Posted by JLx on November 2, 2003, at 10:09:08
In reply to Re: Hello Larry, posted by johnj on October 30, 2003, at 17:41:16
> As you remembered I had a robust response to the mangesium the first 10 days and then my sleep became shortened and I started to have lots of anxiety. I had a similiar response to fish oil too.I was just reading recently on the Alternative Mental Health site something by Dr. Walsh of the Pfeiffer Clinic, http://www.alternativementalhealth.com/articles/walshMP.htm#Ob:
"Omega 3s can worsen mental symptoms in bipolar or schizophrenic patients.... if they have a pyrrole disorder. This phenotype is dramatically short of arachidonic acid & giving omega 3 oils aggravates the situation since omega 3 and omega 6 EFA's are in competition for delta 5,6 desaturases. We use red blood cell membrane analysis for EFA's
if we suspect this problem.Pyroluric mental patients will usually get worse if given fish oils, DHA, EPA, etc. They thrive on Primrose Oil, a good source of AA and other omega 6s. (June 23, 2003)"
If you are pyroluric, perhaps that's why fish oil didn't work well.
> Have you ever had that feeling like you were doing so well that the meds seemed unneccesary?
Yes, and I quit them. :) (Though I realize that's not the best response for everyone.)
> But, it does make sense. Two years ago when I started to relapse it was due to insomnia. I didn't feel anxious or depressed at the time just wasn't refreshed in the morning. I became more anxious when I wasn't sleeping and began a two year vicious cycle. I can't do the study until December so I have to gut it out. I have a new mouth guard, but it only covers my two front teeth so it allows my tongue to move freely, and I haven't been getting good sleep.Insomnia is the pits. :( I've been having a bit of it myself though I slept better last night after taking a small amount of melatonin and 50 mg of 5-HTP.
> I really hope we have stumbled upon something here. This may also explain my problem with excercising. I can't or it really messes up my sleep no matter what time of day I do it. This would create more demand on my body and thus make my sleep worse.
Tealady just posted something interesting about the connection to methylcobalamin, a coenzyme form of vitamin B12, and the circadian rhythms. http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/alter/20031023/msgs/275599.html
Incidentally, when I was on Prozac I didn't have a prayer of sleeping much, and Zoloft was only slightly better.
> That is my story to date.......I don't want to hope too much it is a breathing problem, but that mouth guard was helping me, that I am sure of. I just need to hang on. Any comments?
I'm not sure why you can't use the old mouthguard again to see if that's the solution?
> My wife is going through hormonal changes and they are rough. I have never had ups and downs like the last two years and it all depends on how I sleep.
The frustrating thing at this time of my life is that I don't know WHAT my hormones might be up to. ;) At least when I was younger the monthly up and downs were fairly predictable.
> Hope things are going well for you and the magnesium holds. It is good to try new things. Larry gave me great advice and that was to add things one at a time so you can gauge how it works. What are you trying?Magnesium wasn't the complete answer for me after those two months, but it for sure prevents suicide ideation/feelings even when I am otherwise quite depressed, so that is a very good thing. And it also seems to have changed my "baseline" for things, so I am trying some things that I've tried before and having different, better effects. Right now I am experimenting with the amino acids, tyrosine mainly, but also phenylalanine too, taken with Vit. C and coenzyme B6 (P-5-P). Also the methyl-form of B12 is new for me and I notice a small boost when I take it. I'm taking 9 grams of fish oil per day too, not sure if that is doing anything or not. I'm trying to cover as many bases as I can without taking things that are contradictory, as my life is an absolute mess and I really need to get my you-know-what together and change things. So far, so good, though I've had some ups and downs.
I hope you have good luck with the sleep clinic. I've always wanted to learn the secrets of my own sleep patterns. :)
JL
poster:JLx
thread:273771
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/alter/20031023/msgs/275765.html