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Support for bi-polar disorder
My friend suffers from hypermania (bi-polar disorder). She has been taking prozac and lithium for the last 10 years, which helps keep her stable, but the side-effects include energy. After a recent manic spell, she has been taking high doses of anti-psychotic drugs, lithium and anti-depressants and feels like her body has been poisoned. Are there any homeopathic or other remedies that she could try in conjunction with the prescribed drugs to help support her body and counteract side effects? What foods could help her feel better?
As ever with any serious condition involving on-going and heavy-duty medication, I am not going to advise that your friend self-treats but direct her, instead, towards professional help from a qualified practitioner who has experience of dealing with depression and its related disorders.
Homeopathy is an excellent adjunct to any conventional treatment not least because its very ethos is to unravel the symptoms of a condition to get back to the root cause. In this instance, I would seek a doctor who is also a qualified homeopath. If you live near or can get to London, then I recommend Dr Charles Innes, co-founder of an integrated clinic, (where doctors and natural health practitioners work hand-in-hand) called The Health Partnership (0207 589 6414). If you need to find someone more local to you, contact The British Homeopathic Association (08704 443950). For other qualified homeopaths, call The Society of Homeopaths (01604-817890). For a free copy of the ARH Register of qualified homeopaths from the Alliance of Registered Homeopaths, phone 08700 736339 or visit www.a-r-h.org online.
In terms of diet, the B vitamins play an important role in tackling depression - vitamin B6, for instance, is needed to convert the amino acid tryptophan into the feel-good brain chemical, serotonin - but ironically, the act of taking prescription drugs can cause a deficiency in these nutrients. Folic acid, for example, was found to be lacking in up to 38% of depressed patients and in hospital trials where this single nutrient was supplemented for six patients, depressed patients were reported to recover faster from psychiatric illnesses than those who were given a placebo pill.
The other important nutrients are the essential fatty acids (EFAs) which have been shown to enhance the more positive effects of antidepressants. In trials, patients taking antidepressants who were given 1g, twice daily, of EFAs for a month, scored lower on scales of depression than those taking a placebo pill.