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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 4 of 4. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Tomatheus on October 6, 2015, at 20:19:46
Hello all,
As some of you may know from having read some of my past posts, I've been attempting for many years now to find a treatment or combination of treatments to give me long-term relief from the ongoing problems with energy and concentration that I struggle with. I'm not sure if my diminished energy and poor concentration (and some of the other symptoms that come with it, including excessive sleep, sleep-regulation difficulties, reduced capacity for enjoyment, and more general cognitive dysfunction that includes difficulty understanding things as well as I used to be able to) would be best described as symptoms of a depressive disorder that could be said to be superimposed over some kind of psychosis or if they might be better described as cognitive and "negative" symptoms of schizophrenia, but I would say that they do likely represent the "affective" component of what I call my affective psychosis. But as I was saying, my problems with energy and concentration have been going on for many years now, and my concentration problems have for some time been so severe when untreated that I couldn't bring myself to read more than a few sentences at a time. I've tried treatment strategies that have included medications, talk therapy, exercise, and various dietary supplements, and to the extent that any of the treatments I've tried have helped, they've only provided relief for a limited period of time.
One of the dietary supplements that I've utilized in my efforts to boost my energy and concentration has been a version of curcumin called BCM-95. The BCM-95 version of curcumin has been found to have 6.93 times the bioavailability of "normal curcumin" and 6.3 times the bioavailability of a curcumin-lecthin-piperine formula (Antony et al., 2008). The first time I tried BCM-95, I took less than a 400-mg capsule daily and noticed what seemed to be a pronounced effect on my energy and concentration that lasted for only about four days. The second time I tried the supplement, I took a larger dose: 1.2 g, which is just slightly more than the amount of BCM-95 that has been used in human clinical trials of curcumin as a treatment for depression. The two trials I have in mind are a six-week study that found the efficacy of 1 g/day of curcumin to be statistically comparable to that of fluoxetine (Prozac) (Sanmukhani et al., 2014) and an eight-week study that found 1 g/day of curcumin to be no more effective than placebo after four weeks but significantly more effective than placebo after eight weeks (Lopresti et al., 2014). I recall noticing a slight boost in both my energy and concentration that seemed to completely diminish after two to three weeks the second time I tried BCM-95. I was probably only noticing no response to the supplement for about a day or two the second time I tried it before I decided to discontinue it, so I didn't have any idea how I might respond to it over a six to eight-week period.
This third time trying the BCM-95 version of curcumin, I decided from the beginning that I would keep taking 1.2 g of the supplement for at least six weeks even if I stopped noticing benefits from it, unless it seemed clear that I was having major problems tolerating the supplement. As I write this, it's been eight weeks since the beginning of this third attempt at taking the BCM-95 version of curcumin, and I'm still noticing a response. Initially, the improvement in my energy and concentration was rather weak, but a little more than four weeks into this trial, my concentration started to improve to the point where reading from books became a possibility at least some of the time. Probably my biggest complaint about the response that I'm noticing to BCM-95 is that it isn't entirely consistent. I still have days where I feel no better than how I felt prior to starting this BCM-95 trial, and the fact that I have such days does limit what I can do, since no employer would want to hire somebody who's only up to doing the job some of the time. But still, the fact that I'm noticing some kind of response from a supplement eight weeks into my trial isn't something that I've been able to say about the vast majority of supplements I've tried up to this point. I can still read from books, even if it's not all of the time, and I think that I'm finally at a point where I can start working toward my goal of writing fiction.
In addition to taking the BCM-95 version of curcumin, I'm taking the antipsychotic Abilify for my psychotic symptoms, along with niacin and vitamin D3, which I doubt are contributing significantly to my mental well being at this time. I was also taking vitamin C at one point during my BCM-95 trial, but suspecting that the vitamin was possibly worsening my energy and concentration, I discontinued it and noticed some possible improvement after doing so.
Even though what I'm experiencing now doesn't represent a complete resolution of the problems that I've been having with energy and concentration, I think that this is one of the few times I can say that I'm noticing what seems to be a long-term response to a supplement. It's a response that seems to be improving the quality of my life by a notch or two, and I'm grateful for it. I'd definitely recommend curcumin (specifically the BCM-95 version of the supplement, since it seems to be the most studied version of curcumin for depression) for those who are suffering from problems that might be similar to mine, and I'd also advise aiming for a dose that's close to the 1/g day used in the clinical trials and sticking with the supplement for at least six weeks.
Wishing all of you wellness,
Tomatheus
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REFERENCES
Antony, B., Merina, B., Iyer, V.S., Judy, N., Lennertz, K., & Joyal, S. (2008). A pilot cross-over study to evaluate human oral bioavailability of BCM-95(R)CG (Biocurcumax TM), a novel bioenhanced preparation of curcumin. Indian Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, 70, 445-449. Article: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2792534/
Lopresti, A.L., Maes, M., Maker, G.L., Hood, S.D., & Drummond, P.D. (2014). Curcumin for the treatment of major depression: A randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled study. Journal of Affective Disorders, 167, 368-375. Abstract: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25046624
Sanmukhani, J., Satodia, V., Trivedi, J., Patel, T., Tiwari, D., Panchal, B., et al. (2014). Efficacy and safety of curcumin in major depressive disorder: A randomized controlled trial. Phytotherapy Research, 28, 579-585. Abstract: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23832433
Posted by Tomatheus on October 14, 2015, at 14:58:27
In reply to Responding to curcumin (BCM-95), posted by Tomatheus on October 6, 2015, at 20:19:46
Need I say more?
Tomatheus
Posted by Tomatheus on October 17, 2015, at 18:59:54
In reply to Update: Poopout, posted by Tomatheus on October 14, 2015, at 14:58:27
Hi all,
I just thought that I'd post a quick update to let anybody reading this know that I'm once again responding to the supplement regimen that I was responding to previously. I had reduced the dose of the vitamin D3 that I was taking with my curcumin (and Abilify and niacin) and then completely discontinued the vitamin D3 before my response seemed to give way. I'm now taking all of my supplements again (1.2 g of the BCM-95 version of curcumin, 1,200 IU of vitamin D3, and 250 mg of niacin) with my Abilify, and I'm responding as I was before.
Time will tell whether or not this response will last. I also don't know if I'll be able to continue to keep taking this dose of vitamin D3, as taking the vitamin tends to lead to problems with the skin on my fingers. So, although questions remain about whether or not my current response to supplements will continue, I'm glad to say that I am responding again, if only for now.
Tomatheus
Posted by Tomatheus on October 20, 2015, at 23:34:35
In reply to Update: Responding again, posted by Tomatheus on October 17, 2015, at 18:59:54
This is the end of the thread.
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