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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 7 of 7. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by MrAnderson on October 24, 2011, at 12:13:17
Hi everyone, I'm 26 years old and have been treated for atypical depression since I was 16. Currently I am taking 15 mg Parnate, 100 mg Lamictal, 7.5 mg Deplin (prescription form of folate), and 15 mg Cytomel for minor hypothyroidism. This is after no benefits from SSRI's and a couple of tricyclics.
I've suffered from low sex drive in varying degrees since I started on the medications, it's been worse recently so I decided to look into some herbal treatments for sexual dysfunction.
About 7 weeks ago, I started taking gingko, L-Arginine, and maca. I started with capsules of maca but ordered some Maca Magic powder after a few weeks. I started taking 1 gram a day and worked up to 4 grams which I currently take. After a few weeks, I did start to notice an increase in sex drive but unexpectedly noticed my mood increase as well. Since then, my mood has continued to increase and I've been able to decrease the dosages of some of my medications.
I decreased my Parnate dosage from 20 mg to 15 mg and my Deplin dosage from 15 mg to 7.5 mg. I've tried repeatedly to reduce the dosages in the past but became very depressed and had to go back up.
I've always thought that my depression was due to some sort of hormone or vitamin deficiency. It's possible that the gingko helped alleviate the depression but I believe it's more because of the maca. I've tried to research to find out how maca works to try and see if I can find an underlying cause for my depression. There seems to be some evidence that maca helps regulate blood sugar, and I've also heard that atypical depression tends to have similar symptoms to hypoglycemia so I'm wondering if the two are related.
I'm wondering if anyone else has some positive experiences with maca for depression or has any background information on why it might help address the underlying causes of depression. I've done internet searches, maca is frequently cited as being effective for depression but I haven't really been able to find any specifics. My main concern is that the maca stops working, some people say you need to cycle it to prevent it from losing effectiveness. Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
Posted by bleauberry on October 24, 2011, at 19:23:00
In reply to Maca for atypical depression?, posted by MrAnderson on October 24, 2011, at 12:13:17
I've tried maca several times. Each time it was a rapid mood enhancer.
Posted by bleauberry on October 31, 2011, at 5:08:54
In reply to Maca for atypical depression?, posted by MrAnderson on October 24, 2011, at 12:13:17
I found maca to be a potent rapid antidepressant. The problem I had with it was that after a few days it turned around on me and had me feeling a lot worse than before. That seems to happen with me a lot. I was quite impressed with how well and fast it worked however before it went sour on me.
Posted by sigismund on November 1, 2011, at 11:49:02
In reply to Re: Maca for atypical depression?, posted by bleauberry on October 31, 2011, at 5:08:54
That does happen to you a lot.
Did maca aggravate or cause insomnia for you?
Posted by bleauberry on November 3, 2011, at 19:25:15
In reply to Re: Maca for atypical depression? » bleauberry, posted by sigismund on November 1, 2011, at 11:49:02
I think sleep was a little lighter but otherwise fine.
> That does happen to you a lot.
>
> Did maca aggravate or cause insomnia for you?
Posted by former poster on January 22, 2012, at 1:21:37
In reply to Maca for atypical depression?, posted by MrAnderson on October 24, 2011, at 12:13:17
My positive experiences were improved social confidence, increased libido, reversal of E.D. The only negative I had was that it seemed to aggravate my swollen prostate.
Posted by wml on May 15, 2012, at 13:38:36
In reply to Maca for atypical depression?, posted by MrAnderson on October 24, 2011, at 12:13:17
Here is a link to some interesting material. There are many studies you can access through google scholar looking up maca and adrenals.
http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=-_etK2PJlkwC&oi=fnd&pg=PA4&dq=maca+and+adrenals&ots=pGPyPF7kmJ&sig=FrSD7_bsSwX7jHss1J2OUNRLcZE#v=onepage&q=maca%20and%20adrenals&f=false
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