Posted by Lao Tzu on February 27, 2011, at 15:02:34
High dose Vitamin B6 and zinc picolinate have been useful for me as far as anxiety, in some cases with social anxiety. Perhaps in some people, there is a deficiency in these two substances that would lead to depression and anxiety, maybe especially in social situations. I've been using Vitamin B6 capsules (50mg each), Vitamin Shoppe brand and they have proven very effective for anxiety. The zinc picolinate I use is Solgar's zinc picolinate (22mg), and that too has proven very effective. In the morning, I take 50mg of B6 and 44mg of the zinc (two tablets). In the afternoon, or before social occasions, I take 150mg of B6 and 1 tablet of zinc (22mg). So far my anxiety has decreased quite a bit, and my depression is also better. The quality of the B6 must be high and preferably capsules rather than tablets. The Vitamin Shoppe brand B6 has worked very well, better than the generic B6 tablets I was using. For me, I need about 200mg of B6 per day total. This is variable, however. Some may need less or more. There is a condition where the blood produces an excess of pyrroles in some people, causing a deficiency of B6 and zinc. By correcting this and using the vitamins in proper proportions, you may be able to lessen anxiety quite a bit. However, Pyrroluria doesn't happen to everybody, so this may or may not work for some people with social anxiety.
I also take some Zoloft each day, and this can be a calming drug to use for social anxiety, but I don't necessarily think it is always the answer to use SSRIs when you could potentially correct the imbalance with B6 and zinc. I'm not saying don't use medication. Sometimes it can be very effective if your anxiety is severe, but I don't believe the antidepressants work for everybody when the real problem may be the pyroluria. Antidepressants won't help pyroluria. You need to supplement with high quality B6 and zinc picolinate in the right proportions. This is sometimes difficult to figure out, exactly how much you need to fix the problem. I've used trial-and-error, or you could speak with a doctor trained in orthomolecular medicine. There are also some good books on Orthomolecular Medicine, which may give you some good ideas. I think that there might be other issues involved in social anxiety than purely using vitamins and/or medication to treat it. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy might be useful in addition, and also an exercise program. In pyroluria, there may also be a need for manganese and Omega-6 fatty acids. Personally, I don't tend to tolerate the manganese well in my regimen, but I do take Borage oil, which is a good source of Omega-6 fatty acids. I'm just trying to put my own experiences out there for anyone who is curious about possible solutions to lessening the symptoms of anxiety as related to a condition called pyroluria. You can actually get tested for pyroluria if you are curious about it. It's done with a special urine test. You actually have to send your urine (at a specific temperature) to certain labs. Just a word of caution: You can actually take too much B6, but 200-250mg per day is usually safe and recommended for people with pyroluria.Lao
poster:Lao Tzu
thread:979869
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/alter/20110214/msgs/979869.html