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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 5 of 5. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Trotter on April 18, 2009, at 4:52:13
Anyone had long term success with magnesium for depression? I was wondering if it wears off after a while, as in poop out?
Posted by Lao Tzu on April 20, 2009, at 5:56:12
In reply to Magnesium for depression - Does it work long term?, posted by Trotter on April 18, 2009, at 4:52:13
Magnesium is helpful for depression. But so are other vitamins and minerals, such as zinc and calcium. It would work better if used in conjunction with other vitamins that help depression, such as Vitamin B6, Vitamin B3, Vitamin C and E, Vitamin B12, Vitamin B1, zinc, and calcium. You could definitely try taking magnesium all by itself and see how it affects you, but other vitamins and minerals may be necessary as well. Dosing with magnesium is very important. For example, when I was taking it I couldn't tolerate more than 400mg per day. Some people will do well on less or more. It's very individual. As far as tolerance is concerned, when I first starting taking it I felt really good, then after a while I could still tell that the magnesium was working and I felt calm. So you don't develop tolerance to magnesium because that would mean you would need higher and higher dosages to achieve the same result. This is not the case with magnesium. It does its job everyday. It's very predictable. Also to take in mind is the type of magnesium supplement. I've always found magnesium oxide works the best for me, but others swear by magnesium glycinate, magnesium citrate, magesium aspartate or orotate. I would first try magnesium oxide, and if that doesn't help you, you might try the citrate, aspartate, or orotate types.
Posted by SLS on April 20, 2009, at 7:31:43
In reply to Re: Magnesium for depression - Does it work long t, posted by Lao Tzu on April 20, 2009, at 5:56:12
> Magnesium is helpful for depression. But so are other vitamins and minerals, such as zinc and calcium.
Just as it is true for treatment using medications, so too is it true for treatments with food supplements: Two people can react to the exact same substance in opposite ways. Calcium supplements exacerbate my depression within an hour of taking them. So too does P-5-P. These reactions are idiosyncratic to be sure, but I can't be unique in this regard. I advocate using a mood chart to help tease-out trends in treatment outcomes. I use this one:
http://www.slschofield.com/medicine/mood_chart_beam.pdf
Since mania really isn't a problem for me, I use the middle of the chart as being 50% improved and the top half of the chart as 100% improved - full remission.
- Scott
Posted by Trotter on April 22, 2009, at 5:49:51
In reply to Re: Magnesium for depression - Does it work long t, posted by SLS on April 20, 2009, at 7:31:43
I use a mood chart too. Even so, I find it difficult trying to work out what does what. Without my mood chart I would be totally lost.
I use a special spreadsheet to keep track of basically everything I ingest or do that might affect my mood. I use special formulas to account for factors that are proven to make a difference. This enables me to adjust for known variables. As we all know, our moods vary from day to day anyway, sometimes seemingly randomly, but I find a lot of it is attributable to known contributing factors. This enables me to rate medications and supplements on their mood effects. After making adjustments, it is amazing how stable/predictable my mood is on a weekly, and especially monthly basis.
Like I said, I would be lost without this tool. Even so, I generally only make one change at a time otherwise it just gets too complicated working out what's going on. I would hate to discard something that actually works due to a faulty response assessment (vast majority of things don't work of course). Makes it a very slow process. I have so many things in the pipeline to try. The tortoise always wins though!
Posted by polarbear206 on April 22, 2009, at 9:44:46
In reply to Re: Magnesium for depression - Does it work long t, posted by SLS on April 20, 2009, at 7:31:43
> > Magnesium is helpful for depression. But so are other vitamins and minerals, such as zinc and calcium.
>
> Just as it is true for treatment using medications, so too is it true for treatments with food supplements: Two people can react to the exact same substance in opposite ways. Calcium supplements exacerbate my depression within an hour of taking them. So too does P-5-P. These reactions are idiosyncratic to be sure, but I can't be unique in this regard. I advocate using a mood chart to help tease-out trends in treatment outcomes. I use this one:
>
> http://www.slschofield.com/medicine/mood_chart_beam.pdf
>
> Since mania really isn't a problem for me, I use the middle of the chart as being 50% improved and the top half of the chart as 100% improved - full remission.
>
>
> - Scott
>
>I like this mood chart Scott. I wish more people would use these. It's such an important tool when working with a p-doc.
This is the end of the thread.
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