“Leave your drugs in the chemist’s pot if you can heal the patient with food.” Hippocrates.

My stepdaughter has bipolar disorder. She’s 5 years old. No, that is not a typo. In the 2 years since her diagnosis, we’ve tried several ‘traditional’ psych meds typically prescribed for childhood onset bipolar disorder with poor results. Each time her psychiatrist prescribes a new med, we go through the same pattern. We get a 2 or 3 weeks – a month if we’re really lucky of calm, really with it behavior followed by a total and complete meltdown. As her body begins to adjust to the meds it seems to over compensate and the results are not good. When we take her off the meds, she seems to even out and go back to her ‘typical’ bipolar pattern. A few months later, her psychiatrist wants to try a different med and we start the whole process over again.

We’ve decided to take her off the medication treadmill and treat her bipolar disorder with supplements and herbs if at all possible. So, I’m doing a lot of research on the topic and I thought I’d share what I’m learning here, in the hopes it will help on of my readers.

Several medical studies have shown that people who take 50 mg of Vitamin B1 or Thiamine experience improved moods, less depression, and faster reaction time than those whose intake is at or below the FDA for this vitamin.

Vitamins B12 and B9, or folate, have proven equally important when treating depression and other mood disorders. B12 deficiencies impair the body’s ability to clear out the amino acid homocysteine. High amounts of this amino acid have been shown to cause depression. Insufficient amounts of folate in the system cause symptoms of depression. In addition, low folate reduces the effectiveness of standard SSRI depression medications.

Serotonin production is dependent upon Vitamin B6. Inadequate amounts of B6 in the blood and brain result in the body not being able to produce this important brain chemical.

Selenium in amounts of appoximately 100 mcg per day helps relieve depression, anxiety and fatigue.

According to Psychology Today, several studies have found that chromium can effectively treat mild to severe depression. And a study at Duke University revealed that depression symptoms are reduced by taking 600mcg of chromium picolinate daily. Chromium is found naturally in liver, mushrooms brewer’s yeast, and whole grains.

Calcium, Omega 3 and zinc levels also seem to play a part in mood stability.

On theory is that those with bipolar disorder and other forms of mental illness may process and metabolize certain vitamins and minerals differently than those without mental illness. The difference in metabolic rate may cause deficiencies in the minerals and vitamins which regulate mood and stability.

I’m not a doctor, and everyone coping with mental illness should make treatment decisions in cooperation with their medical professional. A nutritionist or holistic doctor can help patients determine which vitamins and minerals they may be lacking, and can help the patient determine the best course of action to treat their illness in the most natural way possible

Did you know inflammation causes or contributes to most of the diseases that effect Americans? That’s right– Heart disease, stroke, arthritis, asthma, migraine, type 2 diabetes, allergies, ADHD, multiple sclerosis, fibroneuralgia, and gingivitis are all diseases of inflammation. In fact, the majority of conditions ending in the suffix “itis” are caused by inflammation. Now, that doesn’t mean that if you control inflammation your MS will just go away. But it’s a good bet that the pain, stiffness and possibly even some balance problems will be significantly reduced.

There are several ways to reduce inflammation. You could, of course take a pill designed for just that purpose. NSAIDS are popular pain relievers, and they work primarily by reducing inflammation. But, they can be dangerous. Did you know that more people die of side effects of NSAIDS than of HIV? Additionally, over half a million people a year develop some sort of complication from the use of NSAIDS.

A better way to control inflammation is to watch what you eat and take supplements of those substances known to reduce inflammation in the body.

Omega 3 oils found in deep sea fish. I include mercury tested salmon in my diet 3 – 5 times a week.

Cayenne pepper- I take 3 cayenne pepper caps with each meal. Some people have to take this between meals because it upsets their stomach or makes  food taste bad. Don’t be afraid to experiment to find when it works best for you.

Saint John’s Wart – In addition to being  great for MS related depression, St Johns also helps reduce inflammation.

Switch from vegetable oil to olive. Yes, it’s more expensive. but most vegetable oils convert to an inflammation causing chemical when broken down by the body.

Eat more green leafy veggies, nut butters, avocados and macadamia nuts they all have anti-inflammatory abilities.

With simple dietary changes, we can manage our MS and make our lives just a bit easier.

he other night I fell asleep while cuddling with my son at bedtime. I was very tired, and so my husband and older kids let me sleep.

It wasn’t until the next afternoon, when my kids asked why I was forgetting so much, stuttering and off balance that I realized I had missed my ldn the night before.

By 9 pm that night I was almost unable to walk because my balance was just so horrible. My left leg was completely numb up from toes to the knee and the inside of my left arm felt weak and tingled. Vision was as bad as it was before I started the ldn, and I was stuttering so bad my own kids couldn’t understand me. I finally switched to sign language because speech was almost impossible and for some reason, when I can’t talk, I can usually still sign.

From what I’ve learned from the ldn experts, my response to missing a dose was extreme. Most people who see symptom relief from ldn do regress when the go off the med, but it usually takes a couple days. Of course, not every person who takes ldn for MS has any symptom relief. That’s not the purpose of the med. Ldn is taken stop progression of the disease.

I resumed the ldn that night, and was perfectly back to my new normal two days later. Yeah. it took 2 days to get back to where I was before I missed that dose. My family now has explicit instructions to wake me up for my med regardless of how tired I am or if I’m sick. I’ve gotten used to having no MS symptoms, and I’d like to keep it that way, if I can.

Even after a month, it is still amazing to me how much ldn has given me my life back, I can keep up with my kids, and stay up to spend time with my husband.. I’m not exhausted all the time any more, and I’m almost never in pain anymore. No more muscle twitches.. I can play football with my 12 yr old daughter again..I’m thinking about coaching her team next season – something she’s wanted me to do for over a year now, but I’ve been unable to because of the MS. I’m not too inclined to call any medication a “miracle drug” but ldn is about as close to it as you can get. I will be forever thankful for the person who introduced ldn to me

Also, after talking to the new doctor a little more, he’s fairy convinced the MS had changed from RRMS to SPMS. He made this determination because I was to the point where I had symptoms every day without a break. Every day at the same time I would start to have symptoms, and the pain never went away. It seemed to have stopped remitting. Of course, I’m not too sure that he’s right about the change in MS classification, and honestly, I’m not even sure it matters.

The new dr isn’t doing as much research into ldn as I’d hoped. And while he supports my using alternative treatments and is willing to work with what I’m doing, he won’t be helping me figure out the best ways to treat my ms and asthma with nutrition and herbals. But that’s okay.. I can do my own research just like I always have. As long as he’s willing to understand that herbals and nutrition will always be my first treatment choice for ANY illness, we’re good. I did find out from another patient of his that he does suggest using garlic to treat bronchitis and pneumonia, though.. so that is a huge point in his favor.

Just a note for those who are exploring the gluten free and msg free lifestyle… I have put together a booklet of 10 recipes using gluten free and msg free ingredients.

The featured recipe of this booklet is my GF Chocolate Drizzle Cake.  This is the perfect chocolate cake for anytime you need an an elegant and delicious gluten free cake. Also included in this booklet are recipes for GF Tuna Burgers, Enchilada Pie, Yummy Chocolate Mousse, and 6 other kid tested and approved gf and msg free versions of everyday foods.

This booklet Gluten Free and MSG Free for LIFE! booklet 1 is the first in a series of booklets to help families avoid gluten and msg for optimal health.

Booklet cost is $5. payable through PayPal.
If you are a member of MW, TWM, low dose naltrexone or mscured on yahoogroups, please contact me for discount information.

To order, or for more information, send an email to orders@atlanteanproductions.com

Since I haven’t updated on my ldn adventure in a while here’s the scoop…………..

I started ldn about a month ago. I had my first MS symptom 20 years ago (at 17 yrs old) was dx’d about 10 years ago (at 27). I’m not ‘very disabled” but I did have significant balance and dizziness problems, my left leg was over sensitive (read if anyone touched my shin it hut to tears) and at the same time I had diminished sensation in other parts of my left leg and foot. I also have vision issues, and stuttering.

With LDN everything except the vision and stuttering are completely gone. My vision is 90% better than it was, and I only stutter now when I accidentally eat something I shouldn’t.  The other day my husband and I went to a homeschool group meeting at a coffee shop. Normally, I wouldn’t be able to discern speech at the table from the background chatter of those around us. Not this time. I was able to follow the conversation at our half of the table completely, and I only had to ask those at the far side to repeat themselves two or three times. I was able to see on the way home well enough to drive. That’s a huge change for me. Night driving has been a problem for at least 15 years, maybe longer.

We’ve also started my 6 yr old stepson on ldn. (he has either Asperger’s or Autism with ADHD and impulse control difficulties)  And he’s doing wonderfully! His speech and general language has improved tremendously, as has his ability to concentrate and pay attention to his school work. Even his reading abilities have seen improvement. He seems to understand more, is able to follow conversations better and has better impulse control. His negative behaviors have decreased dramatically because he can now understand and communicate with us a lot better.

Before ldn, he was hyper, with almost no attention span. He had almost no impulse control and I had to watch him do everything and provide verbal prompts to help keep him on task. Eating breakfast and brushing teeth used to take him over an hour because he would get so side tracked. If he eats gluten or msg it’s even worse. Since he started the ldn he gets up, gets dressed and comes down for breakfast. Makes his cereal and eats it. Then simply puts his bowl in the sink and goes off to brush his teeth and hair. Sounds like a simple thing, doesn’t it? And for most of us it is, but for my stepson morning routine was difficult and took real concentration to accomplish. Most pre lnd days he could not do this without lots of verbal prompting.

There are a couple doctors specializing in Autism who use ldn to treat it with wonderful results. There have been cases of “cured Autism” with ldn and dietary changes. For more info check out Autism_LDN@yahoogroups.com