Posted by bulldog2 on November 9, 2009, at 15:13:01
In reply to A word about supplements : Schizophrenia, posted by Lao Tzu on October 28, 2009, at 16:38:34
> Consider the vitamins you take if you are already taking medications for your symptoms. For me, I don't have to take megadoses of vitamins whereas someone NOT on medication might. I am schizophrenic and very sensitive to vitamins. I need to take exactly the right dosages and not waver from that. It might be because my brain is even more sensitive to nutritional supplements than years before my psychosis. Years ago, I was able to take many more supplements, like kava kava for anxiety and glycine and tyrosine. Now, I am on lots of medication and so I can't tolerate many supplements. In my case, at least, medicine is the mainstay. The supplements are add-ons to help my mood. If you are schizophrenic, some good vitamins to add to your regimen are vitamins C and E, B1, B6, B3 for some, zinc, manganese, B12 if deficient, folic acid in some cases, and definitely, fish and borage oils. I only recommend these vitamins to people who have already stabilized on their medication. I didn't use vitamins until about 1 year after I started medication. After that, I felt the medicine was doing the best job it could, but I still was having mood and depressive symptoms. I always say let your doc know that you are taking vitamins as an add-on to your medicine because vitamins can have side effects as well. One thing I did learn is that I had a B12 deficiency. After a few months of supplementing, the B12 deficiency cleared up. You might consider getting your B12 levels checked by your general practitioner if you suspect you are deficient. Like I said, medication is a must for my condition, but the vitamins referred above have definitely helped me with mood and depressive symptoms. The medications I take are Risperdal for psychosis, zoloft for depression, and Lamictal for depression and mood stabilization. I used to take Provigil for energy, but I cannot afford it any longer. I also smoke a pack of cigarettes per day and wear the nicotine patch.
Very good post. A lot of people randomly dump every supplement they read about into their bodies. There's a ton of info on the internet devoted to advertising. If you're taking these supps to feel better or you have some physical or mental problem this approach is unlikely to work or it could make you work. You need to work with an alt doctor who knows what he's doing.
poster:bulldog2
thread:923136
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/alter/20090727/msgs/925085.html