Comments on: Alternative and Complementary Treatments for Bipolar Disorder

By: Kasun

Kasun — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 05:13:03 +0000

I am supposed to be having bipolar affective disorder. I am taking 1mg Respiridone in the night, 250 mg LiCO3 in the morning, 500 mg LiCO3 in th night. I have so many side effects that I have decided to replace the medication with alternative medicines. What should I use and in what doses?

By: Kasun

Kasun — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 05:12:08 +0000

I am supposed to be having bipolar affective disorder. I am taking 1mg Respiridone in the night, 250 mg LiCO3 in the morning, 500 mg LiCO3 in th night. I have so many side effects (No proper sleep for 5 years and ED) that I have decided to replace the medication with alternative medicines. What should I use and in what doses?

By: Anise

Anise — Thu, 15 May 2008 01:34:02 +0000

I used to be the most anti-medication person you could ever possibly imagine, and I have done a real 180 on that one. I am finally admitting that I am bipolar with MANY people on BOTH sides of my family who are/have been bipolar as well. Natural supplements, herbs, vitamins, etc., do not work. Some– such as St. John’s Wort and SAM-e– are extremely dangerous for bipolar people to take, since they can cause mania (which I personally experienced with both of them.) Can doctors be wrong? Sure they can. I worked with one for over a year who prescribed antidepressants for me, and they were the same kind of train wreck as the natural ones. However, I then took responsibility for *myself* and stopped lying, hiding, and pretending about all the symptoms of being bipolar. I’m not blaming myself, either, because I simply wasn’t willing to accept it earlier. But now that I have, I am moving forward with the help of my new psychiatrist to find the best treatment, and I am truly hopeful. The key is to educate ourselves with resources that are published in peer-reviewed journals (preferably double-blind studies, but those aren’t always available.) We can’t just believe whatever weird thing we see written by God-knows-who and based on God-knows-what information. If somebody is “taking all those medications and still having numerous symptoms anyway,” then their bipolar disorder is NOT CONTROLLED BY WHAT THEY ARE TAKING. There are so many different options with medication now. One size does not fit all! Let’s educate ourselves and keep pushing for best treatment, not nutty ideas about “natural” treatments.

By: dancingpretzels

dancingpretzels — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 20:10:28 +0000

My doctor has slowly cut down my meds while adding vitamins/minerals and EMPower. I am happy for the change. I still stuggle at times but why take all those medications and still have numerous symptoms anyway? By the way, True Hope / EMPower is not closed down and my doctor likes working with them, as I do. I appreciate all of the support they give me and I can track my progress on a daily basis. If they feel something is not right they call me- more than I can say for the regular medical businesses.