SAM-E for depression??

SleepyT wrote:Thanks, Laurie. Good find!

You are most welcome SleepyT! If I can help only one person in my lifetime, find a way out of the pit of depression, then I will consider my life to have had great meaning. I had unrelenting, severe depression for over 6 months and tried every form of medication available. I was hospitalized 3 times this year in quick succession. My psychiatrist started talking to me about electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). At that point, I would have tried anything even if it only offered a marginal rate of success. That's how desperate I had become. My family totally freaked out out when they heard the words ECT and started looking at all possible treatment modalities other than ECT.

My family read up on CBT and found a therapist whose specialty is CBT. I started seeing my therapist (whom I admire in so many ways) and doing my "homework". From my very first session, I felt a glimmer of hope! My first glimpse of hope in over 6 months. I am happy to say that I am in remission. I cannot tell you how incredibly amazing it feels to have the normal ups and downs of life rather than the bleakness of never ending despair. I take each day as it comes and continue my therapy and CBT homework. I turn my CBT "homework" into things I want to learn more about such as video-editing and web design, to name a few. My creativity and inspiration are coming back! I am enrolled to return to school to complete my Master's degree in Nursing and continue on to get my certification as an Adult Nurse Practitioner. To have goals and plans again. I feel truly blessed. Laurie

SleepyT, what helped my anxiety/depression was the birth of my son. After the heinous sleep deprivation subsided, I am much better. In addition, I take a Vitamin D and a sublingual B-12 supplement.

tattooyu wrote:SleepyT, what helped my anxiety/depression was the birth of my son. After the heinous sleep deprivation subsided, I am much better. In addition, I take a Vitamin D and a sublingual B-12 supplement.

tattooyu,

Thanks for sharing the importance of Vitamin D and B-12. Because we spend more time indoors and with the increased use of sunscreens, our bodies are converting less and less Vitamin D2 to D3. I encourage anyone who has not had their serum/blood level of Vitamin D to be checked. Vitamin B-12 is essential for cognition among other things. Many elderly folk are deficient in B-12. For more information on Vitamin D check this out:

[/url]http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/vitamind/#en5[url]

Vitamin D3 is much more bioavailable than D2. The suggested daily intake of Vitamin D3 is 1,000 IU/day. My Vitamin D level was only 17 which indicates severe
deficiency. I am currently taking (by Rx) 50,000 IU of Vitamin D2 once a week for 3 months and will then have my blood redrawn. I was very surprised to find out I was deficient.

I will chime in here too. I had a critical low Vitamin D level. It was 4. I have been on high dose 50,000 units of vitamin D per week. Even with that my levels have come up...but they are no where near normal after 6 months of therapy. If I stop the vitamin D which I did to see what my lab work would reveal, my levels dropped very fast.

So I stay on Vit D for the rest of my life. Its a cheap easy fix...and feel tons better.

Well...I can't tell you all how much I appreciate the responses. I have many things to consider now for sure. I feel the need to reiterate that I am only mildly depressed. Still functioning at work, etc.....but this depression is like a low grade fever that never quite lifts. Probably hormonal....change of life stuff. At any rate, I had a 1 year follow appointment with my sleep doctor yesterday (have to do it for my DOT card). He asked if I had any questions about my CPAP therapy and I told him I did not....that I have that pretty much under control....but what I DID want to talk about was mild depression.

In a nutshell I told him I wanted to avoid meds if I could and he said he was against pharmaceuticals as well (except, I imagine, in severe cases?)...and that I should try light box therapy, aerobic exercise first thing in the morning...to set the tone for my metabolism for the day....and he wants me to eat 3 oranges a day. Yep. Oranges. I think he is a 'food is medicine' guy. Said the Vitamin C in the oranges just might do the trick...fresh oranges being better than vitamin C in a tablet. Wants me to eat more fiber. And wants me to check my thyroid, B-12 levels, and vitamin D levels through lab work.

I am relieved to have this natural option to try....but my door is still open to pharmaceuticals if this does not work. (and before someone asks...my doctor is internist who is also board certified for sleep medicine) I can hear the "quack" comments already!

Hi there---I too started getting depressed when menopause started --that is how I ended up on the Lexapro. I also have Under Producing Thyroid Hypo-Thyroidism, diabetes and low B-12 levels, and nearly non existant vitamin D levels. I live in the sunshine state too but I don't go outside in the sun and when I go --we all wear 30 sunscreen!! SO Vit D is what I take everyday now--I take 2 of the 5,000 IU of teh D3 that you can get at Hi Health. I was on the prescription one of 50, 000 IU twice a week to boost up my levels. so pay attention to the Vit D levels as well as the B12---very important stuff--LOL!!

Carrie

sleeplessinaz wrote:Hi there---I too started getting depressed when menopause started --that is how I ended up on the Lexapro. I also have Under Producing Thyroid Hypo-Thyroidism, diabetes and low B-12 levels, and nearly non existant vitamin D levels. I live in the sunshine state too but I don't go outside in the sun and when I go --we all wear 30 sunscreen!! SO Vit D is what I take everyday now--I take 2 of the 5,000 IU of teh D3 that you can get at Hi Health. I was on the prescription one of 50, 000 IU twice a week to boost up my levels. so pay attention to the Vit D levels as well as the B12---very important stuff--LOL!!

Carrie

I sure will, Carrie. I'm going to have some lab work done to see what the story is. I'll get ahead of it one way or another...