Clinical Depression

[Jan]

Wonderful to hear!

[Jan]

An 8-minute video (from YouTube) explaining TMS, and showing the therapy being given. (from 2014)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67ybtPCYeVE

[Sparrow]

I don't know if some resources that I used might be helpful but I wanted to share just in case:

Free articles, log forms & worksheets:
http://www.cfidsselfhelp.org/library

A "self-study" CFS course that's free:
http://treatcfsfm.org/

The first site also links to "online courses" that are available at a fee. I've taken a few of these and have found them helpful. I'm not sure if someone with a background in the helping field would find them helpful or not. The self-study course will probably provide very similar material which doesn't require the commitment to the time-table of a class.

I have a fibromyalgia diagnosis and possibly also chronic fatigue syndrome. Having sleep apnea makes it all murky. I actually think my fibromyalgia is very closely related to sleep disturbances. Also, has she noticed any seasonal correlations? I suffered with winter depression.

Please forgive if these are avenues that have already been explored. I thought I'd toss a few ideas out just in case.

[Annabella]

Hi Dan,
The post above talks about Julia Rutledge and her work with using micronutrients for mental illness. I have been following her work for some time and was a participant in one of her trials. I would certainly recommend the approach she uses for your friend.

She has worked with a number of different brands and combinations of micronutrients but the ones most relevant to your friend are sold by http://www.hardysnutrients.com under the name Hardys Daily Essential Nutrients. The same , or very similar product, is sold from a company called Truehope and is called Empowerplus.
The product has mainly been studied ( all studies independent) for its treatment in ADHD , but also bipolar (see Charles Propper, Harvard), depression and trauma ( a clinical trial was done in the Christchurch earthquakes in Nz with good results). It is the most studied micronutrient blend in the world and works well for about 2 out of three people.
What differs with this approach compared to other micronutrient approaches is it uses very high levels of micronutrients and a very broad spectrum of them. It uses well over daily recommended doses of vitamins ( in some cases 1000s of times higher). There's about 36 micronutrients in the product including vits a, lots of bs, c, d, e, k, zinc, selenium, other minerals and a propriety blend consisting of choline, grape seed extract, l methionine etc etc. the threoty is if you give the body a wide number of nutrients in high enough levels it is, in some circumstances, clever enough to sort out problems it may be having. What is very clear, and interesting, from the research is that there is no documented adverse effect of taking all these micronutrients in high levels as long as you give your body a wide range. So warnings we have been given about dangers of supplementing in high doses may be correct, but seem to apply mostly if you are doing a very limited range of vits - I.e vit A alone, or only 2 or 3 vitamins together.
As part of a trial I was involved in they tracked our bloods after taking the product for six months. No problems shown, and there have been many trials involving many people with this product.
I'm not sure how the product would work for people with methylation problems though that would be interesting to determine. There is an option of using methylated or unmethylated b12s/ folate with at least one of the companies I mentioned above.

The big warning with this product is not to combine it with psychiatric medications. They interact with each other and make patients worse. The research and history of the product makes this very clear. A dear family member of mine was trying to get off anti depressants and taper on to these products, and alas, it did not go well as they were mixed. I would certainly use this product before an antidepressant - better for long term brain health and less side effects -and it's a good first port of call (along with diet and excercise), Just get in before you start on the pharmaceuticals and give it three months.
I also think Julia Rutdledges work is very interesting alongside someone like Bredesen. It's actually using a somewhat similar approach except the researchers have no idea why the micronutrients work - they are just throwing a huge number and variety of micronutrients at a problem and finding it seems to work pretty well for many people.

If you can be bothered going back and researching the history of the Truehope company and how they discovered the product it is truely interesting ( look up Truehope documentary bipolar YouTube) . Basically a family who suffered with bipolar got their friend who made vitamin supplies to treat aggression and ear biting in pigs to come up with a similar blend of micronutrients to treat their son, who wasn't responding to pharmaceuticals (my goodness that was a long sentence did it even make sense?). It worked - and that's the basis of the product used today.
Any other questions don't hesitate to ask. I've got no financial interest by the way - just had lots of experience trying to work with various icky illnesses with natural interventions.
Finally, I jus discovered this site and the Bredesen protocol. Great site. While
I sort out my testing and which brands and which supplements to order I am taking about three of these Hardys Daily Essential Nutrients a day , just as an easy to reach for holdover till I can get more specific.

[Dan]

So sorry, I hadn't realised all these replies had arrived. I have some reading to do! I'll be back

[Dan]

She's actually doing well right now - it phases between seriously depressed, and slightly depressed.

Thanks for all these great suggestions. What a caring community!

The good news is, she has an appointment with a recommended functional doctor this month. I think this will be a good chance to evaluate diet and look at micronutrients in depth, as well as all the other important factors.

And thanks for sharing your story Noogie - her DNA results have just arrived. She's very lucky to have no E4s! Her new doctor should be able to have a look at the results more closely.

[Orangeblossom]

Just wanted to mention a couple of things i have found helpful in the past for depression- supplements.

5HTP- helps build serotonin
St John's Wort
Magnesium.

Hope some of these might be helpful.

[Orangeblossom]

.

[Lindaham]

Sam E. Phospatidyl Serine

[KellyS]

Sam E. Phospatidyl Serine

Hi, Lindaham,

I just noticed that you're a newbie to our site? Thank you so much for joining and for you excellent input on this particular forum. It's always so great to have others give encouragement and suggestions.
So what brings you to us?
If you'd like, there is an excellent primer that you might be interested in reading, it's so full of information regarding apoe4 and AD; it can be found here:
viewtopic.php?f=33&t=1418
Also, a glossary of the terms in the primer can be found here:
viewtopic.php?f=33&t=3533

Thank you again for joining us here, and if there is anything at all that you need, please don't hesitate to write to us. If you have a new story you'd like to share, please feel free to jump on the main board index and share your story!

Kelly