Posted by med_empowered on October 1, 2005, at 11:44:41
hey everyone. I've been on a A LOT of meds with limited success...anyway, I'm dealing with a problem variably described as "Mood Disorder NOS" or bipolar disorder NOS (somehow, with all the diangoses in the DSM, I still end up in the "what the hell is wrong with you?" pile). So, since I've had so many problems with conventional meds--weight gain/loss, withdrawal, hairloss, cognitive blunting, insomnia/hypersomnia, etc. etc.--I've decided to try "alternative" stuff. I visited a friend of a friend--she does herbal medicine and nutrition stuff, and makes referalls to "alternative" shrinks and what not-- and she recommended *HIGH* dose (max: 5,400mgs) saint john's wort. I was taken aback, so I did some research on it before I dove in; turns out, there have been some studies using high doses that compared favorably to antidepressants, even the tricyclics (this is important b/c tricyclics have an "edge" in more serious, endogenous forms of depression and anxiety compared to the SSRIs, and that's the form of depression..or whatever...that I deal with). So, I've been doing this for a week, maybe 2, and...I feel really, really good. Not manic--I sleep better, and my thoughts are calm but coherent--and not "wired"; just...better. My anxiety is much improved, the depression less so (but I'm able to leave the house and do stuff, which is helping me work on the depression at a social level). I haven't really noted any side effects...I wear an SPF-15 anyway, so I haven't had any photosensitivity issues. Does anyone have experience with this kind of dosing, or any advice, comments, suggestions? I'd really appreciate any and all input I can get.
poster:med_empowered
thread:561589
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/alter/20050924/msgs/561589.html