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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 11 of 11. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by sukarno on February 11, 2008, at 9:25:37
I just started light therapy again two weeks ago after having not used it for 5 years and the results are amazing. I feel better than I have in years. My depression is 100% gone! Not even Stablon or other drugs could do that. It works well for non-seasonal depression too from what I read in medical abstracts/literature.
Has anyone else here had good results from bright light therapy?
I sit about 1 foot away from the light box, so I'm getting more than 10,000 lux and I sit in front of it for at least 1 hour a day.
I experienced some hypomania and irritable mood, but that was temporary and some diazepam helped to terminate that.
I wasted $1800 on antidepressants over a 3 year period when this light box only cost me $250. I wish I had tried this earlier, but my excuse for not using it was "drugs are easier and I'm lazy to sit in front of the light". I can't believe I was so pathetic back then. I just have to remain disciplined and hope I get better and better.
Less anxiety now too and much more focused. I no longer feel like I have adult ADD (never diagnosed with it, but I sure felt like I had that).
Please write if you have had good results with light therapy. Thanks! :-)
Best wishes!
Paul
Posted by Justherself54 on February 11, 2008, at 11:58:54
In reply to Light therapy for depression. Wow! A miracle!:-), posted by sukarno on February 11, 2008, at 9:25:37
> I just started light therapy again two weeks ago after having not used it for 5 years and the results are amazing. I feel better than I have in years. My depression is 100% gone! Not even Stablon or other drugs could do that. It works well for non-seasonal depression too from what I read in medical abstracts/literature.
>
> Has anyone else here had good results from bright light therapy?I use a light all winter..it has helped me get through our long winters..but it didn't clear up my depression issues..I'm so glad it worked like a charm for you!
>
> I sit about 1 foot away from the light box, so I'm getting more than 10,000 lux and I sit in front of it for at least 1 hour a day.
>
> I experienced some hypomania and irritable mood, but that was temporary and some diazepam helped to terminate that.
>
> I wasted $1800 on antidepressants over a 3 year period when this light box only cost me $250. I wish I had tried this earlier, but my excuse for not using it was "drugs are easier and I'm lazy to sit in front of the light". I can't believe I was so pathetic back then. I just have to remain disciplined and hope I get better and better.
>
> Less anxiety now too and much more focused. I no longer feel like I have adult ADD (never diagnosed with it, but I sure felt like I had that).
>
> Please write if you have had good results with light therapy. Thanks! :-)
>
> Best wishes!
> Paul
Posted by Phillipa on February 11, 2008, at 13:14:21
In reply to Re: Light therapy for depression. Wow! A miracle, posted by Justherself54 on February 11, 2008, at 11:58:54
Someone I know just bought one used it once and loves it. I've never used one. Probably should Phillipa
Posted by clipper40 on February 11, 2008, at 16:19:58
In reply to Light therapy for depression. Wow! A miracle!:-), posted by sukarno on February 11, 2008, at 9:25:37
That's amazing you've had such good results. I used one for about an hour a day a while back and it made me very irritable without any noticeable mood lift. I think the consensus here was that I used it for too long. So now I've been planning on trying it again for half of that time.
How long did you have the irritability? Did your mood lift along with the irritability? How long after that did things change so that you felt good instead of irritable? I never would have thought to continue as I was with the negative results in hopes of things turning around.
I think it's really interesting how things changed for you but I'm glad that they did. Definitely much easier to use the light box than try all kinds of different medications!
Posted by sukarno on February 12, 2008, at 3:42:54
In reply to Re: Light therapy for depression. Wow! A miracle » sukarno, posted by clipper40 on February 11, 2008, at 16:19:58
> How long did you have the irritability? Did your mood lift along with the irritability? How long after that did things change so that you felt good instead of irritable?Hi! :-) Oh, I felt irritable and jittery before the mood lifted. I was in a mixed state for a day or two where I felt more energy but was still irritable and could still cry. However, by day 3 or 4 I felt a distinct antidepressant effect and the irritability began to fade. So, first the irritability came and when my mood lifted, my mood became more stabilized.
That said, I did use it too much, because yesterday I began to feel overstimulated and irritable again and actually experienced shortness of breath along with sweating...felt like a major panic attack. I took my fourth tablet of Valium that day (that's unusual because I usually only have to take 3 a day and that's more than enough) and it stopped that. I woke up this morning with eyestrain but no jitters.
I've been sitting in front of the lightbox at a distance of only 1 foot, which is far too close and was looking too closely at it, although not directly.
I'm going to skip today and then try either an hour at 2 or 3 feet of distance or 30 minutes at 2 feet to see what happens.
I don't feel irritable or depressed today and it's been the monsoon season over here with rainy, cloudy days for months (Indonesia).
You might want to give it a try again with only 15 minutes to start out @ 2 feet. I was too aggressive with it and that's probably why I had the bad experience last night. It seems like a cumulative effect...sorta like a long half-life drug. You take more and it has a delayed effect.
When I used light therapy in 1999 it took a few weeks to get an effect from it, but when it worked....WOW. My depression was history and my agoraphobia began to decrease without making any effort to combat agoraphobia on my own. Anxiety decreased too. The psychiatrist said that once I am used to the light treatment (in 1999) that I should increase the use gradually up to 1 hour twice a day and take a walk at noon for 30 minutes to an hour. He said, "That will knock your panic attacks down to nothing!" I didn't do the walking at noon like he said, but the panic attacks pretty much disappeared.Please do give it a try. It can take a long time to work (a few weeks) and the reason it worked so quickly for me could be because I'm on an antidepressant already. There are some studies out there that show that light therapy is more efficacious when used in combination with antidepressants, but I've used it without antidepressants in the past and I was just fine. :-)
I hope you can try it again and keep us posted! :-)
Paul
Posted by clipper40 on February 12, 2008, at 5:31:15
In reply to Re: Light therapy for depression. Wow! A miracle, posted by sukarno on February 12, 2008, at 3:42:54
Thanks so much for all of that information. I can't believe that doctor wanted you to use it twice a day for a total of 2 hours. That seems like way too much.
I'm definitely going to give it a try but I want to wait a while because I'm having a problem with my left eye and I'm too scared to introduce any complications right now.
Posted by johnj on February 12, 2008, at 19:44:39
In reply to Re: Light therapy for depression. Wow! A miracle, posted by sukarno on February 12, 2008, at 3:42:54
What time of day do you have to use it for depression and anxiety? I am very interested in it. thank you
johnj
Posted by sukarno on February 13, 2008, at 9:05:07
In reply to Re: Light therapy for depression. Wow! A miracle » sukarno, posted by johnj on February 12, 2008, at 19:44:39
It's best to use it as soon as you wake up. If you work nights, then use it when you wake up, before work.
Some folks have tried it in the evenings or before bedtime and it also works, although the studies conducted on light therapy show the best efficacy is achieved when you use it as soon as you would normally awaken.
I hope you can try it and let us know how you are doing. I'm going to start it again tomorrow morning for 30 minutes and see how I feel.
Good luck! :-)
Paul
Posted by clipper40 on February 13, 2008, at 21:40:08
In reply to Re: Light therapy for depression. Wow! A miracle » sukarno, posted by johnj on February 12, 2008, at 19:44:39
Definitely don't use it late in your day or before you go to bed as the light tells your body that it's morning and it's time to get up.
Posted by sukarno on February 14, 2008, at 12:00:33
In reply to Re: Light therapy for depression. Wow! A miracle » johnj, posted by clipper40 on February 13, 2008, at 21:40:08
I just started using it again after a 2 day break.
1 hour @ two feet away instead of only 1 foot away, almost immediately after I woke up. I'll let you know what happens. The good thing is that I've been able to taper Stablon from 3 tablets a day to only 2 without any problems. It feels good to be free of depression, but have to be careful not to become overstimulated from improper light box use.
Posted by clipper40 on February 15, 2008, at 16:39:46
In reply to Re: Light therapy for depression. Wow! A miracle, posted by sukarno on February 14, 2008, at 12:00:33
I didn't realize that you were still on the tianeptine. Hopefully the lightbox will allow you to get off of the medication entirely. If not, at least you have a working combination! I'd gladly settle for that.
I'm curious why you decided to try the lightbox at 1 hour a day from 2 feet away rather than 1/2 hour a day from 1 foot away.
This is the end of the thread.
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