Causes and Natural Treatments for Bipolar Disorders

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Causes and Natural Treatments for Bipolar Disorder

by Patric Darby, M.D.

 

www.paracelsusclinic.com

 

There is a vast amount of data from traditional psychiatry, that

opines Bipolar Disorder to be a genetic disorder, but that doesn't

explain what causes it.

 

The inability to break down Norepinephrine due to a deficiency in an

enzyme called COMT is one objective finding I have found useful in

explaining to patients why they behave or react certain ways. (And

this one is a genetic find)

 

Pfeiffer reported that those who have daily or day-to-day mood

swings have food allergies or hypoglycemia. In addition, he said

they are pyroluric and are easily treated with adequate doses of B6

and Zinc. (do you know about pyroluria?)

 

Pfeiffer recommends

 

1. Adequate B6 for dream recall (NTE 2gms qd)

2. Zinc (as gluconate) 30mg am & pm

3. Manganese (as gluconate) 10mg am & pm

4. if B6 produces numbness in extremities. Shift to pyridoxal

phosphate at 1/10th dose of normal B6

 

I found it interesting that I have been trained in traditional

psychiatry to medicate manic-depressives. Personally, I find this

dreadful, as I think we lose a lot of great minds and creations when

we do. Just think of all the historical geniuses who would fit the

bipolar mold, and if they were living today, they would be medicated

out of creating. (Not to offend anyone, but this would probably also

include Jesus Christ, as he would certainly fit the bill for a

Bipolar Psychotic, by today's standards, just think about it). And

all the actors, and others today who are strange and bizarre, well,

some are getting medicated and they aren't doing too much anymore.

 

As I just treat kids, I have found that many of them can be

controlled with a sugar free diet. It takes a long time (average is

about 2 years) for the family to make this adjustment, but it does

work. So are they still Bipolar? (I have other opinions about this

area as well).

 

Furthermore, there is now a Bipolar IV Disorder. That is, a patient

who has an adverse reaction to a medication, such as an

antidepressant and exhibits signs of mania, therefore, is labeled

Bipolar. If this person never had this medication, they would never

had this experience, nor would they have the diagnosis.

 

Treatments:

 

The latest psychiatry journals have finally published info about

EFAs (essential fatty acids) and how patients taking those have

relieved their symptoms of depression and Bipolar Disorder, and many

of these patients have stopped using meds completely. So are these

people still Bipolar?

 

Phenylalanine (in dosages of up to 4,000 mg per day) alleviates many

(approximately 75% of) cases of Manic Depression.

 

[sabelli, H. C., et al. Clinical studies on the phenylethylamine

hypothesis of affective disorder: Urine and blood phenylacetic acid

and phenylalanine dietary supplements. J Clin Psychiat. 47(2):66-70,

1986.

 

To test the hypothesis that 2-phenylethylamine (PEA) modulates

affective disorders, plasma levels and urinary excretion of its main

metabolite, phenylacetic acid (PAA), were studied in depressed and

manic subjects, and the mood-elevating effects of its precursor, L-

phenylalanine, were studied in depressed subjects. Mean total plasma

PAA concentrations were 491.83 +/- 232.84 ng/ml in 12 healthy

volunteers and 300.33 +/- 197.44 ng/ml in 23 drug-free patients with

major depression. The 24-hour urinary PAA excretion was also

measured in 48 healthy volunteers (141.1 +/- 10.2 mg PAA/24 hr) and

in 144 patients with major depression (78.2 +/- 41.0 mg PAA/24 hr).

The results suggest that low plasma and urinary PAA may be state

markers for depression and are compatible with the PEA hypothesis.

In further support, phenylalanine elevated mood in 31 of 40

depressives.]

 

Triiodothyronine (25 - 30 micrograms per day) alleviates Manic

Depression Arem, R. The Thyroid Solution. Ballantine Books, New

York, USA 1999:114-117.

 

The author recommends the use of triiodothyronine (25 - 30

micrograms per day) for the treatment of manic depression. It is

particularly useful for rapid-cycling manic depression.

 

Manic Depression patients are generally found to have low endogenous

production of Glutathione. Altschule, M. D., et al. Blood

glutathione level in mental disease before and after treatment. Arch

Psych. 71:69, 1955.

 

The authors observed low blood glutathione levels in manic

depression patients.

 

Braverman, Eric R. The Healing Nutrients Within. Keats Publishing,

New Canaan, Connecticut, USA. 1997:152.

 

The author has experienced occasional positive results using

supplemental L-cysteine in the treatment of manic depression. The

underlying mechanism for the success of L-cysteine in some manic

depression patients is believed to be via its role as a precursor

for glutathione.

 

Folic Acid is the most common deficiency found in Manic Depression

patients. .Coppen, A., et al. Folic acid enhances lithium

prophylaxis. Journal of Affective Disorders. 10(1):9-13, 1986.

 

Supplemental folic acid may positively effect morbidity in some

patients placed on lithium prophylaxis. .Hasanah, C. I., et al.

Reduced red-cell folate in mania. Journal of Affective Disorders.

46:95-99, 1997.

 

This study found that reduced red-cell folate occurs in both phases

of bipolar disorders.

 

Lee, S., et al. Folate concentration in Chinese psychiatric

outpatients on long-term lithium treatment. Journal of Affective

Disorders; 24(4):265-270, 1992.

 

Manic Depression patients have impaired metabolism of Inositol and

supplemental Inositol may help to overcome this impaired metabolism.

Banks, R. E., et al. Incorporation of inositol into the

phosphoinositides of lymphoblastoid cell lines established from

bipolar manic-depressive patients. Journal of Affective Disorders. 19

(1):1-8, 1990.

 

Lymphoblastoid cell lines established from patients suffering from

bipolar manic-depressive psychosis or from a control group have been

used to study the metabolism of the polyphosphoinositides in these

cells. Cells were incubated for up to 6 h in [3H]inositol and the

extent of inositol incorporation into the mono-, di- and

triphosphoinositides was measured after extracting the water- and

lipid-soluble inositol-containing pools. Although both the uptake of

inositol and the 'free' intracellular inositol pool sizes were

similar in the two cell groups, the incorporation of [3H]inositol

into the phosphoinositides of the cells derived from bipolar manic-

depressives was significantly less (by around 50-60%) than that

which occurred in the control cells.

 

Vitamin B12 deficiency can cause Mania. Goggans, F. C. A case of

mania secondary to vitamin B12 deficiency. American Journal of

Psychiatry. 141(2):300-301, 1984.

 

A case of mania apparently secondary to vitamin B12 deficiency

appeared without other overt clinical features of pernicious anemia

and resolved with B12 replacement. Six months later, the patient was

receiving monthly B12 injections and his mental status remained

normal.

 

Human case study demonstrated that mania can occur in conjunction

with vitamin B12 deficiency and that vitamin B12 injections reversed

this mania.

 

Since this study it has been demonstrated that oral vitamin B12 is

as effective as injections for restoring vitamin B12 levels in cases

of vitamin B12 deficiency.

 

Vitamin C (3,000 mg per day) improves the condition of Manic

Depression patients. Naylor, G. J., et al. Vanadium: A possible

aetiological factor in manic-depressive illness. Psychol Med. 11

(2):249-256, 1981.

 

Preliminary results of a double-blind, crossover comparison of

normal vanadium intake with reduced intake in manic and depressed

subjects are reported. Both manic and depressed patients were

significantly better on reduced intake. These results are in keeping

with the suggestion that vanadium may be an aetiological factor in

manic depressive illness.

 

Tryptophan alleviates Manic Depression and is beneficial when

suicidal tendencies exist in Manic Depression patients: Chouinard,

G., et al. Tryptophan in the treatment of depression and mania. Adv.

Biol. Psychiat;10:47-66, 1983.

 

..Murphy, D. L., et al. Tryptophan in affective disorders:

Indoleamine changes and differential clinical effects.

Psychopharmacologia. 34:11-20, 1974.

 

Tryptophan (9,000 mg per day) potentiates the beneficial effects of

Lithium in the treatment of Manic Depression.

 

Stoll, A. L., et al Omega 3 fatty acids in bipolar disorder: a

preliminary double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Archives of

General Psychiatry; 56(5):407-412, 1999.

 

This double-blind, placebo-controlled study involved manic

depression patients (aged 18 - 65 years). All patients had

experienced at least one manic or hypomanic episode during the

preceding year. Patients were permitted to continue using an

existing medication (e.g. lithium carbonate or valproate). Subjects

were administered either docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 3,400 mg per

day) together with eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, 6,200 mg per day) (30

patients received this combination) or placebo for four months.

Improvement was significantly greater in the DHA + EPA group

compared to the placebo group on almost every assessment measure.

The significant difference in relapse rate and response was highly

clinically significant. After the study had been completed, almost

all patients receiving DHA + EPA opted to continue using this

therapy as part of their long-term treatment.. Stoll, A. L. Comment.

Arch Gen Psychiatry. 56(5):413-416, 1999.

 

A comment on the above study: " this study may represent the first

demonstration of an effective therapy for bipolar disorder. "

Segala, M. (editor). Disease Prevention and Treatment 3rd Edition.

Life Extension Media. Florida, USA. 2000:233-234.

 

The means via which fish oils benefit manic depression patients may

involve

their ability to increase serotonin levels in the brain. Omega-3

fish oil for mood swings. Life Enhancement. July 1999.

 

Fish oil supplement reduces bipolar symptoms and improves outcomes

in pilot

study. Reuters Healthwire service. 7 May 1999.

 

Human double-blind trial has found that 6,200 mg EPA + 3,400 mg DHA

(used in

conjunction with normal manic depression medication) improved almost

all symptoms of manic depression and reduced the relapse rate. Fish

oil is high in both EPA and DHA and could therefore be expected to

produce similar results.

 

 

 

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[Guest guest]

Dear Gracia,

 

You don't have any idea what is acceptable on this board or not.

 

The reason that some of your postings have NOT been posted sometimes

is because you always post the same thing.

 

You have posted many, many posts and they all say the same whether

the person has a headache, MS, or a thousand other symptoms and your

solution is always the same.....Take thyroid. Most of your posts have

been posted until they became over the top. For awhile there, I

thought that you must be an employee of Armour or something.

 

Membership here doesn't automatically mean that you can post anything

and everything that you want. If you want that, go start your own

group. Posts here have to be approved, that means that they have to

be beneficial for the group in the opinion of the moderators.

 

Thyroid is beneficial when needed but is no panacea for all

conditions and causes.

 

I was hoping that as you were here longer that you could learn more

than just one solution for everything. Maybe you cannot.

 

Anyway, I certainly don't appreciate your attitude and I don't feel

that you appreciate what this group is all about or what we are

trying to do here.

 

Frank

 

 

 

, " Gracia "

<circe@g...> wrote:

>

> these wonderful simple treatments are discouraged on this board

because they

> are " drugs " .

> Gracia

>