotene, vitamin A and vitamin E) showed that they increase overall mortality.

Thought for the day: Lets stand up, and let’s speak out , together. G Olsen

We have until the 14th. Feb 2018. 

URGENT REQUEST Please consider submitting  for the petition on Prescribed Drug Dependence and Withdrawal currently awaiting its third consideration at the Scottish Parliament. You don't even have to be from Scotland. By clicking on the link below you can read some of the previous submissions but be warned many of them are quite harrowing.

http://www.parliament.scot/GettingInvolved/Petitions/PE01651   

Please tell them about your problems taking and withdrawing from antidepressants and/or benzos.

Send by email to petitions@parliament.scot and quote PE01651 in the subject heading. Keep to a maximum of 3 sides of A4 and you can't name for legal reasons any doctor you have consulted. Tell them if you wish to remain anonymous. We need the numbers to help convince the committee members we are not isolated cases. You have until mid February. Thank you

Recovering paxil addict

None of the published articles shed light on what ssri's ... actually do or what their hazards might be. Healy 2013. 

This is so true, with anything you get on these drugs, dependance, tapering, withdrawal symptoms, side effects, just silent. And if there is something mentioned then their is a serious disconnect between what is said and reality! 

  "Every time I read of a multi-person shooting, I always presume that person had just started a SSRI or had just stopped."  Dr Mosher. Me too! 

Over two decades later, the number of antidepressant prescriptions a year is slightly more than the number of people in the Western world. Most (nine out of 10) prescriptions are for patients who faced difficulties on stopping, equating to about a tenth of the population. These patients are often advised to continue treatment because their difficulties indicate they need ongoing treatment, just as a person with diabetes needs insulin. Healy 2015

I believe the ssri era will soon stand as one of the most shameful in the history of medicine. Healy 2015

Let people help people ... in a natural, kind, non-addictive (and non-big pharma) way. J Broadley 2017

 

 

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I tried magnesium citrate just 25 mgs and it made me very anxious. I tried it twice. I have always been able to take vitamin c. Not any more. My husband suggested I start taking it again. I took one this morning and just about went through the roof for several hours. From now on i am staying away from all vitamins and supplements.

I am not a medical professional. My comments and posts are based on personal experiences. Please consult appropriate medical professionals for advice. 

I was started on psych drugs back in the late 80's. You name it. I probably was on it. Tapered off final cocktail 2013-2019. For Hashimotos and high blood pressure I take Levothyroxine. Liothyronine. Spironolactone. Hydrochlorothiazide. Losartan. B12 hydroxy. Fish oil w/D3. Bee pollen. Magnesium Glycinate.

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  • 1 month later...
  • Moderator Emeritus

Epsom salts in the bath is the gentlest form of magnesium - it may be worth a try.

2010  Fluoxetine 20mg.  2011  Escitalopram 20mg.  2013 Tapered badly and destabilised CNS.  Effexor 150mg. 

2015 Begin using info at SurvivingAntidepressants.  Cut 10% - bad w/d 2 months, held 1 month. 

Micro-tapering: four weekly 0.4% cuts, hold 4 weeks (struggling with symptoms).

8 month hold.

2017 Micro-tapering: four weekly 1% cuts, hold 4 weeks (symptoms almost non-existent).

2020 Still micro-tapering. Just over 2/3 of the way off effexor. Minimal symptoms, - and sleeping well.
Supplements: Fish oil, vitamin C, iron, oat-straw tea, nettle tea.

2023 Now on 7 micro-beads of Effexor. Minimal symptoms but much more time needed between drops.

 'The possibility of renewal exists so long as life exists.'  Dr Gabor Mate.

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We have often warned that the supplement industry is unregulated and you  can never be sure what you are getting when you buy them.  Four major retailers in the United States have been ordered to stop selling their house brands of a number of supplements because they contained nothing but fillers.  It would be a good idea for anyone thinking about taking supplements to read this article.

 

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/new-your-attorney-general-targets-supplements-at-major-retailers/ar-AA8VmjN

Yes, that's why it's important to be in-tune with your body and reactions to supplements, not being ignorant but not being so overaware that you become utterly stilted into a walking dramatization of placebo-effect, either. Also, I only buy from companies willing to present a certificate of analysis.

Past AD Experiences : (Fluvoxamine 3 years, D/C'd @ age 15).

Light thinks it travels faster than anything but it is wrong. No matter how fast light travels, it finds the darkness has always got there first, and is waiting for it

~Terry Pratchett~

 

WITHDRAWAL REGIMEN/STORY

Originally for OCD, the luvox took about 6 months to taper off.

Withdrawal supplements; lemon balm, Vitamin B3, black water/fulvic acid, high-protein diet to restore neurotransmitters, aniracetam to counter memory issues, deprenyl for persisting anhedonia.

Regimen still maintained til this day. Lemon balm, generally as capsules, however, as I suffer chronic Insomnia, I often use essential oil or as aromatherapy before bed , in combination with magnesium and lysine on bad nights.

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At antidepressantfacts.com I read a good bit of advice about supplements and vitamins 

start at 1/6 th the recommended dose and work your way up from there if your going to have a reaction it is best to keep to a min.  I have had reactions from vitamins that take 6wks to 2 months to pass and fallout from drugs that take longer. 

 

Start low and stay low for at least a wk then go up very slowly. 

WARNING THIS WILL BE LONG
Had a car accident in 85
Codeine was the pain med when I was release from hosp continuous use till 89
Given PROZAC by a specialist to help with nerve pain in my leg 89-90 not sure which year
Was not told a thing about it being a psych med thought it was a pain killer no info about psych side effects I went nuts had hallucinations. As I had a head injury and was diagnosed with a concussion in 85 I was sent to a head injury clinic in 1990 five years after the accident. I don't think they knew I had been on prozac I did not think it a big deal and never did finish the bottle of pills. I had tests of course lots of them. Was put into a pain clinic and given amitriptyline which stopped the withdrawal but had many side effects. But I could sleep something I had not done in a very long time the pain lessened. My mother got cancer in 94 they switched my meds to Zoloft to help deal with this pressure as I was her main care giver she died in 96. I stopped zoloft in 96 had withdrawal was put on paxil went nutty quit it ct put on resperidol quit it ct had withdrawal was put on Effexor... 2years later celexa was added 20mg then increased to 40mg huge personality change went wild. Did too fast taper off Celexa 05 as I felt unwell for a long time prior... quit Effexor 150mg ct 07 found ****** 8 months into withdrawal learned some things was banned from there in 08 have kept learning since. there is really not enough room here to put my history but I have a lot of opinions about a lot of things especially any of the drugs mentioned above.
One thing I would like to add here is this tidbit ALL OPIATES INCREASE SEROTONIN it is not a huge jump to being in chronic pain to being put on an ssri/snri and opiates will affect your antidepressants and your thinking.

As I do not update much I will put my quit date Nov. 17 2007 I quit Effexor cold turkey. 

http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/1096-introducing-myself-btdt/

There is a crack in everything ..That's how the light gets in :)

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At antidepressantfacts.com I read a good bit of advice about supplements and vitamins 

start at 1/6 th the recommended dose and work your way up from there if your going to have a reaction it is best to keep to a min.  I have had reactions from vitamins that take 6wks to 2 months to pass and fallout from drugs that take longer. 

 

Start low and stay low for at least a wk then go up very slowly. 

Yeah, everything in moderation. I've gotten some very pronounced side-effects even from simple stuff. I guess some of it can be fillers, or preservatives in particular brands of supplements. One of the core things to remember, is that some supplement companies are run by the same people that run pharmaceutical companies. Centrum, possibly Vitafusion (gummies etc). Then other mainline brands that are advertised excessively, and then you have some scam operations like Prevagin, a pill which has no evidence to it and is routinely marketed on TV about 12 times a day on every channel.

Past AD Experiences : (Fluvoxamine 3 years, D/C'd @ age 15).

Light thinks it travels faster than anything but it is wrong. No matter how fast light travels, it finds the darkness has always got there first, and is waiting for it

~Terry Pratchett~

 

WITHDRAWAL REGIMEN/STORY

Originally for OCD, the luvox took about 6 months to taper off.

Withdrawal supplements; lemon balm, Vitamin B3, black water/fulvic acid, high-protein diet to restore neurotransmitters, aniracetam to counter memory issues, deprenyl for persisting anhedonia.

Regimen still maintained til this day. Lemon balm, generally as capsules, however, as I suffer chronic Insomnia, I often use essential oil or as aromatherapy before bed , in combination with magnesium and lysine on bad nights.

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  • 1 month later...

Just wanted to share a smoothie with about 1000 calories for those of you like me with food sensitivities I tolerate very well

2 cups coconut milk

1 tablespoon olive oil

4 tablespoons organic smooth peanut butter

1whole avocado

1 banana

1/2 cup dry oats

 

Very nutritious as well! Hugs and kisses!

Zoloft 6mg gabapentin 600 mg lamictal 25 mg

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  • 5 months later...

I almost got sucked into all this testing. I am glad I came here before wasting my money on lots of tests ordered from a NeuroScience naturopath. I honestly think I uncovered a huge scam going on at HillParkMedical in Sebastopol. I am going to try and get my money back from the initial visit.

I am not a medical professional. My comments and posts are based on personal experiences. Please consult appropriate medical professionals for advice. 

I was started on psych drugs back in the late 80's. You name it. I probably was on it. Tapered off final cocktail 2013-2019. For Hashimotos and high blood pressure I take Levothyroxine. Liothyronine. Spironolactone. Hydrochlorothiazide. Losartan. B12 hydroxy. Fish oil w/D3. Bee pollen. Magnesium Glycinate.

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  • 4 months later...
  • Moderator Emeritus

I am an advocate of checking with Consumer Labs

 

They have extensive reviews of tests - what works, what doesn't, and they test individual products.

 

Subscription costs about $30 a year, but if you spend some money on supplements (I do) it's worth it.

 

Or, if you have a specific question, PM me, and I'll look it up.  Keep in mind, they only test American brands, and probably only test about 10-25% of what is available on the market - but it's a good start.  I try to post warnings and information when I find something pertinent there.

 

Alto mentioned a recommendation for Pure Encapsulations - I've only bought their products once or twice (they are expensive).  But I did a quick random check of Consumer Labs reviews, and even though they are often twice as expensive as other brands, they always get approval, and there were no warnings against that brand.

"Easy, easy - just go easy and you'll finish." - Hawaiian Kapuna

 

Holding is hard work, holding is a blessing. Give your brain time to heal before you try again.

 

My suggestions are not medical advice, you are in charge of your own medical choices.

 

A lifetime of being prescribed antidepressants that caused problems (30 years in total). At age 35 flipped to "bipolar," but was not diagnosed for 5 years. Started my journey in Midwest United States. Crossed the Pacific for love and hope; currently living in Australia.   CT Seroquel 25 mg some time in 2013.   Tapered Reboxetine 4 mg Oct 2013 to Sept 2014 = GONE (3 years on Reboxetine).     Tapered Lithium 900 to 475 MG (alternating with the SNRI) Jan 2014 - Nov 2014, tapered Lithium 475 mg Jan 2015 -  Feb 2016 = GONE (10 years  on Lithium).  Many mistakes in dry cutting dosages were made.


The tedious thread (my intro):  JanCarol ☼ Reboxetine first, then Lithium

The happy thread (my success story):  JanCarol - Undiagnosed  Off all bipolar drugs

My own blog:  https://shamanexplorations.com/shamans-blog/

 

 

I have been psych drug FREE since 1 Feb 2016!

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  • 2 months later...

 

MOD NOTE:  Please see following posts advising caution.

 

The supplements I have been using which I have found are helping me a lot are turmeric + piperine capsules, I have managed to get off all my medication and think these have helped achieve that,

 

I have also been using a herb called mucuna pruriens which i find gives me a almost instant boost in my mood, it is known to boost dopamine levels, there is a good explanantion of how it works on here which is where I have been getting mine:

 

https://www.healthessentialsdirect.co.uk/products/buy-mucuna-pruriens-powder-l-dopa

 

I have been mostly fine since quitting my meds except from some insomnia which I have wrote about here:

 

Studies show turmeric reduces inflammation in the brain and even helps it heal a lot faster, I would advise anyone struggling to try it,

 

 

Edited by ChessieCat
Added mod note

2001 - 2005 prozac,  2001 - 2017 various benzos, mainly diazapem and zanex,  2002 - 2017 olanzapine or seroquel,  2002 -2017 propanolol, 2005 - 2009 venlafaxine 75mg , forced to go cold turkey off venlafaxine as moved Thailand, doctor cut me off and couldn't get it there, severely ill for over 2 years, countered withdrawals with more zanex and seroquel

2014 returned to UK, mainly to get treatment getting off meds

doctor advised to taper seroquel over a few weeks, severely ill and bed bed-bound so reinstated it, 2015 tapered seroquel myself slower over a few months, was off it 2 months and was too ill so went on olanzapine, became zombie and too tired to get out of bed, went back on seroquel, very depressed so went back on venlafaxine, didnt work  so doctor swapped to zoloft became very agitated so back on venlafaxine

June 2016 - felt strong enough to begin tapering again, started what I thought was a slow taper of all meds,  2016 July Not had any alcoholic drink since this date, 

2016 October completely off diazepem, 2017 Feb completely off seroquel, 2017 March completely off proponanlol, 2017 April (day before birthday) completely off venlafaxine, OFF ALL MEDS 11/4/2017, was fine for nearly 3 months and then delayed withdrawal hit,

supplements taking: turmeric capsules, NiaCel (nicotinamide riboside), Vit B12 sublingual, Vit B3, Vit B6, Vit B1, apple cider vinegar, manuka umf 10 honey, camu camu powder,  melatonin when needed, epsom salt baths, juices, smoothies, 

Intro: http://survivingantidepressants.org/topic/15175-dj2010-off-all-meds-for-3-months-and-been-fine-now-bad-insomnia/

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dj2010 - please be very careful with any substance, even a natural herbal one, that is or claims to be psychoactive.

This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner.
1997-1999 Effexor; 2002-2005 Effexor XR 37.5 mg linear taper, dropping same #beads/week with bad results

Cymbalta 60 mg 2012 - 2015; 2016: 20 mg to 7 mg exact doses and dates in this post; 2017: 6.3 mg to  0.0 mg  Aug. 12; details here


scallywag's Introduction
Online spreadsheet for dose taper calculations and nz11's THE WORKS spreadsheet

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14 minutes ago, scallywag said:

dj2010 - please be very careful with any substance, even a natural herbal one, that is or claims to be psychoactive.

yes you righ its can be dangerous

35 years old single
with ocd and anixety
15 years on ssri
now tappering escitelpharm
20/6-2.8 mg escitalpharm

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http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/ingredientmono-1020-cowhage.aspx?activeingredientid=1020&activeingredientname=cowhage

 

Please read through the usage, side effects and interaction tabs. I would not recommend using this supplement.

20 years on Paxil starting at 20mg and working up to 40mg. Sept 2011 started 10% every 6 weeks taper (2.5% every week for 4 weeks then hold for 2 additional weeks), currently at 7.9mg. Oct 2011 CTed 15oz vodka a night, to only drinking 2 beers most nights, totally sober Feb 2013.

Since I wrote this I have continued to decrease my dose by 10% every 6 weeks (2.5% every week for 4 weeks and then hold for an additional 2 weeks). I added in an extra 6 week hold when I hit 10mg to let things settle out even more. When I hit 3mgpw it became hard to split the drop into 4 parts so I switched to dropping 1mgpw (pill weight) every week for 3 weeks and then holding for another 3 weeks.  The 3 + 3 schedule turned out to be too harsh so I cut back to dropping 1mgpw every 4 weeks which is working better.

Final Dose 0.016mg.     Current dose 0.000mg 04-15-2017

 

"It's also important not to become angry, no matter how difficult life is, because you can loose all hope if you can't laugh at yourself and at life in general."  Stephen Hawking

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yes it might be best if I stop taking this one, I have tried countless supplements over the last few years and nearly all of them have had bad effects, the most recent being vitamin D capsules which are supposed to help sleep but they had opposite effect and I couldn't sleep at all, the other being 5 HTP which is also supposed to help sleep but I woke up 2 hours after falling a sleep with racing thoughts and lots of energy, I could not get back to sleep and felt terrible all day,

2001 - 2005 prozac,  2001 - 2017 various benzos, mainly diazapem and zanex,  2002 - 2017 olanzapine or seroquel,  2002 -2017 propanolol, 2005 - 2009 venlafaxine 75mg , forced to go cold turkey off venlafaxine as moved Thailand, doctor cut me off and couldn't get it there, severely ill for over 2 years, countered withdrawals with more zanex and seroquel

2014 returned to UK, mainly to get treatment getting off meds

doctor advised to taper seroquel over a few weeks, severely ill and bed bed-bound so reinstated it, 2015 tapered seroquel myself slower over a few months, was off it 2 months and was too ill so went on olanzapine, became zombie and too tired to get out of bed, went back on seroquel, very depressed so went back on venlafaxine, didnt work  so doctor swapped to zoloft became very agitated so back on venlafaxine

June 2016 - felt strong enough to begin tapering again, started what I thought was a slow taper of all meds,  2016 July Not had any alcoholic drink since this date, 

2016 October completely off diazepem, 2017 Feb completely off seroquel, 2017 March completely off proponanlol, 2017 April (day before birthday) completely off venlafaxine, OFF ALL MEDS 11/4/2017, was fine for nearly 3 months and then delayed withdrawal hit,

supplements taking: turmeric capsules, NiaCel (nicotinamide riboside), Vit B12 sublingual, Vit B3, Vit B6, Vit B1, apple cider vinegar, manuka umf 10 honey, camu camu powder,  melatonin when needed, epsom salt baths, juices, smoothies, 

Intro: http://survivingantidepressants.org/topic/15175-dj2010-off-all-meds-for-3-months-and-been-fine-now-bad-insomnia/

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  • 1 month later...

I need help with this:

 

can I take:

 

L Theanine Serene with Relora

Melatonin .05

Mag Gylinate 40mg

L Arginine 

L lysine 

 

can I take all? If so what dosage? 

In 2015- had UTI put on Microbid. Stopped sleeping & had a nervous breakdown! Was put on Seroquil, Trazadone, Klonopin, just to name a few! Got off all drugs except Celexa until May of 2018. 

 

Update as of 1/19- reinstated Celexa 20mg. Drinking wine nightly along with a slew of meds/supplements to try and get to sleep. 

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freespirit, are you taking any of these at the moment?  If not, it is suggested to introduce new things one at a time at a very low dose and the built up.  It is also a good idea to keep notes on paper.

 

supplements-what-helps-what-doesnt

 

 

Edited by ChessieCat
added link

* NO LONGER ACTIVE on SA *

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED:  (6 year taper)      0mg Pristiq  on 13th November 2021

ADs since ~1992:  25+ years - 1 unknown, Prozac (muscle weakness), Zoloft; citalopram (pooped out) CTed (very sick for 2.5 wks a few months after); Pristiq:  50mg 2012, 100mg beg 2013 (Serotonin Toxicity)  Tapering from Oct 2015 - 13 Nov 2021   LAST DOSE 0.0025mg

Post 0 updates start here    My tapering program     My Intro (goes to tapering graph)

 VIDEO:   Antidepressant Withdrawal Syndrome and its Management

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  • 5 months later...

As of treatments: I read a great book: "Your are the placebo" by Joe Dispenza. I was amazed by the science this man talks about in his book. He is a neuroscientist and he developed a scientific based meditation that has cured people around the world from multiple sclerosis, cancer, anxiety, depression and severe genetic disorders. 

I couldn't believe what I was reading in his book until I met personally and physically a friend of my aunt who took the course/workshop of Joe Dispenza and this friend of my aunt told me that she had a blood clotting disorder and a bone system disease. Her doctor told her that both of her diseases are incurable and that she had to take allopathic prescription drugs for the rest of her life. 

After she took the course/workshop of Joe Dispenza, in which she worked her desire of getting cured of both diseases and of getting free of the prescription drugs, she went with her doctor and her doctor told her to have a medical test, and this test showed that she was cured, both of her diseases disappeared. Her doctor couldn't believe it so the doctor told her to have another test in a different hospital, and the 2nd test showed the same: that she was cured/healed.

 

Very briefly what I read on the book and of what the friend of my aunt told me about the workshop: when you do the meditation and your brain is very focused on it, and then you intentionally create a feeling in which you feel as if you are already cured and as if you are healthy even though in the present moment you have a disease, the brain doesn't know the difference between what is going on in your external world and what is going on in your inner world (your mind, thoughts and feelings), so your brain and body really think that you are healthy because of the feeling you are bringing by thought alone, so then your brain and body signal/activate the genes that heal your body. But in order to achieve this, as everything, you have to practice it daily.

2 great topics that say this is scientifically proven and possible:

1.- Epigenetics: genes are signaled/activated by your environment, including your external environment and your inner environment which are your thoughts and feelings. This means we all are not victims of a genetic destiny, because you can change your thoughts and feelings, and therefore you can epigenetically signal new genes in new ways in order to heal.

Create good thoughts to create good feelings (repeatedly and constantly), you signal genes of health.

Create bad thoughts to create bad feelings (repeatedly and constantly), you signal genes of disease. 

The old genes dogma, which says that if we inherited bad genes from our parents, then we are doomed to have a disease, and that it is the absolute rule with no way out, is false. Another great book that explains this is "Biology of belief" by Bruce Lipton. 

2.- Neuroplasticity: With thoughts, imagination, meditation and learning new information and reviewing it daily, you can change your brain, you can heal it, and therefore heal your body.

 

Also the book "The power of now" from Eckhart Tolle has helped me to feel better, also doing meditation.

In 2008 I was 16 years old. 2008 - 2010 paxil, clonazepam & semisodium valproate. 2013 - 2017 many psych meds with cold switches and CT's prescribed by psychiatrists.

Nov/30/17 started quetiapine IR tablets 100mg 0-0-1. Dec/1/17 started pristiq 50mg tablets 1-0-0. Jan/14/18 started 1.5mg melatonin 0-0-1

Tramadol: 2 year well done (slow and gradual) taper: from Mar/12/18 to Feb/11/20 

Pristiq taper: Jun/15/20 Converted from pristiq 50mg to efexor xr 75mg for 57 days (felt good).  Aug/11/20 weaned to efexor 37.5mg and stayed there for 2 months with 26 days (felt good). Nov/6/20  CT 0mg of efexor xr (felt good). Total time in tapering pristiq 50mg by converting to efexor xr 75mg: 4 months with 22 days: Jun/15/20 to Nov/6/20. (felt good)

Efexor 0mg and quetiapine 100mg (Nov/6/20 to Dic/11/20) (felt good being without effexor and taking 100mg quetiapine)

Dic/11/20 quetiapine 75mg, so 75mg from Dic/11/20 to Jan/4/21  25 days. Jan/5/21 quetiapine 50mg (1 day in 50mg).

Jan/6/21 1st CT of quetiapine. Mar/1/21 CT melatonin. Felt terrible so Mar/25/21 reinstated 100mg quetiapine. 

100mg quetiapine 19 days (Mar/25/21 - Apr/13/21) Felt good while in quetiapine 100mg. 75mg quetiapine 55 days (Apr/14/21 - Jun/8/21) the 55th day (Jun/8/21)  felt hellish so CT'd quetiapine for a 2nd time on Jun/9/21. 

Jun/9/21 - Nov/16/21 1st days insomnia, anxiety, took cbd and felt very good many days (healed insomnia & anxiety), CT'd ginkgo which made me felt terrible so reinstated ginkgo. Started intolerable back pain (spasm) so tried other herbs along with cbd, then started derealization, panic, indecisiveness, nostalgia & others. Stopped taking cbd & herbs, reinstated quetiapine 75mg Nov/17/21, immediately after taking it, had severe heart palpitations, so Nov/18/21 back to cbd (no quetiapine). Nov/20/21 reinstated 75mg quetiapine (stopped cbd & herbs), severely couldn't breathe for 5 seconds after taking quetiapine 75mg so reduced to 50 mg on Nov/28/21 had new and worse and very severe adverse effects, got indecisive if CT or keep taking quetiapine because I was terrified of CT, but since the new severe adverse effects were very severe I CT, and because of indecisiveness and panic to CT, I reinstated again, then CT'd and reinstated many times, last time I was taking quetiapine it was 25mg and had severe TD, hellish anhedonia, suicidal, intrusive thoughts of imagining myself running into a wall and crashing into it and I was feeling the pain as if I was doing it in real life, involuntary thoughts of punching my face or head and shashing it against the wall and some times I did punch my face, and when I didn't, I also felt the pain just by imagining it, so definitive CT on Jul/15/22. 

Free from quetiapine and psych meds since Jul/15/22.

MY BEST ADVICE: FOLLOW SA'S GUIDELINES, DON'T CT BECAUSE IT IS HORRIFIC AND BE PATIENT TO WAIT A LONG TIME TO DO VERY SLOW AND GRADUAL TAPERS IN ORDER TO GET OFF OF YOUR MEDICATIONS, IT IS WORTH IT. THE ONLY MOMENTS WHERE IS RIGHT TO CT IS AFTER YOUR 1ST CT THAT YOU DID BECAUSE OF IGNORANCE OR IMPATIENCE, IF YOU REINSTATE AND FEEL SEVERE ADVERSE EFFECTS LIKE TD, ANHEDONIA, FEEL LIKE YOU ARE DROWNING, OR THE ONE'S I HAD, IT IS BEST TO CT IN MY EXPERIENCE, BECAUSE WHEN I REINSTATED I GOT MUCH WORSE THAN WHEN I WAS IN THE PREVIOUS CT. I'm not a doctor.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I've heard of the author because my doctor recommended another book by him, Becoming Supernatural. sadly, my library doesn't carry them but I could ask through inter-library loan. 

 

On 12/20/2018 at 11:23 AM, papaloapan said:

Create good thoughts to create good feelings (repeatedly and constantly), you signal genes of health.

Create bad thoughts to create bad feelings (repeatedly and constantly), you signal genes of disease. 

 

while I agree this is true, I can also see a temptation to "blame the victim" for sickness. for example, I totally blame myself for having spent decades thinking bad thoughts and of course that isn't helpful. 

 

☹️

 

 

 

Currently taking Ramapril (blood pressure) 5 mg twice a day

Omeprazole 10 mg AM and 20 mg PM  (the taper has gone nowhere after the first cut)

Famotidine   once a day (and I still needs tums sometimes)

magnesium 200 mg at night

as of yesterday 2 fish oil capsules "EPA-DHA 1000"

 

off Lexapro as of 5/2018  - last dose had been 5 mg every other day for a couple years

 

highest dose had been 20 mg at which point I was diagnosed with Bipolar II, which went away when I cut the lexapro down to 15 mg. 

 

I spent years on Paxil before Lexapro (can't remember dose), briefly on Effexor and Abilify and others I have forgotten. in fact, when I was diagnoses with BPII I was put on all kinds of things which made me feel so bad I stopped them cold turkey within maybe 3 or 4 weeks, thank goodness. since then I've known these pills were terrible and I weaned down the Lexapro with zero help or support over I'm not sure how many years. 

 

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28 minutes ago, freedomfrombondage said:

 

I switched to the liquid.  It was sort of funny actually.  All my friends told me to go to a doctor to ween down. I was like yea I have had zero success with that but sure, I'll take y'alls advice even though everything is going fine.

 

So I go to the doctor, he has me take a 300 dollar Genomind test and tells me that because of my genetics that I would do well on an SSRI and ADHD meds.  Keep in mind, I am a recovered drug addict and adderall/cocaine was my jam.  He told me I should go back up to 20 mg and go on Adderall EVEN THOUGH I HAD NO SYMPTOMS OF DEPRESSION, ANXIETY,  ETC, I literally just went to him to listen to friends and family.  I asked him if that test has a proven causation between genetic dispositions or if it was simply a correlation that people who had a certain mutation also had a disproportionately higher chance of developing a relative condition then the rest of the population.  He stared at me, told me it was a correlation to which I replied so you basically talked to me for fifteen minutes and made a decision based of a correlation that I should be on a higher dosage of lex and back on a drug (a drug whose script i used to snort the whole bottle of in a night mind you lol).  He just stared blankly again and said well it was just a suggestion.  I said no thank you, I don't want more drugs.  I'll take meditation, proper diet, exercise and liquid lexapro so i can continue to ween down.  He said okay, I'll write the script and that was that lol.

 

It was more expensive but totally worth it! 

 

* NO LONGER ACTIVE on SA *

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED:  (6 year taper)      0mg Pristiq  on 13th November 2021

ADs since ~1992:  25+ years - 1 unknown, Prozac (muscle weakness), Zoloft; citalopram (pooped out) CTed (very sick for 2.5 wks a few months after); Pristiq:  50mg 2012, 100mg beg 2013 (Serotonin Toxicity)  Tapering from Oct 2015 - 13 Nov 2021   LAST DOSE 0.0025mg

Post 0 updates start here    My tapering program     My Intro (goes to tapering graph)

 VIDEO:   Antidepressant Withdrawal Syndrome and its Management

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I was looking around online regarding cortisol problems and I found some products that are supposed to be cortisol blockers.  Does anyone have any knowledge of these and if they could help with the morning anxiety?  I'm pretty doubtful of them as they seem to be comprised of various supplements and extracts which I read somewhere on this site is pretty much a sign of no good.   

 

I also found some actual medications that reduce cortisol :

 

Medications to control excessive production of cortisol at the adrenal gland include ketoconazole (Nizoral), mitotane (Lysodren) and metyrapone (Metopirone). Mifepristone (Korlym) is approved for people with Cushing syndrome who have type 2 diabetes or glucose intolerance.

 

Does anyone know if these have helped anyone with their anxiety at all?   Would lowering cortisol even help anxiety anyway?  

 

 

 

1994-2009 benzos from age 20 to 36.  Added Cymbalta 60mg in 2007.

2008-2009 tapered benzos to zero and quit Cymbalta Cold turkey.  WD HELL for two years

2011 started on Lexapro to combat the withdrawal and it worked.  

2015 switched to Prozac as Lexapro was not working as well

2017 quit Prozac cold turkey November and crashed into WD.  Reinstated Prozac In December with no benefit. 

2018 Switched back to Lexapro in January and it took most of the issues away in around 2-3 weeks

2019 In February Lexapro has pooped out and WD feelings back.  Tolerance WD I'm sure.

           March 12th Upped my dose to 30 mgs per doctor's advice to see if Tolerance WD goes away but have had worsening sleep issues with limbs jerking and less sleep.

           March 17th dropped back down to 20 mgs and had less limb jerking last night but sleep no better.  

           April 20th cut to 18mg.            

 

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Those are powerful drugs that might be prescribed by an endocrinologist after extensive testing. Very few doctors would want to possibly damage normal adrenal functioning by experimenting with those drugs. In other words, if you don't have outright Cushing's, you're not going to get drug treatment for Cushing's unless you can find a renegade physician who will prescribe anything to anybody.

This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner.

"It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has surpassed our humanity." -- Albert Einstein

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I might well be an over-supplementer, but if I could only use one supplement it would be phosphadidylserine.  I use NOW brand, get it from Amazon.  It also has a bit of inositol and choline in it.  The soy-free version did nothing for me.  It’s major function in the body is within the cell membrane where it is essential to intercellular messaging (I think) but it also binds to cortisol receptors.  Examine.com is a place you could read about it.  It feels like my HPA axis is just broken, I’m overreactive to anything, including the normal cortisol changes. It makes a huge difference for me.  Although there are always risks, all those ingredients are used normally in the body’s function.

1st round Prozac 1989/90, clear depression symptoms. 2nd round Prozac started 1999 when admitted to dr. I was tired. Prozac pooped out, switch to Cymbalta 3/2006. Diagnosed with bipolar disorder due to mania 6/2006--then I was taken abruptly off Cymbalta and didn't know I had SSRI withdrawal. Lots of meds for my intractable "bipolar" symptoms.

Zyprexa started about 9/06, mostly 5mg. Tapered 4/12 through12/29/12

Wellbutrin. XL 300 mg started 1/07, tapered 1/18/13 through 7/8/13

Oxazepam mostly continuously since 6/06, 30mg since 12/12, tapered 1.17.14 through 8.26.15

11/06 Lithium 600mg twice daily, 2.2.14 400mg TID DIY liquid, 2.12.14 1150mg, 3.2.14 1100mg, 3.18.14 1075mg, 4/14 updose to 1100mg, 6.1.14 900 mg capsules 7.8.14 810mg, 8.17.14 725mg, 8.24.24 700mg...10.22.14 487.5mg, 3.9.15 475mg, 4.1.15 462.5mg 4.21.15 450mg 8.11.15 375mg, 11.28.15 362.5mg, back to 375mg four days later, 3.4.16 updose to 475 (too much going on to risk trouble)

9/4/13 Toprol-XL 25mg daily for sudden hypertension, tapered 11.12.13 through 5.3.14, last 10 days or so switched to atenolol

7.4.14 Started Walsh Protocol

56 years old

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I just found a great doctor, in whom I trust fully, and he says that animal food/flesh (meat, beef, chicken, fish, pork, etc) ulcers and inflames the colon. I've found various sources that prove that a plant-based or vegan diet is the only healthy diet. Here is the video, but the doctor speaks in spanish: 

 

In 2008 I was 16 years old. 2008 - 2010 paxil, clonazepam & semisodium valproate. 2013 - 2017 many psych meds with cold switches and CT's prescribed by psychiatrists.

Nov/30/17 started quetiapine IR tablets 100mg 0-0-1. Dec/1/17 started pristiq 50mg tablets 1-0-0. Jan/14/18 started 1.5mg melatonin 0-0-1

Tramadol: 2 year well done (slow and gradual) taper: from Mar/12/18 to Feb/11/20 

Pristiq taper: Jun/15/20 Converted from pristiq 50mg to efexor xr 75mg for 57 days (felt good).  Aug/11/20 weaned to efexor 37.5mg and stayed there for 2 months with 26 days (felt good). Nov/6/20  CT 0mg of efexor xr (felt good). Total time in tapering pristiq 50mg by converting to efexor xr 75mg: 4 months with 22 days: Jun/15/20 to Nov/6/20. (felt good)

Efexor 0mg and quetiapine 100mg (Nov/6/20 to Dic/11/20) (felt good being without effexor and taking 100mg quetiapine)

Dic/11/20 quetiapine 75mg, so 75mg from Dic/11/20 to Jan/4/21  25 days. Jan/5/21 quetiapine 50mg (1 day in 50mg).

Jan/6/21 1st CT of quetiapine. Mar/1/21 CT melatonin. Felt terrible so Mar/25/21 reinstated 100mg quetiapine. 

100mg quetiapine 19 days (Mar/25/21 - Apr/13/21) Felt good while in quetiapine 100mg. 75mg quetiapine 55 days (Apr/14/21 - Jun/8/21) the 55th day (Jun/8/21)  felt hellish so CT'd quetiapine for a 2nd time on Jun/9/21. 

Jun/9/21 - Nov/16/21 1st days insomnia, anxiety, took cbd and felt very good many days (healed insomnia & anxiety), CT'd ginkgo which made me felt terrible so reinstated ginkgo. Started intolerable back pain (spasm) so tried other herbs along with cbd, then started derealization, panic, indecisiveness, nostalgia & others. Stopped taking cbd & herbs, reinstated quetiapine 75mg Nov/17/21, immediately after taking it, had severe heart palpitations, so Nov/18/21 back to cbd (no quetiapine). Nov/20/21 reinstated 75mg quetiapine (stopped cbd & herbs), severely couldn't breathe for 5 seconds after taking quetiapine 75mg so reduced to 50 mg on Nov/28/21 had new and worse and very severe adverse effects, got indecisive if CT or keep taking quetiapine because I was terrified of CT, but since the new severe adverse effects were very severe I CT, and because of indecisiveness and panic to CT, I reinstated again, then CT'd and reinstated many times, last time I was taking quetiapine it was 25mg and had severe TD, hellish anhedonia, suicidal, intrusive thoughts of imagining myself running into a wall and crashing into it and I was feeling the pain as if I was doing it in real life, involuntary thoughts of punching my face or head and shashing it against the wall and some times I did punch my face, and when I didn't, I also felt the pain just by imagining it, so definitive CT on Jul/15/22. 

Free from quetiapine and psych meds since Jul/15/22.

MY BEST ADVICE: FOLLOW SA'S GUIDELINES, DON'T CT BECAUSE IT IS HORRIFIC AND BE PATIENT TO WAIT A LONG TIME TO DO VERY SLOW AND GRADUAL TAPERS IN ORDER TO GET OFF OF YOUR MEDICATIONS, IT IS WORTH IT. THE ONLY MOMENTS WHERE IS RIGHT TO CT IS AFTER YOUR 1ST CT THAT YOU DID BECAUSE OF IGNORANCE OR IMPATIENCE, IF YOU REINSTATE AND FEEL SEVERE ADVERSE EFFECTS LIKE TD, ANHEDONIA, FEEL LIKE YOU ARE DROWNING, OR THE ONE'S I HAD, IT IS BEST TO CT IN MY EXPERIENCE, BECAUSE WHEN I REINSTATED I GOT MUCH WORSE THAN WHEN I WAS IN THE PREVIOUS CT. I'm not a doctor.

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