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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 4 of 4. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Lao Tzu on April 19, 2010, at 9:13:48
I've started taking a chelated Cal/Mag supplement at night before bed, and I've noticed my depression is improved somewhat. I used to try taking Calcium carbonate or magnesium oxide by themselves, but I found this didn't work well. For me, I need both together in one tablet with a 2:1 ratio of calcium to magnesium. Further, the chelated forms seem to work much better. By chelated, I mean that the said mineral is attached to an amino acid, and supposedly this means better absorption and utilization. I only take one tablet at night, with 500mg chelated calcium and 250mg chelated magnesium. Vitamin Shoppe has a good generic chelated Cal/Mag supplement which always has worked well for me. There's also a product called Sleep Minerals II, which you can buy online and supposedly improves sleep. I haven't tried it. Some critics say it isn't useful for sleep, that there are more proven supplements out there for insomnia, but I'm keeping an open mind about it.
Posted by janejane on April 20, 2010, at 11:53:42
In reply to Calcium/Magnesium and depression, posted by Lao Tzu on April 19, 2010, at 9:13:48
I take mag glycinate every morning because it's supposed to be good for calming, but doesn't make me sleepy. I haven't noticed any effect on depression but maybe if I discontinued it I'd feel worse. I don't plan to stop taking it to find out since something like 3/4 of Americans are mag deficient and any extra is dumped in the urine, anyway. I doubt I get enough in my diet. Oh yeah, it's also essential to something like 300 bodily processes so I don't want to be low.
I had been a long-time insomniac and discovered last year that pure mag citrate powder mixed in small amount of beverage helped me get drowsy. After a while I stopped taking it, and the insomnia didn't resume. (Note: I was taking this in addition to the mag glycinate in the morning.)
After starting on low dose prozac a few months ago, the insomnia resumed, so I took the citrate again and it didn't seem to work anymore. I then decided to try liquid cal/mag (both citrate form) and it didn't help much either. I think that there must be something about prozac that makes the insomnia more stubborn, at least for me. I'm still looking for an alternative.
As for calcium, I eat/drink a lot of dairy, and have one of those chews on days when I don't feel I've had enough in my diet. I don't really think it affects my mood much but I don't want to get osteoporosis. I never drank milk as a kid so I try to get a good amount of calcium now.
By the way, whenever I get a vitamin D test the doc also tests cal and mag and they are in the higher part of the reference range. I read that regular serum tests (at least for mag) might not be very useful, though. (Can't remember the name of the one that's supposed to be better.) Do you know anything about that?
Posted by Lao Tzu on April 26, 2010, at 13:27:16
In reply to Re: Calcium/Magnesium and depression » Lao Tzu, posted by janejane on April 20, 2010, at 11:53:42
Thanks for the information. You might be right about the Prozac. I take Zoloft everyday, so that might also be contributing to the insomnia. Some antidepressants can do that. However, I take Risperdal which can help with sleep. I haven't found a cure-all for my sleep problems, but certain vitamins and minerals do help me sleep better. I take Vitamin E, selenium and melatonin at bedtime which helps relax me. Since I added the cal/mag supplement, you're right, it doesn't work all that well, but I have found that since I added it, I eventually drift off. It just takes awhile. I don't think it is the answer, really, but if you believe it works, that goes a long way to helping. I guess it is partially biochemical and partially psychological, just a symptom of being mentally ill. But I do think that if you take something that relaxes your body and mind, it is easier to fall asleep. The sedative hypnotics are very powerful. They actually induce sleep, whereas the vitamins only relax you a bit. I've just come to accept my sleep problems and realize that is the nature of being depressed, and I think any unwanted worry actually makes it worse. So doing my best to avoid stressful situations in my daily life also goes a long way to help me sleep better. However, I do have a serious mental disorder, and I know that it is largely biochemical, since being on medicine, the insomnia improved quite a bit, but I still have restless nights, not horrible, but still a problem. The serotonin drugs don't help me sleep at all. I tried Trazodone. It didn't work for me. It may have a lot to do with a lack of inhibitory pathways in the brain, perhaps involving glutamate and GABA pathways. There is research that this may be the case, and so there is a definite biochemical component to insomnia for some people like myself.
Posted by Hombre on May 13, 2010, at 21:47:03
In reply to Re: Calcium/Magnesium and depression » Lao Tzu, posted by janejane on April 20, 2010, at 11:53:42
Based on the general advice of the undermethylated/overmethylated school of thought, I've added some calcium (~500mg) back into the mix and feel more energetic. If magnesium is relaxing, calcium gives me just enough muscle tonus and alertness. Too much calcium and I start to a little too tense inside and out. This may just be a matter of providing my body what it needs to support the action of the antidepressants and mood stabilizers. I feel like this is a area sorely lacking in information - how to blend supplements with meds/how meds might now work well in light of nutrient deficiencies.
This is the end of the thread.
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