Posted by BetweenDreams81 on November 22, 2010, at 1:35:33
In reply to Re: morgan: How is St. John's Wort Working Out? » BetweenDreams81, posted by Hombre on November 21, 2010, at 23:31:44
See responses below your text (*)
If I am reading correctly, it seems like anxiety, worry, lack of motivation, depression and sleep problems are your main symptoms.
* anxiety without the lithium is definitely an issue, but that is well under control
* worry is mostly situational, but it does play a part in the adding of stressors which trigger depression or anxiety or both. Which then can tailspin into hypomania where I obsess and become extremely irritable
* lack of motivation and depression, overall 'blah' mood, THAT hits the nail on the head...at least this seems to be the most dominant of my moods as of late, and the better part of the past 3 months (I'm not really in a depression, just very "bored" is the best way I can describe it)
* lack of sleep never struck me as an issue until I realized one day that I could not recall the last time in 2-3 years when I have gone to bed regularly at a "decent" hour (ex: it is currently 1:45 AM lol, and this is very typical)
Do you feel tired after you eat? Does your diet seem to affect your energy and mood?
* hmmm, tired? If I eat heavy foods, yes. Otherwise, I don't really notice much difference in energy level, niether a lack nor a gain.
* When I eat sushi I feel great...clean fresh energy, and mentall sharper as well. I really wish the fish oil caps did the same thing for me! I may need to take a less processed form though? Currently taking 4 Barlean's Fish Oil caps (orange flavor), total: 4000mg, 1440mg EPA, 960mg DHA
* I do notice certain foods adversely affecting me, particularly dairy, heavy starches and caffeine. Interestingly enough, when I was curious about the blood type diet (I'm A-), it suggested eating mostly vegetables and fruits, plant based diet and to limit animal protein intake, even fish
The thing with anxiety, at least from my experience, is that it is both physical and psychological. My mind can really psyche me out, but if I push past the initial uneasiness I almost always feel better having done whatever it is I wanted/needed to get done. Getting into the habit of confronting my fears is probably what I need to do more than anything.* The only time I feel the anxiety creep in at the moment is when I have to play the "salesperson" and my business requires a bit of that to get going...and I agree 100%, that the initial fear is usually put to rest once it is confronted and defeated...it's basically just making yourself grow and jump outside the box, but unless that happens the fear rules and can even develop into a phobia if not kept in check IMO. I do need to work on this a bit more myself. I'll be forced to do it anyway 6 weeks from now when I return to Florida for my busiest season! eeps!
Anyway, I've rediscovered that I need to boost my kidneys according to Chinese medical theory. Whether it's my meds or my constitution, I need to take herbs that tonify and nourish the kidneys, which helps a lot with motivation and energy. These herbs tend to help basic kidney function, like draining dampness/water, but they also seem to help at a hormonal level.
The trick is figuring out if your sympathetic or parasympathetic nervous system tends to dominate. If it's the former, you'll tend to be hyper-aroused and hyper-metabolic, running "hot" and feeling keyed up and tired at the same time. If it's the latter, you'll tend to run "cold", be apathetic, have low motivation, low libido, and generally feel kind of spacey or too chilled out. These are generalizations, of course, but that's the beauty of Chinese medicine, at least at the basic level - you can trust your feelings and use them to guide you.
* I feel like you just described me to a T! I absolutely fall into the "parasympathetic" mold!
So, for sympathetic dominance, I'd suggest Liu Wei Di Huang Wan, 6 flavor rehmannia pills. For parasympathetic dominance, Jin Gui Shen Qi Wan, Golden Cabinet Kidney Pills. The two formulas are almost the same, but the latter adds two heating herbs that stimulate metabolism and increases your mojo. They both nourish kidney yin and liver yin, but the warming herbs nourish kidney yang.
In fact, I'm taking both in various ratios according to how I feel, and that seems to work. I got the idea of taking both from a book on Chinese herbs.
For overall fatigue, tiredness after eating, abdominal bloating, Bu Zhong Yi Qi Wan is a tonic formula par excellence. It helps with digestion, and raises your energy up, as in if you feel like it's hard to stand up straight, this formula somehow supplements that energy. It also has a couple of herbs that detox and smooth out liver energy. It is a very famous and common formula.
* I like the idea of the Golden Cabinet Kidney Pills...Can it be taken simultaneously with the Bu Zhong Yi Qi Wan? This would take care of tonifying the liver, which for what ever reason, I keep coming back to. I feel like there is a bit of stagnant energy...which represents dampness, is that right? or am I confusing it with something else? and would that also relate back to spleen? Liver/spleen are a yin/yang pair, so tonifying the liver would help the spleen as well...did I get that right?
One thing I've learned is that dosage is key. The dosage on most bottles of "teapills", the little black pills that usually come in bottles of 200, tend to be on the low end. I weigh about 165lbs, but I feel like I do better taking 1.5x the standard dose, or 12 pills at a time, 3x a day (they are small pills). Just keep in mind that you can play with the dosage a little, up or down, within reason. Sometimes you want to take a little more at first to get an effect sooner, then back off to a maintenance dosage once you've gotten out of the hole. Just don't give up on the herbs until you've adjusted the dosage and given them some time to work. Tonic herb therapy can take a long time to undo what surely took a while to happen in the first place.
* Well noted! How long do you give something a try before changing it up? Instinct says to stick with herbals for at least 6 weeks to get them well established in the system. Do you ever take them more often than 3x per day to get started? Say 5x/day for the first 3-4 days? Or, just more tea pills and just 3x/day?
I hope that helps.
* Yes! Thank you! You are insightful as always, and thoughtful beyond measure for being so thorough! I really appreciate it!
poster:BetweenDreams81
thread:966033
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/alter/20100930/msgs/970982.html