Bipolar Disorder
information and use of natural therapy along with vitamins for bipolar patients,
reducing the need for prescription medications
Bipolar mania use of fish oils and herbal supplements to improve symptoms
Bipolar disorder is a long-term illness with a variable course. Some of the
symptoms may include mania, an excessively elevated, expansive, and irritable mood;
hypersexuality; decreased need for sleep; rapid speech; racing thoughts; increased
activity and agitation; occasional delusions. It may also include periods of depression
and other symptoms such as excessive guilt; anhedonia (absence of pleasure); or thoughts
of death. See bipolar for
more up to date info on this condition.
Individuals with bipolar disorder are euthymic approximately half
of the time, but recurring mood episodes are common, and time spent ill is
predominated by depressive symptoms. Despite the prevalence of depression in
bipolar disorder, evidence suggests that antidepressants are not likely to
benefit most patients. Lithium, long considered a first-line treatment for
bipolar disorder, is not the most effective agent for preventing bipolar
depression.
Natural Therapies
for Bipolar disorder
We are slowly beginning to discover that natural supplements may play a
role in the therapy of bipolar disease. Much has yet to be learned, but there
are at least two nutrients that offer some hope:
It's quite possible that one of the biochemical abnormalities in bipolar
disorder is a higher amount of omega-6 fatty acids and a shortage of omega-3
fatty acids. If this is the case,
Fish oils may help. For
children, fish oils are available as chewable
DHA-children.
Choline, a
nutrient that converts into phosphatidylcholine, has shown to be beneficial in
bipolar disease, particularly those who are prescribed lithium. You can buy
Choline Bitartrate online.
We am not aware of any other natural supplements that have been tested and found consistently effective in the treatment of bipolar disorder, however eating cold water fish, or taking fish oil capsules are a help.
Bipolar
disorder diagnosis - are psychiatrists overdiagnosing at the expense of our
children?
The number of American children and adolescents treated for bipolar
disorder increased 40-fold from 1994 to 2003. It is likely that doctors are more
aggressively applying the bipolar disorder diagnosis to children and it is quite
likely that many of these children treated with drugs may not have a correct
diagnosis, or may be harmed by the medicines.
New
understanding about bipolar disorder
Modern psychiatry is beginning to understand mood disorders according to
a neuroplastic rather than a neurochemical model. Neuroplasticity is the brain's
ongoing ability to restructure itself over a lifetime by making new neural
connections. Patients with mood disorders have been found to have neuroplastic
changes, including reductions in hippocampal volume, glial and neuronal cell
density, and brain-derived neurotrophic factor.
Treatment
Due to the high risk of recurrence, maintenance therapy is a critical part of
treatment for bipolar disorder. Currently, no cure exists for bipolar disorder,
but clinical vigilance in maintaining adequate treatment can alleviate symptoms
and help prevent recurrence of manic and depressive episodes. Mood stabilizers
remain the cornerstone of bipolar disorder treatment, but atypical
antipsychotics, antidepressants, and lamotrigine also show some efficacy in
maintaining recovery. Psychotherapy also can help patients with bipolar disorder
achieve and maintain remission.
Bipolar Disorder
alternative treatment emails
Q. I'm a 32 year old rapid cycling bipolar. The nutrients that have made an
enormous impact in my daily life are magnesium, taurine, vitamin B6, inositol,
omega-3's, and lecithin. Most have been thouroughly studied at Mclean Hospital
by Dr. Andrew Stoll & his collegues. These agents make my daily life a pleasure.
But without Lamicital and my happy light I would be hospitalized or worse. The
combination of these agents have made me a very productive "stable?" individual.
Does flax seed oil help with
bipolar illness?
We have not seen research with flax seed oil and bipolar
disease.
Are there any findings regarding
bipolar disorder and pregnenolone? I read a testimonial which related a side
effect of rapid mood swings. I do not currently take pregnenolone. If one has a
predilection for mood swings would it be a good idea or a bad idea to use it?
Pregnenolone is a powerful hormone and should only be used when
all other options have failed. There are other options for bipolar disorder that
should be tried first.
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