Posted by MoparFan91 on June 26, 2005, at 22:39:43
I'm Bipolar II Ultra-Rapid Cycling. I have OCD along with it. With all the supplements and medications I'm taking, my mood disorder is under good control, but my OCD symptoms are still there.
For the bipolar mood disorder, I'm taking.. Lamictal (200mg QID)
Taurine (3g BID)
Choline (1.8g TID)
Magnesium Glycinate (800mg TID)
Omega 3/GLA (1 TBS)To help with depression, I take...
5-htp (200mg QID)
Tyrosine (1.5g BID)
DHEA (25mg QID)
Ginkgo Biloba (120mg BID)For background anxiety, I'm using sustained-release Niacinamide at 1.5g BID
I take other augmenting nutrients as well.
My bipolar symptoms are about 80% gone on this regimen. The Taurine and Lamictal help with impulsivity, agitation, and ruminations. Choline seems to help stop hourly rapid (ultradian) mood cycling. Magnesium is relaxing and works well in conjunction with the other stuff. The amino acids and other stuff helps keep me tuned up. Overall, I feel fairly even.
My only distressing gripe now is my OCD. I have repetitive thoughts going on in my mind all the time. My mind tends to repeat the same words over and over again. When I see something or somebody or hear a song, random repetive words come into my mind. I also get into "thought loops" at times where certain thoughts stay stuck in my head and won't go away. At times, I will say the same word to myself over and over again. I get fixated on certain objects and obsess over them (like car temperature/oil gauges). I also have some compulsions. Many times, I will check stuff frequently (such as my car and my appearance in the mirror). I also will perform the same movement over and over again.
Overall, the obsessive thoughts are so distracting that I only have an attention span of about 3 minutes. It looks like ADD, but the poor attention span in my case involves repetitive thought-loops. The obsessional thinking can cause anxiety on its own sometimes. At times, the thoughts interfere with conversations.
In my experience, when I took Lexapro at 20mg (for depression), the obsessive noise and repetitive thoughts in my mind were turned way down (if not eliminated completely). I had a much longer attention span, could focus better, and had an easier time communicating with other people. I wasn't so fixated on particular things. However, the Lexapro didn't do any favors for my bipolar mood cycling. I had manic attacks when I took it. So, I had to go off of it.
I came across a study recently that used Inositol for depression and OCD. For depression, they recommended 12g. For OCD, they recommend 18g. The study concluded that the Inositol worked just as well for OCD as the SSRI's (e.g. Lexapro, Prozac, etc.). Sounds like Inositol would be a bright idea since SSRI's sent me manic.
I'm planning on ordering some Inositol in bulk from Beyond A Century. They have 300g powder el cheapo. I'm going to give Inositol a trial of 18g a day possibly divided into 3 6g doses throughout the day before meals. At that dose, each case should last me about 2 weeks. I've experimented with Inositol a few times before but never went above 3g a day. I could only find capsules in my local health food store, not the powder form.
Has anyone ever used Inositol for depression or OCD?
What were your experiences with it? Was it effective?
Any side effects at high doses?
poster:MoparFan91
thread:519637
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/alter/20050612/msgs/519637.html