Sam-e
 

Has anyone tried SAM-E or SAM-E Complete? I find the SAM-E Complete makes a difference in lifting my mood with no side effects. St John's Wort made me manic.

I took St John's Wort about ten years ago. I had to go to the hospital, & when the tests came back, they told me that I had had more calcium in me than they had EVER seen, which isn't good. Could'nt figure out why until I read the label on the St. John's Wort- it was about 60% Calcium! I quit taking it, & my levels returned to normal. AND, it didn't work for me anyway.
Just MY two cents............

5 HTP and cod liver or flax seed oil.

Actually fish oil has the type of Omega-3 fatty acids that are most beneficial to treating depression, more than flaxseed oil.

I know Omega 3 is good for depression. I also take shark oil to boost the immune system.

I´ve recently heard of Avena Sativa (green oats). It´s supposed to calm the nervous system, help people sleep and is used for mental exhaustion.

Not khat!
 

Thank you for trying to help the OP with your post. I don't know about the other things listed here.
But I unfortunately have experience with this drug & people's addictions to it. So forgive me for jumping in on this thread.
(And I wish they would remove this substance from the nursing herbal drug book!)

PLEASE DON'T USE KHAT !!!

Khat is a very addictive stimulant drug. It is merely not well known in the West because it doesn't grow there. The West knows so little about it, they describe it as "somewhere between strong coffee and methamphetemine."
It also has to be flown in from other countries of origin, so when it arrives, it has lost some of its potency.
If you go to many middle eastern or north/east african countries, you will see how this addictive plant has destroyed many lives.

5HTP and St John's Wort should not he used together as they both increase amounts of serotonin and the combination can cause the life-threatening serotonin syndrome.

Even though these products are "natural" you really need to check interactions etc before taking anything.

Bananas are a good source if serotonin.

You might also look into reiki. It took away the worst of my depression.

Thanks , this "all natural" and over the counter stuff can make people sick and be dangerous as well.


There is no scientific evidence depression is even caused by low serotonin. This is one of the biggest myths in modern history.

With direct proof of serotonin deficiency in any mental disorder lacking, the claimed efficacy of SSRIs is often cited as indirect support for the serotonin hypothesis. Yet, this ex juvantibus line of reasoning (i.e., reasoning “backwards” to make assumptions about disease causation based on the response of the disease to a treatment) is logically problematic—the fact that aspirin cures headaches does not prove that headaches are due to low levels of aspirin in the brain.

PLOS Medicine: Serotonin and Depression: A Disconnect between the Advertisements and the Scientific Literature


The history of the “chemical imbalance” theory

The first antidepressant, iproniazid, was discovered by accident in 1952 after it was observed that some tubercular patients became euphoric when treated with this drug. A bacteriologist named Albert Zeller found that iproniazid was effective in inhibiting the enzyme monoamine oxydase. As its name implies, monoamine oxydase plays an essential role in inactivating monoamines such as epinephrine and norepinephrine. Thus, iproniazid raised levels of epinephrine and norepinephrine which in turn led to stimulation of the sympathetic nervous system – an effect thought to be responsible for the antidepressant action of the drug.

At around the same time, an extract from the plant Rauwolfia serpentina was introduced into western psychiatry. This extract had been used medicinally in India for more than a thousand years and was thought to have a calming effect useful to quite babies, treat insomnia, high blood pressure, insanity and much more. In 1953 chemists at Ciba, a pharmaceutical company, isolated the active compound from this herb and called it reserpine.

In 1955 researchers at the National Institutes of Health reported that reserpine reduces the levels of serotonin in the brains of animals. It was later established that all three of the major biogenic amines in the brain, norepinephrine, serotonin, and dopamine, were all decreased by reserpine (again, in animals).

In animal studies conducted at around the same time, it was found that animals administered reserpine showed a short period of increased excitement and motor activity, followed by a prolonged period of inactivity. The animals often had a hunched posture and an immobility that was thought to resemble catatonia (Valenstein, 1998). Since reserpine lowered levels of serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine, and caused the effects observed in animals, it was concluded that depression was a result of low levels of biogenic amines. Hence, the “chemical imbalance” theory is born.

However, it was later found that reserpine only rarely produces a true clinical depression. Despite high doses and many months of treatment with reserpine, only 6 percent of the patients developed symptoms even suggestive of depression. In addition, an examination of these 6 percent of patients revealed that all of them had a previous history of depression. (Mendels & Frazer, 1974) There were even reports from a few studies that reserpine could have an antidepressant effect (in spite of reducing levels of serotonin, norepinephrine and dopanmine).

As it turns out, that is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to revealing the inadequacies of the “chemical imbalance” theory.

The "chemical imbalance" myth

Is sex a good answer ?

The mood and energy-enhancing effects of caffeine. It’s even been shown in the Archives of Internal Medicine to lower suicide rates.

It just boggles my mind how many inpatient treatments won't allow people to have coffee even in the AM cause they claim it makes people "agitated". No coffee and I am bummed out.

I used 5htp under a therapists care. It really helped me a bunch. He also had me make sure that I was getting the proper amount of protein (100-120 mg per day and I'm a 210lb male). I was taken off the 5htp after, I don't know, maybe two months. And I still make sure that I'm getting around 100mg of protein a day (protein shakes help). My anxiety is very minimal. No more meds. I wouldn't try the 5htp without a doctors care. It took some experimentation for me to get the right dose.

i agree with most of the above - st johns wort is very beneficial if taken regularly or when you can feel yourself changing "mood", keeping good fats (EFAs) in your diet is great for brain function and i've had some good results from using 5-HTP and L-Tyrosine.

Using some of the things above is great but i think lifestyle changes are what will give you longevity. Employing healthy living habits has been the base for me. I took up weight training and exercise along with better nutrition then used "good mood" supportive supplements.

Google> Julia Ross, The Mood Cure.

Exercise and fresh air and sunshine daily

I don't think anything over the counter like st. johns wort or sam e is going to do anything for you if you have clinical depression. Medication has it's side effects but helps a lot of people also

Lithium Orotate 5mg YMMV -

I'm also taking folic acid & Omega 369 supplements.

I have been off and on anti depressants for years in recovery as well as st. Johns wort(not at the same time). I have experienced some positive benefits from these drugs throughout sobriety. I found recently though that I have had mood swing issues for years and antidepressants while they do make me feel good sometimes they really did little or nothing for my mood swings. At this point I started researching my mood disorder as a bipolar type of disorder. I found damiana can be useful for this so I started taking it when I had really low mood or suicidal thoughts. It was actually helping. Then today I basically figured out it has abuse potential and people actually Inhale it and I think it's used in synthetic marijuana. Well this is a mind job and I'm really stressed out right now that I was taking something that has abuse potential. I'm switching to ginseng now which to me sounds much safer and I think I'm getting some benefit. If anyone has any experience or knowledge about damiana I would like to hear from u. I have 7 years clean time and my mind is racing right now. I'm not having cravings or anything but I really don't like this screwed up situation either. There really isn't a whole lot of info out there on herbal supplements as it is. I would have gone to the doctor to seek out some mood stabilizers or something but I do t have health insurance right now. Anyway any advice or support is greatly appreciated.
With all that said some people claim benadryl has abuse potential and I have never had an issue with taking benadryl and I was a major narcotic/sedative addict. However I feel like I have really put myself in a risky position with the damiana and would really like to hear from anyone with knowledge on the subject. I guess my biggest stress is just the fear of the unknown since there is so little documentation out there about this herb.

Beta-endorphins which the human body makes is 80 times stronger than heroin.

I became addicted to running and extreme sports beginning in childhood because it relieved my depression that I didn't know I was suffering. Later as a young man alcohol filled in the gaps when I wasn't active in sports.

Before this natural substance was discovered in 1971, runners like myself at around 10 to 12 miles would reach what was called the wall (of pain). Due to experience, I knew that within that time frame, the pain would subside and I'd experience a euphoric high.

I'm an old man, I don’t get depressed anymore as I had before I recovered, but even today exercise does the trick for my down times. Of course a poor diet can contribute to depression, so I watch what I eat, which is whole foods mostly organic and very low sugar. Sugar is a killer, especially processed sugar.

I've tried SAM-E , st Johns wort, 5 htp with l trytophane, ashwaganda, and so many others. they are all different and will react differently for each of us.
my fav so far is fish oil (good quality ) with vitamin D3. But I take it in high doses, like triple what it says to take on the packaging. Also things like oil pulling really improve my moOd. There is also research that touching dirt (yes you read that right)is good for your mood so gardening is always good, that being said if anyone is going through a particularI'll rough time, there is no shame or harm in seeking western anti depressants although yes there r lots of alternatives. I've seen lots of different things work for different people (under a Dr's or naturopath s care)