Posted by Tomatheus on February 18, 2012, at 13:12:29
In reply to Re: Chlorophyll (Wheatgrass + Spirulina), posted by Pixiemagic on February 18, 2012, at 11:33:38
> Thanks guys. Tom- I've been thinking that Hypersonnia might be my problem too! My friend was recently diagnosed & she & I share a lot of the same symptoms. What current combo are you on now that is working for you?
Here is a list of the medications and supplements that I currently take:
Abilify, 5 mg
Hydergine, 2.25 mg
folic acid, 800 mcg
coenzyme q10, 60 mg
Korean ginseng, 535 mg
DHA, 100 mg
liquid SAM-e, 10.8 mg
ginkgo biloba, 15 mgI actually just started taking the ginkgo biloba yesterday, so even though I like the way that it's been affecting me so far, I can't say for sure that I'm going to keep benefiting from it in the long run. I'm on a very low dose of the ginkgo at the moment, so the benefits that I've been noticing from the herb since I started it yesterday have been rather subtle. For example, I had been sleeping around 11 hours a night before I started the ginkgo, and last night, I slept for about 9.5 hours. So, I'm noticing some improvement so far with the ginkgo, but as far as my hypersomnia is concerned, I'm still not at the point that I'd like to be at, which would be getting only eight hours of sleep a night. I would say that the ginkgo is probably helping me more with my difficulty concentrating and avolition more than it's helping me with my hypersomnia, but again, with me being at a very low dose of ginkgo, the effects have been rather subtle so far.
The liquid SAM-e is something that I've been taking for more than a month, and the main symptom that it seems to be helping with is my difficulty concentrating. I used to respond reasonably well to enteric-coated SAM-e tablets -- it actually put a dent in my anergic/vegetative depression before I took aminoguanidine and started experiencing my psychotic symptoms -- but now when I take the tablets I don't seem to notice anything from them. So, for my original symptoms, which were lack of energy, psychomotor retardation, hypersomnia, anhedonia, some difficulty concentrating, and circadian-rhythm abnormalities, SAM-e seemed to have the most consistent effect of any treatment that I tried. I should note that I took SAM-e with tranylcypromine (generic Parnate) when I was first taking the supplement, and though taking the two together might have been beneficial in my case, it's not something that I would recommend because SAM-e is contraindicated with MAOIs.
The coenzyme q10, Korean ginseng, and the DHA that I'm taking (along with the Abilify and Hydergine) all seem to put a slight dent in my anergic/vegetative depression, although my anergic/vegetative depression isn't nearly as severe as it used to be as it was before I took aminoguanidine. As strange as it may seem, one of the "side effects" of the damage that the aminoguanidine seemed to do (damage which manifested itself as difficulty concentrating, other cognitive impairments, and psychosis) is that my anergic/vegetative depression is not nearly as intense as it used to be. So, combating my anergic/vegetative depression isn't nearly the struggle that it used to be before I took aminoguanidine, and that may be part of the reason why I'm responding to the supplements that I'm taking now. I know that DHA and Korean ginseng did practically nothing for my anergic/vegetative depression before I took aminoguanidine, but now they seem to do a little something.
That basically sums up my comments on the various supplements and medications that I'm taking for my anergic/vegetative depression and the aminoguanidine-induced cognitive impairment and psychosis that emerged for me some five years ago. Feel free to let me know if you have any questions about anything that I wrote. I would say that if your depressive symptoms are similar to mine (especially as they were before I took aminoguanidine) that I would look into trying SAM-e if you haven't already. I found SAM-e to be more effective than any other supplement for my anergic/vegetative depression, although for some reason (which may have something to do with the damage that aminoguanidine might have done) I only respond to the liquid version of the supplement now. Anyway, I wish you luck with your supplement trials, and again, if you have any more questions for me, feel free to ask.
Tom(atheus)
Suffers from anergic depression and aminoguanidine-induced psychosis and cognitive impairment, diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder.
Taking 5 mg Abilify, 2.25 mg Hydergine, and six supplements.
poster:Tomatheus
thread:1010508
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/alter/20111229/msgs/1010658.html