Posted by Emme on December 18, 2003, at 23:53:34
In reply to Re: Chinese herbal medicine?, posted by KellyD on December 11, 2003, at 17:46:45
> That sounds like a great plan. Nurse Pracitioners and Nurses are near and dear to my heart (sligh smile).
> Please let me know how it does. I would really like to know.
> Best of Luck,
> KellyHi Kelly,
I went to see the holistic nurse practitioner today. She had a few supplement recommnedations. She seems to want to come up with a supplement regimen that's somewhat streamlined.
In the vitamins/minerals dept., more or less what I've been taking, but with some tweaking. Up my Mg a bit, Ca dosage okay, increase B complex from 50 to 75 or 100, fish oil good, no arguments with the multivitamin. She thought the Cr wasn't necessary.
Of the other supplements, she thought I should think about SAM-e or methionine or 5HTP.
Diet: To my surprise, more protein, more (good)fat. Not a low-carb diet, just adding more of these things (I didn't know I was deficient). She thinks I'm not getting enough of the right types of fat. I'm a vegetarian. She suggested bumping up my nut and seed intake, incorporate some eggs (I rarely eat them) and since I'm not motivated to cook when depressed, she suggested making sure I have things like hummos and yogurt on hand. She didn't seem to think I should worry about the fat content in dairy products like cheese and yogurt. I think her take was that if I don't eat meat and don't eat too much hydrogenated fats, then the fat content of the dairy products wouldn't be much of an issue.
Herbs: She thought St. John's Wort was worth considering and likes to use a liquid extract. She had particular favored brand (which I have written down somewhere). She also suggested skullcap.
She recommended a homeopathic remedy: pulsatilla. I've always had a hard time with the concept of homeopathic remedies. But, it's inexpensive and won't interact with anything, so I don't really have anything to lose.
So...I'll guess I'll try to start stocking my pantry better. I have had little interest in regular grocery shopping for a long time.
I'll try the pulsatilla for a week or so, then add something else. I don't know how to decide if I want to try 5HTP or SJW first. Any suggestions anyone? I've been decreasing/switching benzos, so my body is a bit revved and could use some settling down in addition to AD effect. It seems like both are potentially good options.
Emme
poster:Emme
thread:288085
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/alter/20031218/msgs/291492.html