Posted by Sarah T. on August 30, 2005, at 0:25:25
In reply to The use of supplements, vits, minerals, posted by Glydin on August 27, 2005, at 8:00:00
Hi Glydin,
I couldn't agree with you more. I've had similar experiences with alternative meds. The vast majority do either nothing or else they make me feel worse. There are a few exceptions. In the past year and a half, I have been taking Magnesium at night. That has been very helpful, especially when I'm premenstrual. I take it all month long, but I take a little more during the week or two before my period. Occasionally, right before my period, if I'm particularly cranky, I'll take a fleck or flake of vitamin B6. There is no way I could take the entire 50 mg of B6 (50 mg was the lowest strength I could find). The amount that I take is about the size of a piece of sand, and it is usually helpful at that time of the month.
I continue to take vitamin C and a multivitamin. I take nutritional yeast, but I've cut way down on that, and I'm considering dropping it completely.
Recently, I switched my fish oil formula to one that has a higher EPA to DHA ratio. I do think there is very marginal improvement in my joint pains, but I can assure you, it's nothing dramatic.
Frankly, I'm so sick of all the hype about most of these products. Every time I see one of those infomercials on fish oil, I cringe. I do think fish oil is probably healthy for us in various ways, but I have noticed absolutely no improvement in my mood whatsoever, regardless of the dosage.
Many years ago, I read several books by Adelle Davis. She advocated daily use of brewer's yeast and lecithin, among other things, so I started consuming lecithin in huge quantities. It never seemed to help me, so eventually I lowered the dose but continued to take it until about two years ago. I'm ashamed to admit that I never really knew why I was taking it. I just took it out of habit for years because Adelle Davis said to take it. Finally, two years ago, I spoke with a physician who had done some research on lecithin when she was in medical school. She told me that, according to her studies, lecithin IN SUPPLEMENT FORM provided absolutely no benefit. I stopped taking it, and I felt better. A few months ago, I tried it for a day or two, and I actually felt worse. I felt dysphoric and tense, similar to the way I feel on tyrosine.
As far as both traditional and alternative meds, I think it's best to stick with products that are tried and true. It makes me ill to think how much money I've spent on alternative remedies. I wish alternative meds were available in sample packs, like the samples that physicians give us for traditional meds. That way, we could try them for a few days, and if they didn't work out, we wouldn't have wasted yet another $30. or $40. on the latest version of snake oil.
poster:Sarah T.
thread:547180
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/alter/20050812/msgs/548558.html