Bipolar Disorder

Diet and Nutrition: (references)

• Eliminate foods that cause an allergic response or to which there is a sensitivity (fast, use an elimination diet, or allergy test to isolate such foods)
• Avoid coffee and other caffeinated beverages
• Avoid alkalizing agents like bicarbonates (decreases effectiveness of lithium treatment)

Vitamins and Minerals: (references)

• Vitamin B6: 100-200 mg. (necessary to convert phenylalanine to phenylethylamine)
• Vitamin B12: 300-600 mcg.
• Vitamin C: 1 - 3 gm. in divided doses
• Folate: 200 mcg.
• Choline (phosphatidyl form): 10-30 gm. in divided doses
• Lithium carbonate: start with 300 mg. QID for 7 days, then draw serum levels, increase until reaching therapeutic range: 1200 -1800 mg/d with serum level of 0.6-1.5 meq.
• Potassium chloride: 1.9 - 5.6 gm. (may eliminate adverse side effects of lithium)

Supplements: (references)

• Omega-3 Fatty Acids : 500-1000 mg. TID
• Omega-6 Fatty Acids : 500-1000 mg. TID-QID (not to be taken without lithium during manic phase)
• Phenylalanine: 500 mg. daily initially, increasing as needed to 3-4 gm. daily
• 5-Hydroxytryptophan: 50-200 mg. in divided doses (Note: approximately 1-3% of oral tryptophan enters the brain compared to 70% of oral 5-HTP)
• S-Adenosyl-L-Methionine (SAM): 800 mg. for depressive state, provided hypomania/mania tendency can be controlled
• Melatonin: 3-6 mg. at 9PM
• Phosphatidylserine: 100 mg. TID with food

Botanicals: (references)

• Tincture - *Hypericum perforatum, *Piper methysticum, *Eleutherococcus senticosus, *Avena sativa, *Scutellaria laterifolia, *Matricaria chamomilla, Schisandra chinensis, *Lavender angustifolia essential oil, Sweet orange essential oil: 10 drops BID

• Individual botanicals to be considered for this condtion:
  Avena sativa (Oats)
  Eleutherococcus senticosus (Siberian ginseng)
  Hypericum perforatum (St. John's wort)
  Lavendula angustifolia (Lavender)
  Matricaria chamomilla (German chamomile)
  Piper methysticum (Kava kava)
  Schisandra chinensis (Wu wei zi)
  Scutellaria laterifolia (Skullcap)

Homeopathic Remedies: (references)

• Manic depression:
  
  agar, arg-m, anac, aur, bell, cann-i, CARC, coff, con, cyt-l, hyos, kres, LACH, lil-t, MED, nat-s, phos, psor, STAPH, stram, sulfa, verat
• Mania, abuses everyone:
  
  anac, camph, lach, tarent
• Mania, rage, with:
  
  agar, ant-t, apis, ars, BELL, camph, cann-i, cann-s, croc, cupr, HYOS, lach, lol, LYC, merc, nux-v, op, ph-ac, phos, pib, sec, sol-n, staph, STRAM, verat, verat-v, zinc

(For an overview of Homeopathy, click here.)

Other Therapies: (references)

• Chelate excess vanadium and iron using EDTA or desferoxamine
• Replace mercury amalgam dental fillings
• Stop smoking
• Lose wieght if obese

Recommended Labs:

• Check for bipolar disorder: History, Physical Exam, Self Assessment for Bipolar Disorder
• Rule out brain tumor: PET Scan, MRI
• Rule out heavy metal poisoning: Hair Analysis
• Rule out thyroid disorder: Thyroid Panel with TSH

*  The recommended use of this supplement or therapy is based on a physiological mechanism or empirical data and is not necessarily supported by peer-reviewed research studies.

Copyright 1998 - 2008 by L. Vicky Crouse, ND and James S. Reiley, ND. All rights reserved (ISSN 1527-0661).